Bluebasser86

One of the theories that I have has to do with the fact that fish often "choke" a bladed jig. The tissue back in the roof of the bass' mouth is soft and not very tough and also kind of a funny angle since the bait wants to follow the line back down at a slight angle to get out of the fishes mouth and kind of pulls the hook point down away from where it needs to go to dig in. So even at best case scenario, the hook ends up dug into one of the softer portions of the mouth. Then a fish pulls hard during the fight, tissue tears, hook pulls out. I've caught lots of fish hooked back in the roof of the mouth where it was starting to tear that made me think it could be why I've lost big fish that I thought were hooked good because I couldn't even see the bait during the fight, but then lost them, usually as the dove and pulled hard near the boat. This is all speculation on my part, and there's no solution that I can think of, but it's the best reason I can come up with. This is the best picture I have to illustrate what I'm talking about when a fish inhales the bait, but the angle of the hook and direct the bait is trying to travel back out of the fishes mouth. Bait is choked, but fish is barely hooked in a very soft part of the mouth.

Absolutely. It was on last week and my wife and I watched it beginning to end and laughed just like always.

I decided to enter an spring/summer long multispecies kayak fishing challenge put on by a local kayak tournament club. It's a 50/50 payout for the angler with the most species, and the angler with the longest overall stringer and we must stay within a 300 mile radius of KC. I wanted to get a head start on it this week to try to catch a trout because they'll all be dying as soon as the water starts warming up. I'll try to keep my totals updated on here and post pictures each time I catch an upgrade or new species. Only got 3 different species on the board Monday in the miserable cold, wind, and drizzle, but at least I did get my trout. Largemouth bass-19" Freshwater drum-23 Rainbow trout-13.25 White Bass-15" Spotted Bass-13.5" Black Crappie-11.75" Smallmouth Bass-16.25" Saugeye-21.75" Walleye-14.5" Flathead Catfish-28" White Crappie-9.5" Bluegill-7.75" Redear Sunfish-8.5" Common Carp-23.25" Green Sunfish-7" Blue Catfish-39" Channel Catfish-21" Wiper-10.75" Total-303.75"

Stop looking at me swan!

If you want to dip your toes into the big bait world without breaking the bank, look no further. Get the big one though, the size is where the drawing power of the bait comes from. http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Savage_Gear_3D_Shine_Glide_Bait/descpage-SG3DG.html

I use a 6' 10" MH/F with a 200B Curado and 17lb Pline CXX. It doesn't feel that heavy once it's tied one, but it's a very compact bait with a minimal skirt so it cast very well.

I like the action better. It makes a difference if you adjust the tail, but I like the action right out of the box best. It starts up and stays working better than the Teckel. Water is still too cold to catch anything with it, so haven't tested how the hooks work on a fish, but not a big fan of the Trokar style cutting points. Hopefully they work better for me than the other Trokar hooks I've tried.

I haven't had much luck with the bug, but I love the craw.

I like the Cavitron and Crock O Gator. A 3/4oz Crock O Gator is the best casting buzzbait I've ever fished but it has a huge blade so it pops up to the surface and stays there very easily.

I don't use a leader at all unless it's on spinning tackle and even then, it's only under certain situations and maybe 5' at the most, but it's more for sink rate and abrasion resistance than visibility.

Jig Ned rig bladed jig But I'd probably quit fishing if I could only use 3 kinds of baits.

Welcome!

Not a chance, I'd rather move further north than to California.

The Booyah is my favorite popping frog too.

Imo, they're easier to walk than a regular frog.

While not one of the expensive baits, this was still a pretty good sized bait, and the reason why I fish them. This one was on a Deps 175, which you could spend $100 on if you want to pay retail. I was catching fish at one of the hardest fished lakes around in sizes that even a really skilled fisherman might only see a handful of times a year, and I was catching multiple a day. That's one of the moments it really clicked for me.

If I had the money and a job. My wife and I have already decided we'll be going somewhere warmer once our boys are out of the house.

Was it grey? Sounds like a buffalo or drum, the latter being the only one that would be very likely to actually eat a bait. I've caught buffalo on jigging spoons with the bait well inside their mouths though.

Don't need anything fancy for gills. I use some bargain bin flies that kind of look like a black house fly without the wings. Bluegills, sunfish, and the occasionally bass or catfish love them.

Once they bite there is no way for them to release it as the rope gets wrapped in their teeth. Sometimes you have to cut it out it gets so wrapped up but it's easy to make several of them before a trip or take extra rope to make them on the water.

Don't add a stinger hook, you won't need it and it will just snag easier. Cast it out, let it sink to the desired depth, reel it slowly, then reel slower. It's boring to fish, but it gets big bites.

Never heard of them, but takes me back to days working on my grandparents farm with the cattle (you'll either get that or you won't). I like the concept better than the stupid wacky tools that the worm has to be a certain size for it to work correctly.

A wacky rigged senko is about the only thing I have confidence in on a dropshot. The thin senkos work great on a dropshot wacky rigged too.

I've killed far more fish with plastics than I have with hard baits. Pinch the barbs down on the hooks and they'll come out easier next time and increase the chance of fish survival. Removing some fish is generally good for a pond anyways, so you probably did the pond a favor by taking one out.