mikey5string

I have lost a few good lures getting a little overzealous and whipping a cast as fas as I could without adjusting the reel setting. I will watch an overspool happen mid-cast, lock up the spool, stop the cast short mid-air and snap the line sending my new $10 crankbait flying into the lake 50 yards away all in a second or two, leaving me standing there with a limp line blowing in the wind. Also had the ceramic coating crack off the first guide exposing the sharp metal frame. Lost 2 good fish setting the hook and havingt the line cut like that. I scratched my head and retied only to have it happen AGAIN before I realized what had happened. Another aggravating "user error" that resulted in lost fish was using hooks without a welded eye. The knot slips down into the notch where the eyelet "closes" against the hook shank. Set the hook with that going on and its like a little guillotine. Nothing like reeling back up to see your neat little clinch knot at the end of the line with nothing else. I use welded eye hooks now. I have lost fish/lures by getting exited and sloppily tying knots, not adding the "improved" part of the improved clinch knot because I couldn't get that last piece through that d**n loop. Or wondering "did I tie that right?" when tying a different knot but throwing it anyway.... No worse feeling that losing a big fish because of something you could have prevented.

Mega strike is the best stand up head for sure. I sed the owner ultra Shakey heads before I discovered mega strike.

Use a drop shot weight and you won't lose your hook in a hang up. Boss hog, Make sure you are starting the palmar knot by inserting the line in the point side of the hook. When you're done put the tag end in the same way and pull it through. You have to pull the knot through te eye but youll get it to stand out. Nothing is going to stand out at a 90 degree angle all the time, that's really nothe point. You just want the bait horizontal.

x3 on the weightless t-rig. IMO this is how the fluke was designed to be fished and where it shines. Jerking, twitching and dead sticking over submerged grass or anywhere baitfish are.

the thing is, a craw really only looks like an actual crawfish when it is stationary. Otherwise, its scurrying around with legs, claws and appendages swirling and moving and kicking up silt. This is probably how the bass sees one as its about to eat it, as just a ball of movement trying to get away. I bought a pack of yum craws that look like a real craw but they havent produced as well as some of the other beaver, creature type baits with a lot of action.

nice fish deep, need to work on your photoshop masking though ; )

the palomar knot is one of the easier knots to tie. A drop shot is just tied with a palomar knot with a long tag end. I use the VMC spinshots to minimize line twist and havent had any problems with them.

I use an alberto knot and have no problems with the knot going through the guides. I have never had that knot fail and I use the braid>flouro on all my rods.

I bought some hooks and tied this rig. Cant wait to try it out, hopefully I can put more of those hits into the boat. The only thing I dont like is that you cant really make the bait look good AND have it weedless.

How many times does this get asked per year?

Thanks, that makes sense. I miss a lot of fish with my current setup. I have always attributed if to not being good enough at setting the hook at the exact right time. I am definitely going to try this rig out. Thanks again.

some soft plastics are so soft and covered in scent and oil that its very difficult to have them stay put for any extended period of time. I will sometimes wrap fine craft wire around the shank right before the eye to help with grip. Also sliding the nose of the bait up over the eye helps as well.

there are tons of punching baits out there now. It is the hot technique. Berkley Havoc makes some great pro designed baits. The Pit Boss is one of my favorites. Also check out Missle Baits "D-Bomb" Reaction Innovations "Sweet BEaver" and of course, Rage Tails Rage Craw is a favorite around here. I look for something with a good balance of "meat" and fluttering appendages for the fall but not so much that it would hang. Usually you are using a heavy weight to punch the cover youre fishing so the plastic is not likely to get hung up. Check out the Havoc "Wide Load" and Craw Fatty, Zooms Brush Hog, Even a basic twin tail grub with a skirt will produce. Its more a matter of getting the bait in the right spot in close quarters (pitching and flipping accuracy), having it fall vertically on semi slack line, and detecting and reacting to strikes in time, which can be very difficult and frustrating in the beginning.

I currently use 4/0 EWG worm hooks on a pegged texas rig when flippin and pitching around grass/trees etc. I have seen "flipping hooks" advertised and I wanted to know the benefits of using these vs offset worm hooks. Without the offset shank, I cant see how you could get the bait in line. Also, I see there is a "keeper" on a lot of these but the bend on the shank of a worm hook holds the bait in place reasonably well for me. They seem to be heavier gauge than a standard hook but I dont use light wire hooks and have never had any issues with straightening a hook. Who uses flipping hooks as opposed to EWG worm hooks and why? Thanks

You mean EWG vs standard gap? I use EWG offset worm hooks mostly. For worms I might use a standard gap but I change plastics often and I don't wantto have to retye. EWG works for both.

