primetime

For $20-$30 at Walmart, you can set yourself up well. Pack of Eagle Claw Lazer worm hooks, few packs of plastics in a few different styles and colors...Then a couple $1 spinnerbaits,maybe a cordell super spot. I wouldn't buy GYB senkos, simply but the least expensive brand. Zoom Flukes are only $2.99 at walmart, I believe a pack of trick worms are $3, so if in doubt, grab green pumpkin for trick worm, watermelon red for a Fluke. also..Grab one of the Cordell Big O's usually in the bins for a $1 as a crankbait, same with the cordell super spot lipless crank which is often a buck when called "Bait Bonanza". Not sure what if any the differences are. Creme makes good baits, been around forever for a reason, those weighted swimbaits I think called the "Spoiler" or 5 packs of the berkley powerbait weighted swimbaits catch fish and are cheap. Walmart carries Luck E Strike 6" Curly tail worms for .99 and a curly tail worm flat out catches fish, and they seem to like that strawberry scent they come with. You can also find cordell and bomber jerkbaits for a Buck in the bait bonanza series and they will catch fish just fine. I would also grab a beetle spin for a buck. $1 spinnerbaits,buzzbaits etc. catch fish. Walmart just buys them from an OEM overseas so they are not necessarily "Cheap". You don't need the most expensive brands to catch fish, a Rebel Popper will catch fish as well as any popper in my opinion. As mentioned, a Booyah Pad crusher is a fantastic frog for any price. Mirrolure lures and tackle are inexpensive price wise, but certainly not cheap by any means. Mirrolures makes quality lures and terminal tackle. Same as Cordell and Bomber, Rebel.... Walmart actually has a good selection of tackle and it all catches Bass just fine. For line you can just get some Trilene or stren mono.....

I tend to fish a 1/2 ounce jig most of the time and I tend to use brown or a darker color like black/Blue, sometimes will match trailer color, or go opposite...Brown jig, black and blue trailer... I actually like using a 4" senko as a trailer on a football jig,not sure why it works but it will, and if you happen to wacky rig one, it can surprise you. A wacky rigged senko behind a jig on bottom just seems to work, then again, a wacky rig kind of always catches fish..... Like many said, fishing slow is the way to go, and really any trailer will work. If you are not getting any strikes on something with alot of action like a rage craw, or Menace, I find a simple craw like the Zoom Critter craw works well in tougher situations. Zoom Critter craw actually works well all the time for me, doesn't have much action at all, but is also good on a swim jig for some reason.

I would pick a 1/4 oz or 1/2 ounce lipless crankbait as my first choice and all suggestions would also be my next choice...I would likely have a spinning rod with 8lb test rigged up with a light ball head jig,and 4" grub, or shad style swimbait with an open hook. Spinnerbaits, spinners...Even a small crappie sized road runner will catch fish in almost any scenario. A white spinnerbait is never a bad choice. Can never go wrong with the old school reliable Rapala Shad rap either....Works in the cold and in the heat, seems easier to fish than other crankbaits. Moving baits are fun to fish, so once you find them, you should have a good time this time of the year which any choice.

I throw White and Lime green trick worms when fishing them on top so I can easily see em get taken....I am not sure color matters in stained water all that much if you have confidence in them....Most people simply use Black and blue, Watermelon Red, Green pumpkins, and two tone colors like black/purple....When I used to sell soft baits I would actually sell a ton of pink swirl senkos, the bigger ones especially. They would sell as well as any other color in lots of 50 and 100, so people obviously use them as their go to color. That yellow and Green pumpkin swirl trick worm as always popular as well. Drop shot baits, up north guys always seem to like bright colors...

I like throwing swimbaits on those Owner Pivot Head Jigs. I found a bunch on clearance a few years ago in all sizes, its a good shape for swimming or dragging. Those new Z-Man swing jigs are actually pretty good. I like a silver head for lighter weight for some reason, actually I like all the Z Man swimbait jigheads..... I feel like I miss too many strikes on the Freedom stuff, strike king swim jig with worm hook...I like to simply peg a weight of my choice, put a punch skirt on, and then add a swimbait...Basically the same action, can just add a ring to hook if really want more swing, I just leave a little space between hook and weight. I have a hard time keeping the Freedom Jigs from rolling on the side etc...I am more familiar with what fits on what size hook and bullet weight....

