Bluebasser86

I use them fairly often and I'm in the same boat, I tie my own.

Two of the newest additions to my lineup. Also picked up a Casitas 150 for my jerkbait rod.

The small size Zman BatwingZ, Baby Rage Craw, or smallest size YUM Craw Papi.

I don't wish them on anyone, but I will say, the fishing has exploded in the lakes that have them now. They're a huge headache to deal with because they cut your line, any line, like a razor blade. I think it's because our lakes are so murky and they've cleared the water up so much that it's helping the bass see better and be more effective catching their prey. Whatever it is, the lakes that have them are producing numbers and sizes of bass they never have before.

What are you calling a micro jig?

I don't like the new gold/black back, it's a way lighter gold color. It's the same thing with Rayburn Red, almost orange instead of red. I do like the looks of the Copper Shiner and Bling though. I'm thinking those will both be winners. Now if they'd just bring back both the jerkbaits

Say hello, to my little friend. He thinks your braided line is cute

I flipped my kayak and lost my phone, Garmin Virb Elite, a shimano spinning reel and St. Croix rod combo, and a lot of my dignity a few weeks ago.

I use to worm fish with a 3.8:1 Lew's that was given to me by a friend of my dad. I caught plenty of fish with it but I had lots of time when I'd set the hook and immediately have several feet of slack line despite reeling like a madman to try to keep up with the fish. I tried fishing with an extremely old Pfluegar round baitcaster that still has the silk line on it several years ago. I had to pull line off the reel and try to do a clumsy underhand flip with the short, metal rod. I had a couple bites but never did manage to catch a fish. It's a was a very eyeopening experience to how nice we have it.

I could make it several years with what I have, but I'd run out of the starting lineup baits before fall probably.

Is anyone actually wanting to do this? If it's going to happen need to get things set up. If you're in, say so on here, just like this, In

The colors the the new Booyah baits that were Xcaliber aren't quite the same. I have plenty of the XR50 and XRK50 in the colors I need so I'll be fine for awhile.

Biggest bass of the year on my bladed jig today in less than 5' in the 34 degree air and 50 degree water. Our dumb bass just must not know any better.

Our fish don't know any better. Still less than 5' of water and aggressive, almost all of them in the back 1/2 of the pockets and coves. I'll know if that's still the case in a couple hours. Little snow this morning, 15-30mph winds from the NW, and a high of 51 but only going to feel like 40 so that might back them off a bit.

I've had some really good BBQ by the lakes. I look forward to BBQ Nachos at the place by Table Rock almost as much as I do the fishing. Smoking Okies by Grand is awesome too. Can't remember the name of the place but there's one off 65 by the Osage that has some really good BBQ too. I'm with you all the way on the Chinese though.

Bait in the picture appears to be a 6" Huddleston Deluxe. Which is a lifelike plastic swimbait with a single jig hook out of the top. They're one of the most popular swimbaits out there. They're very commonly referred to as a "Hudd", for short.

The Xrap suspends and is a very aggressive side to side slashing bait like RW said. The Shadow Rap sinks and has more a roll and slither like most other jerkbaits.

I like the looks of that bait. Is the plastic prop quieter than a regular metal prop? I know a plastic prop on something like a buzzbait is quieter and gives a lot different sound. I'm intrigued by idea of what this bait must sound like, more of just the chopping of the water and less of the buzz of a metal blade I would think?

I've been making my own version similar to that with a swinging football head and a screwlock Owner hook. This is not a bait designed to be fished in weeds, it's designed to be fished around wood whether it be laydowns, stumps, standing timber, or docks. That's one place that a chatterbait will certainly catch a lot of fish, but they also hang up badly. I like to use them to bang into trees or slither them over laydowns and branches. I'll also go with a larger than average trailer, even up to a 10" worm. I think this helps promote the fish holding on longer because bite detection is one of the biggest issue for me with this style bait because running into a limb or log feels a lot like a bite. You can see in the background of this picture some of the timber I was crawling the bait around. The water was cold but they were really killing them this day. It's a presentation that I don't think they see often and one I'd suggest trying if you fish around a lot of wood. Stick with the open hook around weeds and open water though.

I've very limited experience with the BPS rod but I bought my brother in law one for his birthday and took him fishing that day. The rod broke one of his first cast of the day and he fished with one of my rods the rest of the day. He returned it and the same thing happened next time out. I wouldn't use one if someone gave it to me.

Nice fish! Did you have it BB rigged or did it pull the hook out of the bait?

Generally, the bigger the fish the worse it is on them. A fish's skeletal system isn't built to support it's own weight because they live in a nearly weightless environment. So a heavy fish held vertically by it's jaw is basically crushing itself. The whole damaging the jaw deal is a bit overplayed I think but I'm not a biologist and I've been wrong before. I've caught a lot of big bass and held them by the jaw for a quick picture and haven't lost one yet that I know of. Been lots of time I've fished the same water the next day and didn't see them floating and our lakes are small so they'd be hard to miss. You can always hold them under the belly for added support if they're really large.