Bass can and will go after things 75% of their size. They don't know that it's a Muskie lure. I don't have any lures for Muskie s there not in CT but I have thrown bluefish plugs like 8" swimbaits and caught bass as small as 2lbs.

I don't troll for bass. There really isn't a need to. Bass don't move as much as other species. Most of the time they are on some type of cover or structure. You locate that structure and fish it. I doubt the reason that trolling isn't allowed in tourneys is because it's so effective. I'd bet that a good bass fisherman would outperform a troller all day. I see it as a "chuck and luck" technique. If you know where the fish are there is no need to troll. Im not into any fishing where you're not holding the rod when the fish bites. Also don't like how you are basically extending your vessel however much line you have out. So a person with 50 yards of line out is taking up 50 yards behind him while "fishing" the lake That being said I have met some great fishermen who troll, they just don't fish for bass. Mostly walleye guys or saltwater guys. Nothing against people who troll, I just don't think of it as a serious bass fishing technique. Again, just my opinion.

5lb plus bass which have thus far eluded me. Trying new baits/techniques/equipment. Getting outside and away from the rat race, spending time with good people, BSing at the dock with the other guys at the end of the day, watching the sun come up on the lake, being the first/only one out there when it does. Coming up on a perfect spot or a new lake, topwater bites, having a big bass slam a lure right at the boat, getting all my stuff ready the night before, stopping for a nice lunch after eating a granola bar in the previous 8 hours, perfect casts...., just a few reasons.

I mostly fish a few lakes/ponds in my area so I dont get skunked anymore. I dont always catch quality fish but I can always get something. If the bite is tough, a drop shot with a roboworm or spring worm will almost always get some dinks. A weightless t-rigged fluke jerked around submerged weeds is a good bet also. If all else fails I might have to dig up the wacky senko. If there are bass in the lake, these tactics thrown towards the bank around cover will get a bite.

A 10" worm ridiculous? That is one of my favorite baits! I have caught tons of fish on big worms and some under 10".

While I think the red eye shad is a great looking bait , I haven't caught much on it. I have had better luck with the chrome/blue Cordell. I fish them in submerged weeds, ripping it through when the lure gets hung up. I try to let the bait free fall as well. I will crank it up then let it fall and repeat. They seem to catch small schooling fish for me. I haven't gotten any big ones so I usually throw jigs, swim baits or big worms. Not much of a crank bait guy but I have been trying to use it more often.

I have used one. It looked awesome in the water but I didnt catch anything. Also felt a little ridiculous with it tied on. They are popular in saltwater around here for trolling but I would rather not use them for bass, there are just too many other good lures that will work. Something you might want to try is the yum double rig. Its just a 2 arm rig that allows you to throw 2 lures. I have caught fish with this rig with 2 smaller swim baits attached. I dont use it so much anymore but its a nice in between if you wanted to try an umbrella rig but didnt want to go all out.

I would start by learning the texas rig. Learn how to texpose a worm hook and work a bait on the bottom or through cover. You can experiment with different weights and baits in different conditions. Anyone can fish a wacky rigged senko, it isnt really teaching you much about bass fishing. They do work but a texas rig is going to give you more milage.

ribbon tail worms are my favorite. I like the trigger-x hammer worm. Also like using this weightless with a nail sinker in the head. For creature baits, I like the baby brush hog. If I am flipping into grass I will peg a t-rig, maybe add a skirt and use a sweet beaver or brush hog.

For my last couple outings at my favorite local lake I have noticed all my go to spots for quality fish (3-5lbs) have been taken over by schools of small bass (from 10" - maybe 1.5lbs) When I get on them, I can catch one almost every cast. Either that or I get tons of short strikes that just foul my 10" worm. I threw a 6" swimbait and got a 14" bass. When there are multiple same-size small bass in an area, will larger bass be present? I was thinking that large adults are solitary and therefore wouldnt be mixed in. I had to make myself move from a spot that was producing fish because I want the big females and if they were mixed in, they probably didnt have a chance to bite my lure before the dinks came in and got it. My one 3lb fish came off a swimbait thrown at a clump of grass on the bank. The area I fish is a mountain side with a bank with patches of hydrilla and fallen trees leading quickly to 30' of water (within 20 yds) I usually throw a c-rig along the bank where it gets deep, a frog at the isolated mats, a shakey head and a swimbait or crankbait. My question: If you found yourself "on fish" but all were the same size (small) would you take that as a sign that big fish are nearby and adjust tactics or would you move on to find bigger fish?