scaleface

Its been a couple of decades since I fished a good pad field . Use to slay them on a Texas rigged Jelly Worm .

I would add a buzzbait .

I do believe bass get conditioned to lures . So much so that slowing down to catch lure shy bass quite often is the wrong thing to do .

I use Cavitrons , my only negative comment is about thin wire . It has to be bent back into shape a lot . Other than that , they are excellent . The Lunker Lure you have are great lures too . People are always seeking something newer and better but its hard to improve on the Original Lunker Lure .

Buzzbaits are my favorite lures .Been fishing them hard since the late 70's . Other lures catch more fish in the long run but nothing I have found , is funner than a buzzbait plus they catch bigger than average fish . I found that generic buzzbaits work just as well as more expensive ones except for those horrible 1 dollar wal Mart specials . I make my own , so I naturally think they are the best . I use a lot of colors . Black , white , yellow , chartreuse ... they all work . Easy to fish , just cast and reel .Crimp the rivet so it doesnt spin to make the lure squeal louder . I prefer a trailer hook most of the time . Be ready for the lure to just disappear . Big bass will often inhale it and the lure is just gone . I prefer 1/2 ounce models , simply because they cast the best on my equipment . I fish buzzbaits even on hot sunny days . They are fairly snag resistant and can jump over laydowns . A lot of years my largest bass have come on a buzzbait . Heres one of mine . Heavy wire with the stair step design like on the Cavitron . I didnt copy the Cavitron . One dark night a few years back , I kept missing fish , so bent the wire to make it sit a little lower . It seemed to work , so I've been doing it ever since .

I could fish nothing but worms for the rest of my life and not miss a beat .

I use 12 lb Big Game for crankbaits because the big spools are inexpensive and its a quality line . When it cost that little I change line more often .

I'm much quicker to pull the trigger in open water than in a brush pile . If it feels funny in a brush pile I'll "weigh" the line for a second .

A lot of people use larger EWG's with success . I like to pick a hook with a gap a little over twice the thickness of the worm . Smaller hooks are generally smaller diameter getting better hook sets . Also , I may be wrong here , I think a hook with a smaller gap keeps the bass hooked better . The plastic helps keep the bass pinned on the smaller hook .

Never happened to me . I dont have many bass break me off though . Only 1 in last two years and I think it may have been a catfish .

What type of line are you using ? I use mono and cross their eyes both deep and shallow .

Well , I have a good guess who that was , not surprising either .

First of all I have never drop shotted so maybe it has some magical properties that I am missing out on but just blindly throwing it out in deep water doesnt sound like very good strategy .

I was hoping this was about does the slot go on top or on bottom . I still havent figured that out .

I've been hovering over the heart for 22 minutes . How long does it take for the icons to slide out ?

I would have a Texas rigged worm and a ----- ----- .

There are so may techniques now days ,that it is confusing for young anglers .If they become proficient with a Texas rig and not worry about drop shots , wacky rigs , ned rigs... Then they would learn where and how bass relate to cover and how to detect strikes . Learn the T-rig well and fishing gets a heck of a lot easier .

Google it , lots of pictures . There is no reason to think that casting at a school of shad will catch a bass . If there are bass actively hitting them and there will be no mistake when they are , then you might catch some .

Partly rainy conditions = Buzzbait .

Ignore the jumping fish . Concentrate on casting to cover . Cast past the cover and work your lure into it . A buzzbait , spinnerbait , Texas rigs ... can be effective and fished through cover with minimum hang ups ..Do not make random cast . If you're not casting at cover then cast at a depth . Sinking lures cast out in deep water work well . Let them hit the bottom then bring them in .That way they follow the contour of the bottom . Bass like to orient to cover or the bottom . inexpensive lures like jig & grub , Beetle Spins , pre rigged swim baits ,Texas rigged worms work good plus they are easy on the wallet when hung and lost . One of the best places to fish like this are rip rap banks and dams . A huge difference between a novice fisherman and an experienced one is the new guy makes random cast and the veteran cast with purpose . As far as the jumping fish , theres a good chance they are not bass .If you see bait fish fleeing by all means cast that direction . If you see a fish hit the top like a bass hits a top water throw at it . You will be able to identify a feeding bass over time .

You fishing from bank or boat ?

I have some good ones .They are called Pico Perch and Bayou Boogie .

You can get pretty close . Depends on how skittish the bass is . I have waded up to trees and dropped the bait straight down and caught fish .

20 to 30 foot are pitching distances not 100 .

Best tip I have discovered the past few years . Go back to the basic Texas rigged worm . The improvements I made to it over the years resulted in poorer success .