Bluebasser86

Green pumpkin is a really good bluegill imitation as well. I tie a green pumpkin/chartreuse just to imitate bluegills. Golden Shiner, and my personal favorite, a color I call Ivy, have been the hot colors for me the last few weeks. Black and blue always seems to be a good color for a bigger than average bite too.

When they suspend and feed on bait fish at Ozark lakes like Table Rock, a 4 or 5 inch grub on a jighead is often the deal. Cast it, count it down, reel slow. Don't shake it, pop it, pause it, just reel it slowly. Super boring and super effective.

There's not much my dog loves more than getting to go fishing with me.

Welcome!

Welcome!

I have half a dozen Supreme XT's and love them. Sold all my Shimano spinning reels and bought them instead.

I fish them all summer long. Excellent around weed edges right now, but I fish them around any kind of shallow cover as long as it's not too heavy of cover. I caught our biggest bass of the weeknight tournament on one last night in fact.

I like them, but they seem a little pricey to me for what they are. I have a few I found on sale for $5 and have done pretty well with them. I'm a big fan of the Berkley Skinny Cutter 110+

Bend the tip of the blade downward towards the hook point. I start the bend about 1/4" from the tip of the blade. The sharper the bend, the shallower it will run.

Another vote for Gulp baits. The maggots work well. You can buy them in jars or bags. Easy to use and no mess or worries about keeping them alive like live bait, but they do have to be sealed back up or they'll shrink and dry out.

I don't think it's ever been a lake to go to if you want numbers, just quality. Those big ones aren't dumb though.

Love catching them, but we don't have many here. Our state record spot wasn't quite 4.5 pounds, and that's from the 70's. I wouldn't be surprised if it was a largemouth and not a spot. I caught one of the largest spots I've ever caught in Kansas about a month ago. They do love their topwaters.

Really depends a lot on location for me. Some lakes in the area have big fish, some don't, and you can't catch them where they don't live. One of my favorite lakes, I'm disappointed if I don't catch something over 4 pounds every trip. Other lakes I fish, I've only caught a handful of fish over 4 pounds in all the years I've fished them. Baits will make a big difference too because some just tend to produce larger fish. If you fish a 5" finesse worm on a shakyhead all day every day, you'll catch a big one occasionally, but if you fish a 1/2 football jig with a 5" twin tail instead, chances are you'll see more big fish.

Jigs work in any water color and any time of year. They may not always be the best option, but they will always catch fish if you fish them long enough in the right places. You could really get by with 2 colors, black and blue, and green pumpkin. Whether you decide to expand on those two is up to you. Read through these 20 pages, and you will probably find the answer to your question.

T rig on the big one, 60* eyelet on the small one.

That's the size I use a majority of the time. It's a slow fall, but I'm normally using them in pretty shallow water.

The Rippin seems to be a little more supple and better handling than the Senshi to me.

I've never seen the Yo-Zuri in store, had to order mine. The H2O is a house brand bait from Academy Sports, only place you can get it. They have free shipping on orders over $25 though, so you can get them delivered to you if there's not one close by.

I did not like the 200 very well, but I never did the same modification I did to my 168 to get a better glide either. I like the Shine Glide soooo much better, and for less money, that I sold my 200 and just fish the Shine Glide now.

I have a bunch of them I bought for $1 a bag. They're a killer bait on a shakyhead at one of the powerplant lakes I fish. Plum is my favorite color too.

I have a 30 in chrome. It's been a really good smallmouth bait for me a couple times I've had guys use it on guide trips. It's funny how surprised they are when the fish start smoking that bait.

I fish mine on an extra fast with braid, rarely miss them. I just reel into them until the rod starts to load, then I lean into them.

Green Gizzard Shad, but planning on trying the Chrome Blue soon also.

Just got some of the new Savage Gear 3D Goby Tubes, WOW!

I pour my own.