Bluebasser86

I actually have a lot of luck casting them, following them to the bottom on a slack line and ripping them as soon as they hit the bottom, repeat all the way to the boat and then hop them several times directly under the boat to give any followers a chance to commit. Some of my biggest smallmouth every year are caught doing that along with some stout white bass and walleyes and an occasional monster crappie.

Looks a lot like a Zman chatter stick, minus the prop on the back. Never fished one and don't know anyone who has.

I've caught 11 muskies in my fishing career (closest muskie lake is 3 hours from here). Of those, 1 was caught actually fishing for them. The rest were all fishing for bass with mono, fluoro, or braid with no leader. If you're actually going to target them, by all means go with a leader, but not using one isn't a complete death wish like I'd always heard. I use the Terminator titanium leaders, regular steel leaders kink easily and become worthless.

I fish bladed jigs (chatterbaits) on occasion I use a 6' 6" MH/F St. Croix LTB with a 6:4.1 Lew's Speed Spool and 15lb Big Game. I know the common perception is sensitivity isn't important with a moving bait, this is not the case IMO. I can't tell you how many times I've caught big bass on bladed jigs, or slow rolling spinnerbaits for that matter, when all I felt was the bait get just a little bit lighter feeling or the blade just didn't seem to be working quite right, or like I picked up a strand of weeds. They'll attack those baits from behind and push them towards you pretty often, which is often the cause of a hard to detect bite. They were doing that to me just a couple weeks ago. Often times the ones that are the barely detectable bites seem to be good fish that have eaten the bait very well, which you can see in several of the pictures on my recent post here. http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/145829-bladed-jig-beat-down/ With the budget you set, a 6' 6" M/F or MH/F would be the rod I'd be looking at. I love that Lew's Speed Spool, seems to be the perfect speed and it fires a bait a mile. To keep it in your price range, I'd go with either an Avid or a 663C Dobyn's Savvy. Ron at Valley Sports could set you up with that Dobyn's and Lew's and you'd be good to go!

100% of the time this is how I fish mine.

Just thinking about fishing in the rain gets me pumped up!

I always get the big fish in prefishing, never in the tournament. Congrats!

A good portion of my job involves people who "Know their right(s)" Very rarely does that turn out to be the case.

That thing makes a ton of noise for an inline spinner. I have no idea where you'd find a body like that for the bait but the rest of it is pretty straightforward.

Very nice work! Have you ever tried to make and cranks? I tried once upon a time and never could get them to run right.

Trying to get the guides lined up would drive me insane I think. I spend enough time and money building baits, can't imagine if I started trying to build rods too

What was cool was I had one of those feelings that morning, just extremely confident and calm, before we'd even launched the boat. I've had that feeling a couple times before in tournaments and almost always win on those days. If I could just find a way to have that feeling before every one!

Watch this video, go to the dam, enjoy!

All the way back on page 10!

I haven't fished the Fogy but I've made my own with the standard and the bubbler blades and can't tell a difference between the two.

I also bought a Mettle when they were on sale for $30, not really expecting much other than maybe a years service out of it. Well a year is just about up and that thing is one of the furthest casting reels I own and works just like new. I have it paired with a 6' 8" M/F Ethos casting rod (A whole combo that cost me $90) and it's become my favorite rod for jerkbaits and spooks. Biggest regret is not buying a few more of them.

Power plant lakes and lure building keep me sane.

Rigged vertical on a bladed jig they have incredible action, I'm sure it would be the same case with a swim jig.

I know of several guys that use them and none of them have ever broke them. Whether they fess up to it or not, a majority of broken rods are due to abuse or user error.

Welcome to the site!

I always fish them with a trailer. They'll work without one, but I have no confidence in a jig without a trailer.

1/2oz brush jig

Savage Gear line through, Decoy Hydratail, Optimum Line Through, Mattlures tournament series. Haven't found a hard bait that I really like for under $20. Trying to like the S waver but it just isn't producing for me like I'd hoped, same for the Sebile Magic Swimmer.

My PB at one point was on a craw colored 4F Fat A. I still have that one and a firetiger colored one, still can't believe they discontinued that bait.

I had a fat spotted bass spit up a still alive (and very angry) salamander at Table Rock several years ago. I was C rigging a 6" lizard so I guess I was giving him what he wanted. I flicked him back in the lake with my rod and he went snapping the whole way until he hit the water and shot off. I've also caught a bass with feathers and bird feet sticking out of it's throat, a snakes tail, and one that had a baby painted turtle that it hadn't even swallowed yet when it ate my bait.