Primus

Yellow Magic & larger Zell Pop when I walk or skitter & stop the bait. The old Excalibur ( discontinued ? ) when I want to fish slow with that Bloop sound. Since my current obseesion is over size lures I picked up couple of large 6-7" poppers to expieriment with next year.

What he said, I use to use a grub on the Hornet jig but have done better since reading RW's suggestion a couple years back about sticking the Magic Shad on the back. Great combo, I usually use the 1/2 oz jighead.

Luckycraft RC series are my favorite with the KVD a close second. Because the Lucky Craft RC series are going to be discontinued I generally try the Strike King first as they are easier to replace. I haven't tried the Xcalibur but just recieved the Ima squarebill. Threw the Ima for app 1/2 hour Sunday, didn't catch any fish but noticed that this little bait has more vibration than any small bait that I've thrown.

I've done well with the 7" Rago BVD in a Light Hitch color and I also like the Real Prey Alewife.

I like this combo for fishing a football jig, deep clear water. Typically 3/4 oz.

Thanks

Catt regarding the Gene Larew ringworm that I've you seen mention dozens of times in various post I've read, I'm curious regarding the details of how you typically rig it in terms of line type, weights, presentation etc ? Also, what does this worm offer that makes it stand out verses other worms that are available ? Thanks

Wow, I really like that one with the recessed line tie. Available with wired tied skirt and an owner hook this jig rocks. I definetely will have to try this jig.

I have not used the 8" Hudd so I won't comment on that , though I plan on throwing it next year. I have used the regular 6" Hudd & the Hudd 68. I have not had success so far with these baits but there are reports from guys all over the country who have done well with them. I have personally done much better with the 7" Rago BVD in cooler water and the River to Sea Live Eye Bottom Walker in warmer water slow rolling it in deeper depths. There are also guys out there sticking fish on the Matt Lures Tournament series/ Osprey and 316 Mission fish. I think the Hudd will be a good starting point and if you do well keep fishing it but if not try a couple of other brands as the each seem to throw out a different vibration pattern and let the fish tell you which one they prefer.

I used the hollowbellys when they came out a few years back and have had some success but rigged with the weighted hook was disapointed with the hook-up ratio. In weedy flats I get as may if not more bites on a swimming grub like a Skinny Dipper or a swimming jig with a grub trailer and my hook-up ratio is better with these baits. If its more open water I prefer a Rago/ Matt lures tournament series/ RTS Bottom Walker/ Osprey over a hollowbelly bait. If I were to fish a hollowbelly these days I would put it on an exposed jig hook, that said they are not cuurently in use as I prefer the previously mentioned baits.

I agree Catt, all cranks have some noise with the hooks swinging around. At night or that first light/ last light transition I've done well with high vibration cranks like the RC 3.5 with chartreuse sides and a Purple back I believe the color is called Purple Perch if I remember right. I fish the " silent" version without the extra rattles and in the clear water lakes I fish the bass have no trouble finding them..

Gman thanks for the follow-up, looking forward to seeing your new jig.

That's one of the main reason this jig intriques me is that Owner hook, when the fish is on its yours. They make the best jig hook on the market, the only problem is the few jigs that I used in the past ( not Gmans ) were otherwise poorly put together such as the Poor Boys bullet jigs that I used to buy. I'm curious if the elite bullet jig that GMAN offers could be made with this hook ? This jig intriques me because the standard bullet mold that most jigmakers use do not offer a bait keeper that's on this jig and with an owner hook, wire tie etc this jig would be a great solution for fishing grass.

Not always the most productive but I enjoy swimbaits with cranks being my go to in most situations when I need numbers.

Why a football jig? Seems to me that if your fishing grass that the head style would do terrible and that an Arky head head would be better around laydowns. I normally associate a football jig with sparse cover, maybe there is something I'm overlooking. That said I'm a big fan of using Owner over the typical Mustad hooks.

That's what I was thinking.

Sorry I didn't see this until today. I personally haven't tried that combo on a shaky head, maybe others will chime in but I can't see why this wouldn't be some what effective. That said I would consider trying this in a no salt formula from a custom hand pour company. I've dealt with Dichoso baits as mentioned in my prior post, he doesn't have a Lizard mold but his Kurly Koura ( similiar to a Baby Brush Hog) would make an intriquing option. Might be something I have to try.

