Brian_Reeves

I'm going to give them another shot when I get back to TX. There is an area on Stillhouse that is dynamite, so I'll try it there while a friend of mine is running the usual lures. If I don't catch a fish, the whole pack will probably get melted and poured into a senko mold out of spite.

Wanna really see out of the box? My affiliation with Rage Tail is not financial and I am not asking for a bunch of free stuff. I've gotten some stuff, but I'm not being a financial drag on Steve either. I still buy a ton of rage tail products on my own and don't expect much, since I'm not on any tours or circuits. I just enjoy helping Rage Tail out because I love the product and I like Steve. Besides, by law, I'm not allowed to recieve any money for sponsorship, since I'm in the Army. So a few free packs of lures and some idea talking back and forth is enough for me to work lol. With my wife's photo studio, it's only to help her out. She gives me about 5% of her profits to keep my tacklebox kicking (sometimes), but that's about it. Basically, that means I get a few crankbaits or packs of plastics on her every once in awhile lol. I'm really more interested in helping test and develop lures rather than fishing in pro-circuits. I really enjoy the relationship that I have with Rage Tail, since their entire lineup has become confidence lures for me. I will be kicking up a storm on Co-Angler FLW events if I land a job at the Baton Rouge Fire Department. 9 days of work a month for more than I make now sounds SWEEEEET!!!! Earthworm77, when you make some more jigs, I'll probably pick up some more black ones from ya. I am also looking really hard at those tubes again. A friend gave me a pack about a year ago and I'll have to get some El Gordos now. I'm not sure of the color, thanks to being partially color blind, but I'll just guess at the next pack's color...watermelon armageddon This really is a great thread and it would be interesting if a few of the site sponsors would offer their input. I'd have to check to see if any have...they may have already. I have a great memory :-[

earthworm77, im very experience in bas fishin and i am good with jigs. pleaze pleaze sponsar me!!! ;D Your above posts are absolutely on key. Granted I'm not sponsored by more than my wife's photography company and my own miniature bait company that doesn't even sell producte yet (lol) but it's a start. I field staff for rage tail and some of those same techniques were used in that. To those of you wanting to pursue the big trails, you should probably read Craig's posts about a dozen times...then buy some of his jigs. Speaking of which, I need some myself

I use a 7ft and a 6.6ft rod. Works for both. it's not a huge difference, but it does help control how much action you want.

A tungston 1oz carolina rig on 20lb braided line will tell you everything you need to know. It's slow going, but you can find creek channels and important structure all while effectively working the lake.

To get my first bites on one, I put it on my favorite jig and fished it like a jig. Boosting my confidence, I started fishing it like it is supposed to be fished and I am convinced that I hate them. I'm gonna keep trying though.

1/4oz home made jig with rage tail craw (green pumpkin and watermelon chartruse skirt and summer craw trailer) around shallow cover/structure (Alt. color is solid black with green pumpkin rage craw) 3/4oz Oldhams football jig in watermelon/watermelon chartruse with summer craw rage tail craw trailer in deep water. (Alt Colors would be solid black skirt with green pumpkin or ocachobee craw rage tail craw) 3/4oz Cotton Cordell Jigging spoon with a bunch of junk done to trick it out. silver on cloudy days, gold on sunny. (I just spray paint my silver spoons to save the extra dollar lol) Shallow Crankbaits Lil Mr. Money Strike King Spinnerbait Rage Tail Shad Carolina Rigged Tubes, senkos, flukes, 7inch worms, 10 inch worms That is all of my summertime fishing in a nutshell. of course I try other stuff, but those are my babies

Awesome man, simply awesome. This computer doesn't have sound, so I can't really tell what lure you're using in there. Seems to be pure dynamite on your water though. Thanks man!

I use the Rage Chunk on my smaller jigs as well. I use the Rage Tail Craw on larger jigs. I don't use any other soft plastic trailers other than these two anymore.

Cool looking boat, but I think I'm going to go with the Ocean Kayak prowler with the bassyaks trolling motor system and homemade outriggers that I can fold up. That will be my setup if I don't get my Dad's bassboat off of him.

If rigged tail up, then they should ride on top of the water at a VERY slow cadence. I change the angle of my rod to dictate what kind of action I want the tail to have. With it low, it will be much more subtle than with the rod tip up higher. This gives you the option of how much action you want at various speeds. You can get rage shads moving pretty good with the tail being pretty quiet and vice versa. you shouldn't be working very hard at all to keep it on top of the water.

Man I just don't know what to say. Thanks doesn't seem to be enough, man. Wow!! That pic is going to get laminated and framed in the boat lol

I just hung and landed a 6lb bass about an hour ago on a Rage Shad. Gotta love these things ;D

I have only rigged it as stated on the back of the package, but I use them in place of buzzbaits nowadays. The shad color and pearl white have been my favorites thusfar.

I pour jigs on the tailgate of my truck. I live in an apartment. I can't wait til I get my new house in a month or so. The FIRST thing I'm doing is building a workbench and buying about a dozen or so blanks to start rod building. Need a new lead melting pot too. Working out of an apartment isn't so bad. I'm not sure about the painting, but if you're wanting to tie skirts or pour jigs, it's not hard. Just be sure to be careful with hot lead and make sure you have plenty of air flow.