I would be missing out on alot of action if never was aware of the Menace, and Rage Cut'R, to name a few... Same with the Culprit Incredicraws....now its pretty much only bait I use to pitch into cover unless I need something that glides, then I go with the Rage Bug....I guess this site programs you to like Rage baits..But hey, Can't really think of a rage bait that I didn't like....I love how they made the bigger Cut'r worm. Seems everyone down here throws the big Ultravibe worms and burner worms...But the Cut'R is such a versatile worm, you can't fish it wrong, you can just cast it and reel at any depth, fish like a senko, fluke, punch it....Shaky head...I guess there is a reason why Strike King baits are popular. I need to get some 6th sense baits. They seem to be in alot of threads and started looking through reports and articles again, and the 6th sense hardbaits seem to get alot of work these days. Also priced really good for how well they look. I been eyeballing that Movement X crankbait....Reminds me of the Strike Pro Hunchback for some reason and that is a killer wake bait when fish are aggressive or you need more commotion, wider action....Surprised that bait never gets mentioned...Hard to find them in stock anywhere.

I just learned a new trick (Maybe it's not new, but was new for me yesterday)..I usually try to fish submerged weeds that may be growing up to a few feet underwater, with weightless flukes, Swimming worms, topwater, floating jerkbaits...Swim Jigs etc...Ripping traps if possible, Mojo rig..... I almost always would peg a worm weight if swimming for longer casts, or go heavy to get all the way through, and if shallow, try to tick the tops, or work edges etc.. I was fishing in 8 feet of water with Hydrilla and mix of other weeds that were about 3' from the surface and not as thick as usual, but still easy to get hung up...I grabbed a rod that had an UNPEGGED 3/8 bullet weight (Heavier than would normally go) to fish a speed worm subsurface and tick the weeds, swim horizontal, rip it if snagged etc...What I ended up discovering, is that with the heavier weight sliding in front of worm, it would get a bit deeper but then hang up in most spots a foot or 2 under the weed tops, but the worm would stay weedless and maybe bury down slightly and also flutter as weight crept through. I started ripping the bait up and with the sinker getting hung, it was triggering reaction strikes much more than simply throwing a fluke with open jig head, or pegged weight and doing the same. The speed worm actually comes through without much trouble, the weight creates the erratic action when it comes free, and they were crushing it as soon as it came loose, bait was clean for most part. I then switched to a Caffeine shad to get a nice fall, and that seemed to work just as well, 3/8 unpegged...You will still have weed issues from time to time, but much easier to do than with other baits and if not getting into the messy stuff, often tough to produce unless on the easy active fish that slam the bait as soon as it enters the water. I went out this morning in a pond where I live to try and replicate the same technique, and see it better closer to the bank, and in shallow water with heavy weeds, it worked better than a light 1/4 swim jig or 3/16 pegged weight etc.Same with 1/8oz darter head & fluke which is a good way to fish weeds and rip bait free.I am sure any bait will work, I find a round bend worm hook is more weedless, and a stiffer plastic that stays on hook easy may be best after 2nd try....I used a Gambler Burner Craw since they seem to hold a hook easily, and they crushed it..Plus you can swim a swimming craw like a frog and do just as well, better hook up ratios. Just my take. Sometimes weeds are too much for a mojo rig or treble hook etc...Unless weeds are sparce and cleaner. Other proven method that is easy is a floating jerkbait or shallow suspender, and try to just snag the sparce weeds or snag just the tops and then rip....I still believe a Floating Long A gets bigger bites than a fluke or sluggo, in shallow water a Floating Rapala will work all year long as good as almost anything, just need to throw it on braid cause they are light, hard to land a good fish on 8lb mono. Long A you can throw on heavy line and be good, plus it casts better. You really don't need to get them snagged either, just twitch, twitch, pause for a good 3-5 seconds and repeat. It draws them up. They can hear it and feel it in stained water as well. Weightless is the easiest way, but the fish see it all day every day, and the better fish are tough to draw up from underneath and punching through is tough fishing at times.

