Primus

I try to support the local stores the best I can , when I order online it's to purchase stuff not available locally .

I'm not saying I invented the " Ned " rig but I was throwing a version of this a few years before it became mainstream and it's likely that others were doing the same. Gopher tackle mushroom heads were out a few years before the Ned rig became mainstream and I'm sure I wasn't the only one that put 2 & 2 together using small soft plastics, but at the time I viewed it as another variation of the jig worm and I still do. Silent lipless crankbaits aren't a secret but I suspect not too many are throwing them , all I can say is they need to be in your rotation. The mojo rig isn't so much a secret but I suspect it's not being used very much, try a 3/16 oz sinker with a 4" ringworm , 2-1/2 " tube or a 4" Lizard and catch a pile of fish.

The double wide also makes a good trailer for a Mop Jig.

Good video Glenn , very informative .

The Lucky Craft Gunfish has been more productive for me, a little more subtle than the Shower Blows. They are both great additions to your topwater arsenal.

nother good money saving alternative weight are drywall screws , they stay in place very well and the 1-1/4" size matches up nicely with a 6.5" Yamamoto Kut Tail worm or a 6" Strike King Ocho .

Excellent crank bait, if the bait were made by Rapala or Strike King this under rated lure would get more recognition .

I agree , the Bluegill color slays 'em where I live.

How do you like the Majestic rod ? I was looking to throw baits in the 1/8 to 1/4 oz range which I know is a little on the heavy side for BFS . I want to throw small topwaters with a rod around 6'6" in length with a smaller diameter 6 lb mono.

Never say never but I haven't caught any toothy critters with it yet.

My favorite is the Caffeine Shad followed by the old dependable Super Fluke , most of you guys are familiar with both so I won't add anything to that . One that has performed well for me this spring is the Grande Bass Airtail Shad. It has a hollowed out tail that can hold a rattle. It comes in the package with a glass rattle which I now know but was not aware of when I first tried it. So I used a smaller size ball bearing jig rattle as I had several lying around as I usually fish jigs without the rattles and stockpiled a few . Sticking it in the tail gave the bait a Senko like shimmy with a tail whip that is similar to a Caffiene Shad along with a nice clicking sound. It produced one of my biggest fish of the spring and has won a place in my arsenal and might be worth a try if you are looking for something a little different than the baits that have already been mentioned.

One of my favorite soft swimbaits is the Little Creeper All American Sunfish and the 5/0 is the perfect size , admittedly a little pricey so be sure to have some mend it around to extend the life of them . https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Little_Creeper_All_American_Sunfish_Swimbaits_2pk/descpage-LCBG.html

I have some of the older originals , they had a very unique knock that I believe was pretty unique at the time. I have not tried some of the others like the Teckel so I won't comment on those , I do know I've had some great days with this bait and it has produced some memorable strikes. I've tried quite a few other baits and it still remains my go to in this lure category.

How is your hook -up ratio on the blades with just the back hook ? It definitely looks more weedless.

The MF Tennessee Shad was my most productive color on my outing from a couple of weeks back and the Perch color contributed a couple of fish. I live in Battle Creek and after the ice came off I had enjoyed a couple of good outings and with our recent cold stretch it's been a struggle with water temps in the high 30's / low 40's. Should start warming up around here this week and get 'em going.

My review from a couple weeks back so far I like it. - One of my acquisitions over the winter were a few Berkley Stunna jerkbaits. First outing of the year with water temps in the 45 to 47 degree range and I threw about 8-10 different jerkbaits. The only one that produced on that outing was the Berkley Stunna , I had to wait about 10-15 seconds between twitches ( painful ) to get them to bite . I suspect the reason that the Stunna was my most productive jerk bait on this outing was that it was a slow sinking bait which appealed more to these cold water fish verses my suspending models as it was only 3 days from ice out . Because it is a small lake under 150 acres they were many already in staging areas in about 6-10 deep. I ended up catching about 15 on this outing with a nice one that was just under 5 lbs for a solid start for my season fishing in SW Michigan. Regarding this lure it cast well but is not elite in that category as I have other jerkbaits in a similar size that offer more distance , it slashes well and as mentioned is a slow sink . Mid priced bait around $ 15 and in my opinion a very worthy addition to your jerkbait arsenal. I started off with 4 to sample the bait and after making a good first impression added 4 more today.

