Bluebasser86

If I was going to be fishing in current I'd opt for the Whopper Plopper. The rat is good but at it'sbest at slow, stop and go, or even dead stick retrieves.

Yum Christie craw is one of my favorites. It has a good amount of action but not as much as a Rage Craw.

I've used bluegills for bait a lot, but mostly for flatheads. Best place I've found to hook them for free lining is through the nostrils. It's a very hard part of the fish, does little damage to the bait, and has a high hookup ratio since they eat them headfirst generally. I like to use a 1/0 or 2/0 Kahle hook.

Exactly. If I don't get a bite in 30 minutes or so, I'm moving, unless I'm after flatheads or there's no other good spots nearby.

Thank you all of you for your service and sacrifice!

That's pretty average wind here in the winter actually, just part of life.

I fished it a few times last year since it's so close. Did well once but it sucked the other 2 times. It's pretty deep and clear, so it could be a good cold water lake, but I'd keep driving to Ft. Scott or Bone if I wanted to fish cold water.

Never used the Zman ones but I caught over 70 fish on the same head and it held the bait up great. A little work to rig the first time, kind of have to pull out on the bait while you push it up.

Not as sinker stops but my grandpa taught me to do the same to use them as bobbers. Wrap it around the end and with the correct amount of weight you could even get a makeshift pole float.

While I was off work for our new baby, my wife let me sneak out a few days to go fishing. I spent one of those days on the water with @cbass12 and we killed them. He had to leave early and the wipers really went crazy for the last couple hours I was there.

Snook's post was almost 3 years ago? Unless someone deleted a post, Raul is the grave digger here.

The new mold actually has a metal keeper so glue is no longer needed to keep the bait up on the hook. It works great, no longer have to deal with the mess of gluing baits in the boat. Another added benefit is the ability to change baits or colors without ruining a bait and/or jighead because of the glue.

Haven't even looked at them, didn't know they changed. All my older Presidents are still going strong so I haven't had to. If I was going to buy another reel in the $75 range, it would most likely end up being another Okuma RTX.

I passed a buddy during a weeknight tournament and he was obviously struggling. Being the helpful guy I am, when he asked what I'd been catching my fish on I told him a Ned rig on the dam. He ran to the dam and beat our heads in that night fishing a Ned rig. Not only did he win but he also got big bass on a coppertreuse TRD. He said he even lost a couple big ones. I've had it happen twice now where guys in the tournaments will order baits from me. I'll give them their order before the tournament and then they win that night with the baits they just got from me. Last spring was the worst. I brought the guy his baits and he put nearly 22 pounds in the boat in the 2.5 hours we fished that night, while I had a 5 fish limit that didn't quite weigh 5 pounds That was about as gut punched as I've felt after a tournament.

A Ned rig has been a very effective bed fishing bait for me.

Ours are all fresh off the truck stockers, I wonder if that makes a difference? I know ours are babies compared to what you're getting up there, but I've caught several in the 4-6 pound range and they still have soft mouths.

I didn't. We considered it because we thought our oldest might have fun, but it's a long drive and it hasn't been very good the last several years.

I use a 7' 11" H/F for flipping. For pitching I use a variety of rods from 6' 6" to 7' 6" depending on the situation and cover I'm fishing. The heavier the cover, the longer the rod to give me more leverage and help get the fish's head up out of the cover.

Agreed. When the ones around here have "sales", it's only a few dollars off a rod or reel and maybe $.50 off a bait. One time they had Vendettas for $30, never anything else like that though.

I have the Sniper Spinnerbait rod. It's a good spinnerbait rod, I wouldn't want to use it for squarebills though. It has a fairly soft tip but there's not much bend further down the rod. Just seems like it wouldn't keep crankbait fish buttoned very well.

I've been using an Alberto knot and having good luck. Are you wetting the knot and line very well and pulling it tight slowly? Fluorocarbon will heat up and get damaged very easily.

I've taught some of my fishing buddies how to fish. A few of them have gone to basically knowing nothing to now being very accomplished anglers.

I used to bank fish rip rap dams a lot and always did well on a squarebill. Just fish it slowly and carefully and you'll minimize snags. A spinnerbait or buzzbait worked well for me also.

I usually take 2 PB&J sandwiches and a big jug of water. The last several trips the sandwiches have been swapped out for venison summer sausage and snack sticks. Used to drink a Monster energy drink on the water but in my attempt to get healthier, I haven't had an energy drink in almost 3 months now. I need to figure out healthier options than my usual sandwiches too I suppose.

A Slider head with a finesse worm or small craw is my best numbers baits. If I'm after bigger fish it seems like a walking bait like a Sammy is best.