If you simply google buy bulk arkie style jigheads, you will find plenty of options.....Siebert does have top quality jigs at good pricing, all with good hooks, awesome colors...Pricing is better if you buy larger quantities which is easy to do.... I would say be careful using Ebay for customer jigheads...They look tempting, I am sure there are good sellers for sure, but I have purchased a few lots of jig heads over the years and they were not what I expected...Actually most guys order them from the tackle making sites and simply paint them or mark them up etc....Or just call through the Jig companies and ask if they have any bulk blemishes, overstocks, etc...You can sometimes get lucky on the Bass Assassin site..They will blow out expensive jig heads for .25 quite often. You would be surprised what you can find when contacting tackle companies, especially this time of year, may get lucky if Stanley, or All Terrain etc. are sitting on a bunch of overstocks or blemishes...

the caffeine shad is also really good on a shaky head...The tail wagging seems to get bit, and the Caffeine shads are salted and weighted well, so they sink almost like a senko. Bass Assassin has one similar I like that seems to often fish better than the zoom fluke. I use that same hook for senkos and alot of soft plastics....Its worth the price..

I hear what you are saying. However, the way the hooks come out of the package, they are so tight to the body, almost inward, and when they take it, the body moves forward on the hooks, which causes the stock set up to bury the points right in the plastic almost in same spot.....I figured I would lift them up and make them wider to sacrifice complete weedless, figuring it would help. It has to be the design, I think there is a reason I never hear anyone using these...Especially when the Live Target frogs are perfect right out of the package. I never bend hooks on pad crushers or Live targets, Bobby's perfect frog etc... I will say, I seem to get more strikes on the mouse the way it rolls and walks even in open water then on most walking baits and I don't have to worry about losing them when hitting shorelines. I notice with good frogs the bodies often end up rotating off the hook shank, this one bunches up...I think the angle of line tie is off, cause they take it and if they have it for a good 5 seconds, I feel I should at least be hitting 50% on any frog... I am going to try one with less appendages but with the same profile. I think it gives fish a different look. When it sits still after walking it, it seems to get smashed after just floating for 10 seconds...I guess there is a reason why many of the spook shaped hollow bodies never seem to make it, same with the plastic bodies that Yum tried to make etc...Must just be the design. When I say bend, I am not bending them to the point that they will flex ona fish. Opening the gap just to give it more space. When Hollow bodies first came out, most of the frogs had hooks that needed opening. Today's versions are perfected for most part....I guess the mouse is an older design. Thanks. I get what you are saying.

Its a good question. There are alot of creative ways to rig a fluke from nose hooking, double rig, etc... I throw the Zoom Flukes often, and I throw them both on spinning and casting gear. I use braid on my spinning rod and if I use a leader, Ill use maybe a 10-17lb leader, or just tie directly to braid in stained water. I often add a swivel when using a leader and leave about 18" as it is just easier for me to tie, I trust the knot from swivel to leader better, and it helps with any line twist and also adds some extra weight to help it sink. I don't find a swivel hurts at all. For casting gear, I will use anything from 12-20lb mono, or straight braid. Sometimes I will use 17lb fluoro for casting, but I prefer Mono and co-Polymers over fluorocarbon for casting, If i use fluoro, most times its for a leader. I am just not a fan of paying the money for fluoro and then having issues with memory etc when a leader saves money and does the same thing imo.....Berkley Trilene seems to work plenty well for me and always has. Same with Stren. I never have issues with Mono. Just my take. I also throw the regular sized fluke on Medium to Medium heavy casting gear and I pretty much rig the fluke with a 4/0 EWG hook texas rigged without weight and skin hooked. Nothing fancy. I use a heavier guage hook on casting gear for more weight, and lighter guage hook on spinning tackle but you can use a standard Gamakatsu hook or even a round bend, whichever you prefer. I throw Sluggo's alot as well, and since they are longer I like a bigger hook in the 5/0-6/0 range, and for the small zoom fluke I will downsize to a 3/0 hook weightless. Its a pretty easy bait to fish. Kind of a walk the dog and pause action, sometimes it is dynamite worked fast on the surface over weeds, or let it sink and sit on bottom for a few seconds. Super versatile bait and will pretty much work all year in any lake. in open water, alot of guys simply nose hook them for a different action but I have never really done that. If you have open water that may actually be a good set up to try. You can basically fish it like a senko to experiment, and don't be afraid to add a light bullet weight to get it down to the bottom, or a finesse mojo/Carolina rig...The fluke works awesome on c-rigs as you can steadily reel and as the weight moves along, the fluke darts all over the place and is effective. Its also a great bait rigged on a darter head or open swimbait style hook for ripping out of grass or fishing deeper. It's kind of a bait you really can't fish wrong, I am sure you will find different techniques that will work best for you. Only thing I would add from my experiences is sometimes I do better on the Strike King Caffiene shads as they have a different action and design, but overall you can simply buy 2 bags of zoom flukes and be good to go. One bait fish color, then watermelon red.

