Snakehead Whisperer

I usually t-rig them weightless if I'm fishing shallower than 6' or so. I'll use 1/16-1/8oz. bullet if needed. I usually fish them with 6-8lb. test copoly.

Whenever the fishing is fast and furious my friend Edwin will grab a huge chunk of ice out of the cooler and toss it in the water near me when I'm not looking and say "dude, there was one right next to you!" Sad to say but this gets me everytime

I don't think that is always true. I've caught a lot of bass in 3-8' of water over this winter, and the water temps here are around 35° at the surface. I also catch fish at 20' and deeper all summer long when water temps are in the high 80's. An entire book (or several books) could be written on why bass go deeper water in the winter. The short (and way oversimplified) answer is that they are lethargic and forage is scarce. In order to conserve energy bass will orient to vertical structure because it takes less energy for them to move vertically through the water column than it does to move horizontally.That vertical structure can be anything from a drop-off or a bluff to submerged trees in man-made reservoirs. This is however a gross oversimplification of the process. There are too many variables to count, and many are unique to a particular body of water. Where are you fishing? Depending on the water temperature, bass go through a number of physiological changes when wintering.

After turnover the temperature and oxygen content of the water are consistent throughout the water column. It is most likely colder at 30'. Water is most dense (heaviest) at about 39.2°F (4°C.) So the concept of warmer water at deeper depths is only applicable when the surface temperature is below 39°F. If the surface temperature is 44° then there is heavier (colder) water beneath it. In lakes that are iced over the water just beneath the ice will be warmest.

I don't really follow solunar tables myself, but my experience has shown me that the bite will usually last longer during a full, new and half moon. Fish live under enormous amounts of pressure in water, and gravity from the moon has a pretty large effect on that. Whether we like/realize it or not, anybody who fishes tidal water and notices differences in fish location at various tides is fishing based on moon phase/position. I understand the science of moon phase, but I like to think that I too can feel it's forces and can in turn relate to the fish (not sure if this is even remotely true, but it's cool to think so.) On a side note, I find that barometric pressure has a larger effect on fish feeding than moon phase. But like anything else, if it boosts an anglers confidence then they're likely to catch more fish regardless. My 2¢

I've experienced soft baits dying each other, but not melting together. As a matter of fact, I usually store white soft plastics in the same bag with some red ones. It gives them a 'bleeding' look that seems to work well for me.

x2 on the chartreuse trailer.

I agree with all of the above. The only colors I ever use are blue/black w/silver blade and sexy shad w/ gold blade. I've had good luck using a 4" senko as a trailer. Also, after my horny toads get too beat up to use I cut the legs off and throw them on a chatterbait. It's a killer bait for fishing the edges of spatterdock around these parts.

As far as I know, all of their shakeyheads use a 4/O Mustad Ultrapoint hook... which is pretty middle of the road IMHO.

Maybe TetraMin. But seriously, I know a lot of people here in DC who chase carp on the fly with great success. I can only imagine the fight. I've foul hooked 2 carp in my life (never targeted them.) Both times were on ultra-light tackle, and both times I landed the fish. Their strength is admirable. If I ever get a fly rod, I may just go after them.

Remind me not to buy any baits from you on EBay.

Probably the best advice there is.

So, any update? Did you catch any on these cranks?

Nothing but respect for the big fish hunters. I have a good friend who I fish with pretty regularly, and he always pulls out the big irons. While I typically do better in numbers, he has caught some of the biggest fish I have ever seen in his pursuits (including a 14lb. 3oz. Virginia bass.) On the other hand, I have caught some real dinks using large baits. I've caught plenty of bluegill on a XL Minus 1. While it's counter-intuitive, I have caught most of my biggest fish on small baits. I caught my largest bass of 2012 (7.5lbs.) on a 1/16oz. jighead tipped with a 1.5" grub while crappie fishing. Go figure.

Well, I don't really have much to input as far as where to look for fish. But have you tried using the 'historical imagery' feature in Google Earth? It gives you the option of viewing satellite images taken at different times from the past. Often I can find an image from a time when water levels were extremely low, and see structure that isn't normally visible. This has helped me tremendously.

That's understandable, and by no means would I ever question a persons hook choice if they're catching fish. For me personally, I've found that I have a higher hook up ratio when using the smallest possible hook for the size of fish I am targeting. Admittedly I am a overtly finesse oriented, and I also tend to downsize baits more than most (so this is definitely a quirk of mine, and not the norm.)

St. Croix makes top quality casting rods, no doubt. But I am not sold on their spinning rods. The guides are just too small, and cause a lot of friction on the St. Croix spinning rods that I've used.

I know you posted this more than 3 years ago... I actually have one that is NOS, never been used.

I use an electronics vice designed for soldering circuit boards. It's indispensable. They run around $25 on amazon/ebay, and this tool will last a long time. http://www.panavise.com/index.html?pageID=1&page=full&--eqskudatarq=1

Just a matter of personal preference, but it's always surprising to me how big folks go on DS hooks (or most tackle for that matter.) I usually use a size 6 or 8 and boat many 5+ pounders on them. They've never let me down, and I can't really remember losing a fish on them once the hook's been set. My 2¢.

Thanks! Glad to be here.

Man, that's a nice walleye!

I was taught to make my leader approximately twice the length of the rod that I'm using. So that's what I usually do. As for knots I use an albright special (best knot for tying 2 lines of unequal diameter together, IMHO.) Just make sure that you wrap the braid/fireline around the flouro, and not the other way around. The design of the albright special knot wraps the braid around the leader line so that it's the braid hitting the guides and not the flouro. Just be sure to re-tie every so often. The other great thing about this knot is it's extremely small profile.

Welcome to the site. I'm new here too.

Here's an episode of Addictive Fishing where Blair Wiggins and Bill Dance catch some big redfish (although this doesn't appear to be too challenging of a spot either )