Alright, I'm gonna be gone for a few weeks. Keep passing that MOJO!! i'm going to be going to Louisiana to find a new house and hopefully get out on CANEY LAKE!!! Good luck fishing guys!

I don't change anything. Not even colors.

I've fished with a few dudes that will turn their depthfinders off once they've marked the structure they want to fish with bouys. I would personally say that it probably doesn't matter unless it's REALLY tough fishing. Then I'd say take every advantage that you can get away with.

Drilling holes works on buzzbaits. With spoons, I'd think that it would dampen the action, since water would be flowing straight through the lure, instead of being forced around it. With spinnerblades, I think you'd get more action, but I don't know. Try it on a $1 wal-mart spinnerbait. ;D

He was talking about bicycle chains. ;D I have one tube of mega strike that I "borrowed." It is working, so I haven't finished "borrowing" it yet. I'll be buying more once I'm done "borrowing" it.

Yeah, that ain't no lie 5BL. Jig fishing is very productive. Keep experimenting and you'll find more techniques, combos, and colors to fit nearly every one of your jig fishing needs. Congrats on the jig-fish. I hope it's the first of many for you.

I like a medium or medium heavy rod. With either of those, I just kind of snap it back and keep it tight. I think the proper term is a sweeping hookset. I pull it up to about a 1 or 2 o'clock angle towards my right shoulder. Might not be proper, but it works for me. You definitely don't want to set it quite as hard as you would a jig or texas rig. It doesn't take much for those treble hooks to dig in. There is probably someone better at describing and answering this than I am, but that's just what does it for me. I rarely miss a fish on a crankbait, so it does work.

Ok, that helps. You need a grass jig. www.micromunchtackle.com sells one of the best out there. If you're wanting to punch through the grass (summertime technique) Oldham's makes some monster jigs that perform well for that task. I still recommend the Rage Tail Craw or chunk, just because they have been so good for me for months now. Flip and pitch that jig on primary or secondary points that is close to the spawning grounds. If there is vegitation on or near a drop off, I'd fish the outside edge of it with the jig. Swimming it through the water like a spinnerbait is a GOOD, GOOD post-spawn technique, but try some bottem-contact presentations as well to figure them out. Stick with a 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2oz weights depending on depths and amount of cover. Heavier weights obviously will crash through vegitation better. Sometimes it is better to sit on top of it though, so keep that in mind. If the water is clear, watermelons and green pumpkins are probably your best bet, but other people will have other opinions. That's just what works for me. Find where the fish are located using baits that produce for you, then switch to a jig and figure out if they want it or not. Sometimes it takes people a long, long time to get their first jig strike, but keep with it. The more you fish it, the better you'll get. Eventually you'll probably have one tied on at all times

Ok, so I've bought some Cotton Cordell hammered spoons. I have NEVER used spoons with a treble hook, so I'm looking for some stuff to make them more productive. After watching Jason Quinn the other night on some show, I have a good idea on how to work them, but what all do y'all do to maximize the effectiveness of your spoons? So far I've added a split ring and a swivel to reduce line twist. I've added a feathered treble, replacing the grappling hook that it came with. I'm considering adding some stick-on eyes or maybe a few strokes of paint, but haven't decided yet. Is there anything else that I can do to these things before I try them out? Thanks for any tips.

I know you don't want to hear this...but it depends. Knowing the water clarity, type of structure, depth, and water temperature all help, but I can kind of give you a rough draft of some general rules. First off, go with black or black and blue with muddy or heavily stained water. I prefer solid black with a dark trailer. For clear water, sunfish-colored jigs such as green pumpkin/chartruse have been best for me. This is my typical fishing conditions right now. Rage Tail Craws are my favorite trailer because they seem to get more bone-jarring strikes than any other soft plastic I've used. And I've used a bunch. If fish are deep (say 10 feet or deeper), consider a 1/2oz jig. That will help you draw reaction strikes from suspended fish or help you maintain bottem contact when you hop and drag it around on deep water structure/cover. If shallower than 10ft, then I like a 1/4oz jig. I rarely use anything in between unless it's heavy cover. 3/8oz works great for that. The 1/4oz jig with the Rage Tail Craw will give you a nice rate of decent that will draw strikes from shallow fish. As far as presentation, I like to pitch my jigs on Power Pro 30-50lb braided line to the structure/cover. Allowing the jig to fall on a semi-slack line (giving it a vertical fall) WATCH YOUR LINE. ANY ticks or movement needs a good hookset. If the jig makes it all the way to the bottem, let it sit there for a few seconds. I usually count to 10 or 15 then hop it once or twice. Let it sit for a bit longer then SLOWLY reel or drag it back. I like to reel it back keeping the jig 1 or 2 inches above the bottem, killing it when it collides with something. That covers most of my jig fishing, but there is so much more to it. Post up some of your water conditions and you'll get more tailored techniques and ideas.