primetime

I usually fish them slow in cold as well, but I use flat cranks all year long and any day when the lake is full of cranks and rattles being ripped, so I kind of focus on them in Fall and winter, but also pull them out as finesse cranks and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't., I have done well in the winter in both Ny and Fl in the cold working a lure fast and it usually happens by accident after a bad cast. I like the suggestion of the Little John and Poes cedar, I have been wanting to try the spro and that is a square bill so should be a good choice. I have 3 I never opened that I picked up on a closeout last year, and I put them away and just never thought about using them as I have enough square bills in my box but looking at it is flat which I missed somehow....Good call, Hopefully it helps out next month when I get back on the water after a few weeks of just little trips.

Thanks for all the ideas, I have been eyeballing those Yo-zuri lipless cranks, I have a few Spro Square bills which are flat and I have not really messed with them yet but it sounds like I should. I mentioned fishing fast as I like to use flat sided cranks all year long, so if I can get one that can be worked quickly I find it a plus, but I understand certain lures are not meant for burning. I have had success on cold days fishing fast and fishing super slow. I know it is against the grain but I have had some success finding active fish by covering alot of water in the cold with lipless cranks, flat sided tight swimming cranks, but I agree with the one comment about Flash as well. I like a flat rap for a topwater presentation since it has a different look than the regular Rapala Minnows and I always try to do something a bit different and lately I am in love with adding feathers and dressed trebles on lures, although it is not as easy to get the right amount of dressing to not mess up the action, or attract more short strikers.... 6th sense...Never checked them out, I think I am going to need a few more extra large tackle bags. I have noticed yo-zuri is really targeting the freshwater market and I am glad as I have been fishing banana boats and their wake baits-ss minnows, and lipless silent vibes which are small yet 1 oz and are great for ripping grass and giving fish a new look, although it sinks really fast which makes it tough for shallow fishing which I prefer and feel at home. 15' and less is where I feel good, any deeper and I just do not enjoy cranking. THanks for the advice, looking to get alot of new stuff for the upcoming season and want to start practicing with some new lures in the pool now...

I look under technique specific and for swiimbaits, make sure you try the swimming hornet or any underspin as they are great with any swimbait, fluke etc..especially good in colder weather, tough bites, suspended fish, and pretty weedless. I also like to use a swimbait jighead and the open hook not only improves hoookups over grass, but acts like a fin to keep it balanced, and gives bait contrast, color, and you can fish it like a trap and rip it out for strikes. I usually Buy regular EWG hooks and use D..O.A. pinch weights on the shank if weight is needed, mustad makes a sliding weight, and Owner beastlocks are fantastic hooks. Nail weights are good in swimbaits as well if you don't want a weighted hook. Just my 2 cents but I got crushed on TW last order with all the underspins, Jigheads, and I just love the topwater selection, and scored with the Owner Lures on sale for $6....Awesome concept, have not fished them yet, but they look great in the box, and that is important as well.

I like to use the EWG Mustads with the sliding weight or Owner Beastlocks. Lately I have been riggging swimbaits on some swim jig heads I ordered from Siebert and when the hook is up it almost acts as a fin and is surprisingly weedless, adds nice colors to match or contrast, an eye, and a 1/4 ounce jig head with a swim senko may just work too good at times. The Yamamoto website has some good ideas on how to rig swimbaits. You can also use a weighted EWG hook for your Rage Tail Craws, Bugs, and for the Rage rig..I love a sliding weight, but you can always crimp a small split shot, or D.O.A. makes pinch weights you can crimp on...I use Nail Weights alot of times and then go with a regular EWG hook, but if on a budget, the VMC weighted hooks are good as well imo....Also try the Swimming Hornet Jigheads as Underspins are awesome at times, especially when fish are suspended...TW has an awesome selection under technique specific and swimbaits...Hope that gives you some ideas...That order is way too small. How can you not get onto the Hardbait pages and just lose your mind....Try the Owner lures on sale for $5.99 if they have any left of that square bill, thing is pretty good, paint can't chip, owner hooks pretty sharp...Heck of a deal, I have not tried the topwaters but they look good.