Regarding the 4" size Zoom Lizard I've picked up good numbers draggin' it behind a Mojo rig with a 3/16 oz cylindrical sinker by top brass with a top brass peg it. If your not familiar with this rig it's basically a finnesse Carolina rig with light line typically fished on a spinning combo. Some of my most productive soft plastics would include .... Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver/ Strike King Rodent - so productive no matter how you rig it. From a heavy sinker flipping it in the trash to casting it with an 1/8 oz sinker this bait gets bit. R.I. Smallie Beaver- I stick this behind a 1/16 oz Gopher Tackle Mushroom Head for those high pressure days with blue skies and light wind. Great combo for those tough days. Zoom Speed Craw- I typically fish this with sinker sizes from 1/4 oz and heavier to get those legs moving Zoom Baby Brush Hog- I cut a little V notch in the flappers make it look like craw flappers and detach the side arms. Not sure it makes a difference to the fish but it impresses me. Zoom Brush Hog- Great Bait for the Big Bite- I usually fish Trig with a 3/8 or 1/2 sinker Zoom Super Fluke- extremely versaitile. In addittion to weightless it's also effective on a Carolina Rig, I usually use the Peter T version with app 12" leader and 1/16 oz sinker for a nice death spiral Yamamoto Senko/ Yum Dinger- Awesome bait. In addtion to fishing the classic weightless method it's also effective casting as a weighted T rig or use a heavieir sinker and it's an underrated pitching bait. I use the Yum Dinger when I want a slower fall Zoom French Fry- I like to rig sideways with a 2/0 Owner offset and insert a Lunker City nailweight in the tail, when you lift it and it glides back to the bass they have no choice but to eat it. Yamamoto Thin Senko- I like to weightless T rig this bait, slower fall than a regular senko Zoom Trick worm- rig it just about any way you want it will get bit, my favorite time to use it is right around spawning time, I like to throw it weightless and let it sit with occasional twitch Yamamoto/ Chompers Spide Grub- fish it on a jighead. Swim it/ Hop It/ Drag It 10" Berkley Power Worm- T rig or Carolina rig 10" XCite Maximus on a 1/2 oz Ttleshot Mag Jighead- Fished as Iaconnelli refers to as a Power Shakey head, I've had fantastic results recently with this combo. Dichoso baits has this same mold I have an order right now with the Smoke Purple color that XCITE stopped offering.

First of all great topic and if I could I would use a casting reel for almost everything but jerkbaits where I prefer a spinning rod. I throw some fairly small baits such as a Smallie Beaver on a 1/16 oz mushroomhead with a 101D Curado on a BCR852 Mossyback (7'1" length, EX. Fast, 10-14 lb line rating, 1/8 to 3/8 oz lure rating). I use 8lb Floro which is a little under Loomis spec but I have not had any issues with this rod being too much for this line. I also through the 6" Fat Straight tail Robo worm regularly with this rod and my casting distance is comparable to any spinning rig that I've tried to date because the line slap from Floro seems to impact spinning rods more. I have not tried some of the reels already reccomended in this discussion but have no doubt that they probably perform as good or better than my current choice. I remember reading in a Bassmaster a few months back about specially rigged Japanese casting reels that they use to throw small baits and very light line and would welcome anything that could push the envelope in this regard. I'm intriqued by the Daiwa PX Type R reel that was recently introduced. The hard part for me is its a reel not made by Shimano (I'm a very loyal Shimano guy) and the $ 499.95 price tag.

I use a few different brands of soft plastics and Zoom is part of the rotation. I have not had any quality control problems and I've been using their stuff for years. The baits I use would include... Speed Craw Centipede Brush Hog & Baby Brush Hog Super Fluke & Jr. U tail worms Trick Worm

The bad part for me is Matt's not selling any right now, from what I understand he's updating his hard bait line. This bait swam beautifully and bass in my area gave it the thumbs up. I hope he includes Perch baits when his new stuff comes out.

Here are a few new additions that have wotked for me... 3:16 Wake Jr. & Baby Wake 7" Rago BVD In Line Swimbait Matt Lures Slow Sink Hard Perch- worked great until I lost it Berkley Havoc Pit Boss Strike King KVD 1.5- I still like Lucky Craft's RC series the best but this is a close second Xcite baits Maximus with Titleshot 1/2 OZ Mag jighook fished shakey head style Decoy Hydratail finnesse swimbait Mop Jigs

I like Bluegill & Ghost patterns.

Lightly weighted Sweet Beaver seems to catch fish comparable to jig fish, stuck a nice 6lb 6ozer recently. T-rigged full size Brush Hog. Xcite Maximus 10" Trick Worm on Titleshot Mag jig hook, started fishing recently and I've become a believer.

I've only made a few cast with my 6" HPH bait and I was impressed with the action but have not put enough time on the water to evaluate the bait as mine came with a shad color. I know that color will catch fish, that said my local lakes do not have shad in them, but a lot of them offer Golden Shiner as forage. So I decided to have my HPH custom painted with this pattern. I realize color is secondary to action, location, presentation etc., that said I'm much more confident throwing swimbaits that match up local forage and confidence is the name of the game when throwing these baits. I will post a picture when I get this bait. I also have a Gen 2 5" Slow sink Bullshad painted as a Golden Shiner by Dwain Batey/ Baitwerks and I've done well with it the limited time I've thrown it, stuck a solid 5lber a couple of weeks back which is nice bass in Michigan. JFrancho I didn't realize that the HPH is avilable as a Fast Sink, I definetely will have to check that out as I need a bait that stays down more with a faster retrieve. Thanks for the tip.