Chaz Hickcox

3/8oz, 15lb trilene flouro

Well my thumb learned that today. Finally figured out that part. Also, pitching, flipping, same concept just one goes further. You're right though, I should have named this properly. For the water temp and the fact it's being churned up by a lot of strong wind today we didn't have any light hits. Everything that got hit got engulfed. Unfortunately there were a bunch that got around some knees and threw the hooks though. No pecking hits today. Seemed to still do better with a red Gammy EWG 4/0 (full size brush hawg though). Thanks for the input everyone.

In my experience, deadsticking is too boring and non productive, split shotting, less boring somewhat productive, wacky darn near won a tournament for me and my partner. But that's only IMO.

Bang them off of rocks, bounce them off of wood, stop-go, steady retrieve. All will work at different times. Use the lipped cranks along docks with a steady retrieve. If fishing grass, use a crank that only dives to just below the grass top. Crank it until you feel the grass, then stop so it floats a foot or so above then begin to retrieve again, repeat until you get the lure back to the boat. Or use one that barely reaches the grass and use a steady retrieve through the tips of the grass. Use a suspending crank in rocky structure. Take the crank to the structure, just after you strike the structure, stop. Wait, then begin again. Shallow crank with square bill, slow steady retrieve through shallow structure. The square bill will make it bounce off the structure and the erratic motion from the deflection will generally trigger a strike.

DUDE YOU SAID IT!!! Spent 10 minutes looking for my scale today, actually had to throw the fish in the livewell before weighing him as to not keep him dry too long. It was SUPPOSED to be in my kit bag main pouch, but after searching the glove box, the hard box, the port and starboard bow storage, it was in my map pouch. Who shoves a scale into a map pouch?!

So I am finally getting the hang of this flippin thing. I was prefishing for a tournament today and had a heck of a lot of bites. In the past I had caught a fish or two on jigs and pitching t-rigs, but nothing I could call a pattern or that would give me confidence. Well today, after about 5hrs of work it until I die mindset with a brush hawg I brought four fish on the boat in a 10 min period that I think I have it down (when prefishing I don't fill up the boat, I find a pattern I can replicate more than once then go home as to not have the fish grow weary of my presentation). Now my question is to those veterans of flipping and pitching - When you get those really jerky strikes that feel very weak, but there's definitely something taking your bait, is that a bass? Those that I caught today took the hawg and darn near swallowed them immediately. It seems to me those other hits could have been bream or white perch, but I'm not sure. Also, the brush hawg, what hook is better? I initally texposed the point on a straight shank worm hook, but I kept having a lot of strikes that would chew up the worm, but never set the hook. Then I took a 4/0 Red Gammy EWG and skin hooked the point. With that rig I landed four (And the Hawg lasted for four fish). Was that a hook issue, or a size of fish biting issue? Then, what's a good way to keep backlash out of the reel while still having enough give to allow you to flip more than five feet? Thanks.

And I can't even find a LM that size down here. Great fish!

I have been experimenting with their minnows. I initially bought them for dropshotting, but that is useless in my dirty waters. Then I tried putting them on the trailer hook of a white or ghost colored spinnerbait or buzzbait. Seemed to work ok, but honestly any regular attractant seems to work around here with spinners or buzzbaits. As far as their larger baits, I don't see why not, it's pretty cool that you can put the old ones into the can and 'recharge' them. I just don't fish soft plastics much.

Fish moving up to bed. In my waters, Firetiger Double Willowleaf Spinner 1/2 Oz through the Cypress Knees.

Depends...

Also true....

The Rod and Reel are all personal pref. I can twitch the Castaic Rock Hards back better with spinning, but that's only because I am uncoordinated with my left hand. As far as everything else goes kidbee is absolutely right. Even the Platinum series seems to work better burned, sometimes. With the original hard headed series I use a solid steady retrieve which seems to be money for me, and I am in heavily stained, normally muddy, water.

Hmm.... senkos marinated in Megastrike.... BRILLIANT!

I use Megastrike, my partner uses Gulp! Garlic Craw. The weird thing is that one may work better than others in different conditions. Sometimes Megastrike can't be beat. Other times we've found that Megastrike is almost a repellant while the Gulp! works. If you're fishing alone I would say bring both and like colors and presentations figure out what mood the fish are in.

don't listen to this remedial advice. Yet another post where someone seems to "know" too much to allow alternative suggestions to be seriously considered. LC, eat all of us if that's how you're gonna be. If you think it's a bad idea how about considering explaining your thought rather than trying to make Hooligan look like an idiot.

I dont have any more answers. Will a swimbait used in the Delta also work, say... on the East Coast? Even trout swimbaits are killin' them in Currituck and Abermarle Sounds (I think that's a secret only I know though, as I am the only crazya$$ throwin them).

Dito.... Being right handed it's actually easier for me to use a MH Spinning rod with hard swimbaits so I can twitch them back to the boat.

To me paddletails are worthless, IMO. All they are is a soft plastic with a wobbly tail. Great in clear water, but to move water you'd need somthing lifelike. I like the hard swimbaits with a lot of hinges because it will knock against itself and it's almost like a clacker. With a Castaic Rock Hard rainbow trout I could solicit strikes from super finicky fish by using a fast retrieve with a hard and fast twitching motion. I've tried this with both mono and braid, and I'd say to do this best use braid. The mono stretches too much while twitching the bait. You don't necessarily need to stick with Castaic, their quality has been a bit of an issue as of late, Tru Tungsten Tru-Life should work too. Really any multi-jointed hard swimbait should be able to be worked in the aforementioned manner. Also with the braid the strange phenominon is that you can hear the clacking resonating through the line and your rod.

Sweet, thanks man.

Spinners in the knees. Got me third a few weeks ago. Basically pitching the spinner almost to the shore and bring it between the cypress knees. They usually nail it right before it goes through the saddle of the knees.

You know, I'm sorry, I said craw when I meant chunk. Either or though, does the baby craw have smaller pincers?

Do you mean Rabid Dog? As in a dog with rabies? If so try that for a search it may help you. I did, found some for sale, but no pictures. What's the deal with these? What do they look like?

Been working on my flippin' technique. I have been using a 1/2oz all-terrain jig with a rage craw. Going off of some advice I am planning on taking down the profile of the bait by using a Strike King Bisty Flip in the 1/2oz weight. I love the action of the rage craw, but would a smaller profile help with finicky fish, or would sticking with the rage be sufficient?

All of the above, however in addition I killed em on grass flats using a split shot rig with the 1/16 shot about 12-18in above the lure. Again, same concept as above, just a different weight. It would probably be better with a pegged bullet through the grass. I'm gonna try that this summer. Don't forget the Megastrike (seemed to work better than the original coffee scent IMO). Paul. posted something on the eeliminator last fall that mentioned how he would hook the nose with a circle hook and add weight to them with a needleweight (I think he made his own by cutting the heads off of nails). I tried to find the thread, but for some reason my searches aren't bringing it up. If you can find it, or if Paul. can recap what he did that would probably give you a completely different idea.

That is a good idea, but the fact of the matter is that would cost a bit of money in line experimentation, and that's something I fiscally can't do.