Bluebasser86

I've done this and it does work, I've caught bass on them but never fished for pike with one.

I think I'd be really tempted to try a blank with no paint, just clear. Maybe put some eyes on it and one stripe of black on the back. I bet the smallies at Melvern would kill it like that.

Pork trailers have a bad habit of covering your hook point and keeping you from getting a good hookset. What rod/line are you using with your jig? Some of the SK jigs also have a reputation for having a very stiff weedguard so that's another potential.

I like the VMC Ike approved weedless wacky hooks in a 1/0. Only weedless wacky hook I've ever had much success hooking up with.

Some days it's nice to just catch fish regardless of size. Hopefully they keep cooperating for you and your fiance!

Some units will put a number by the fish that indicates the depth of the mark along with the depth of the bottom. I've never heard of one that guessed the size of the fish (although you can sometimes get an idea from the size of the mark). You could probably contact Lowrance and get an explanation from them though.

Sounds a little like my day fishing the river last week. I was after blues and flatheads and I like to search for active fish by setting my lines up and waiting 30 minutes before moving to another spot. First spot, no bites, so I went to reel in, all 3 lines snagged and broke off while I was reeling in. Next spot, same thing, no bites and all 3 lines broke off. Never had a problem with snags in that area before so must be a bunch of stuff that washed in earlier this year during a high water event. Some days you catch them, some days you don't.

Those are some beautiful blues! Good to see someone handle them properly and actually turn a big fish loose to get even bigger!

I've broke fish off and caught them with my bait still in their mouth a couple minutes later. I've also caught distinctly marked fish twice the same day on the same bait, off the same spot. Bass have to eat to live so if another chance to eat presents itself there's always a chance they'll take it again.

Most likely the number is the depth the fish/signal is at.

3/8oz black on black Cavitron.

Pit Boss, Netbait B Bug, BPS stick O, Zoom baby brush hog, Rage Craw.

I thought the "cocktail blues" was something you got when there was no liquor in the cabinet??

100% the truth, you can't fine someone who doesn't exist.

I'd suggest posting a thread with a title to get the point across better. Something like "St. Louis area get together". We discussed one for quite awhile on the KC area thread but nobody ever stepped up and got the ball rolling, so I just did it one day to see if the interest was there. I'd suggest doing like I did and just picking a lake and setting a date, make sure it's plenty in advance so people wanting to attend can make plans. Try to pick a body of water that everyone will have a good chance to catch fish so everyone is having fun, we always do a cook out afterwards and there's some good BSing and ribbing going on, it's really a good time. We've been doing 2 a year for 3 years now I think? I can give you any suggestions from having put several of them together now if you have any questions. If you do that and nobody shows any interest then you can always scrap the idea but even if you get 4 or 5 guys you can still do it, I think we had 6 or 8 guys at our first one and it was still a lot of fun.

The problem with lighter braid is the thin diameter and it's tendency to dig into itself when pressure is applied. I prefer 50lb for bass fishing if I'm using a baitcaster, 20lb if I'm using a spinning reel. Not saying it won't work, just be prepared to deal with it digging in on the hooksets, which you may have to clear before you can make another cast or you might cast your bait off if it's dug in bad enough.

My Lew's Speed Spool did the same thing at first. I really had to get it dialed in on the magnetic brakes before it finally stopped doing it but now it's trouble free to fish with.

Jika rig, produced fairly well but I haven't found a situation I felt it was better than a shakyhead or T rig. I could really see it being good around lots of cedar trees but not places with lots of cedars around here.

I have one similar to the YUM Flash mob but it's a home brew from a guy in Rogers, AR that I bought on my trip to Beaver Lake this spring. It's been the most productive one I've fished so far. It has 5 arms and 4 small willow leaf blades.

Chrome/blue, gold/black, red craw, ghost. Not in that order but those are my go to colors.

A beaver bait in a craw color cast around rocks is a killer. They're great cast around the edges of weedlines too.

A good jig bite and a good swimbait bite? What more could you ask for? Great video and great fishing!

During tournaments it sucks. We've been disappointed by drum several times this year, white bass a couple times, flatheads, channel cats, walleye, and even a trout. If I'm not in a tournament I'm usually not too disappointed, especially if it's a big fish. I get a kick out of trying to sight fish feeding drum when the bass aren't biting. Like others have said, I've caught some of my biggest "other" fish while I was bass fishing. 14lb channel cat on a baby brush hog under a dock, thought I had a monster bass the way it bulldogged under the boat. Jerkbait eating crappies Trout on a wiggle wart Flathead on a 1/2oz jig Kanasbassfisher08 (Chris) with a buzzbait muskie. A rig striper And the most recent "disappointment" a swimbait grass carp!

Yep, only way to fish in some spots with lots of over hanging trees. If there's lots of vegetation on the surface you can flip holes in the weeds just like you're in a boat.

Up the size of your T rig weight or jig and it becomes a very effective search bait. The fast fall allows you to cover water quickly, it keeps contact with the bottom better so you can really feel what's down there (a big plus when you don't have a sonar unit), and you can still fish it slowly when you get into a likely area.