flippin and pitchin

Berkley Power Bait Brush Beast.

Big Bite Bait's Yo Mamma. Right size, soft texture, good color options and the price is hard to beat. Yum Wooly Hawg is a close second.

I read an article some time ago that the older Wiggle Warts were prized by several pros ( Mark Davis and Stacy King ) because they were produced from a different mold and produce better than the new ones. Anyone have any info on this? Also, I throw Brad's Wigglers instead of the Storm Wiggle Wart. Anyone else try them and have an opinion on them ?

Unless you have slick reel handle paddle problems or fish in the rain alot, they are just nice for color coding an outfit. I have 4 sets but fish in wet weather quite a bit.

Generally five for large mouth and six for small mouth. If it's March and the water's 52 or less, two, maybe three rods is all. "

Hit the river day before yesterday. It was a good day with sixty or so smallies but not one over 4 pounds. We had to work for them. I caught about half on 7 different lures from crankbaits to drop shot. My buddy came close with a 3-14. Air temp was 84 degrees ! Good times, good weather and a great fishing partner. Stay hydrated my friend. ;D

First, Welcome and thanks for sharing your story. What a deal, nine years and your prodical All Stars came back ! Like many, I have seen the impact cancer has on lives. My dad past away 11 years ago and my wife is a survivor of over 10 years now. It puts everything else into perspective. Enjoy and good fishing !!!

I like the Gammi extra wide gap finesse hook anytime an exposed point will work. It is a really good drop shot hook so you get double duty from the same hook.

When you initiate your cast you get the spool spinning faster than the lure can pull the line off the spool. The heavy spinnerbait finally catches up as it pulls the line off at the same rate as the spool rotates so the cast " smooths out." When you make that smooth cast you are not speed loading the rod so lure pull is consistent with spool speed. That's key with all casts on a baitcaster, whether you overhand, side arm, roll cast or pitch.

I picked up some Trokar's but haven't used them because I have had great preformance from the Youvella 4/0 flippin hook. My bite to hook up ratio is way better than I expected and I haven't lost a fish on that hook yet. I bought my buddy a pack or Trokars and it's all he's used this year and he loves them. His hook sets are BRUTAL and he hasn't bent or broken a Trokar yet. BTW, I didn't pay retail for the Trokars. We'll see.

The blade options on stock baits are based on sales. Copper is not a popular blade choice but has it's place. I switched out a few of my single blade SB's to hammered copper for early spring fishing where water is roiled and it's cloudy and low light. I also use this finsh in a turtle back style blade. The resistance of that blade allows for a slow retrieve and produces a more pronounced vibration. Hope this helps.

It kind of depends which type of cast. Forefinger for long line overhead casts and middle finger for most everything else. I put the trigger behing my ring finger on slow bottom bait retrieves. The size of your reel and hands will dictate which is more comfortable.

The impact to us could and that's a thin could, be any royalties paid to the plaintiff are passed on to the consumer or any settlement would be passed on to the consumer. I wasn't able to read the complaint so it's just speculation.

You might want to watch this case because it could have a far reaching impact on many more companies. There was a rumor Andre Moore had considered a similar suit some years back but he had no intentions of dragging a civil suit on for year after year. If this complaint goes beyond summary judement and actually goes to trial it might last 10 years or more. Interesting. I would think someone is looking for a quick out of court settlement from the defendants named. Just a guess.

Sent you a PM

I am a fan of Yozuri lipless baits. I wish they were a tad bit less expensive though.

I started using Mustad quick snaps for crank baits, lipless baits and jerkbaits. I always remove the split ring. Everything else gets tied on.

I love it. Bass fishing is my mental health treatment. My wife came to the weigh ins at the last two tournaments I fished and had a great time. She loves the raffles. We have a rule, no overtime, no stuff. After 37 years it still works. I'm glad she doesn't care to fish, she'd probably kick my butt. ;D ;D ;D

THat's easy, the one in my attached pic for sure. Ryan is my god-son and has MD and lost the use of his legs and arms at age 11. He wanted to go bass fishing so his Dad and I set up his wheel chair ( safely !! ) and hit the lake. I had to cast and set the hook and help Ryan hold the rod and reel the bass in. It was awesome ! I just helped. If Ryan had not been struck down with this terrible disease he would have been a hot stick some day. He had to move to Ohio with his familty a year ago. If anyone in the Medina Ohio area ever sees a kid in a motorized wheel chair wearing a Ranger hat, tell him hi from Uncle Doug.

Well, I got the answer. Paul was closest. I talked to my buddy at length today. When I was making consistent bottom contact, digging, he was ticking the bottom and his contact was just grazing the bottom. That subtle issue in the presentation was enough. The fish didn't want to have to pile drive the bait on the bottom but would pick from behind. We both commented how many of his fish had the back hook only. Good dialogue guys.

I have both the XL703S and the XL704S and both are dedicated to small mouth work. Go with the 703 for sure. The 702 is more of a drop shot action. I use the 703 for tubes, grubs and light draggin with #8 Yozuri on a President. By the way, I used my Excel 734C to throw Traps all day yesterday and it's not heavy.

Bass fishing professional Skeet Reese: Revo Skeet Reese model $229.99, W & M Tessara $89.99, royalty checks: priceless

I don't know if it's concentration, I was pretty focused and my ability to get bit on the other color seems to rule that out. I'm leaning toward Kent's comment that one in ten baits is a winner. I have 4 more in the package because I never want to run out of that color. BTW it was a Norman's which have been very effective for me. I will shelve the cursed one and try switching out. Thanks for the ideas guys. I was beginning to develop a complex. ;D

I fished with by buddy yesterday on a local reservoir for smallies. We have confidence in a specific crankbait and threw the same brand, model and color. We both used quick snaps and the same length rod and reel ratio and same retrieve style. He used 10# and I used 12# line but we fished flats where our baits both were digging the bottom. He hooked 10 and I hooked 1. Once I moved to another color I picked 2 up on back to back casts. The only thing we didn't do was swap rigs to see if there was something so miniscule in the set up, it was a factor. The days total, Flippin and Pitchin 8, Twitchin and Jerkin 23. I just got schooled I guess and we were making random casts to cover a huge flat. (The pay back ? I caught 10 Kokanee to his 2.) Any thoughts ?

Tournament Angler is a broad label. I fish the occasional local tournament so, am I a tournament angler ? I have seen the competitive venues in fishing bring out the bad and the good in those who attend. It's more about the character of the angler and not if they fish an organized competition. A rude unsportsmanlike angler will expose him or herself whether it's on a fun fish day or if they are trying to win a few hundred bucks or a new boat. I have seen alot of younger anglers ( 12 to 17 ) become passionate about bass fishing as a result of the desire to fill the competitive drive. That's a good thing but there is a real need to teach the etiquette of angling and the values of good sportsmanship. I like the social interaction more than anything and the atmosphere is most of times fun, family oriented and a great learning experience. And yes, I don't mind cashing a check if my efforts are successful.