I was wondering if anyone still throws shad raps, Flat A's, or the New Strike King Flat sided squarebill. I know most companies make a few models with flat sides for a tight action which is usually my preference in the cold, and was looking to buy some new one's on a Tackle warehouse order I am getting ready to place. I only throw Shallow shad raps, Shad rap #5, #7, Glass shad raps suspenders and flash, and the Bomber Flat A, and a few Banits that I carry as well. I also use the DT Flats, and just purchased a strike king flat crank, but want to get a few in crawfish and bluegill patterns. Once the First Cold front passes through Florida and unless we have a few warm days, I always have the balsa shad raps on my spinning rod, and Flat A on my casting cranking rod, and rarely do I switch to a my favorites again until Spring, although sometimes I do well with the standard DT's and Strike King cranks which have a wider swimming action since they do want that on some days. I know alot of guys use the Storm Wiggle warts in the cold but I have never had success with them, lack confidence to throw them in the cold, but what are some other good cold water cranks with a tight shimmy? Thanks in advance. I am looking to find a flat crank that can run true at a high speed in 4-6' of water, kind of a flat Speed Trap if it exists, as I can burn the speed trap crank pretty quick and it will not roll.

-Cotton Cordell Crazy Shad topwater double bladed lure (killer topwater) -Ima Skimmer-WOW -bps speed shad, kalin's sizmic shad swimbaits on chatterbaits and have replaced big ez, dippers etc. -Charlies worms red shad floating craw or "Hover Craws" we have been calling them -went retro and found some old Xcalibur Ghost Minnow Jerkbaits and whopper stopper HellCats and both are dynamite over grass. Pink head, white body bill dance ghost minnow floaters. -Max Rap Suspending Jerkbait-dives 1'. KVD Dream shot in Dirt color.... Just a few, Jigs, Chatterbaits, 7" Senko always tied on as is the swim senko, and The IKa or Damiki Hydrilla are always on a rod..

Reminds me of the Parabug by megabass which set me back $16 for 3 baits that were pvc with same concept. I have always believed that the Insect lures are effective at the right times, and the Parabug was great, only much smaller than I thought and the crappie ripped them up both times I threw it but it was a good idea, and this looks like a weedless crazy crawler which is cool....The RIver2Sea Dragon Fly is a lure I am dying to try, I had a good day with the soft dragon flies on a split shot rig when they were all over the lily pads and most of the fish were on the smaller size, but I am trying to find more lures that are like the Dragonfly,Hellgramite, Beetle, Waterdog, and other seasonal options like the mayfly. I have seen Fly Fisherman put on a clinic during a mayfly hatch and they were catching 5-6lb bass on tiny mayflies, problem is small hooks with our gear and then cover...Looks like a cool lure, not sure how good the hook up percentage wood be, it looks like the weedless Jitterbugs, and those hooks look small. Also, I would be afraid of the sides breaking, in Japan they use these lures on 2-4lb test alot of times and in open water....Not meant to be in tough spots, but I don't know the intent behind this lure, just thinking out loud. If its $20, I would be araid to take the chance and grab myself a Skimmer, and use the last $5 toward on a hollow frog which you could adjust to mimic a beetle.

I grabbed 2 of the smaller s wavers, and I have no doubt they are good baits, I have just not learned how to fish them with confidence yet, but I appreciate your tips. You seem to know your stuff with the hard swimbaits, I want to start throwing them more, even went out a purchased a dedicated swimbaits set up (Okuma Cedros round baitcaster, Evx Swimbait rod) and to be honest,the Sebile Magic Swimmers work good for me, but the Jackall I agree, I hate that it will not cast far and I traded it to a friend for a couple Rebel Pop'rs he had in the new finish they are making. The BBZ is ok, but the Reaction Strike Wake baits at overstock for $2.99 or $3.99, wake, suspend, slow and fast fall, are working fine, I only use the wake really, but the hook is awful, action on the fall is awful, but upgrade the treble to a larger size, clip off one of the hooks on the treble (like the Snagless flatt shad- Best lure invented, you can flip and pitch it, suspends, only needs a few inches of water, but anyway, I converted the cheap reaction Strike wakes to be weedless and I use a large treble with 2 hooks so it can go in full weeds and not hang up....The Magic swimmer is the only swimbait that I like how it falls, but the S waver glide baits are a different animal, I struggled on a striped bass trip a few years ago learning the Bomber Herky Jerky glide bait as well, I guess it is like a jerkbait, all about your touch, and just knowing when to do what after awhile...Thanks for the tips. I still will try the spro bbz as I love the look, don't like chucking $20 near weeds, and not sure if I fish areas without weeds.

