Gangley

I'm in. I would rather do this than the Secret Santa, and I relly got some good use out of some of the lures from last year.

For a beginner, though opinions definitely vary, I feel that the very first item you fish with should be a basic worm. A regular 7 inch worm is the generic fishing lure EVERYWHERE, and is the easiest lure in the world to learn how to fish with. When texas rigged, it is near impossible to snag and most days fish will hit a worm if they hit anything at all. It's easy to cast, easy to retrieve, and hard to mess up....simply a great lure for beginners. Next on the list is a spinnerbait. Its harder to cast a long distance sometimes (particularly in very windy conditions), but it can be productive with very little effort on the part of the angler and you can cover a lot of water with it fairly quickly. By the time you get those two under your belt, you will most likely be itching to try every bait under the sun and will be ready to as well.

Hopefully I can catch some as well, and if I do, I'll take a picture or two, hopefully the bass will have a hippy jig hanging from its mouth, haha.

Mine just came in today and they sure look good. Hopefully they catch as good as they look.

Wow, I'm surprised at all of the MH fast action selections for lighter top water lures, but if thats what works for you where you fish, then keep on keepin' on. For Me: For light top waters (poppers, tiny torpedos, etc) I prefer a medium rod with a very parabolic bend, much like a cranking rod. The soft bend helps keeps the smaller trebles planted when the fish decides to dance, which they almost always do when topwater fishing. Also, because the lures are so light, the parabolic bend doesnt affect the action of the lures, they still pop hard, walk, and jump nicely, and the lighter action and slower tip speed allows for more accurate casting. For top water frogs and other lures that have larger diameter hooks and a bit more mass, I prefer a medium-heavy/moderate to a medium-heavy/fast rod. I generally prefer a slower rod to a fast rod because I feel as though I can feel things a lot better, and I don't really have heavy slop where Im fishing. As a side note: If you have a friend with multiple style/speeds/actions of rods, ask him if you can borrow a few rods and go try them out at your local waters. You would really be surprised how much your opinion of what you need varies from what a lot of internet opinions would lead you to believe(mine included). Basically, there are typical/generic answers to all of the "which rod is best for this application" type questions, but more so than not, your water type and the structure within it will more accurately define the type of rod you will need, more so than even lure selection in some instances.

this is a great way to fish a worm, especially in the colder months. If your thumb or "birdie" finger ever gets tired, you are going too fast

glad to hear it. they make a good product and hopefully more people can access them or be aware of it now that its on facebook.

glad to hear it. they make a good product and hopefully more people can access them or be aware of it now that its on facebook.

glad to hear it. they make a good product and hopefully more people can access them or be aware of it now that its on facebook.

green sunfish for sure. They will hybridize with other members of the sunfish family which will result in slightly different colors than the usual greenfish (yellow, orange, or white laced fins) but will generally retain the large mouth and aggressive behavior. They are fun to catch, but best removed from a body of water if you are trying to grow good sized bluegill because they breed rapidly and have a voracious appetite that generally results in a a body of water being cleaned out quick. They also don't grow very large which is another downfall. Considering they will overtake a pond quickly, and that they are also very good eating, when we catch them we keep them. ps, a white 1/8oz or 3/16 marabou jig pulls them in pretty good around here. Roadrunners do decent as well.

green sunfish for sure. They will hybridize with other members of the sunfish family which will result in slightly different colors than the usual greenfish (yellow, orange, or white laced fins) but will generally retain the large mouth and aggressive behavior. They are fun to catch, but best removed from a body of water if you are trying to grow good sized bluegill because they breed rapidly and have a voracious appetite that generally results in a a body of water being cleaned out quick. They also don't grow very large which is another downfall. Considering they will overtake a pond quickly, and that they are also very good eating, when we catch them we keep them. ps, a white 1/8oz or 3/16 marabou jig pulls them in pretty good around here. Roadrunners do decent as well.

green sunfish for sure. They will hybridize with other members of the sunfish family which will result in slightly different colors than the usual greenfish (yellow, orange, or white laced fins) but will generally retain the large mouth and aggressive behavior. They are fun to catch, but best removed from a body of water if you are trying to grow good sized bluegill because they breed rapidly and have a voracious appetite that generally results in a a body of water being cleaned out quick. They also don't grow very large which is another downfall. Considering they will overtake a pond quickly, and that they are also very good eating, when we catch them we keep them. ps, a white 1/8oz or 3/16 marabou jig pulls them in pretty good around here. Roadrunners do decent as well.