I am not a fan of live target, always felt their baits and lures were overpriced and gimmicky. However, The Live Target Frog was the first frog I really had confidence in after the older lighter original scum frogs. I still use the LT Frog as it is one of the best IMO for hook up ratio, especially the bigger 65 size as it is so soft with good hooks...I love buying and fishing frogs and have purchased just about all of them. I would say the Booyah Frogs are the best frog out there pound for pound since they only cost $6 and are a really good soft body frog, and I really like the Snagproof Frogs as well. The Poppin Version frog is my favorite popping frog for vegetation, like the skirts, and after that I pretty much throw the Older Bully Wa frogs, Spro frogs, and I also like the green pumpkin colored KVD Frog, and the Jackall Frogs, especially the Iobee which has always been good to me. I started throwing the Spro Poppin Shad last year after not liking the bronzeye shad since they all took on water way too quickly, but the Poppin shad has one of the best actions and hook up ratio's as the frog seems to release from the hooks everytime you bring in a fish. Its a well spent $10 bill. The Live Target Mouse flat out gets blown up when a topwater bite is on, I honestly feel at times the walking rolling action causes it to draw more strikes, and when it sits still after coming off the shore or weeds, it seems to also draw extra strikes. It looks awesome in the water, and when pond fishing it gives them a different look, so hopefully a different brand will do better. I am looking at buying a few other models from Tackle Warehouse. I saw a few that looked good. That Molix frog kind of looks like the same profile. Thanks for your opinion.

Yes. I found that the way the hooks are set up, they seem to bury into the back of the bait on most hook sets, so I bent them slightly up, and also widened them to the side to give them more clearance...I do this on many frogs as well. Some are good to go out of the box, but with alot of frogs I find bending the hooks slightly out and up helps with hook ups. If you bend them too much, it will make them more prone to snags, so its a fine line. I kind of thought most people did this with hollow body frogs.....

Good Idea. I have the hooks bent out so wide they are barely weedless anyhow...Maybe I can switch one of the trailer hooks from the little scum frogs and it will fit....Thanks. Never thought of that.

I may be wrong but here is how I think boot tail swimbaits are measured.....I used to sell them in bulk and would get people complaining that a 6" money minnow was only 5.5" etc.... I believe they count total length as the length of body, plus the length of the boot tail. So, For the Money Minnow hollow body, a 6" was actually 5.5" long if I remember correctly on a ruler without adding in the size of the boot tail. I remember selling a pack of 7" Storm Suspending Boot tail swimbaits to someone and he was upset since they were only 6.5" long. I started measuring different brands, and It seemed they do the body length plus boot tail as total length, which I guess allows you to determine how much thump the bait will have. This may not be true with all brands, but pretty sure a 6.5" money minnow was 6", and 6" was 5.5.....Hope that helps.

I have used both sizes, and have been throwing them sporadically last 3-4 years. I tied one on yesterday for a small lake from the bank and I missed probably 7/10 good strikes (Fish had it, was moving with it and felt the weight). Earlier this morning, had same issue, and it seems the hooks often end up buried in the back of the mouse, or it comes back all balled up which is frustrating. I love the walking action of these things. I remember having the same problems in the past when using them. I have bent the hooks up, out, and still not getting results. Anyone have same issue? I was thinking swapping out to bigger hooks, or is there another mouse that is a better alternative? I don't want to give up on this bait since it seems to really get crushed when I throw it. The fish I have landed seem to be better quality as well, but something just isn't right. The Live Target Frog is fantastic for hook up ratio, so just not sure what is going on. Normally I am happy with my hook up rate on frogs. I understand you are going to miss a few, but I am thinking it is maybe just a poor design? Any feedback or experiences throwing this bait appreciated. Or another mouse to try that is better. Thanks.