Apparently they are killer at Table rock in the late Fall. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugoriRiMEqs I love watching topwater strikes.

They had more detailed articles that showed every year, but this summary I thought was good otherwise it would have been a book. I thought it was cool to see KVD throwing a smithwick rogue and not a strike king jerkbait, and who would think a tomato worm would win? a gator tail? home ade 3" tube.....That was kind of what I found cool, plus I didnt notice 1 expensive Japanese lure or company mentioned, I often notice they get alot of press on Tv and in Magazines, but lures like the DT Rapala, Rogue, and Zara spook were what I seem to here about over and over.

river runt, not midgit digit although same I think...

Almost every lure is still in production just not balsa anymore or modified in some way. Those are awesome, I love the sonics, they are aweome little cranks, devils horse = topwater gold when the fish want one, never threw one until I moved to FLorida, then watched a guy at a dock catch half dozen fish on one while I am throwing a torpedo without any luck..Nice collection, Many of those are true gold and tough to find....Congrats, the Midgit digit....Early scatter rap...

I use the Red fin over submegerged grass and it is one of the most popular lures here in FLorida in Summer as the v wake looks just like a shiner. I never thought of it as cheap, Lurenet, Pradco sells them 6.99 and the 4" is good, but I use the 7" alot, I like to slow wake it, or fish like a jerkbait and I never have to really tune a floater, no matter what lures you buy, 6/10 will never be great lures and that is fact of any brand. I always assumed people just knew that as tackle retail magazine interviews lure designers all the time and they get frustrated after prototypes get mass produced and then turn out different. I have purchased lures like Pointers which are obviously great lures that never would act right, and same with crankbaits. I think Bass Magazine and David Fritz did an article how to inspect a lure at the store to pick the best ones from line pull point, and how to guage all the important aspects. It is like 12 things to look for and since I started doing this I rarely get total dogs anymore. There is a great You tube video on how to load a redfin with water so it will not roll in wind and also work better in cold water when you want a bait that looks sluggish. You can also cast them into the wind that way,, they won't roll, and I like to dye the water I put inside to see if it is leeking. Just heat up a nail and then super glue the hole and sand it....The Rippliin Red fin is considered a walleye lure and when I have gone on guide trips it is the only plug they have on the boat, but it is great for bass since they never see it.. Floaters work year round, I adjust rate of rise with suspend dots, silicone paste or spray which is what fly fisherman use or just go to home depot and get some in a tube for 3$. I put in on my line to keep them over grass that is 6" under the surface. When big fish hit a red fin, it sounds like someone just threw a boulder in the water....I fished with a guy who used the medium sized red fin in a tournament all day and he would fish it like a jerkbait and he actually did really well, he had a gold red color as the ones you see on ebay and that sell for $3-4 are not a red fin, they are the knock offs that came out a few years ago and were all over the place. Lurenet has 8 colors, and for ripplin Red fin over 40, cottom cordell lures are in the millions of winnings over the years and lures like the Red Fin, Super spot, Crazy shad, and Gay blade are awesome...Pradco does free shipping with $35 spent, they have all the patterns from all best USA companies, many of which are colors I never knew existed until a few years ago, soon the new Bandits will be out which I am stoked for. Good luck, I will trust a Red fin as a topwater, wake bait, 2-4' diving crankbait, over grass in spring, summer, fall and winter and I love to fish it on shorelines and move it super slow for first few feet, and it has a nice hollow and light head so it pops a bit and that is how it wakes like no other bait to date. tons of articles online how to fish the classics.

