Tucson

Thanks to everyone for the great responses. This will definitely save me a lot of effort.

Are jigs effective in shallow mucky bottomed lakes or do they just stir up junky bottom stuff? I have some 1/4 oz standup jigs, could I just swim them along in 3-6 feet of water without dragging them through the muck? I'm trying to learn jigs this year, normally fish deep rocky lakes but currently have 5 weeks in Florida in a shallow lake and not sure how to do it. Thanks for any advice.

Well, at least I hooked up!

The Berkley Braid knot works well for me, I'm not familiar with the double palomar, I'll have to look it up.

A very versatile bait either as a trailer or main course. I started out using the smaller ones on a ball-head jig (1/8 or 1/4 oz) just swimming them back, then tried the larger ones on a relatively heavy (1/2 oz) football jig for an entirely different presentation. With the football jig I drag them along the bottom with frequent pauses to let the skirt "work". Dbl tail hula grubs and senkos are my favorite baits.

Can't believe it, two years in a row an alligator encounter while bass fishing on Little Lake Harris. Last year I snagged one on a leadhead jig but he was cool about it and I got unsnagged. Tonight just before dark I tossed a black Senko towards some weeds in about 4-5 feet of water when I hooked up with a nice strike. All of a sudden it left the shoreline just screaming along, behind the boat and into open water. I assumed it was a high-speed bass but didn't think they could swim that fast. The drag was just screaming and offered no resistance whatsoever for about 10 seconds until it broke off. About 5 minutes later I saw a big alligator right where my "bass" was headed. Man, that gator was making tracks. Anyone know how fast they can swim? Couldn't find out on Google.

Figure two pounds of thrust for every 100 pounds of boat. Of course you have to figure in the total weight of boat, people, tackle, gear, chewing tobacco, refreshing beverages etc.

I've started using them this year and have been happy with them, they hold the hook out at the correct angle, just as advertised.

8 lbs, 8 oz last spring on my Florida trip. Dbl Tailed Hula Grub on 1/8 ballhead jig. 6 lbs, 10 oz the next day on a Senko. Going back to the same place for 5 weeks, leaving early April. Now I gotta go 8 lbs 9 oz this year!

Now that's a big kitty! Think he's asking for a tummy rub.

Uh oh! Surprised at some of the responses. I always considered Rapala to be great quality at a decent price, I've used Stren for years until I discovered Yo-Zuri Ultrasoft and I think eagle claw makes a decent hook, not as good as an Owner but a lot more affordable. Disappointing to hear the negatives about Storm-O lures. I was planning on using them more frequently this year, perhaps in lieu of the more expensive swimbaits. Gotta reconsider now.

Yeah, theyr'e kinda famous for that hook. It takes a little effort to get them sharp but I assume they use a strong hook because of their intended use - running them through weed cover. Ten minutes work will put a decent point on them. These lures are really fun to use in lily pads but don't tell anyone else, keep the secret to ourselves! Use one of these on a heavy action rod, a baitcaster reel and voila - Retro fishing from the '50's. Only thing missing is a rented wooden boat and a smoky 15 HP outboard. Yeah!

Gotta be real honest with ya, flyfishing is not a technique you pick up in a few minutes. Suggest you practice at home about a half hour every day for a while. Strongly consider hiring an instructor. An hour of guided instruction will go a long way towards proficiency. Even an instructional video is very helpful, sometimes local libraries have them or they are available from Netflix if you're a member. The key to fishing poppers is patience: Present your popper then let it sit for as long as you can stand (about 1 minute in my case!) Then just twitch it, let it sit some more. Work it with short twitches using your line hand not your rod tip then (drum roll please) let it sit. The key to flyfishing is presentation. Don't work your lure like you would with a BC or spinning rig. Hope my comments don't come off as snobbish or condescending, using a flyrod is a wonderful way to fish but it does require more effort to learn. I doinked around with it for years, acquiring bad habits along with good ones without really understanding what I was doing. A half-hour of instruction with a pro (something I normally avoid) just a few months ago really enlightened me. also it's helpful to videotape your practice sessions so you can see exactly whats going on. When you catch your first bass on a flyrod you'll understand the allure. It has some kind of primal attraction that's difficult to articulate. Let us know how your weekend turns out and wether you're going to stick with flyfishing.

1. Pig 'n jig techniques 2. Learn to pitch and flip (if possible) 3. Become more proficient with a flyrod 4. Get better at dropshotting 5. Spend more time on the water

Guess we pay more for the specialization that these boats represent. I went the other way when i purchased in '04. Picked up an aluminum 18' Crestliner Canadian w/trailer and 60 hp Yamaha for just under 16,000 out the door. That's about one third of what the specialized bass boats are running and it has greater versatility with less specialization. I think you may start seeing more "basic boats" in the future as prices continue to rise and fishermen become more reluctant to fork over 50 large. Additionally, there may be a lot of used boats coming up soon as people start scrambling to meet their balloon payments on mortgages they can't afford. (Sorry for the ramble!) If I saved 32,000 on a boat, how many GYCB senkos would that buy?

I have some bass flies with a weedguard made of heavy mono attached to the head of the fly and the other end attached to the hook bend. I wonder if this would work for jigs? Regarding the bristles, I've been trimming the bristles down so they go just beyond the hook point. Some guys trim individual bristles or split them in two bunches and tie off each bundle with a piece of mono. Anyone have any experience with these techniques? Just noticed that I've got two stars now! An official junior member. When do I get my decoder ring?

Some good advice here - thanks to everyone for sharing. I'm new to jig fishing this year myself. I've been picking up jigs at Assalt for a few months and now I've got 200 jigs so I'm not afraid to lose a few. Although I don't like Gary Yamamoto's prices I've got to admit that his double tail grubs are really great trailers. I have a five week vacation on a central Fl lake coming up and you can bet I'll be spending a lot of time learning jig techniques.

I'm playing with #30 power pro this year on a baitcaster and would like a a few feet of clear leader. Most of the posts suggest a fluorocarbon leader vs regular mono. Is the fluoro more abrasion proof or is there some other reason to use it? First, gotta master the uni-uni knot. I lose my patience with this knot (so far) but I have to learn it.

Never used a Shimano (heard lots of good things about them) but have been using an Inspira 30 for a couple of years. Very happy witht the Okuma, you get an awful lot of reel for the money. Very smooth, zero problems to this point. I was so impressed with Okuma that I bought an Okuma flyrod and reel this year. Both are great products.

Deer hair bugs and hard-bodied poppers work for me.

Wind does it for me and not even 30mph. I'm good until about 12 mph, after that it's not much fun for me.

I've been thinking along the same lines. Basspro and Cabela's have a hard foam float, about the size of a contact cold capsule that is specific for this. Have only tried them in the pool but they do float the worm, mostly the front end of course. Might be a good idea to use them in conjunction with a floating worm/lizard to give it a little more boost. Also heard of "larding" the plastic with bits of styrofoam.

Not impressed with the Jitterbug, they keep floating to the surface! I put on about 6 big splitshots on the line and NOW I'm getting some depth. Yeah! Not really.

I've always used surface poppers but this year I purchased a variety of bass-sized flies: deer hair bugs, swimming flies, diving flies etc. Can't wait to try them out.

I've been using these clips on cranks for a year or so and really like the ease of changing lures with them but.... I have noticed that for some inexplicable reason they will sometimes start working themselves loose. Can't figure out how but I check them every few casts now to make sure they're seated correctly.