TriCityBassin'

I fish a lake that has a lot of cypress, grass, blowdowns and just generally nasty cover. In this lake, i have never.....ever......EVER caught a bass on a jig. I have hooked pickerel and bowfin but never a bass. Could the impoundment possibly not have crayfish? (I seriously doubt it...not possible) i have not been able to easily find crayfish to check the colors as this is text book swamp. Have any of you run across lakes where the bass won't bite jigs? Do you think i can make a change to make jigs work? I know the lake has HUGE bass in it.

True story. My buddy and I were fishing a tournament on Lake Gaston in Va. A Hawk came down ever so slow like an attack Helicopter and grabbed his floating worm from just below the surface. The bird lifted back up and gently landed on the dock. He yanked and yanked but the bird defiantly stood on one foot holding onto the bait. For at least 30s ~10 yds from the boat. Wish I had a camera running!

Thank you so very much. This dialogue is great. Actually, I am a die hard finesse fisherman and realized that I may be in the wrong WATER! lol I look for clearer water when I fish typically as it is more conducive to ultra realistic quiet presentations which I employ. 99% of my spinnerbaits are shad w/willow blades....again clearer water. I can totally see this bait causing short strikes in clear (er) water. I will have to give these another shot. Keep the tips coming, this dialogue is great. What color do you mostly use? I have stayed with white/ white silver (lmbo...just like my spinnerbaits!) I am thinking Bluegill may be better.

I have not found a bait that would do such a thing for me. I am a spinnerbait man till the end! But......WOW.

Thanks for the input. I am gonna pick up a couple. I also want to share something that is similiar that I DO crush on. It is a bait called the Dragon Jig. Homemade, met the guy at a sporting show. It is a variation on a Johnson minnow/floating worm/swim jig. Been around for a while. I don't share this info much, consider this me paying it forward. I have kept this a secret since i was 14. I don't have a picture, wish I did PM me if you would like the contact info. Is there a brand of "Chatterbait" that is better than another? The top of the line kind of thing? I will be hitting the Potomac for 1 event this year and some other grassy impoundments in VA. I think it may be usefull.

Ok...Ok. I am a good fisherman (just trust me) and catch fish on swim jigs, flipping jigs, fluke, spinnerbaits, frogs, etc......... I cannot and have never hooked a fish on one of these. When everyone just had to have one and you couldn't buy one (after classic win I believe) I had two! I was all excited because I was going to get into it and absolutely dominate. NOT! I think i maybe have had 4 bites on these things. Of those 4, I didn't hook a one! The hookup ratio was so terrible, i stopped using them totally. When I watched Ike on Manother site doing his thing with it I just had to ask what I am doing wrong. 1.When do they work best? (my approach was anytime I would throw a spinnerbait) 2. Type of cover? (I was using around grass and standing timber) 3. What approach to take for the hookset? When i did get bit they seemed to release quickly.

I have ~29 (including saltwater) and I get no comments. She fusses about it being everywhere sometimes but thats as far as it goes, lol. Not sure how I established this but if they are in her way or out she will not touch them. She will wait for me to get home and ask that I move them, even if just a couple feet. That means i won right?

Off topic but I had to put this out. I do not think anyone will ever surpass these two for being TRUE and REAL to the sport. Larry Dahlberg is one bad dude and would probably jump a croc to get just one more Peacock! The fact that he has ALWAYS used shimano really says something. Like the GLOK of fishing reels....jungle, desert, ocean....Golden Durado, Wolf fish, Peacock and Arapiama (SP?). RIP Wejebe

Sorry, been busy with work

Thanks guys! jhoffman, i sent you a pm. I also live 10min from Harbor Freight and will check out the little vice. I love the stuff at Harbor freight. As a "shade tree mechanic" I cannot always buy Craftsman and Cobalt

I have tried to tie my own feathered trebles for baits but can't seem to get a good product. AND I am tired of the Gamakatsu carnage on my fingers...those things are SHARP! Any tips? Or better yet....anyone interested in a small retainer to supply me with hooks? lol I admit...I am cheap and don't want to buy all the nice little vises and things for fly tying. I know, you can't fix a sink with a hammer (wait......that may work).

OMG yes!!! My little boy is a fishing addict! He is 5 now and when we are on the water, i have to force him to stop and drink water and to eat. He is already catching fish on slider worms and 1/8 oz spinnerbaits. I tried to get him to use a Senko but he is just like me....aint having it lol. I was so proud the day he put 4 casts under an overhanging tree and caught 3 bream and a bass! Proud papa here!