Some of my best producing soft swimbaits would include the 6" Little Creeper Trash Fish and the Bluegill. The Beast Coast Myagi & Creep have boated some nice ones and last year for me was the year of the 8" MagDraft. This produced quantity ( for a big bait ) and quality. I absolutely love this bait.

Never tried the Teckel as I have decent supply of original Vixens and fortunately don't lose too may top waters . That said the Vixen is my all time favorite walk the dog bait and I 've tried a bunch of 'em.

I love Wake bait fishing especially at night . For whatever reason I have had minimal success on Rat style baits I've done well on the Bull Shad Wake bait, 3:16 Wake Jr & Baby Wake, Evergreen ND 180 and the classic MS Slammer. As far as crank bait style wake baits my all time favorite is a discontinued Excalibur Wake bait with a loud ass rattle , that bait would get punished under the right conditions especially fishing over thick grass.

One of my acquisitions over the winter were a few Berkley Stunna jerkbaits. First outing of the year with water temps in the 45 to 47 degree range and I threw about 8-10 different jerkbaits. The only one that produced on that outing was the Berkley Stunna , I had to wait about 10-15 seconds between twitches ( painful ) to get them to bite . I suspect the reason that the Stunna was my most productive jerk bait on this outing was that it was a slow sinking bait which appealed more to these cold water fish verses my suspending models as it was only 3 days from ice out . Because it is a small lake under 150 acres they were many already in staging areas in about 6-10 deep. I ended up catching about 15 on this outing with a nice one that was just under 5 lbs for a solid start for my season fishing in SW Michigan. Regarding this lure it cast well but is not elite in that category as I have other jerkbaits in a similar size that offer more distance , it slashes well and as mentioned is a slow sink . Mid priced bait around $ 15 and in my opinion a very worthy addition to your jerkbait arsenal. I started off with 4 to sample the bait and after making a good first impression added 4 more today.

Sorry about the loss of your friend. I hope you have opportunities to get a chance to fish more this year. The full size Brush Hog has been a productive bait for me over the years fishing in SW Michigan, I certainly need to try your idea fishing it as a jig trailer I can see it producing big ones.

I live in SW Michigan but I tend to target largemouth more as I fish a lot of weedy lakes near my house and they tend to be more receptive to the bigger baits I like to throw along with their toothy friends. By far my best bait for 4 - 6lbers last year were Glidebaits. My two favorites were the Storm Arashi and the Gancraft 230 though there were a few others like the ES Flat & Sneaky Pete that also contributed some good ones. Also caught some nice ones on soft swimbaits, the Little Creeper trash fish & bluegill were my favorites for 2020. Spinnerbaits were killer at times , I did well using the Strike King models with the Bluegill colors being the most productive. Another stand out bait for me in 2020 were 1/2 oz Mop Jig using a R.I. Doublewide Beaver as a trailer. One final one to add when fishing heavy grass last summer was a VMC Tokyo rig using a diamond shape Red One Systems punching weight, this combo went through heavy grass like a knife through butter. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Red_One_Systems_Miller_Tungsten_Punchin_Weights_1pk/descpage-MTPW.html

I know have ?

Love the DT series, have fished them for years and have never had one break, maybe I've been lucky that said the DT 6 & DT 10 are my 2 favorites in that line-up.

There is a gazillion of plastic square bill crankbaits on the market so it's impossible to try them all. That said what makes the RC 1.5 special is that it is much more buoyant than any other plastic square bill that I've used similar to a balsa bait but they tend to be more durable. My other favorite plastic squarebill would be Strike King KVD which tend to run a little deeper . Also, don't sleep on the Lucky Craft BDS series which is another kick ass bait.