I recently just cleaned up my terminal box and I mainly use 3/0 larger for the same reason you mention about length, and I also like Thin guage hooks when I can get away with it and not using heavy braid for pitching etc... I do use the berkley Fusion 2/0 hooks which are an offset for small 4" finesse worms and the thin zoom U-Tails and 4" curly tail worm. I tend to like the point further in the back, and prefer bigger hooks for more clearance and weight especially when throwing them weightless. I almost never dropshot, but on split shot rigs I will use 2/0 and smaller for really small baits like a small grub, curly tail 3" or 4" Curly tail power worms.... I would say I use 4/0-5/0 90% of the time and fish standard size baits. Both EWG and Straight shank round bend.

I would go with something weedless that can hit all water columns at any speed like a fluke, or a swimming worm like the Rage Cut'R or speed worm.....I would probably just grab a pack of zoom flukes and feel pretty good.

Bomber long a will not break the bank, and if fishing from shore, a floating jerkbait may be a better option of shallow. If you want it to suspend, simply add some suspend dots to the lure to get it to sit a bit under the surface. The Rapala Jerkbaits are all good, not all that expensive, another good suspender from land that dives shallow is the Max Rap but not sure they still make it. It only dives about a foot or 2 and is a slim body. Yo-zuri also makes a good one. The Academy Hardbaits as mentioned are hard to beat....The Countdown Rapala is not a bad lure either, sometimes a slow sink is good, or you can just crank it at the depth you want...Its a lure that never gets mentioned but is still one of the best sellers in their line up. I used to fish them from the bank all the time, for some reason I forgot about them as well until just now...

bobber stop above and below the weight is the way to go...Or just buy some gremlin bullet shaped split shots and just remove them as needed..... You can also simply use a rubber peg and either remove it to let weight slide, or move weight up and down the line, just leave a longer tag end....

If I am fishing a golf course in the evening, I throw a J-9 Floating Jointed Rapala on 8lb test mono, medium spinning rod, and simply wake it slowly under the surface. It has worked from the time I was little. In the daytime, I feel like you can almost use anything depending on structure etc.....Hard to beat a Culprit worm, Speed Worm, or trick worm...Spinnerbaits always seem to work well on golf course ponds.

I used to fish the Silver Minnow with a Pork from or twister grub when younger, Now when I throw a weedless spoon, I use the Nemire Ripper weedless spoon which is similar but has a good hook on it as I believe it is marketed for Redfish and saltwater...I also have some old Bagley's hammered weedless spoons I use, they have a rattle and work well over weeds after throwing a frog, or when shad are just hatched or fish are busting bait in reeds etc... There is a company around here that makes a "Baitholder" spoon which is kind of like a hybrid of the silver minnow and that finesse gliding jig VMC makes....It works well using it in open water with a small trick worm on it in ponds etc...Easy to fish...Spoons catch fish, no doubt about it...I get frustrated with too many missed fish on the Johnson spoon with the smaller hook and being dull, but It's a classic for a reason. I used to have a Northland spoon I liked, I forget the name but Is a good weedless spoon which looks awesome and comes in nice patterns.

We should do that. I have some ponds that are really good in this area for easy bank fishing and some really good spots in Tampa, Land O lakes for kayak fishing as well. Kapok Park holds some good fish. The entire Alligator lake Chain is good...I have a feeling you are referring to the lake with the boy scout camp?

I fish the same standard sizes for the most part, Although I do tend to downsize my plastics from summer, and size of topwater lures, but nothing dramatic unless I can't get anything going at all.

In stained water, I will use them on all hardbaits. I never use them on spinnerbaits, Jigs, Chatterbaits, or soft plastics......I also fish the speed traps which come with snaps, great little crankbait, it's one of the only crankbaits I wish came with better hooks. Usually I am happy with most stock hooks on lures. I have used snaps on texas rigged swimbaits and flukes simply cause its convenient, and can't say it has helped or hurt. Gives the bait the same action as tying a loop knot, also creates a slight rattle. Snaps are personal preference, confidence thing. I used to be completely opposed to snaps until the last decade...I have watched plenty of people better than me have success with them, so I have evolved. It makes it easier to change out lures, colors etc....Not sure that is a plus, but it makes it easier than tying a knot.