I love dropshot so I have to chime in. I eventually went to a dedicated DS rod, a Fenwick Elite Tech Extreme Sensitivity DS rod. Best $$$$ I ever spent but they don't make them anymore sadly. I use Invisx #6 like most in this thread. I have caught countless fish from 20'-41' and shallower with this set up. I use a 1/8 weight in nearly every situation, even deep. As long as the wind/current will let me. I don't use line conditioner on my spinning reels but rarely have any line issues. I use Invisx 6+8# on my DS, shakey rod and my slider rod. Time to time I use the old trick of cutting everything off and idling around to pull the line behind the boat. Definitely recommend it...plus you can kill pre tournament time by doing this, lol. Cheap flouro will seriously tick you off, spend the money. For me, the biggest impact is the rod like Fishes in Trees stated. I can't describe it, but I have caught 4lb largies that NEVER dribbled the rod but I could tell they were on. These are even lighter than crappie bites. I have to say it is the rod all the way. IMO, this technique is so specific that you can fish it on a "general" set up but only in certain conditions. Very deep, very clear, very finicky fish require dedicated gear. There is a phenomenal video online by Martens that would help a lot. Happy finessing!

Congrats on the new set up! BASSclary, there is a very well done test that shows stretch of Flouros with Trilene as a control. Yes they did stretch, even my beloved Seaguar. However.......Sunline did not stretch OR absorb water. It acted just like the claims for Flourocarbon. Just thought I would share as I was totally intrigued by it. I like Mono for Cranks but have switched my deep crank rod to Flouro now. I am fighting the urge to go all 3 rods Flouro. If you have a rod that will really perform well on cranks (like Compre w/TC4 wrap) the line give shouldn't be too much of an issue.

I have reached out to Cashion already. I really like dealing with them. It is a Plus that they are in NC (im in VA, fam from NC) so I like the idea of supporting them. I am starting to head that route, everything online lists a lot of the Shimano's as tip heavy.......prob The other thing is, I want to feel the rod. I want to see how it loads up. Everyones "Heavy" isn't the same you know. Especially with the Cashion rods as they list the blank to be made from a totally different method of laying the carbon. I am probably gonna go with the Cashion, nerves over going into the unknown I guess.

hi guys, This is similiar to war eagle 44's thread but I didn't want to hijack it. I am about to purchase a new rod for flipping the heavy stuff. I want a set up that will allow me to Frog/punch. I am looking at two rods but this is somewhat unfamiliar territory for this finesse addict. My concern is the rods being too tip heavy like my Xheavy All star i just sold. that caused me to not use it much. Rod one: shimano Compre 7'11" Heavy (I absolutely love Shimano products and own nearly all shimano gear, My Compre TC4 cranking rods are like nothing I have ever used) ~$120 Rod two: Something from Cashion (they have A lot of choices for heavy flipping and I have heard good stuff) ~$179-$200 http://cashionrods.com/flipping-sticks?ReturnUrl=LwBiAGEAcwBzAC0AZgBpAHMAaABpAG4AZwAtAHIAbwBkAHMA The Cashion is a big price jump, but I wan't this purchase to a be a good one. Just looked at the Crucials as well, same price range.

Hello everyone. I am fishing in the 2013 season for VaBass Federation TBF after a 2-3yr absence. I am working hard to get my gear in order and wanted someone to share information with. If you are interested, PM me and we can discuss if we fish the same events (don't want to share info if we will be conflicting with each other, lol). Lakes/Rivers I fish: Lower James River Appomatox River Chicahominy River Mattaponi River Pamunkey River Lake Chesdin Kerr/Buggs Gaston I fish a lot of other bodies but not in competition.

Hi guys, question about Senko I don't fish them, but need to start. Have any of you used off brand (private label / hand poured) Senko worms? I still have sticker shock with Yamamoto baits. For a bait that I don't regularly use, I don't want to absorb the price. No doubt, you get what you pay for and If a bait works I will fork out the $$$. Learning an entire genre of baits is not where I want to drop $7.99 to get 9 baits that tear on each fish. There are a lot of off brands on Ebay for good quantity and price. My friend says the originals catch better than off brand. Anyone have input on the topic?

I don't think you can get this anymore but..... Fenwick Elite Tech Drop Shot Rod is the love of my life! I absolutely love Fenwick for spinning rods. I used a couple that i liked then walked in the store and saw a marked down (200 vs. 250) rod. It has performed flawlessly. I spool it up with Seaguar Invisx 6lb and regularly pull fish up from 3-40' of water. I have never had trouble detecting bites, most of which never move the rod. Fenwick Elite Tech DS Shimano Symmetre Seaguar Invisx 6lb Gamakatsu hooks

for me....it is using new baits. I find i troll the handpours and custom sites on the internet a lot. I can barely bring myself to use an unbrella rig and I have a serious problem using Senkos. Just won't do it...because everyone is. I use wacky floating worms, trick worms but never rig up a senko.

Hello everyone. I just found the board after a reckless search for a new Flippin' Stick. Great info here, i hope i can contribute. I live in C.Va and am a member of TriCity Bassmasters. I have been fishing since I was ~8 in the swamps and rivers around here. I would say I try hard to NOT be a finesse fisherman but realistic presentations just scream my name!lol I have a bassboat (parting out...mostly junk) a Jon Boat, a Kayak and a float tube. I love exploration fishing!