Bluebasser86

I've got a little Bear Buckmaster Spirit compound with a PSE bottle on it. I've been out of the game quite a bit the last couple years with not having a boat other than my Stratos, but now that I've got my johnboat I'm going to get back after them again. Shooting those silvers out of the air is a blast and I'd like to get a really big, bighead.

The #5. I bought 2 more yesterday ao hopefully that one breaking was a fluke.

It doesn't matter because the wind grabs the line and they're skipping across the surface like a flat rock. They never get a chance to do anything like they're supposed to do. Only the second one I've ever bought. Decided to get a +1 for my trips to the deeper Ozark lakes.

That's the rumor the guys that use them want to keep alive. I caught so many white bass on them last year dropping on schools offshore in the summer. My buddy that owns the guide service I work for pretty much only fishes jigging raps all summer for wipers, whites, and walleyes.

I actually figured out how to do that pretty good last year. Drag a Carolina rig offshore. I can, but I'd rather just go home if that's what it comes down to.

They started to poison a couple of the lakes I fished regularly, and the fishing has been horrid at both the last couple years since they started doing it. One the did it because the people living on the lake complained about all the weeds (which are curly leaf pondweed that would die off naturally with the heat of the summer if they'd just leave it alone). The other is a lake that is solely for fishing and they just decided to kill the weeds because? A friend of mine lives on a private lake that use to be an amazing fishery, and then they started dumping copper sulfate in the lake to kill off the milfoil. A lake that use to take 20lbs to get in the money for their little club tournaments, now rarely produces fish over 2.5 pounds and nowhere near the numbers.

I shoot quite a few of the silver and bighead Asian carp out of the river here. Lots of common and grass carp from the lakes as well as gar, buffalo, and drum. I've got an johnboat I usually do it out of though.

Ever tried a jigging rap instead of the ripping rap? I like to keep a #7 jigging rap tied on to drop on schools of fish I mark. Everything eats them, and they drop like a rock so you're not waiting for them to get to the bottom. The gliding action really seems to drive them nuts some days though.

I'll trade milfoil for curly leaf pond weed anytime. One of the lakes I fish gets choked with it (literally), from late April through about late June when the heat kills a lot of it off and the lake is fishable again. It's so dense a boat can't even launch and trolling motors can't cut through it. The lake is so shallow that it grows from shoreline to shoreline. Literally shuts the place down for a couple months, it's nuts.

Assuming you're dealing with some panfish here? They tend to strike short at baits pretty often if that's the case and have a difficult time getting the bait in their mouth if they're not larger individuals.

I have some old suspending Rattle Traps, that cast like potato chips and don't want to get down in the water, especially if it was windy it would just drag and skip across the surface on it's side. Those baits were supposedly 1/2oz, but I'd be surprised if they were anywhere near that. The times I could get them to hit nose down so they'd head down in the water and suspend, fish would knock the fire out of them just pulling them and stopping over submerged grass and rocky banks. This one feels light for a 7/8oz bait, but much heavier than the old baits I have. I have high hopes that I'll be able to do the same slow, stop and go, or pull and stop retrieves I did with the other baits. Just a completely different sound and profile than what they're use to seeing moving along slowly and hanging in their face. They've been completely ignoring my other lipless baits the last couple months during what is normally prime trapping season, so it's time to mix it up!

Had a gift card and some time to kill at BPS. The 6th Sense baits came in the mail today. Really excited about the suspending lipless. Got big plans for that one that I hope work out.

I mainly use a 3/8oz, although I fish a bulky trailer that adds a lot of weight, with a 150 Tatula and 15lb test. I can cast it further than I really have any practical use for. I've fished some 1oz spinnerbaits with it also, it'll do that and they have way more resistance than a bladed jig, but I typically use a different rod with something that heavy.

Never tried it, but it would be a good way to sneak up on them. Dealing with a fish could be difficult once they're boatside though.

IMO, you don't have to go to 50lb to frog with, it's just what is best suited for casting reels. I have 20 and 30 pound braid on a couple different casting reels, and have used both for frogging and it works fine, sometimes better because it cuts through certain kinds of weeds easier. Obviously in really heavy stuff, you might have to go to heavier line, but I don't think you're going to lose many fish on 30lb that you'd land on 50lb. For something like frogging, I'd go with a 4000 size reel. A 7.4oz reel isn't heavy at all, and a good amount more drag, probably balance the rod a bit better as well.

I use a Hammer rod micro 6' 9" H/F for my bladed jigs. I've tried a bunch of different ones, and this rod is hands down the best one I've used for them. The heavy rating made me nervous at first, but by the recommendations of @smalljaw67 I gave it a shot and really glad I did. It's not a pool cue like I was afraid it would be. It has a nice tip, good backbone to drive the heavy hook into thick jaws, but soft enough to not rip hooks out. You can really see in this video how the tip loads just enough and really telegraphs the vibration, hammers the hook home, but has a nice even bend that keeps them stuck.

I've done that with 2 man boats and johnboats up to 14', but it gets to be difficult when they're that size if you're by yourself. Some of the lakes here we're also not allowed to launch from anywhere other than designated boat launches or risk a ticket, so it kind of defeats the purpose. Trailers can be a headache, but being able to hookup to it, and then just dump it when you get to the lake is sure nice.

I'll try to go through and pull out baits I don't need and consolidate as much as I can. I've found that the more simplified I can keep my bait selection, the more productive my time of the water tends to be.

Of those two, a spinnerbait. Suspending jerkbaits are king during the prespawn though.

I bought some that look really similar from seller hprbearings for a 100B Chronarch.

First thing I do after I unhook the boat in the garage is plug it in, every time. If I stray from that, that's the only way the boat doesn't get plugged in. So another vote for following a routine.

You see the water it came out of? ? She wasn't see much of anything I doubt, maybe just a dark shape.

It was great for Ned rigs, for a couple months, then it starts to "poof" and any little breeze catches it, tying knots is more difficult, and strength goes way down. It's too pricey for me to do it over again. Smackdown is so nice, and cast so far without the "poof" issues, and durability is way better. Once winter is over I'll be putting some of the Flash Green on my Ned rig rod I believe.

I've got a Crush 50X in Black Magic with a lot of teeth marks on it.

Zoom Shakyhead worm, green pumpkin.