Nitrofreak

Jig, 3/8 to 1/2 oz, in blue craw or majic craw color with rage craw or lobster, if you use the lobster just trim it back enough that the claws are exposed past the skirt. Cast it out, let it sink to the bottom, count to 10 and make 2 quick but very small jerks.

I know you simply wanted us to try these baits, but you used the word "challenge" and to me that is like testing something or someone to extreme or at least pushing the limit. To me there is a difference in saying I challenge you to do something compared to simply suggesting to try something different or new. If you have so much confidence in these baits, which I believe you do and for good reason, then why would you not test yourself under pressure to make sure you gave something your all, just as Big O does with these baits. To simply ask someone to try these baits will only yeild a half hearted attempt in my opinion. I challenged myself to try something new, I pushed myself under a condition outside of my comfort zone I was not used to and made myself think, and I came away a better fisherman because of it. So I say Thank you RW for using the word challenge.

I like Jeff Kriet's big bite baits for my dropshot, but I am also looking to try something new as well.

I will always attack the structure in a circle pattern and completely fish the whole structure from all angles and throw past the structure and come back. As far as the jig and pig I buy Strike King football headed bare jigs and from there I make my own.

I don't think these baits are for everyone either but I will tell you what I have learned about these baits, at least this one imparticular. For me it is not like fishing with any other bait that I am used to and I do a LOT of jig fishing. These baits have to be so life like when they are on the bottom that they must be able to hold the fishes attention, if I moved the bait too soon, I lost, if I gave it time, I won. Very,very little movement is key to this particular bait at least it was for me under my conditions. Why did I choose the lobster? well I found out that the water temp had dropped another 2 degrees which put it just under the 60 mark also it has been my experience the bigger bass will often move on larger meals in colder water, it's more food for less work. I have to give my partner a TON of credit here, he put us on the fish and he was catching them 2 sometimes three to my one while I was on this bait, he gave me the time I needed to get this bait to work, the best part about this whole thing for me was I had made a new friend. Should you decide to use these baits I hope what I just gave you gets the same results it did for me, be slow and give them ample time to work, 2 or 3 casts is not going to yeild you the results you want but time will. Good luck and be safe!!!!

Speaking on my behalf, the closest store to me is 1 hour and 45 minutes away...best road trip I think I have ever made. I for one am looking forward to experimenting with more of these baits and I wish you all the luck in the world, I hope they work as well for you as they did for me.

It seems to me I found that it's not what you do with situations like these it's what you DON'T do to get fish.

There can be no better advice than what catt can give " Drop the rod, reel the slack, set the hook " Don't be afraid to loose lures they make new ones every day but a lost fish just may be the one in a lifetime.

I like a slow rise or fall depending on the water temp and depth when I stop them. I like to make them roll to one side or the other especially if they have a tendency to want to rise. My testing is done in my gold fish pond lol.

I took this challenge this past weekend, I fished my confidence bait first untill we had 5 on the boat which equated to roughly 15 lbs. I had 3 to my partners 2, then decided to give this a try, my wepon of choice...the lobster as a trailer. Having never used this bait before It took about 25 times in the water for me to figure out how to present this to them, after 20 times without getting a single hit I thought that my friends were right, this bait just does not work, and I almost put it away before the next cast. There was a small frustration factor that came into play on the next cast, my line had a small knot in the reel from me not paying attention, so the bait sat a little longer than I had let it sit before, I cleared the tangle, took out the slack and positioned my rod and gave 2 small quick jerks on the bait and I felt a THUMP. I missed that fish for reasons that are me being me, but we picked up and moved to another spot with a fair amount of boat slips, the very first pitch I repeted what I learned from the last one, THUMP, as my rod loaded up after setting the hook, the drag started to give way, the first fish over 5 lbs for the day, 6lbs 4oz. I caught 7 more fish that day using your bait, my partner caught 5 more than me on the days total, none of his fish were used at the end of the day. My very first time using your baits gave me my PB total on a lake I have never fished, with a partner I have never fished with and also gave me the opportunity to finally place in a fishing tournament. My sincerest apologies to anyone I may have offended. I am looking forward to the spring and summer months this year on my home lake with a new way to fish and a new bait to fish it with, I wish I had a video camera along for the ride this time out but something tells me there will be plenty of photos this comming spring. Thank you for making these products here on our home turf and your hard work and dedication is second to none.

