KenDammit28

tried both the horny toad and the fluke on the chatterbait head. The fluke is the best option, in my opinion but the toad is kinda nice when you run it JUST under the surface. The only thing I don't like about it is that the fall of the toad (which is kinda wobbly, spirally and slow) is totally taken out of the equation when you stop the bait while using the chatter head.

Do you think this little kit http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_2582_100010008_100000000_100010000_100-10-8 would be good enough to make some skirts for myself in combo's that I can't really find anywhere? I don't wanna go an arm and a leg since I'm not gonna be going all out, just changing the skirts on my existing blades. But ,I'll do what I gotta do to get MY colors.

I know many "hardcore" fishermen that look right over the roadrunner and just dismiss at a bluegill or crappie bait...its not. I use it quite often when times are tough in the summer and catch many nice bass on them. I use 1/8 and 1/4 oz heads with 3 inch grubs and can catch bass when nothing else worked in the same spots. Use em, they WILL catch you bass.

thats cool. I was lookin at em on a site someone posted here and was just curious. looking into maybe buying one of the bluegills as my first MAJOR swimbait purchase.

painting process I'm assuming or is it detail things like fins and shape and size and all that kinda stuff?

what causes the difference in price between your baby bass series and bluegill series?

Pretty much, for everything you can throw as far as soft plastics...you can use three hook styles. EWG, Straight shank, Offset round bend...the difference comes in sizes. The only exception would be shakey heading and finesse fishing..which I use spot removers and plain ballhead jigs for.

i'd say that either could probably read at 50 feet...if I had to choose one I'd go with the gun style from Cabela's because I just like them...pull the trigger.

I actually did a little practice while I was out yesterday. I sharpened up my pitching by just picking spots and throwing different lures in it. Hadn't gotten as rusty as I thought...so that was an "upper"

lol, I got blanked on a senko, horny toad, AND a finesse worm today At least it was almost 70-75 degree's out and sunny...beautiful day. I guess I can be thankful that I'm lucky enough to be able to go out and enjoy what this great planet has to offer. No fish, no loss other than a story or two, right?

what do you guys do to keep your confidence on those fishless days....or couple of days in my case. Its early in the year yet and the weather is real mix and match in KY right now...but man sometimes its so frustrating and disheartening to go blank when you feel like you're doing everything right. Kills the confidence. Today, I just had to put the rods down and relax and enjoy the weather just to let the frustration go. Anyway, what do you guys do to keep your confidence in your abilities and lures?

wrong section...remember to put questions about lures in the tackle section...I see you're new so welcome, too! I like Zoom Finesse Worms and Trick Worms....I'm just a Zoom man, I suppose.

the only thing proper about hooksets that you can carry with you is that it must be firm and quick. Theres no one hookset that'll just always work. Sometimes ya gotta sweep to the side, sometimes its a straight up and down hookset, sometimes its a quick pop, other times its a long pull, sometimes the bait sets itself and you just have to keep it tight. The other side that comes into play is where the hook actually is in the fishes mouth. Did you get the soft membrane, did you get a good meaty spot like the top of the lip? Obviously the thin membrane will tear easily, stick a fish inthe meaty part and it feels almost hard enough to think its bone. A hook CAN be too big...think of it like a wedge. Its possible that you can pry open a mouth if the hook pushes the lips apart, or the weight does it....all depends on timing and a lot of other variables. Bottom line..the best in the world lose fish..it happens and it'll never stop.

looks like you got some Stanley Ribbits(the brown and orangs frogs in the middle), a snag proof casting frog, 3 rat-l-traps, a torpedo, a rapala minnow, some nice leadheads, some decent spinnerbaits, 3 shad raps..all stuff thats not too bad to start out with, I suppose. The storm curl-tail spinner could be good, could be junk...I've never seen it before. LOOKS fishy, I guess. Out of that box, I'd be throwing the ribbits, the torpedo, the rat-l-trap, and using some flukes or even grubs on those leadheads.

Flukes(if we're talking spawning) or jigs.

