Bluebasser86

This, and welcome!

Welcome!

That's pretty much the case for the most part. 10' is pretty deep in a lot of the lake I fish, many don't hit 30' at their deepest points and not much there other than just mud bottoms. I was actually fishing deep Sunday, Ned rigging fish in 30+ feet of water until I got them fired up and started jacking them on a spoon. When they're really grouped up and fighting over a spoon, it's a lot of fun. That was at a reservoir that has a lot of deeper water though.

I hear you. I've got the Frabill Trophy Haul Predator with a 27x30 inch hoop and the lift assist handle on the yoke. Haven't had any big test for it but I know a 15lb flathead fit in it with plenty of room to spare.

Must have been one that was overlooked. The filters on the number companies was removed awhile back but every once in a while we run into one of the names that didn't get changed back.

Yes I use them for dragging. Basically my replacement for a C-rig or standard football jig.

Lots of toothy fish the last few trips. The smallest was the biggest deal in this case because I caught it out of a tributary to the Kansas River, making it a naturally produced sauger from the Kansas River, an extremely rare fish.

Don't believe a net would have done you much good with that one, a cradle maybe.

I've caught them on squarebills, buzzbaits, and spinnerbaits. Regular spinnerbaits seem to be really attractive to them.

2 tired boys after a full day of fishing and swimming getting ready for one last boat ride in to the ramp.

Smithville use to have the Burton's tournaments but now that I don't think Burton's is anymore, I don't know if the tournaments went the way of the store. Jacomo, Blue Springs, and Longview all have or use to have them also. I know Jacomo still does, but the HP restrictions makes it tough for most guys.

Been off work for a few days, so as expected, lots of fishing was done. Thursday I did a double trip. Started in the morning by myself on a small lake, crushing them on a balsa squarebill and a Big Bite Baits crawtube, over 30 in 4 hours. Didn't get a picture of the biggest, she shook out of my hand and flopped back in the water before I got a chance. Then I hurried home and swapped out boats, grabbed my boys and made a run to my mother in laws house to pick up my niece that had been begging me to take her fishing. Took all 3 kids to the same creek I've been taking the boys to and they had fun catching catfish, a gar, and watching me shoot a couple silver carp with a bow. Friday I was by myself again. It was a weird day with great numbers but mostly small fish, but they were mostly on topwater despite bright sun and hot temps. Over 40 largemouth and smallmouth made brief visits to the boat, plus a few drum and 2 sauger that I caught flipping marina docks. Sunday we loaded up the whole family and headed out for some fishing and swimming on what is supposed to be the last tolerable day to be outside for a while. There was a ton of pleasure boaters, most that shouldn't have been allowed to drive a boat, as well as a tournament on the water. Despite that, Lake caught a smallmouth on his very first cast, It took me close to a hour to finally catch a smallmouth, then I caught 2 nice ones in a row with the biggest one destroying my 6th Sense Catwalk in 3' of water at 12:40PM. Caught a few more smaller smallmouth before I found a massive school of big white bass that was feeding on shad. Several other species of fish were in the mix as well. We hammered on them for a while before we left to go swimming. Some guy in a wake boat with his head way up his backside came by pushing the biggest wake he possibly could maybe 20' from my anchored boat and rolled 2 wakes over the back of my boat all the way up to my seats. Thankfully, we'd just gotten out of the water, not sure what would have happened if my 6 year old and 3 year old would have been in the water for that. My wife was hot and wanted to go say something, having our boys in the boat was reason enough for me to just motor out of there and get away from area before she started yelling across the cove at them. Tried another point but after getting buzzed by 3 boats in short order, reminding me why I hate fishing weekends, we went back to the white bass. I was popping a jigging spoon and after working them over for a couple hours, figured out how to catch not just white bass, but also crappie and walleye. Popped 6 walleye, including 2 keepers in the 21" range (which were released after pictures), as well as a couple channel cat and one big gar. It was a lot of fun and Lake was having a heck of a time trying to crank to hard pulling whites out of 30+ feet of water. He also pulled a professional back seater move and poached a fish I'd just missed from me. It was a proud dad moment for sure ? Might have been the biggest smallmouth he's ever caught but didn't weigh it. Momma was the gar slayer, managed to bring 3 to the boat along with hooking several others, I unfortunately had to actually handle one because it got it's teeth tangled in the line, it wasn't even hooked. I let Lake crank the last walleye in. Didn't know it was a nice walleye when I hooked it, but he was excited that's what it was when he saw it.

I have a couple lakes like that. When they're good, it's great. When they're bad, I contemplate why I got out of bed that morning.

If mine does, I haven't noticed it but I'm not always the most observant with that sort of thing. The spool tension does have to be set pretty tight but it still cast plenty far even with it being dialed up.

You mean 13 fishing?

If it would hold up better without the "poofing", casting distance is terrific and I didn't have the durability issues others had. Problem is, it seems once the line starts to "poof", you lose that casting distance and there really isn't anything else about it to make it worth fishing.

If it's not broke...

I make the ball head style finesse jigs and prefer to use them around docks and sparse cover/rocks. They skip well and parachute down on the fall so fish catch them that are suspending under the docks as well as on the bottom. They flared skirt seems to do pretty well in rocks too at preventing itself from getting wedged.

It's a great bait that seems to have that "It" factor. I have one, I should sell it but I'd miss it if I did. I've found the new 6th Sense Catwalk to be a pretty good imitation.

Plum Apple, Blackberry, and watermelon red magic.

I use 1/4oz 90% of the time, 1/8oz 5% of the time, and something heavier then 1/4 5% of the time, but I never use them with the constant cranking retrieve, it's never worked for me like that.

That's a lie, you'll need more of those Rozantes after you fish that one.

Really more of a surprise it's taken this long. The Menace has been wildly popular, so much so that SK has introduced the baby and magnum to capitalize on it's popularity.

Ned talks a lot about how they've been doing this stuff since the 1960's and he got the idea from Chuck Wood's beetle. The 3X and then ElazTech plastics are really the only innovative thing in the whole Ned craze. I was shaking my head all through their video on the Ned rig stuff. Talking about a bigger hook, a stronger hook to handing big fish, and the most laughable for me, their Ned baits have the action that other Ned baits are lacking. If people are bending Ned hooks, either their hooks suck or their gear is too heavy. I pour mine on Eagle Claw BP500 #2 hooks and have landed flathead catfish over 20lbs with them with no problems. Their baits probably do have more action, but a Ned rig isn't supposed to be a high action bait. Kind of like using fluorocarbon line to fish an A-rig if you ask me.