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Never seen any exactly like that. Possibly a knock-off? Those hooks look pretty stout. Maybe a deep diver used in saltwater?

Great when fish are agressive and ready to react. They can't see the bait clearly and they simply react to the movement, sound and water disturbance. As Blue said, can be deadly in clear water or when they are busting shad on top.

I prefer to fish alone. It lets you relax more and clear your mind. If a bad cast gets hooked on a dock, tree, or weeds, I have no one to blame but myself. If equipment gets damaged or lost, again my bad. I do not have to worry if the other person wants to try a different spot or change something or leave before I want to. On the other hand, It is nice to have help launching the boat, and it is always safer to have someone with you if you have engine trouble, an injury, or any other unforeseen problem that may happen.

I started taking off the middle treble hook. I have not noticed any difference in hook ups, and the bait remains balanced. Three treble hooks seems like overkill. A friend changes all of his to single circle hooks instead of trebles and still catches just as many as before. I guess maybe it depends on if they are eating the bait or just swiping at it?

Senko spinnerbait / chatterbait topwater of some sort squarebill crank fluke / keitech

I believe a lot depends on where you are geographically. Our lakes are primarily shallow and have a mud bottom with thick tangled vegetation. So here, When the spinnerbait hits the water raise the rod tip and reel fast. Run the bait just under the surface. The fish come up out of the weeds to the bait. I can see if you have deep water with a sand or rock bottom, slow rolling could be deadly.

Looks like a BD baits topwater. Probably a discontinued color.

Personally, I would avoid salt water. If you go for it, rinse everything especially the trailer as stated above. Also spray and wipe all metal in the boat with a good lubricant, locks, pedastals, springs, TM motor, etc. Overspray while boating and even just salt air can be extremely corrosive. Flush the outboard real good. The water ports and thermostat have small channels that can play havoc if any salt is left.

Anyone fish here lately? I fished here many times in the past. Recently I noticed the chain pickeral population has seemed to explode. The last 3 times I bass fished at Conway all I caught was several pickeral. It didn't seem to matter what I was throwing they wanted it. Anyone else notice this at Conway? I never had this problem in years past. It reminded me of living up north and dealing with the toothy Northern Pike.

The young gators love to chase topwater. A high speed reel is a must to get your lure back quickly. Big momma is usually close by so don't mess with those curious little gators. If you want to see some wild videos fishing around gators, check out some of the videos by Captain Shane Procell, a member here who knows a lot about fishing near gators.

Do they just run on the bottom, or can you swim them higher in the water column? Most of our lakes are shallow and the bottom is mud covered with algae. Bottom fishing is mostly out of the question. Also, we do not have any smallmouth, but I assume the largemouth would also be interested in these?

Kind of new to chatterbaits. Do you steady retrieve or zip it quick once in a while. I tried today and only caught a few small eastern chain pickeral. They are the smaller, just as annoying, cousin to the northern pike that our northern friends know well.

Yes, it really looks like an old strike king to me also.

I know you had to replace the hooks on the rapala shadow rap or they could easily straighten out. I thought they put better hooks on the ripstop, but maybe not?

Sorry, I should have mentioned I only did this to the floating jerkbaits. As Scott said it would definately mess up a suspending bait some, unless you compensate with a suspend dot or something. Thanks.

On my jerkbaits that have 3 sets of treble hooks, I have been removing the center one. It makes it easier to unhook fish with less damage to them and less chance of hooking myself. I have not noticed any change in the balance or action of the baits and I have not had any decline in strikes or fish landed. I am just wondering if there is any real disadvantage that I may have missed? Your thoughts? Thanks.

9.23

I believe I have towed about 6 boats back to the ramp in last few years when they broke down, and my boat was smaller than most of them. I just hope that someday someone may do the same for me if the need arises.

Is there still access to Juliana? I went there maybe 20 years ago. I think we had to pay a couple bucks at a trailer park area to launch. We caught several small ones in Juliana and had a tough time getting through the little canal to Mattie. We never did get a bass in Mattie. I have not been back, but thought about trying it again, Just not sure if you can still launch on Juliana.

I had one on my boat. It now sits in the garage. They are a pain to try to fish around. Also you can't run very fast with it up, so you end up putting it up and down all day. It only shades a small portion depending on the angle of the sun. The worst part is with the top up, you now have a huge sail boat. Any wind will blow you right off the lake. I would pass.

Has anyone tried magnet fishing for lost lures? I thought about keeping a magnet on the boat to possibly retrieve a lure that broke off on wood or some structure. I have heard the biggest problem is the magnet sticking to something really heavy and the fact that the magnet may screw up electronics, cell phones, and even credit cards if it comes in range of your belongings.

I don't keep or eat bass. Saltwater fish I think taste better. Most of our lakes have mercury warnings. I do not need to glow in the dark, or start growing extra appendages. Here we do not need anglers to thin the bass population. We have so many predators that are much better at it. Each time on the water I see one of mother natures creatures eating bass. I believe that is how it is probably supposed to be.

I was looking at academy's baits and they look pretty good for the price. Can anyone suggest any that have worked well for you?

Has anyone had any luck with the H2O 5" single joint glide bait? It looks really good and the price is great for a glide bait.

Call it physics or geometry, but a longer rope now is pulling at a 45 degree angle, so when it pulls, the anchor digs in. If you use just enough rope to get to the bottom, your anchor is just resting straight up and sliding along the bottom allowing the boat to drift. I hope that makes sense. All I know is it works really well. Try it both ways on a windy day and you should notice a difference.