cajun_flipper

I usually present a T-Rigged rage craw with a lift and pause method. Dragging works, but I rarely fish that way. Just a lift or hop tends to work for me. As per any T-Rigged lure, you're best chances are on the initial fall next to cover/structure.

The world is shrinking quickly. With the amount of crap that we have moving all over the world, destruction of habitat, and stupid pet owners, its just a matter of time before every critter lives on every continent. Eradication is the proper thing to do. Since this is an invasive species, I see no problems with opening season. Is there a specific way to target these things to start filling up freezers without hitting our natural population? If so, I'd love to see a couple dozen on my grill. Looks like they would go nicely with lemon juice, beer, and french fries.

Co angler can be very rewarding in the form of education...and very frustrating if you have a guy who doesn't care if you catch fish or not....simply put....bad boat positioning. You also have to deal with the fact that you are playing catch up all day if he is a fast fisher. I'd focus on having a good variety of spinner baits, crank baits, and top waters and limit my soft plastics to the necessities in order to save weight and room. Rods...shouldn't need more than 4 really. One spinner bait/topwater, one crank bait/topwater, one weightless soft plastic, and one jig/worm rod. That should cover most of the bases. I don't know what sort of tackle boxes you're using, but I use the soft sided bags that carry the clear boxes. If you are running that kind of set up with your normal stuff, you might be able to save some $$$ by just buying the bag and transferring the clear boxes that you need. I keep mine organized by color types rather than by lure type like most people. That way if I am facing clear water, I reach in and grab my clear water boxes which contain all the lures I need for clear water. Same goes for stained, muddy, etc. Just one way to look at it. Granted, take my advice with a grain or two of salt. I've only been co-angler a couple of times before I got out of tournament fishing altogether...so I'm no expert.

I thought about putting a sonar on my yak until I really thought about it. The purpose of my kayak is to A) Fish inland marshes from unimproved areas (like putting in ditches in Leeville, LA) Fish small, shallow rivers that are not able to handle regular boat traffic C) Enjoy a more primitive form of the sport to enjoy the serenity and challenges without modern help. Because 90% of my kayak fishing is done in less than 5ft of water, I opted to leave my kayak modifications to a camouflage spray paint job and some upgraded bow lines. I also didn't want to deal with the wiring, weight, or the fact that it takes up more space (which is limited in a yak already). Depending on what you have you're kayak for and what you do with it, it may be a wise investment. Some guys hit major lakes and waterways with them. If that's you, then by all means, get a depthfinder. I've never had one fully submerged, however I have had days in my bass boat where waves break over the bow and soak the display unit. Never seemed to hurt it. I'm running a hummingbird. Not sure what model.

That's my thoughts. I'm from Louisiana, so we have 4 days of winter and 361 days of summer. There is no spring or fall lol. Anyway, we get slammed with warm front after warm front from the Gulf. I've never heard anyone around here planning for or canceling a fishing trip due to a warm front. We sometimes go into a frenzy down here to try to get on the water the day before/of a cold front and we'll cancel trips after the front has rolled through. It's a good question. I'd like to hear something scientific about it. It seems to me that the fish will respond positively due to the lower pressures, warmer temperatures, and the possibility of rains washing in some new attractants for baitfish. I'm not certain at all through.

Sorry I've been scarce. I had last minute warning about 2 career schools so I haven't been out at all in the last 2 weeks. Thankfully they come to an end tomorrow. I'm going to try to get on the water in the next week or so. Be looking for a fresh update from me. We have more LA bassers here than I thought. Might have to schedule up a Caney Lake trip. I still haven't fished there. Anyone having any luck on big bass there?

Super Fluke in watermelon red for me. That is my Number 1 pond bait. Second place goes to a hula grub or rage craw on a jig head closely followed by a buzzbait.

I'm starting to hear about some action in the spillway, but haven't been out there to confirm it. You wanna talk about trying to dissect a body of water...the spillway is a BEAST. Henderson is supposedly hitting right now and I'm hoping I can get in on the action if work will slack off some.

I'm not a fan of the old style jig trailers...especially the pork ones. The soft plastic chunks lack action and the pork ones are a pain to get off of a hook when you want to switch baits. However I have heard that the old style chunks work better in the winter time but I cannot confirm that through personal experience. I deer hunt in the winter Deer certainly don't like them.

I fish A LOT of soft plastics and very rarely do any of them resemble a worm. Soft plastic craws and brush hogs are proven baits in any number of conditions and presented in the same manner. I have more faith in creature baits. As far as switching lures, I always have one horizontal lure and one vertical lure tied on. Most times here in Louisiana that comes in the form of a Rage Tail Craw (vertical lure) and a spinner bait (horizontal). Both of those lures are versatile enough to fish a million different ways. Unconventional tactics sometimes work. Swimming a worm or hopping a spinner bait and things of that sort. Find cover and structure and target them like there's no tomorrow.

I'm going to try to keep this thread going as I get to fishing more and more. I'm saving a ton of money right now for a custody battle...attorneys are expensive. I did get out on the Tangipahoa River a few days ago. All the rail we had recently had the water looking like chocolate milk. I was still able to put together a decent day with a mixed catch. Most were panfish caught on bass baits. Bites were coming on black beetle spins with gold blades near the tree line. It was a slow day, but I love fishing that river. I should be able to really start getting after it in June with the canoe, so if you're into that sort of thing around here, stick around or hit me up. And Catt is right...if you want to know about south west Louisiana, look no further than him. He's been slaying them for years out there.