I appreciate all of the replies with great information guys. I went out last night with a regular jig just to waste some time and landed a nice 2 lb'er on a KaRu's Special Brown football jig with a Berkley Chigger Craw trailer. Can't wait to get the Hippy jigs and try them out!

I've tried going the route of "smaller is better" during the winter, and had some success, but this winter I am going to try out the "larger is best" theory. I plan on using a mop style jig with a larger trailer, something along the lines of a Space Monkey, but I worry about the trailer having too much action in the colder water. What are some of the larger trailers that you prefer to use during the wintertime? Also, what type of presentation do you normally use with the larger jig and trailer during the wintertime? I generally do a drag and hop, or straight drag, but what do you experianced jig men use during the winter? Drag and hop, drag, hop and sit, drag and sit, etc? I know "let the fish tell you", but until the fish tell you, what presenations do you generally start with. ps, I've read the articles and used the search function and found some good info, but nothing specific to mop/large jigs with large trailers in wintertime. I am profficient with a jig and plastic and a jig in pork, but I am hoping for some information specific to fishing larger jigs with large trailers during winter.

the Academy ones (99c here) appear to be identical to the walmart ones. I have everything from Northstar Custom Spinnerbaits, to the walmert ones. I will use my NSC, Strikeking, H20, etc. spinnerbaits over the walmart ones unless I am throwing in some serious snag zones. That being said, my friend outfished me 9 to 1 a month back with him using a walmart white spinner bait and me using an H20 spinnerbait. Sometimes its the other way around, you never really know. What I do know though, is that for 99c, you better believe I have a handful in my tacklebox ready to go if I know the fish are buried deep in some nasty stuff. For 99c, you simply can't say no, especially if you know they catch fish.

Im in

Does anybody know what that brand of the rear feathered hook on the Yellow Magic Poppers are? If not, what is a good replacement hook with quality feathers? I know owner makes a decent one, but does anybody elese?

pre-spawn is great with worms, but like mentioned above, pre-spawn is great with just about any plastic, and thats not to exclude spinner baits, cranks, jigs, etc. During the early spring, I like to use a faster (spinner, crank, topwater) lure to find them, then when the bite falls off, hit them hard with the slower presentations: worms, jigs, craws, etc. This has made for some really good and exciting days of fishing.

ZOOM Ol' Monster Berkley Power Worm

For nose hooking, try an octopus or circle hook. I generally stick with a 1/0 or 2/0. If I am using a large fluke or fluke type bait, I will go up to a 3/0.

Nose hooked ZOOM Swimming Fluke (Paddletail) in Smokin' Shad has done well for me, and the LFT Live Magic Shad. I have also had good luck with both of those on a weighted EWG, cast out, and let it sink to the bottom and sit for a few seconds before pulling it off.

I have had decent luck with a Yellow Magic popper, but my waters aren't quite as cold as yours yet. Maybe try a shallow suspending jerk bait. I know it's not top-water, but they generally produce well in fairly cold waters

X2 for the chatterbait If you haven't tried it before, use the magic shad as a trailer on a spinner bait with silver willow leaves and a shad style skirt.

To be honest, most of the bass i catch with swim jigs hook them selves when they strike. Its usually a pretty solid hit and very little force at all is required, just pulling back when you feel it does the trick 90 percent of the time. I have used fast action stiff rods, and slow action parabolic bend rods, and neither seems to shine more than the other. I generally use the slow action rod in sparse cover and the stiffer, fast action rod in heavy grass so that I can pop the jig out if it hangs up in the grass at all.

most everything you mentioned is top water with the exception of a few mid level lures. With a high of 60 degrees in a body of water that small, the water has probably cooled off a lot and the fish may be starting to shut down and stay deep. Basically, I would be fishing the bottom and slowly. Lures: Large Jig and Large Trailer worked slowly Large Worm (10+)worked slowly Creature Bait worked slowly If none of those work, I will generally go in the opposite direction and downsize. Go with a smaller compact jig and trailer, or a finesse worm on a shakey head. Again, both worked slowly.