Bluebasser86

Our sponsors and the moderators will almost always make a post when a sponsor is having a sale. I think one of the major problems with the "Sales and deals" idea is the potential for spam. We work very hard behind the scenes to keep this place spam free, both fishing and non-fishing related items. Having a forum like that would most likely invite more of it as well as guys on companies prostaff or just sales reps for companies to try to post their sale info up. While I appreciate someone tipping me off to a good sale as much as the next guy, I don't want to have a bunch of spammers blowing this place up either.

I mainly opt for the spinnerbait in clear water, or when I want more flash.

Whatever pair you decide on, pop for extra and get the glass lenses. I have several pairs of Costa's, going to the glass was the best decision I made.

Forget finding a hand tied jig on TW, Siebert will get you way better quality and prices in any color you need.

Bladed jig if they're shallow. Jig or T rigged beaver or brush hog if they're deeper.

I think that's good enough, LOCKDOWN!!

I'd certainly consider myself a "common man", and I own several Deps swimbaits, along with Hudds. Do a search on Southern Trout Eaters. Bass don't read books. They don't know what they're supposed to eat, or what fish live in the lake they live in. All they know is "Hey, I could eat that fish over there". How many bright chartreuse baitfish are out there? None in the lakes I fish but going out without a chartreuse spinnerbait (also a very realistic fish imitator), wouldn't be very smart. OP, you're in an area with potential to produce huge fish. I would 100% be fishing them down there. I know this to be a fact as I'm currently fishing them in Kansas, which everyone knows is a big bass factory If you're not sure about going straight to the monster baits, get a 68 Hudd, 175 Slide Swimmer, 168 S Waver, or the Real Prey 7" Shiner. You'll catch quantity as well as quality.

Same here. Love braid with a leader on my spinning gear, hate it on casting gear. Straight braid works well for flipping grass and frogging, but try fishing straight braid with a football jig at Table Rock or through zebra mussels, no bueno.

Not sure if I still have pictures of my first muskie. I went on a trip to a small lake in Missouri to fish for them but had given up and switched to slow rolling a 1oz spinnerbait for bass on a long point. One of my first cast with it I caught a 36.5" muskie, one of the most exciting fights I've ever had.

Big Bite Baits Squirrel Tail Worm floats tail up very well, but they are a bit fragile because of the thin section right before the tail.

The rod thing is certainly a personal choice. The glass rods are becoming popular for this bait, but it didn't work for me. I fish mine on a 6' 6" MH/F and 15lb Big Game. I don't miss many fish with the baits I make and I fish them a ton. I fish my bladed jigs extremely slowly, just fast enough to keep the blade vibrating, even bumping the bottom if possible. In lakes that see lots a spinnerbaits, a bladed jig is a good replacement. They also shine in stained or dirty water or around vegetation because the strong vibration helps the fish hone in on the bait. There are times I will fish them faster (over vegetation for example), but 9 out of 10 larger bass I catch on them will be during a very slow retrieve. I've had good success with them using a stroking or pumping retrieve, letting them settle to the bottom then lifting the rod quickly before letting it settle again. I think 2 of the biggest mistakes I see guys make with bladed jigs are, 1. fishing them too fast and 2. not recognizing a bite. Like I said, I like to fish them slowly. The issue then becomes that a big bass can lazily swim up to the bait, inhale it while maintaining a similar pace, then spit the bait out without it ever feeling much different. I can't count the number of big fish I've caught on them where it felt just slightly different. Sometimes it feels like the blade has quite working, other times like I've caught a leaf or piece of weeds. I think the common notion is that since it's a moving bait the strikes will be vicious, which they certainly are at times, but more often than not they're much more subtle than I think most fishermen expect. I first realized this by fishing clear water and actually seeing bass strike my bait and noticing that I felt very little despite the bait being almost completely inhaled on a couple occasions. I thought back and realized I'd felt similar strikes lots of times before but never realized they were strikes. Once I started setting the hook on those little bumps and when the blade just wasn't vibrating as hard, I was amazed how many fish I was catching that I didn't even know were there before. I use a wide variety of trailers on mine but lately I've become a big fan of the Zman Diesel Minnow. I wrote a post about them and the durability they offer as a trailer. I had used the same Diesel Minnow on a few different bladed jigs and it had accounted for well over 50 fish. Amazingly enough, that same Diesel Minnow is still going. I keep taking it off and putting it back into the package and reusing it and it just keeps catching fish. It has well over 100 fish to it's credit now, and you can hardly tell it's been used other than the color is fading a bit. The Havoc Pit Boss and Rage Menace, rigged sideways or vertically, are both baits I use a lot for trailers as well.

Probably a jigging spoon. I fish them year round and in a lot of situations that others don't/won't and they catch me a ton of fish, including lots of different species and some big fish.

When I'm headed to a pond I will almost always have a bladed jig on one rod and a weightless stick worm on another. I may have other rods, but those 2 are almost always there.

Almost all of my baitcasters are supertuned. Some it makes a huge difference in casting distance, like my E and B series Curados. Others, like my Lew's, it didn't effect as much. Still, for as relatively inexpensive as it is, it does effect overall performance enough that I would suggest doing it.

I catch hundreds of fish on a Ned Rig each year since I learned about it a few years ago. The TRD is nice, but I prefer 1/2 of a Zinker for mine, just seems like they last longer than the TRD does, although they're a bit more work to put together since you have to cut a Zinker in half, which isn't always easy. The TRD (The Real Deal), is actually the name of the bait, Z-man is the name of the company that makes the TRD, which is used primarily for a Ned Rig

Welcome!

Welcome!

Welcome!

Welcome!

Welcome!

Welcome!

Welcome!

Welcome!

I throw mine on a 7' 3" M/F, basically a pitching rod, with a 200BSF and 20lb Pline. They have big trebles that you don't have to worry about tearing out and that take a lot more force to drive home.

Good luck buddy!