Bluebasser86

You'll want a 24V system for sure and a 70lb should work just fine for a boat your size.

I'm not trying to talk anyone into buying one, and one trip isn't really a very thorough review, just my observations and results from fishing with one for a couple hours. It's a new bait that a lot of guys are interested in but haven't been able to get one yet. Some found out that I had picked one up and asked me to post a review after I had a chance to use it. I change the hooks and split rings out on a lot of my baits, so that wasn't a big issue to me, but something that those who fish with stock hardware should look out for. I'll have to take a picture of the bait after catching some fish. It isn't that the paint job is flaking off or anything, it just has a bunch of very visible scratches on it from the fish and the hooks. That kind of thing doesn't bother me, but I know some guys really don't like their baits to be scratched up like that. It's more like a one knocker type sound since it only has a single knocker rattle. I was fishing it on a 7' M/F Ethos casting rod with a 6.2:1 200B Curado and 14lb Mustad Ultra Line UL max.

Don't you need a follow up appointment after last Thursday's check up?

You could fish Olathe with just a trolling motor no problem, or there might be someone that wouldn't mind you hopping in the boat with them.

X2 on the Big Crankster. I wasn't a fan of fishing deep cranks until I bought that rod because they were so much work for me to fish. Now even the 6XDs are no problem to fish. It doesn't just launch them a long ways either, I can actually feel what they're doing and what the bottom feels like instead of just feeling like dragging in dead weight.

When I saw these in the pictures from Icast I was excited to try them out. So when my local BPS got some in I jumped at the chance to own one. I kept it pretty basic with the silver/black back. As soon as I took it out of the package I realized there was an issue, all 3 split rings were open? Easy fix, changed out the rings and swapped the hooks to #3 short shank VMCs. I hit the water with it the next day at a small public pond, fishing from the bank. Conditions were not good for it with no wind, bright sun, and rapidly warming air temps. Still, a fish blasted the bait on about my third cast. This bait is extremely loud and has a very wide wobble, rocking almost 180* during the retrieve. It's also a true wakebait, running at or just below the surface the entire retrieve. After the fast start there was no more excitement until I'd walked a majority of the pond. I had one blowup and miss the bait, then another eat it really well. I had at least a couple fish swing at the bait as soon as I started my retrieve that didn't hook up. I was letting the disturbance of the bait landing die down before I'd start my retrieve because it was so calm. I'm guessing those fish were just looking at the bait and attacked as soon as it moved. I managed to catch a few more before I had to pack it in. The fish that hit this bait were really trying to kill it, probably because of how aggressive the bait is. The paint job scratches very easily so if that bothers you, this may not be the best bait for you. Otherwise, check your hooks and split rings and you should be good to go, I know I'll be adding a couple more to my arsenal

Meh, not that I don't enjoy it, I just prefer methods that catch better quality than I seem to catch on topwaters. If I'm on a lake with smallmouth and they're eating topwater I may not throw anything else though. Big smallies seem to be much more willing than big largemouths to eat topwaters and their acrobatics makes it that much more exciting.

Red Label and Sunline Super are the only 2 fluoros I use. I think the Sunline handles a little nicer and seems to have a little better abrasion resistance but that may just all be in my head.

If you want to fish a soft swimbait in waters with toothy critters then check out the Real Prey swimbaits. They move like a regular softbait but are much more durable. Personally, if I was going to buy another BBZ it would be a floater. I had a slow sink and was not impressed with the bait. The MS Slammer is well worth the investment and will catch all sizes of fish.

Rage Andaconda, Zoom Ol' Monster, Big Bite Kreit Tail, Netbait C Mac

Same here, I've just opted to catch them fish other ways because that's how I'd rather catch them. The buzzbait bite has begun to pick up noticeably lately though. It's been a good summer for a frog oddly enough considering I can normally count the number of fish I catch on a frog each year on one hand.

Topwaters aren't my favorite thing to fish so if I'm fishing one it's because I think it's my best option to catch a fish. We have big bug hatches almost all summer long in our lakes so the bass are either on the surface eating bugs or eating the smaller fish eating bugs in the mornings and evenings so topwaters are often the best choice.

I don't know if they help any but I can't imagine they hurt anything. I have confidence in them and that certainly makes you fish better.

You accomplished something that some try for a long time and never accomplish, caught a quality fish on a jig. I promise there's guys on this forum that have been trying for a long time to catch a fish like that on a jig that never have.

With water that stained you should be able to catch fish up shallow all day long. I'd start the morning with a black buzzbait or black and blue bladed jig and switch to a black and blue jig or tube as the sun got up higher. A chartreuse black back squarebill would also be in my arsenal.

Craws are my favorite livebait to use for bass. A whole crawler can be a killer if you can get it past the bluegills. Fathead minnows or shiners are great when the water is really cold and soaking a minnow is about the only way to get a bite. Bluegills are a good option for big bass. Leeches are like candy for smallmouths whenever they can be found. I fish artificial a vast majority of the time, but I'm not at all above fishing livebait. It has it's advantages, but it also has some big disadvantages, Raul mentioned one being keeping it alive. You still have to find the fish and have a basic understanding of the fish. If all you had to do was cast it out there and wait then bucket fishermen should be yanking fish out left and right, but when you set a minnow 2' down under a bobber the size of a baseball and float it around over 20' of water, you're going to be there awhile waiting for a bite.

I let the fish and conditions dictate what I start with and it changes almost every trip. Lately it's been a jig a lot it seems like.

I lost one in Missouri several years ago that would have been close to a state record I believe. My PB is just over 10 and it was noticeably larger than that fish. She was big enough she towed a 16' johnboat for a considerable distance and ended up straightening a 5/0 Mustad Ultra Point hook almost straight out. The sting of losing one like that doesn't go away, you just have to try to shake it off and move on.

Well we have at least as many as last week then so I guess we'll just shoot for Olathe at 6PM this Thursday then?

I did and it didn't work

Guys I had to reset my phone this morning and lost all my contacts so if you have my number and want me to have yours send me a text and let me know who it is so I can save them again.

With this weekend being Labor Day I'm guessing most guys are probably out for Saturday morning? If that's the case we could either do Thursday again or just skip this week?

Lone Star went really well last night. Only 4 boats showed up. Cody and I caught fish from the time we started to the time we got off the water. Jigs, baby brush hogs, buzzbaits, horny toads, squarebills, spinnerbait, and a bladed jig all caught fish. We had a couple highlights of the night. Best one was Cody's horny toad getting destroyed after it hit the open water past a big weed patch. It was obvious it was a good fish and it turned out to be the big fish of the night at 4.89 pounds. For awhile we were catching fish about every cast with a baby brush hog. After it got dark I started fishing a black and blue bladed jig. Got disappointed by a channel cat before I got shocked by another fish, the first Lone Star smallmouth I've ever seen. Conner and Brian took the honors tonight with 5 fish that weighed 9.29 and almost big bass with a 4.29 pound fish. Chris and Ryan had 7.80 and a 3.5 pound over. Cody and I had 7.77 and Sean, who was very limited where he could fish due to a weak battery had 2 pounds.

I buy my supplies in bulk, which makes it much cheaper per bait. I can't remember the exact number but it's something like $1.20 per bait. A lot of work goes into each bait produced along with a lot of time by the time it's poured, sanded, painted, eye cleaned, baked, eyes added, skirt tied and cut, split ring/blade/snap added, and the blade is bent.

Congrats man! My little guy just turned 8 months last Saturday. Can't believe how big he's getting already.