I have the XPS 370 bag...and it holds A LOT of stuff. I've just about outgrown it but after this season I'm gonna fish and keep a note of the stuff I never throw..and then its coming out. Anyway, if you're allowed to spend the 80 bucks the bag costs, then you'll like it Im' sure. It can hold upto 11 boxes I think, maybe 10..if you want it to.

the police issue is a bunk argument because police aren't watching our every move and we're not all sitting around publicizing our traffic indiscretions. Weakley's fish has been well documented to be foul hooked. Thats quite a bit different than that person going 1 MPH over the speed limit and no one ever saw or heard a thing about it. I also must say that if we are removing personal feelings from the discussion, then those in favor of Macs or Jeds fish must do the same. I don't want (to set) a record like that when it's foul-hooked no matter what. There would always be doubts in the backs of people's minds, he told me. People are saying we could still submit it, but I don't want there to be a 50-50 feeling about the fish, he said, referring to Internet chatter questioning the ethicality of the catch. When the record falls, there should be no doubt. We want to make sure that everything is perfect, so there won't be any controversy behind it. Those are Macs own words from here http://chrislegend.net/2006/03/27/record-bass-controversy-averted/ So why be pushing for it now when he knows theres doubt surrounding it and he did want to submit it when its foul hooked, regardless of intent? The problem I have with the whole scenario is who's to say that he really did UNintentionally snag the fish? Its just his word..and with a fish that big with such implications behind it..who's to say how a mans word may change? Avids words ring true..a true record hunter that released the fish..why? And now, why try to get it listed as the record? I smell money.

i fished some of the magic shad yesterday and the nose seems to rip up pretty easily, at least when using a jig head. After about 20 minutes, they didn't really wanna stay up on the jighead like they were supposed to. Maybe some soft bait glue will help it, but its an issue. Other than that, they swim beautifully, look awesome. I'd say the jighead is 1/4 oz...its not very heavy and by themselves they are pretty light...less than what a tiki stick or horny toad feels like.

you can also try wide willowleafs or turttleback blades. They are more inline than colorado blades but also produce flash AND thump.

I've rocked with Yo-Zuri on everything from crankbaits to flippin texas rigged creatures....it has the right amount of stretch, IMO.

not really an area I know a lot about but one thing I would suggest is petitions of community members that lived around the lake(which also sounds like a park/nature observatory type thing) and community members who visited the place. The objective of doing this would be to show that the place had value and was appreciated by the community. Contacting the DNR may help...you may be able to get some sort of deal where payment for repairs is half and half or matched or anything like that. Just try to get the community together on the issue as much as you can, whatever you choose to do. Government officials have a hard time hearing one voice but can hear the voice of many from a mile away.

if I use a weight, its a screw-in weight. Always pegged I guess you could say...but I fish weightless a LOT.

I was gonna say that ponds and lakes have their similarities, but also get quite different. I think ponds present unique challenges in that they usually aren't very big and there is no "moving to the next spot" so to speak. Another things ponds lack is varying structure, as mentioned, and varying cover, as mentioned. Because of this..it can sometimes be tough to locate a lot of fish because they can be anywhere and on or in anything. Pond bass basically have free roam of the entire pond every day. Lake fish are usually more locked into a particular group of areas, although they travel as well. Anyway, I use everything that a lake fisherman would use when I fish ponds. Jigs, spinnerbaits of all sizes, soft plastics are gonna be your go-to, for sure....the only thing I don't really use in a pond..like mentioned above is crankbaits. I don't use them much in lakes, either. Most ponds I fish seem to like greens and dark colors.

Randalls been fishing up by the glaciers again....odd to think theres Glaciers in Georgia, eh?

To me Jay the things are easy, I would have unhooked it and released it immediately because the law says that 's what should be done. It 's like when I found a wallet right at my doorstep, it contained several credit cards, a driver 's license and 500 dollars in cash, I located the owner 's phone number, called him and told him to come and pick up his wallet with the 500 dollars still in it. That 's the kind of guy I am, it may sound stupid to you or to many, my sense of honesty forbids me any wrong doing. besides, who says the buddy with Mac couldn't have snapped a picture as Mac brought it to the surface and went to unhooking it. Woulda been the same and it wouldn't have been held up for a camera and a discussion and tied to a stringer. C 'mon Ken, bending the law but not breaking it ? Mac 's pic clearly shows he was posing with the fish. It 's matter of interpretation and who does the interpretation, to me that 's posession and therefore illegal under the California law. no, no...I'm agreeing with you. There is plenty of time to take a picture while someone unhooks a fish and is putting it back in the water. No posing, no stopping to chat like Jimmy Houston...just snap the picture while the fish is being unhooked and released. I agree with you wholeheartedly that it was "against" the law. I'm not a world record hunter and don't know all the rules but I can't see how someone could support Jed's fish as it mysteriously resurfaces 4 years after the fact and be opposed to George Perry's record. There will be just as much disbelief about it as there is the current record. Who's to say what the "witnesses" will tell, or anything like that. 4 years is a long time for a story to change.