Bluebasser86

What rod/reel/line/frog are you using? The wrong gear can play a huge factor in why you're missing/losing frog fish also. I don't agree with the "wait to feel the fish", or "count to 3" trains of thought with a frog at all. I watch my bait and when it's gone, I swing on them. Fish don't have hands. If the frog disappears, the most likely scenario is it's in the fish's mouth. Now maybe you're good enough to tell how deep a fish has the frog in it's mouth by feeling with the rod, but all I could tell is if it has it or not, which I'm pretty well convinced at this point it does by the frog being gone. Waiting to set just allows them to bury as far as possible into the grass, making getting a hookset, as well as getting them back out of the grass, even more difficult. Don't have to believe me, but watch some tour pros and see how many are feeling for the fish or waiting for a 3 count VS swinging as soon as they verify their frog is gone. I'll bet it's a landslide towards the latter.

Welcome!

I doubt bass have the cognitive reasoning to decide what many prey items are, even when they can clearly see them. Most likely it's more of a "can I catch that and will it fit in my mouth", type process. Maybe, through past experiences, they can decide to attack or pass on a item, and maybe choose to target a certain prey item based on availability, but I think that's probably about as in depth as a bass gets with it's food selection. Kind of comes back to the "Was it the bait or the location", discussion.

An underspin with a paddle tail swimbait will occasionally pick up some suspending fish for me, but I'm with @A-Jay on this one. Unless they're following a school of bait, suspending fish are usually a waste of time in my experience.

I like the straight shank, Owner Cover Shot to be specific. They have a plastic keeper that keeps the worm from sliding down the hook shank. Some will have little metal barbs, other's have mono loops, but plastic barbs are the main bait keeper on straight shank hooks.

Assuming we're talking a mainline to leader where there is just a leader knot, nothing changes from a standard cast. Now if you're talking something like a C-rig or even long wire leader for toothy fish, that changes the ballgame a bit.

Went to Table Rock to fish our clubs year end tournament a few years ago in April. I was already a bit under the weather with a sinus infection. I was coughing my lungs out the whole time and having difficulty breathing. Went out to eat with the whole group one night and I got laughing so hard and so short of breath I really thought I was going to pass out. My buddy I was fishing with said he was really worried I was going to die in my sleep because of the way I was breathing. Weather was cold and rainy so I'm sure that didn't help. Full blown pneumonia by the time we got back. Still walked away with the win. I get bad aura migraines where I lose vision in my left eye, get really nauseas, my left hand/arm goes numb, sometimes I start vomiting uncontrollably. Had it happen a couple times on fishing trips, but usually more mild ones with just the bad headache and vision loss and mild nausea.

A bladed jig or spinnerbait.

You can get a bait with a known sink rate and count it down, or go more scientific and get a slip bobber and just tie a bell sinker on then end. Keep adjusting the bobber stop until it hits bottom and the bobber isn't laying on it's side.

You mean like the naked guy covered in his own waste last night? I'd have rather tangled with the raccoon.

I was by myself and nobody else was around. It was before my trip recording days. That sucker came flying out of a hollowed out spot in the tree like it was shot out of a cannon. I'm just glad he didn't decide to fight me for waking him up.

https://www.tackledirect.com/berkley-bhbdr20-5-dredger-crankbait-lure-chameleon-pearl.html https://www.ebay.com/itm/324603079188?var=513642591325&hash=item4b93d9ea14:g:ugcAAOSwrZ5gkEqB https://www.hammondsfishing.com/products/norman-dd22-lavender-shad?variant=31589116051537&currency=USD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&utm_campaign=gs-2019-03-24&utm_source=google&utm_medium=smart_campaign https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=norman+dd22&_blrs=spell_check Can't help with the flat worms, got lucky on those but they're supposedly starting to get caught up if people would stop panic buying them when they find them in stock.

I just got 6 packs of flat worms last week. The Dredgers just depends on the colors but there's quite a few of them out there. Same thing with the Norman's, lots out there but might have to stray from your favorite colors. Haven't bought any electronics or rods this year so I'm not really sure how difficult those might be.

I have really good luck with Strike King Ochos. I'll occasionally get double digit fish out of a single bait. Of course, I still get the 1-2 fish baits, but most are 3-6 fish each. Having the right hook, and trying to keep the fish from jumping helps a lot also.

The Spro is a solid bait. I call that color "Hippie Rat". My first experience with it was my buddy catching the biggest fish of the morning on it on one of his first cast of the morning with it.

I buy my gear online. Not many things I haven't been able to find.

4 carrier braid is very loud when it's sawing across wood because it's a much rougher surface. 8 Carrier braids are much quieter. I like fluorocarbon for pitching into wood cover.

Really shallow lake and as you can see in the picture, trolling motor was down. It hit bottom about 20' from shore, water was still pretty cold. I tied together a few ratchet straps, bungee cords, and throw net ropes, and aimed for the open back battery area. Pulled it within about 10' of shore before the motor hit bottom. Climbed out in an old willow tree, that was occupied by a sleeping raccoon as I found out when he thankfully bailed and splashed down in the lake instead of fighting for his tree. Climbed out on a branch and jumped for the boat, branch broke, because willow trees aren't durable at all. Me and the branch fell half in, half out of the boat. Nothing was broken and I was only partially wet, but about 2 hours after my boat floated away, I was finally fishing. Another boat showed up about 10 minutes later.

Add a splash of lime juice and it's a great sitting on the deck or sitting in the boat rigging rods drink. My homemade version of a local distilleries tropical Moscow Mule.

What baits are you using?

Welcome!

It's on the label inside the vest.

Haven't used them for river smallies, but the Booyah Pad Crasher JR is easy to fish on a spinning rod. I've used a 7' M/F with 20lb braid and it gets the job done. I've caught some lake smallies on frogs around grass and it's some of the most vicious strikes I've ever got on a frog.

I think they'd work well for trolling for walleye as well. I used this video to make them.

Welcome!