Bluebasser86

Any idea what your water temps were before and after the rain? An extreme water temp change can shut them down completely for a day or two to the point that you almost literally have to hit them on the nose with a bait. I'll bet a suspending jerkbait with long pauses would trick a couple fish still. Otherwise, you would probably be best off staying home and getting your gear ready for once the weather calms down a little and the fish get use to the new water temp. I'll bet if you'd gone right before that front came through you would have whacked them though.

Never missed a hook up with a frog? That's impressive. I'm glad it works for you, but like I said IMO you're going to miss so many more fish by waiting to feel a frog fish. If a fish hits a frog, frog disappears, where is it if it's not in the fish's mouth? Maybe buried in the grass because it spit it out while I was trying to feel for it, or waterlogged and sinking because she crushed it and spit it out while I was feeling for it? Maybe it only had the legs, but you'll miss that fish either way. Other option would be if it's so small it didn't get the whole frog in it's mouth, but I don't care to catch that fish anyways. If you let a fish turn and run with your frog into heavy weeds it's just going to be that much harder to hook them and get them out also. I don't miss many frog fish, but it happens, it's the nature of the beast. I also catch WAY more of the bites I get since I started setting as soon as I couldn't see my frog anymore. One of the great things about this sport is there's no set rules for how you have to do anything. After chasing those little green fish seriously for around 20 years, that's what I've found to be most productive for me and my friends that I fish with have tried it have increased their hookup ratios as well. Watch how many professional bass fishermen set the hook as soon as their frog is gone, I'll bet it's almost all, if not all of them.

If you have an Academy near by you might want to check them. I bought a bunch of Owner and Gamakatsu hooks for $1.48 a pack Wednesday.

Fighting fish for excessive amounts of time can stress them to the point of exhaustion or death. Get a rod light enough to enjoy the fight, but strong enough to fight them in reasonable amount of time if you're going to release them.

A slow, steady retrieve works best for me. It's that time of year when the big girls start to slack line you on bladed jigs

Make sure to download the App for your smartphone so you can run it from your phone, or get the remote wristwatch like I use. They are very easy to use, if you want to hear much of what you're saying you'll want an external mic, they don't seem to pick up sound real well but the less you hear me cussing the better.

Punching or on the back of a bladed jig, rigged vertically instead of horizontal, tail always split.

A 17.25" fish can certainly be over 3 pounds, this one is over 3 and wasn't even 17" IMO, more frog fish are missed by the terrible advice to wait until you feel the fish. If the frog is gone, it's because it's in the fish's mouth! If a fish strikes my frog and it's gone, I'm swinging. It's been way more effective than trying to feel the fish like I'm fishing a T rig.

They're well made, effective baits at a reasonable price. I haven't found one of their baits I didn't like yet.

Welcome!

Welcome!

Welcome!

Welcome!

Welcome!

I actually found and old Berkley "Worming and Cranking", pistol grip rod this summer floating along the shoreline. It was missing the insert from the first guide and the tip top. This thread, and the fact that I bought a kayak recently, motivated me to fix it up yesterday. Haven't fished a pistol grip in forever, should be interesting.

I think if you really want to "treat yourself", you should start looking at a custom. I love my St. Croix rods, but they're still mass produced, which means you have to pick from what they offer and deal with any little thing you don't like. On the other hand, a custom you can get everything exactly as you want it down to what color thread is on the guides and if it has a hook hanger or not, the options are limitless. In fact, one of our sponsors produces some of the best blanks and components you can get. http://batsonenterprises.com/

I've always enjoyed a good fairytale myself.

Don't know that I've ever caught a bass on a blade, lots on jigging spoons though. I'm kind of like the guy that tears them up on a T rigged worm but can't get a bite on a jig. Baits are so similar, but I just can't seem to get one of them to work. Glad I watched the video, sounds like I might be overworking the bait. Just bought a few Silver Buddy blades on clearance a couple months ago, hopefully I can catch some smallmouth on them in a month or so when the water gets cooler.

There's some guys from Arkansas on the board, you might put another post that you're willing to split cost in exchange for getting to fish out of a boat. I know in the KC Area thread there's always guys looking for a boater/nonboater for a day on the water to help save on cost.

2 powerplant lakes within an hours drive. There is no such thing as a "Fishing Season" in my world.

A few hundred people in our department that have to be certified to carry every year. I've seen a couple of them shoot that there's no way I'd hold that target.

I peg most of my sinkers when T rigging so I just move it up the line to retie or whatever then slide it back down.

Zoom, Netbait, YUM, Zman, Berkley Havoc.

I get that fluoro doesn't have time to sink, but why spend the extra money on fluoro when you're not getting any of the benefits?? I'll stick with Big Game or Pline for my buzzbaits.

If you have an Academy close buy I'd check out their H2O line of baits, especially if you're looking for an affordable bait. They're a great bait and can often be had for less than $4 apiece. They're my go-to squarebill, especially if I'm expecting to lose some baits.