Ninja, Roadwarrior, There is no doubt that Strike King makes some of the best stuff on the market, and some of their jigs and skirt colors are second to none, shucks I still have jigs of theirs that are over 3 years old and the hook is still as sharp now as it was when it was new. Ninja, You have made the most sence with your answer " It's up to the user to decide what is best for them ". Roadwarrior, You have got to be one of the best advice producers on this site and I have learned a lot listening to you and then taking your advice to the water and becoming a more successful angler. I know these are not "your baits", but you are asking everyone to go out and buy this product and compare it to what they already own. As you have stated "Let's start with just one bag of rage tail craws of any color you like" to me this is like saying this product is SO GREAT that it does not matter what color you choose, at any given time it's going to catch fish!!! Somehow I do not think this is the point that you are trying to make but for me this is the way it seems to be comming across and possibly to others as well.

I have a question about baits in general. You say Rage, She says Zoom, He says Berkley, Out of all of the manufactures these days how is it determined who is the best of the best? What testing is done to prove the bait is what it says it is? You want us to take a challenge? OK I will give you a scenario, I am fishing on a lake this weekend that has a nuke plant, filling in for a guy's partner that can not make it, from what I have learned the water is usually dark color, greenish/brown, fishing depth's will be 8 to 25 feet, water temp avg. 64 degrees, I will be fishing the side of the lake I have never fished before and if I use rage I will be fishing with a bait I have never used before, I am expected to perform well, is that not enough pressure for you? lol. I know what I use works, now what are you going to tell me differently that will convince me to use your baits and how?

I like a spinner in this case, the water you say is muddy, so my choice is a 3 bladded spinner for noise and flash. Cast into the grass, rip it out and let it fall to the bottom just as it exits the grass, count to three, pick it up and let it fall again, keep track of the seconds you count be it three four or five, keep experimenting.

Tie the jig on for the weight and use the drop shot.

How do I spell relief when cranking deep? Trolling.

Next time video tape it, that always seems to help. It also makes for some interesting u-tube bleeps and blunders lol...just edit it to the short version.

One could argue this point for an eternity, the only way to know what is right or wrong is not found in these posts nor is it found in these articals created by experts, it is found by you the fisherman as to what brings you the most confidence and the most comfort.

That was absolutely perfect!!! Awesome job !!!!

For me drop shotting is one of the best as long as the fish are suspended.

Well I guess that explains a lot and it looks like they work pretty darn good too!!! again nice fish!!!

Thoughts and prayers to his family, that is some sad, sad news.

No he is refering to the crank handle being up or down not the reel itself. But I understand why you were thinking like that now, thanx for the pics... nice set up by the way. I have seen people with the spinners on top too but when talking to them they did not know any better, some were raised with this method and were very confident using them in that manner...go figure but it works for them so how can you argue with that?

See if your friend will loan you one, try it out, if you don't like it then you know it is not for you, just do yourself a favor and give it a fair chance I can promise you this that in the begining you will absolutely get frustrated, after you learn from it for a while you wont want to put it down. Good luck and be safe!!!

He did not say anything about having it upside down did he? The question is should the handle be up or down when casting a bait caster?

I have tried this in the past, for me being right handed, all of my casting is done with the right arm and then the rod would have to be changed over to the left to perform all of the various tasks and would leave my hook sets to be late or weak and my techniques inconsistant to say the least no matter how much they were practiced. I have to disagree here at least for me, you stated the bait caster is like a winch, which I feel also is true BUT I also feel you do not need a stronger hand to work the winch since the winch is the componant that is really providing 90% of the work. For me it is much much easier to keep all of my tasks in the right hand and crank with the left. As far as technicalities are concerned the crank can be put on either side for what ever reason you choose or whatever reason someone wants you to believe is true I just know for me it works best on the opposite side. Your statement about what or how the rods and reels are "supposed" to be used makes sence but is it not up to the fisherman to be able to fish with what him or her is most confident with?