As a tackle junkie who appreciates the history of lures, designs, new techniques etc. I also enjoy reading books and articles about the history of the Bass Fishig industry, lure designs, and why Bass do what they do, but I don't think we will ever fully understand why we kill em one hour and not the next, or fish all day without any strikes to only find out someone else had a great day doing something that is "Outside the box" . With all the variables that go into fishing and catching, I am alway's impressed with how consistent some of these pro guys are year after year, as I would imagine being a pro is stressful and not an easy living at all..... but here is a link to an article which is a good read in my opinion. http://www.outdoorlife.com/blogs/gone-fishin%E2%80%99/2013/02/best-bass-lures-baits-won-classic

When Ebsco made them they were better than the Pradco versions of today which are made in china but they have a value line like the Fat A for $3, but Bomber lures are like every mass produced hardbait, and the fact is only a small percentage, I think it is 30% of the lures that are packaged, have hooks hung, painted etc. are truly put together evenly, balanced and for every Ten, 2 will be Fantastic "Hunters which could be mistaken as needing work since some are designed to flicker and roll for flash and attraction.) 4 will be ok lures you can tune but will never be top producers and I always assume that when I see a lot of 20 Strike King, Bandit, and Bomber Cranks, that the person purchased 30 and somone is getting the dogs and will never know it.... out of the 10, 4 will be awful, unreliable, and just not send out the right signals or sound. Rattles may have glue stuck on them, who knows, but cheap cranks like 1.99 versions are easily noticable as they are not glued evenly down the middle, but I have fished a few cranks and jerkbaits that are $5 and better than some that sell for 4x of that. I respect everyone's opinion, but if you are not happy with Bombers than maybe you should buy Strike King or Sebile etc..Too many options to buy them all, what good is it to have a box full of expensive lures with pretty paint if you don't know what makes one different from the other, most Baseball players have a favorite bat, fisherman have favorite lures, but one truth is Bomber lures are proven, they do lose paint and then have a cool glow too them but that is after a ton of fish from Bass, Pickeral, Stripers, Snook, Redfish etc....I also notice with all the info online now, technique specific rods, a long profile minnow lure is a jerkbait, but what if I troll it as it dive 6' but I prefer to fish it 6"-18" so what rod do I buy if I want to cast it reallly far and it is in large waves and wind, and will be super heavy? and I plan on burning it for active fish....I may cast a DT 6, but I may not work it more than a few feet if I am getting bit high in the column, if it floats it is a topwater, wakebait,crankbait, can be a suspender easily as well, or a slow sinker, and watch the you tube video of how to load a red fin to keep it from rolling on days that are brutal, it actually gives you distance, balanced action, more subtle natural movement as it will not get air and flip, so Red on top usually means loaded in my world and a green dot on top means loaded with a buoyant glue type substance that is also tail weighted for action, and brigh pink means it is not loaded but ready to suspend if needed....Plus, If you can't see a ripbait how can you steer it around weeds or bump structure etc. long casts are what make cranks so effective. See how many bad reviews any lures I have mentioned get on bass pro, tackle warehouse (although if it didnt get hit on first cast or did catch a 4lber on first cast please ignore that one) because I notice when I buy my bombers from Cabelas and bass pro they have over 20 pages of feedback and it is all guys that say " flat out produces anywhere and always has for last 30 years, so why but some new lure the fish see every other minute....Time to go full retro and and start fishing the Creek chub with the metal lip, it did catch a 20lb bass in the 60's and that jointed "mess" with the shallow shad rap metal lip has about 6 of 20 largest bass, so it would be a winner today. The Jointed Pikie is not a mess and would be good today but I would rather sell them as people love em...Ok, time to get to the main event of the fight on tv right now, all my friends think I fish too much anyhow and if not fishing ordering stuff to sell...So to each his own, I don't like XRaps, I hate em, not sure why, but I do, and I know they work, but I would not be able to fish an xrap if a rogue was in my box so confidence does matter....Xraps get bit often but not many get stuck or get it as it is a bit too erratic at times...good ramble here, very coherent.

Bombers are only a few bucks under the lucky which is coming down and granted they are good but a value series is not the same as the real deal 7.99 Bomber lures? Lucky craft may be a few bucks more than 7.99 but that is only because they are the in thing right now(after all they are Japanese, but made with the american stuff. It is all preference, I would never say all strike king, I would say All Matzuo, but someone knows how to use their tools. Bomber is in same range as Rapala but they offer a value line, so they may not be great but for 2.99 I say they are decent, many pros fish nothing but a fat free shad #7 or a timmy horton pro suspending jerkbait....They are proven winners in all circuits, smashing Bomber is like saying a balsa Rapala doesnt float or Mepps spinners foul to easily. I would give bomber the best Muskie Pike Glide bait as well.

