Bluebasser86

Sorry A-jay, the hardest part of being a dog owner.

Are we talking true flipping? Or pitching which most anglers actually call flipping? I use a 7' 11" Okuma Mat Daddy for actual flipping. I have several rods I use for pitching.

You don't need an EWG for this type of fishing. You're not trying to get it to stand up because it shouldn't be settling to the bottom (ever really), but especially in weeds. The #2 hook I pour mine on coupled with it only being a 1/16oz head gives the slow fall that doesn't crash down into the weeds. You're going to catch some weeds, but so will 100% of the lures you fish in weeds. You're going to have to either accept that, or not fish weeds. That tiny hook can only catch such a small amount of vegetation though, it's typically easily cleaned with a little snap of the rod, which also triggers strikes.

I've had some great evening bites for smallies. I've even had a few good night bites but they seem to be much fewer, and further between than largemouth once it gets dark out.

Doesn't sound like there's anything wrong with your gear to me. I use EWG worm hooks for most of my T-rigs and I do okay. Never, under any circumstances, double hookset. Even if you think you got a bad hookset, just keep the line tight and keep reeling. If you have sharp hooks, they'll keep digging without any extra hooksets. I think a lot of big fish are lost due to fighting technique and the angler panicking during the fight. Guys like @A-Jay and @WRB that have caught countless big fish, I promise you remain calm throughout the fight, even with very large fish. Unfortunately, this is a learned skill that only comes with catching big fish. I use to panic when a 5lb fish hit the surface. Now, a big fish shows itself and I go through my process and land the fish like any other fish. Guys who land those big ones also have a plan BEFORE they hook them. Once a big fish is on is not the time to realize your net is in the rod locker, there's rods all over the deck in your way, or you haven't retied all day and have no idea what condition your line is in. In thick cover, you have to have a game plan on where you're going to try to work a fish to in an attempt to keep it from getting back to the nasty stuff. Do all that, and you're still going to lose big fish, it's just part of it.

You don't need it unless pursuing them which would be a complete waste of time by this time of year.

They're a solid bait that I did really well with when they first came out but I kind of got away from them and went back to the RES. I still have some in my box. They bang through rocks really well.

Welcome!

The lake is up to my understanding. I've heard tell of a spinnerbait bite around bushes. If there's bushes in the water, I'd be fishing a topwater around them, flipping a plastic in them, and when the sun gets got, fishing a jig/tube/ned,shakyhead out in front of them.

Most "weedless" wacky hooks I've tried are actually much better at preventing solid hookups than they are at preventing snags. The only hook that I've found with a weedguard that I like for wacky rigs is the one I'm currently using now from Eagle Claw that I believe is actually a weedless Neko hook. I also use a braid to fluoro leader with a medium spinning rod. I don't miss many and once they're stuck, they don't come off. I like circle hooks for other fish, so it isn't just a bias or lack of knowledge on how to use them.

Some baits just have "it". Old wiggle warts were another one for me that, if it was a good one, just flat out caught fish. I had one of the old 70's when I first started bass fishing and it was a great bait before a dock killed it, the newer ones just didn't work the same.

Are you making long cast? I have very limited striper fishing experience, a couple trips to Beaver Lake in Arkansas is all. I used a 300E Curado for the most part for fish up to 20lbs and it did very well. I don't think I would have wanted to use a smaller reel for them, mainly because the extra line capacity allowed me to cast the needed extra distance and still have enough line on the spool to be able to give some line if a big fish was hooked on a long cast.

Nope, don't do it, it'll never work.

I use a 6' 8" m/f with a 2500 Revros/15lb braid/8lb tatsu leader. Something about a t-rigged beaver with a 1/16oz weight in front of it just gliding down is too much for the fish to stand sometimes.

I've watched so many fish be missed on circle hooks with wacky rigs despite everything being done right. Wacky rigs with a good hook and the right rod/line combo have such a high hookup ratio, I couldn't see wanting to go away from that.

I haven't but the nostalgia will probably draw me to buy one.

The ones they stock in the lakes here eat trout like that. I use to target them, but the big ones seem to eat bass baits better, so they just became a bycatch instead. They're almost a nuisance at times. Usually get them on 110 sized jerkbaits, this one on a 3/8oz bladed jig this spring was a first. My buddy went back to back cast on these 2 with a Duo 110. He's a big boy that normally makes fish look small.

Welcome!

Open hook, 1/16oz head, fish it around the edges or swim it over the top if the grass is deeper.

I have a large retriever magnet but it's not near the power of the ones they use for magnet fishing. I use to toss it around docks when I was a kid. Got some pliers, pocket knives, lots of rusty nails, screws, and hooks, never anything good.

I understand. I usually try to go one of two ways. Either you can cover water with a fast moving bait and try to put it in front of as many fish as possible and hope to fool a few dumb ones, or slow down with small and natural stuff and hope to hit a few on the nose.

A whopper plopper 90 or small walking bait is a killer around smallmouth here when the mayflies are thick.

I've been flipping a Billy Goat with a 5/0 straight shank into water willows on 50lb braid. I've got several fish (including a spotted gar of all things), on the same bait and after last trip I took it off and put it back in the pack to use again.

The War Eagle black and blue with a black nickel blade but I have a black/red with a red blade Booyah Covert that I hope I'll get to try one day.