Bluebasser86

I use a very small hook, #8 Gamakatsu Octopus hook, on 6 or 8lb fluorocarbon leader, to a slip sinker rig like you're catfishing, with a 10-20 pound braid main line. Thread about 3 pieces of corn on the hook, toss out a few handfuls of corn (if legal), around where your bait is. Nightcrawlers are good bait too, so are doughballs but if you don't have time to make a hair rig you don't have time to make any doughballs either. Bread can be good but there's nothing you can use for carp that a bullhead isn't going to try to eat.

Matches my boat ? New Speed Demon Pro is quite a bit smaller and WAY lighter than the older version. Cast really nice, spooled with 15lb Tatsu. Caught several on it with a T-rig. It'll fire it out there and bring it back almost as fast. Wasn't sure I was going to like the knobs on the reel handle but they're not way oversized like some I've felt so they were actually pretty nice feeling. Already has me thinking about my next one.

I have 2 7' 3" H/F Ethos Micros, best frog rods I've ever owned. Tip loads just enough to really fling a frog, but tons of backbone to haul the fish out too.

I've had a chance to fish the Smashtail a bit now and can say it's a solid bait. I think the fins act as a keel/rudder that keeps it from wanting to roll like the ploppers do at times. I've added a couple more in the US colors. Shown for comparison, a 135 Smashtail, 130 Plopper, 100 Smashtail, and 90 Plopper. The Smashtail is a taller bait, but thinner side to side. More noticeable in the larger size than the smaller one. The black near the hook I believe is shrink tube that keeps the hook from fouling on the blade. My EU color is pretty sweet too.

YUM has several good ones. The Craw Papi and Christie Craw are two of my favorite jig trailers. Check out the Pulse swimbait, swimming Dinger, or Boogee tail for your chatterbait.

YUM's new smaller size of Pulse swimbait and their Tip Toad are both winners. The Toad caught fish for me during our Thursday night tournament and had very nice action and didn't roll like some toads want to do. The Pulse was my most productive bait Friday and not only has a nice swim on the retrieve, but wobbles so hard on the fall that my line actually looked like was pulsing, caught several on the drop because of it. Someone looking for a cheap Keitech alternative might want to take a look at them. Tons of great color options too.

Agree, drives me crazy to hear the suggestion to wait 3 seconds or whatever arbitrary number people come up with. Watch the pros that are good froggers, none of them are waiting to feel the fish. At most you'll see them wait to see if their frog is still there or not, which is all I do. If my frog is gone, I'm swinging. There's only 1 reason it could be gone, and that's because the fish has pulled it under. Waiting just gives them time to spit the bait out and/or bury up in the slop real bad and make setting the hook and getting the fish out even harder.

If you need to go heavier than 1/16oz, just fish a shakyhead because that's all you're doing at that point anyways. There's different sized hooks. A lot of newer ones come with "New and improved larger and stronger hooks to handle big fish", because bass are such hard fighters. I pour my own, I use 1/16oz exclusively and pour them on a #2 hook which is "way too small" for bass. I've landed flathead catfish over 20 pounds on them in under 5 minutes, and they're just a regular gauge wire hook, nothing extra heavy or anything. The smaller hooks allow for the subtle action of the tiny baits and easy penetration of the hook with minimal hookset. My most successful and favorite baits are a homemade jig and homemade bladed jig.

This is what I do. I replace the bags each winter and pare down whatever I didn't use or don't feel I need any longer this way and restock baits if needed.

I use 10lb braid on spinning reel, 20lb braid on baitcaster for the 90 size.

Welcome!

Welcome!

Welcome!

Welcome!

Welcome!

I wish more lakes around here had slot limits like that. Most allow anglers to keep 5 fish in any combination under 13" or over 18", so if a lucky angler goes to a lake that really needs small fish removed, but they catch 5 fish over 18", they can keep all those big ones that the lake really needs to keep in it. It really needs to be adjusted to only allow anglers to keep 1 or 2 "overs" depending on the lake.

I fish a 90 size plopper on a 7' M/F with 20lb braid and 7.3:1 reel and don't lose many of them. A lot of my bites are at long distance, but with the braid I don't even have to set the hook, I just reel faster until the load the rod and sweep into them, also prevents me from pulling the bait away the fish. I also switch to a short shank EWG hook that helps to keep them pinned. To me, that rod you're using do not look nearly as stout as what I'm used to seeing in a MH rod, especially if that was a small fish, but the way the rod flopped around after the fish was gone wasn't like a MH rod I'm use to unless it's a composite cranking rod or something. Some fish are just going to get off, but it looked to me like the flex in that rod, probable stretch in your line, and the soft hook set combined to help that fish get loose.

I use to fish a private lake that got very little pressure, tons of fish that ate everything, except topwater. No idea why, never did figure it out, but I fished every kind of topwater I could think of, only kind that occasionally got bit was a toad or buzzbait if I ran it right along the edges of the docks.

When we have big hatches during the summer it will pull fish up super shallow to gorge on the bugs, even during extremely hot weather.

Positive they're bass? Bass don't often just jump without reason to do so. More often than not around here, jumping fish means carp, which can be hard to tell the difference in low light conditions.

Weird, I've caught a couple dozen fish on mine and it is still working fine? Hate the Trokar hooks though, no idea why they thought they needed to change from their standard hooks.

Should be able to eyeball them pretty close. Take them to the counter and ask if you can open the packages if you really want to make sure they'll fit, just lay the hook next to them.

Yep, he's very down to earth. Since I fish during the week and on the same lakes, we cross paths frequently. I've managed to make his Midwest Finesee report a time or two even. He's always willing to volunteer information and has lots of it to give. You're right that the pursuit of money has completely clouded what MWF fishing is all about.

I fish them all day long, rain or shine. Mid day bites on a frog when it's hot and sunny are usually solid fish.

I replace them but you dont have to.