I would say my all time favorite lure for bass fishing all year, and it is great over weeds, slow rolled...Bomber Long 15A, gold chart FL color and I have a few without paint, but I would not sell them for 5 new Pointers with perfect paint because they won't sound the same, or have the same action, I carry roughly 25 long a floaters, 10 suspenders, 10-15 Redfins, ripplin red fins, Rebel sbroke backs in silver black floating and suspend dots if needed for all, and of course a few Rapala F9-F13, and J11-J13 and flat raps in silver black, silver blue, silver orange...but my best long A's have some yellow and orange I added with a marker under chin, 2 lines of red near the old gills were, and depending on how rough the water is or how shallow I need it to go, I will modify diving depth and often a super fast rise is better than slow when worked mid day in summer over weeds everyone else uses a fluke. If you watch a jerkbait for thousands of hours, I truly believe I can anticipate half of the strikes that occur not counting the fish that choke it as soon as it lands as that fish would hit anything...I find Larger Bass hit the longer profile cranks and shallow wakes, and if I let it dive a few inches and I see a rise in water around the lure, usually a bass it under it and that is when you need to either kill it and wait, or snap it just right and if loaded correctly, the long a can do a 3/4 turn with a crazy roll that just looks like a nervous shiner... Now, lures are tools that we all use based on our own experiences as I know plenty of people who don't carry any and like only Rapala, but most have some Horton Pro long a suspenders, the gold chart and gold prism long a, and nothing says shiner better than a redfin or ripplin redfin and I would put that statement against a swimbait, but its about confidence. I hate crankbaits that go deep, but I know the fat free shad would be #2 behind only the Norman DD22 but I would rather carolina rig a broke back or jointed minnow instead of cranking and that works awesome with a fast floater again and using some thicker line helps.... I do feel the older models work better and they sound completely different as the new A's sound like hooks banging together, the older lures had a distant knock not a rattle, and I like hooking fish with 3 trebles in tough areas...The flat A is the cold water killer that actually can be cast far as the shad rap is light. the fat a's are cheap but pound for pound, I would say Pradco has the best jerkbaits, ripbaits, and cranks not as much, and I like Rapala but would rather go bagleys for Balsa personally...Cast a 5" gold red red fin across a pond, and if sloooooooo waking which is really trying to dive but won't, the ripplin redfin looks like it goes backwards, that is my new weapon for this year for clear water, it looks so realistic and if walleye and smallies love it the bass here will as well....I like Lucky's and all, but I have a bait from another company that I would choose over the sammy, Pointer, Flash minnow, and its all about finding your own niche, I like the stuff I know how to work, and just trust that I will figure out if I am working too fast or slow, I hate a new bait and not knowing where it is at all times or if it is maybe tilted sideways, I like seeing it at all times, steering is important for sucess in Florida.

With so many baits on the market I find that I rarely put a lizard on the line unless it is a floating lizard for a c-rig which I rarely do, but I like brush hogs and every bait mentioned. I think they all work well, I have always used the Zoom lizards but can't say they are any better than other's since I tend to lean toward the brush hogs now.....The only thing I hate about the big Magnum floating lizards is the texture, but the action is good on a shaky rig as well since they will do a headstand which at times will get them to strike, Need to get sharper hooks for fishing them I think.

I don't mind paying a bit more from Bass Pro at times(although I think they have a price match but I have never found them to be higher than most, they tend to carry the newest of everything as well) I still like to read Newspapers, and I still love a Bass Pro Catalog. I like fishing magazines but what is better than the new Bass Pro Catolog every year???????

I used to use spinnerbaits as my confidende bait for years, almost more than a plastic worm, but in the last 10 years, I feel I rarely have a good day on a spinnerbait. JIg are much harder to fish in my opinon, so if you are getting bit on jigs, then you are doing something right, I have a theory that fish have seen too many spinnerbaits in some places....Or maybe I need to rethink how I use them and also blade sizes etc.

