Curved

I was fishing one day and this loon comes along under the water. I'm sitting there watching it go by about 5' underwater, and all of a sudden it does a fast u-turn and goes down further after something. I see it come up with a fish. I'm fishing with a crankbait right at that moment, but I hear my drag go off on my other rod. I had forgotten I had a live bluegill on it and the loon had just taken my bait. So I start wrapping the line around my hands and yank that gill right out of the loon's mouth underwater. Of course the loon starts chasing my gill and here I am frantically yanking line in as this loon is chasing this bluegill who is having one heck of a ride. I finally yank the fish out of the water and it gets stuck on something underneath the dock. Not that bluegill's day. After I got him untangled, the loon had swam off, and the poor fish was still alive so I decided he had earned his freedom. I chucked him back in and after recovering on his side for a while, he swam off.

Try a suspending hard jerkbait like an X-Rap or a KVD Jerkbait in a darker color. Run it REAL slow. Like 1 revolution on the reel every 3 seconds slow. Toss in a couple small jerks here or there and let it sit for a couple seconds after the jerks. Also I'd recommend going to walmart and picking up a really cheap spinner for $15 -- one of the ones with 6lb mono already on it and no continuous anti-reverse. Use that instead of your ship catcher. Just set the drag appropriately and you can land anything in that pond.

Light dropshot with a floating plastic on the hook.

A dropshot, but with a medium-sized splitshot as the weight.

Looking at your foot of snow out the window right now ... you can keep it to yourself next time. OP, don't worry about catching fish. Have a good time, experiment, and relax. The fish are bonuses.

As Teddy Roosevelt said, "walk softly and carry a big stickbait." I happen to know he preferred wacky unweighted and dropshot green or half-green/half-white colored lures. Sometimes a roboworm or floating 3" minnow could also be found on the end of his 6 lb test flouro or mono line. He was known to say a dark colored jacket and hat never hurts as well.

Gulp refill stuff. I don't know if it makes them hold on longer, but I've seen how after it disperses the fish get more active. Just have to stick to the same spot for a while and they start bubbling at the surface.

In the January Bassmaster, Aaron Martens was talking about his regrets of using 5 lb flouro while dropshotting in a prior tournament, and how he should have used 3 lb instead. Don't be afraid to really lighten up. Try 6 lb Nanofil with a very long 4 lb flouro leader. Downsize the hook to a #2 or #4, and figure out a way to hide it in the lure.

3 ft long snake and a porno magazine.

I think they'd work well in a lot of different ways, but DS and little spinner are what I'd do first too. If they sink, you could use them unweighted or with little weight in shallow water.

I'm with Shane. In winter go deep where the warm water is or if there are any underwater springs those are usually warmer too.

My short take: Dropshot rig on 4 lb mono line with a Berkley twitchtail minnow. You'll catch a limit if the bass are on and you can find them. My long take: I just read "Knowing Bass" by Keith Jones, a Berkley researcher. Their research showed the optimum shape of a lure for a 2lb bass is around 2.75" by 1/3". Optimum color is black top, light bottom. Bass remember lures and conditions from previous catches for at least months, probably years. Be very quiet, use light line, cast as far as possible to the target location, and use a lure of the appealing size and in a shape they've never seen before, and you up your chances a lot. I used the twitch tail (which happens to be exactly 2.75") since it was released this summer, on a very tough small lake, and it was highly effective.

My strategy for getting skunked is a 6 pack between friends

My favorite color is "cheaper"

There is a lot of wisdom in your advice. My notes: keep in mind forged hooks use a high tensile steel. Bending will break the crystals in the steel, weakening the material. In my opinion it is better to find a hook that has been forged in the correct shape. Trokar's and Gamakatsu's DS hooks have a great shape to begin with IMO. Lazer Sharp octopus hooks in #1 size work well in a pinch. They don't have as good a shape, but are a good price. I also think 6 lb flouro is the best all-around for DSing smallies, but I use a nanofil main line for extra cast distance (flouro as the leader). 6 lb mono would work fine. A line that floats probably is better so the lure is more vertical off the weight. There are special weights for DSing, but I find a #4 splitshot (round with no wings) with the line looped 3 times through works just as well and is less expensive. I think the best rod is a high-strength carbon rod, as light as possible, with a light to medium light action. I use a 5' 6" rod right now. My favorite way to hook lures is like below, since it is somewhat weedless and the lure will slide down-hook instead of off-hook when a fish fights. Hook can usually be downsized when using this method, which makes setting easier and gives better presentation. As YP said, setting a DS presentation is the easiest thing in the world. Just reel up the slack until you can feel the fish on the rod tip, then put some arch in the rod by putting it to the side. The fish is set. Just want to mention that another benefit of using a light braid or nanofil is that it floats and its strong. When a fish takes the lure, the whole floating line shivers and shifts.

Just wanted to say thanks to our forum sponsor MegaStrike. Most of the baits on Amazon are priced above MSRP to absorb the shipping cost, and MegaStrike is the only bait company I know of on Amazon that is priced at MSRP. Their baits are priced right, get the free 2 day shipping through Amazon Prime, and there is a wide selection available. The jigs, soft baits, spinners, buzzers, and of course attractant are all there in lots of varieties. I just grabbed 10 MegaSticks at $5 shipped and plan on grabbing some shakey head jigs at 4 for $5 shipped. Thanks MegaStrike!

Merry day after Chirstmas! Still looking for a boat-endowed buddy for the new year.

Now this man is a diehard.

Congrats and sweet combo. I got some fishing stuff from my family this year like lures, a travel combo, and a wading vest. They love to indulge me, probably more than they should.

I just might have to splurge to indulge my curiosity -- at least its still cheaper than hard tackle.

Merry Christmas from the Northern South East

Thanks again. I was planning to use this shape for unweighted (or splitshot) and dropshot finesse presentations, so good to hear. I do wish there were some smaller sizes and it was more widely available.

Thanks guys, the I-Shad is exactly the sort of thing I was looking for.

Thx

A similar profile to a grub, but with a straight tail instead of a swimming one. Round sided, not flat-sided like a jerk bait. Anyone know a company which makes something like this?