Bluebasser86

Gulp is supposed to stay in the package or it will dry out (it still does sometimes even in the bag). I've never mixed them with anything partially for that reason.

I already sealed it before I installed it, hopefully last a little longer. The trolling motor is a 45lb Motorguide X3.

Man the weather has been terrible on my days off for almost a month now. It snowed Sunday, then never made it above 40 Monday or Tuesday. I entered a season long multispecies kayak fishing challenge that I wanted to get a jump start on Monday to get a trout because they'll all be dead in the next month (hopefully), but that's a foot at least I wanted to get added to my total. Never fished in weather that cold in my kayak, it was a little uncomfortable just knowing how bad things could go if something happened. Thankfully no accidents, caught my trout, and got a decent bass to add to my total.

Never fished it but always wanted to, more for stripers than bass though. Couple nice ones!

Welcome back!

Welcome!

I have some and enjoy fishing them. I also have some $25 swimbaits that I really enjoy fishing. They're really kind of a thing that you either understand the appeal or you don't. I enjoy targeting big fish with big baits, just something about it that appeals to me. Another thing to consider other than the initial cost, is the cost per fish ratio of a bait. I have an MS Slammer that has caught a few hundred fish for sure. Initial cost was $50, so let's say I've caught 200 fish on it, each fish I've caught on it cost me $.25. Now let's say you're fishing your favorite color 5" GYCB senko that cost $.50 apiece and only last on average for 1 fish (we've all fished senkos and I think can probably agree that each fish you catch after the first one is a bonus fish), those fish cost you $.50 apiece. My Slammer is still going strong, and as long as I don't do anything silly with it, could last for hundreds more fish, while the senko fisherman has to keep going back to the store and buying more baits. So if you look at it that way, swimbaits aren't that expensive at all. Of course, there's also the chance you do like I did this winter and cast off an $80 glide that can't be recovered after catching about 20 fish on it, then those fish cost me $4 apiece. It's the risk I'm willing to take to try to get a bite from the biggest fish in the lake, or at the very least bigger than average sized fish. I'm positive that I catch fish on them that ignore all other offerings. No price tag on this one.

Got them and they look good!

Keep it simple and have fun.

Great, proven baits.

Paste power bait or eggs? I've never had much luck with the paste, but they love the eggs. I use a #10 or #12 Octopus hook so they'll float off the bottom and use 2 eggs. The Gulp eggs are the best I've found, but color makes a big difference sometimes so you might have to play with different colors. One pink and one white is my favorite combination but I've done well on orange and yellow also.

This one wasn't on a Ned rig, but a 1/8oz Slider head with a 3" craw. Didn't weigh it, probably around 15lbs though on 8lb mono and a 6' 8" M/F spinning rod.

H/F but the tip has to be able to load on the cast.

Poppers are usually the first baits I can bit on because they can be paused for however long I want. A frog could be used slowly too, but there's no need for one until the vegetation grows.

Anything is fair game as bait in KS, even bass, as long as they're keeper sized and you count them towards your daily bag limit. Lots of flathead guys use bass for bait here.

That's a giant. I bet it was a scary fight on a jerkbait. Congrats!

I hope they taste better than rainbows. IMO, trout make good cut bait, but are not fit for human consumption. Catfish treat them like they're candy though. Of course, all we have are stockers, so maybe natural fish taste better, but I'd think farm raised fish would be better?

I don't know any other channels except WFN. Been a lot of shows trolling for salmon lately though. I'm sure it's fun to actually do, but watching guys trolling is painfully boring to me.

It's a largemouth, the jawline clearly extends past it's eye in the closed mouth picture. It only goes about halfway on a spot or smallmouth. Spotted bass have very rough scales too. You can easily tell the difference just by feel.

Welcome!

Welcome and thank you for your service!

A drop shot is not nearly as effective as a Ned rig around here, but most of our lakes are shallow and a bait that can cover more water is more effective. Not sure why, but they just don't eat a drop shot very well here a lot of the time, but it has it's place still. I know it's not the case other places though.

Welcome Michael! I highly suggest you pull up a chair and do some reading through the many articles that are posted here; https://www.bassresource.com/how-to-fish/

If any technique can really benefit from a premium hook, drop shotting is certainly one of them that really does. Hook setting technique can make a huge difference too. I like to nose hook or wacky rig my drop shot bait on a Gamakatsu A-a-ron Martens TGW drop shot hook. Used to have a pretty poor hook up ratio, especially for an open hook technique. Not anymore after I tried those things. It's pretty rare for me to miss a fish with them. I haven't tried the hooks you mentioned, but I'm sure they're good since they're designed specifically for the technique.

Their website says they're both #2.