Bluebasser86

I agree that the flat blade was more erratic than I liked. The slight bend, far down in the blade like in your picture has an erratic kick to the side fairly frequently but not as often as the flat blade. The higher/sharper bend tends to create a more straight running bait but can still be bent to kick out on occasion. The sharper the bend, the higher the bait will ride in the water also. I tend to bend mine further down and not as sharp as in the pictures I posted and I bend them at an angle. That allows for the steady vibration, but because of the angled bend, the blade kicks out occasionally and the bait follows.

It means something a whole lot different now than it used to Momma had a hair appointment tonight, so it was just me and the boy. He's been asking to go fishing almost every night for a couple weeks now, but triple digit temps and a 2.5 year old don't mix well. Tonight was much cooler, and we had an hour to kill before bedtime so why not? I was casting and hooking them, Lake was cranking them in and cheesing it up for the camera. Sunfish and little kids were made for each other. 30 minutes, and 15 sunfish of an assorted variety later, we threw some rocks in the creek and called it a night. All he talked about on the way how was when we are going fishing next.

No, not unless it's really dirty, then it might, but only if it's moving around on the spool. Cheap mono is the way to go for backing of any kind on a reel.

Tried it, hated it, went back to what worked for me. A bladed jig with a big single hook, is not like a treble hooked crankbait except the 2 are moving baits IMO. Pushing a big single hook through the tough mouth of a big bass requires more backbone, which it seems to me is compensated for with the longer rods or braided line a lot of guys in the crankbait rod camp opt for. I can't subscribe to the thought of needed the slower rod to avoid pulling the bait away from the fish. If a bass wants to eat one, no way you could reel too fast or rip it away from them. I'm certainly no B.Hite, but I've caught a few fish on bladed jigs myself. If they want to eat it, they're going to eat it.

It's a price/volume thing I believe. They're so popular and affordable to most people, that a ton of them get sold. The more of them get sold, the more there are out there to be broken. With their relatively inexpensive price tag, they're probably a lot of folks first "expensive", rod after a lifetime of fishing Ugly Sticks, so they don't know how to treat a rod. Not saying that's what happened in this case, just a theory of mine. My BIL has a several Veritas and is as rough on his stuff as anyone I know. I know he's broken one and knocked inserts out of another, but it's really amazing to me they're not all broken the way they're treated.

Gulp does, not sure if there's any others but that stuff has never really caught on with bass guys.

Some of the biggest bass I've ever seen come out of farm ponds. I'd sure feel silly losing a giant because I was worried about getting my nice stuff dirty.

It's not really a bait you can fish on a swimbait hook. I prefer to put them on a 1/8oz jighead or a light scrounger head.

Welcome!

Welcome!

They work in open water. Best way is to walk them. There's really no reason to fish a frog in open water when you would use a treble hooked bait though. You can get some cheaper braid like Power Pro for around $10. It's not just for the line strength in the weeds, but also because it floats and makes it easier to work the frog. Braid makes hookset percentages with frogs go way up too.

I had to argue with them for 20 minutes to get a replacement BPS Extreme rod because I didn't have a receipt. I just wanted to exchange it, not a refund. Never had that issue before the few times I've returned something there so I'm hoping it was just the person working customer service that day. Either way, it made me nervous about buying bigger stuff from them.

I hook my bait onto the hook keeper and put rod and reel covers on. If it's a treble hooked bait, I also put a bait wrap around it. If I reeled my line into the my reel before I put it back in the locker, it was a bad day, at least for that reel.

Miola, Gardner, Doco, Pleasanton, like I said, just depends how far you want to drive.

I'm assuming you're talking about Pleasanton East? There's 3 different Pleasanton lakes. What kind of topwater? I haven't had much topwater bite all year but Doco's fish are always willing. After that, it all depends how far you want to drive.

The Seaguar Flipping braid is very nice, as is Smackdown, but neither fit into the strict guidelines. I like Seaguar Kanzen or Sufix 832 but neither is probably going to fit everything you've asked for.

Had one of my best days out in quite awhile. I was catching lots of bigger than average sized fish and had them dialed in pretty good. No real monsters, biggest 3 were 3lb 15oz, 4lb, and 4lb 7oz. I was also tearing up some channel cats on my bladed jigs. I caught 4 and missed way more of them than I caught.

I prefer the Slammer, but that's probably because I've fished it more and fish it more often than the rat.

I don't think you're going to find a "good" combo for $30. I think you can get a Pflueger Trion combo for around $50. That would be the cheapest one out there that I'd feel confident using.

Especially in the midwest, where field mice and rats abound with the crop fields and livestock farms and so many of our bodies of water are surrounded by overgrown vegetation. I just don't see how you could be without one. I like to get right up against overgrown banks and wake or twitch a rat parallel to the shoreline. My biggest swimbait bass every year are caught on wake baits it seems.

I use the Pro Spider Slider heads. I drag them and they give the bait a gliding action. I like to fish a small craw or worm on them. The Crock-O-Gator Ring Craw was on fire for me for a little while. The Zoom Meathead worm is my favorite worm on them.

A Slammer or Rat bite is a unique thing I've found. Some of my best Slammer/rat lakes have terrible topwater bites. I think it's just the size and commotion that draws them.

Going to have an empty seat for Friday (and Thursday after work), if anyone wants to join. Probably stay close with Olathe or Doco Thursday. I'm looking at either CV or a return to MC after last week with a dark horse of Lake Shawnee for big smallies.

Yeah, should be able to catch some if they'll eat them where you're fishing them. I've run into a few lakes where they just won't eat big baits for whatever reason. This time of year is when I really like rats and wake baits like a Slammer.

The YUM Warning Shot is very similar and has a nice gliding action on a Ned rig. Cut the little head section so it sits flat and you're good to go.