River 2 Sea S Waver, Jackall Gyron, and a few other hard swimbaits like the Spro BBZ. I think it is my lack of courage/confidence to throw these lures where they need to be placed, and also I am not sticking with them long enough as I know fishing larger baits is about larger fish and less strikes....I have not purchased any "Duds" this year but I rarely blame a lure or bait, I typically assume I just do not understand it yet, or like everyone else, I try new things when striking out....Hard swimbaits puzzle me, but then again, it took me awhile to like soft swimbaits as well. I need to fish with someone who is a dedicated big swimbait guy or gal. When you say blade baits, do you mean the "Silver Buddy" blade baits, or Vibrating jigs or "Chatterbaits"....I know alot of people have mixed reviews on bladed jigs but I think it is one of those lures that you really have to want to learn and fishing it can be tough especially if ripping it free all day, and chunking a 1/2 ounce version with a big trailer as they have alot of drag...I have been wanting to buy some "Blade baits" like the "Gay Blade" Silver Buddy etc...I still use my little George here and there and it can be a good lure at the right time.

one of by best days this year was on a shallow weedy lake known for being tough for establsihing a pattern in the summer since the entire lake looks bassy and most of the lake is 2-5' of hydrilla, Kissimmee grass, and Milfoil but we were catching nothing in the afternoon (Wasn't a tournament) just a weekday when I started to chuck a 7" senko as far as I could and fish it like a fluke only much more aggressive before killing it every 20 feet, and if nothing happened, I would then make the bait skip, reel is super fast, and then give it a hard walking action to the left and right and kill one last time....75% of the probably 12-15 fish caught in under 2 hours were choking a 7" Worm while it was ripping full speed like a spook on the surface, only much faster....I had used this technique of "Walking a Senko" after watching the Ima Skimmer work so well, and figured it was the slimmer profile but for some reason the 5" worm just has never had the same effect. Not sure if it fires up the school or what, but when it works, it works, and when it doesn't, you look like a complete idiot so if you are in the back of the boat for the first time, make sure you either know the person you are with, or have proven yourself, or alert him to the loud splashdowns which are going to start occuring as I believe that is the reason this works at times.... So yes, Senko and Sluggo's are my 2 favorite baits to fish on top, I rarely throw toads and if I do I like a Zoom Horny Toad or Rage Toad with feet inward, but I usually throw a Rodent or any beaver style bait like a frog and drop it on holes where it looks like a fish has busted the surface and many times they strike the rodent while it cruises like a frog, or on the fall....I do better that way than I do with a toad many times....Yum had a good idea with the Weedless Zara spook, I forget the name, but hooksets were brutal and it was too thick, but I would like to see a company make a longer skinnier version that is heavy and lacks salt for the purpose of walking a worm over weeds....The Old school weed demon is good at this.

I was just cleaning out my tackle and found a few spinnerbaits missing blades and realzized it was because I wanted a smaller colorodo or Indiana blades and I used to only carry willow blades for some reason (I think that is how I saw Timmy Horton do it) but I started to buy Hitchikers in bulk and also swivels and blades, and I have had some success with using colored blades kind of like how Jimmy Houston would always use that orange blade on his spinnerbaits. I use this rig more than I realize, it is great for covering water especially shallow water filled with hydrilla or Millfoil, as I love chucking a 6" senko or Dinger with a blade attached and also a few Nail weights to modify tail action and swining based on how active the fish are, but I don't mind losing a blade or two every other fish since it can go where spinnerbaits can't. I would never spend the money to pay for Owner centering pins or pre rigged MJ rigs, I find a standard Hitchiker works fine with the same swivels they use for spinnerbaits, and for blades, they are actually cheap in packs of 25 or 100. I have started trying larger Hammered Colorodo blades but have not had success yet, also tried the hatchet blades as well but not done experimenting....Tackle Warehouse sells some Jigheads with willow blades underneath them or underspins which I like even though they are expensive for also rigging a senko, and sometimes I put the blade on the gap of the hook when texas rigging instead of having it behind, but it picks up more weesds imo when under the worm....I like a worm that is way too soft with too much salt, and tears after one fish for this rig, they swim so much better and a nail weight in the right place can give it a crazy whipping action.

I like all sizes of the Rage Craws and I like a bigger one for slower fall larger profile and smaller ones for a faster fall or swim. Almost all the Strike king/Rage Craws and jig trailers have really good action on both swim jigs and really any jig.

you can ask 100 people what their favorite fishing line is and you will get dozens of answers, but for fluorocarbon, probably only about 6-7.... I have always's been a Berkley guy but for Fluoro I still can't decide which brand I like best, and I can't afford Tatsu, but I use alot of Seaguar leader...