I fished Cen-Tex for 6 years while I was in the Army. Watermelon Red Zoom Super Flukes and Zoom Trick Worms rigged on a jig head were staple lures. Carolina rigged watermelon red Senkos were a winner too. Those were my choice lures for the gin-clear deep lakes. For smaller lakes, ponds, and rivers, I used a Rage Craw rigged on a swimbait hook along with poppers and crankbaits. I had great luck there and caught some really nice fish.

I'm going to try to make it a point to keep this updated just so that people around me can share some information. I fish a lot of the rivers that flow through the central and southeast portion of the state. I'm planning on making several canoe trips on some other small rivers as well as a run to Caney Lake. I'll post reports here. Feel free to add some of your own. Once I got up the Tickfaw river from Springfield and after blowing the cobwebs out of the old motor, it was time to fish. Spinner baits and topwaters were fruitless, as were super flukes, craws, and power worms. I switched to a Zoom Baby Brush Hog in watermelon seed and caught 4 decent bass. 5 warmouths fell for the texas rigged presentation. The rains in the area had the water high and falling fast. Fish were positioned in current breaks and run outs and slow to bite. I'm contemplating taking the kayak or canoe out soon depending on the weather. I need about 5-10 days of sunshine for those spots to be worth the effort. My next big boat destination will be the Tangipahoa River in search of spotted bass. Hopefully this will take place during the next week or so.

Remember that a top water frog moves and acts NOTHING like a real frog in the water. The bass are relating to movement, water displacement, and activity. Sure it looks like a frog, but don't get hung up on that. Any given day is a good day for any given bait. If you want to throw it, find some slop and sling it in there and see what happens.

Lures like trick worms and grubs bring in huge numbers of fish ranging from the funniest dinks all the way up to wall hanger sized bass. Guys who specifically target trophy fish use huge lures like the monster swim baits, multi blade spinner baits, and huge soft plastics. It all depends on what you're after. Big bass will hit tiny lures and small bass will hit lures larger than they are. If you're going for numbers, such as a recreational or tournament angler, then I'd suggest smaller profile lures.

I guess sometimes surfers aren't the right lures for sharks. That's for the aggressive ones in shallow water. (Buzz baits) Sometimes they are suspended over structure in deep water and only want to hit free divers. (drop shots) Sometimes the subtle splashing of a snorkeler does the trick. (Zara Spooks) It all depends on water clarity, barometric pressure, current movements, and abundance of natural forage such as seals, fish, turtles, or even license plates from Kansas. It is certainly true that predators react the same regardless of species. They way they stalk, ambush, and attack aren't unique. It's a good and keen observation that I've never thought about until now.

Watermelon Red, Watermelon Seed, Blue Fleck, June Bug, Smoke w/ Silver Flakes and a custom color from a hand pour guy I know. I'll be making it soon. It's know as Special Swamp Soup

I'm an LSU fan, so I will refer to this rig as the "multiple soft plastic lure presentation." Good job on the video Mike! Thanks for the exclusive here for us and your long time support of this site. It is appreciated

I wasn't asking for tips but I sure won't pass them down! Thanks! I agree. Most of my fishing is done out of my canoe or kayak...even though I have a bass boat and access to bay boats and swamp rigs. I just prefer the small quiet back waters here in Louisiana as opposed to the chaotic big lakes and rivers. You should try salt water fishing with live bait out of your kayak. Talk about one heck of a time! When I vertical jig, I'm usually looking for crappie, but its rare that I tote that 8ft pole around on the small boats. I usually do that in the winter time out of my bass boat. And you are ABSOLUTELY correct when you say that top waters are the way to go in the rain. Thanks for the pointers bro!

Once upon a time, I went to the jig indiscriminately over soft plastic creature baits. Then I came around and started T-Rigging more and more soft plastics. I've now gotten to the point where I own a few confidence jigs for very specific conditions, preferring Florida Rigged hula grubs 99% of the time to a jig. I guess that's the best of both worlds...skin hooked weedless with a skirt and trailer profile. It is a miracle bait for me. Most of the time when I'm starting out fishing in the cover, I pick up a watermelon red brush hog, regardless of the conditions. If that fails to produce, I go for the more subtle hula grub and get tight to the cover. Granted I'm fishing for spots and small bass in shallow swamps and rivers and not huge lakes or river systems, so take that in account. I pick up jigs when I think that the fish may want a faster fall or larger profile than the 1/8oz hula grubs or 3/16oz baby brush hogs.

I tie off or beach more than I anchor. I do keep a home made anchor with me though. It's a 10lb weight (like for working out) with 3 pieces of 1/2in solid steel poles welded together and bent to where it looks like a grappling hook. I welded a 1in dia steel pipe over the neck of it to keep the weight from sliding around. It works great but snags easy. I figured it's an anchor...that's what it's supposed to do Good point about being in too strong of a current in a small boat. Our current is ripping here, but I don't think its bad enough to put me in a bind. Might have to think up a new rig like yours.

I had to. I forgot the password to my old account and that email is dead

I bought one of Mattlures bluegills a few years back. It was my first quality swimbait. I took it to Belton Lake and bounced it around on the bottom. I felt a strike and hung into something that was big enough to swing an 18ft boat around then break HEAVY line. Probably a huge flat head catfish if I had to guess. I knew I was going to get bit...didn't know it would get murdered like that. If I start fishing big fish waters again, I WILL buy more of those bluegills.

Big O is a great guy and makes an outstanding product! It's a shame the secret is out. I have problems getting the craws around here.

I was wondering if someone was going to quote that For some reason, I've had good luck in under cover when it is raining hard. I'm not sure if the sound or constant disturbances causes bass to seek a more quiet area, but it tends to work for me.