Brian_Reeves

You might have to look at some kind of saltwater lure maybe. Or just use a bike tire tube ;D

All are baitcasters 3x Quantum Tourney Wal-Mart combo reels...I don't know their actual name 1x H20 Xpress 10 bearing 1x Bass Pro Shops Tournament Special piece of on a clearance rack junk ;D It used to be a good reel, but time is catching up to it pretty badly.

If it's all in the rod then, that really opens up my playing field. I would have guessed that the reel was where it was at. Looks like I'm still learning lol

i guess the 9 lber my friend caught didnt think it was to small of a profile It happens lol. My second largest fish, which was right over 9lbs came off of a finesse worm on an exposed hook jighead. ;D But generally, I like larger profile lures. The Rapalas are probably my favorite, but I think that there are better traps out there. Stringjam, I didn't know there was a silent trap. I'm going to have to try out that risebacker. That sounds really interesting since most of my fishing is done in super clear, extremely grassy water.

I didn't have much luck with any topwater during the spawn. I did pretty good with the craws though, if that helps.

Hey guys, I'm looking for a baitcaster that I can slam on a 6 or 6'6 rod that will handle weights in 1/8 to 1/4oz. I'm looking for hopefully less than 100 or 150 bucks. It doesn't have to be a spectacular reel, just something that can handle lighter weights. Any recommendations?? I'm really not wanting a spinning reel because I am garbage with them. Any help would be awesome. Thanks in advance.

Yeah, I've noticed that with lipless cranks as well. Sometimes I'll fish the exact same color in my rapalas and rat-l-traps and one will out produce the other. I'm just looking for something that performs under a wider variety of situations. Right now Rapalas are my favorite, with spots and rat-l-traps running a close second. Anyone fish the Yo-Zuri Vibe or the Aruku Shad?

Yeah I've tried a few of them, but I've noticed that the cotton cordell rips out of grass cleaner and better than the bill lewis. It also rests on its nose...which might be important somehow to someone... :-? The rapala seems a bit too small of a profile. I'm thinking of trying the diamond shad and red eye shad again...along with the Aruku shad. Maybe that Yozuri one I've heard people talk about...I dunno.

Ok, I've tried a few brands out there, but like jigs, I'm looking for the perfect one. I'd like to think that I don't end up making lipless crankbaits like I did with jigs though lol. Anyway, I've used the Bill Lewis, Rapala, and Cotton Cordell. I got about 2 dozen casts in with the red eye shad from strike king, but not enough to really get a feel for it. What is the best lipless in your opinion? I'm talking about fish catching ability, finishes, hooks, ability to come through grass, and ability to be fished through cover. I know they all look alike, but some have to be better than others. What's your favorite and why? I think I need to do more lipless fishing...either that or the bait monkey is being more subtle than usual. ;D

If I were fishing in Flordia, I'd be throwing a Flordia rigged baby brush hog (pegged worm weight) or a jig designed for grass (like Oldhams jigs). Other than that, spinnerbaits are good for covering water. I don't necessarily agree that bass are lazy in the summertime or that you need to slow anything down. Bass are cold blooded and are more active because of their higher metobolic rates in the summertime. It's just that they gorge themselves and will typically become less inclined to chase prey. Now if something were to pass right in front of them and force them into a reaction strike.... :

Try a lipless crankbait. You get more control over your depth and you can rip it up and out of grass much easier and better than a regular crankbait. You could also try spinnerbaits, which is what I prefer for grassy situations.

Now that's genius. That will hold me over until I can get a custom mold made, at any rate. Thanks man!! Owners are back in business!

80lb braid? Wow. I didn't even use that when I was fishing exclusively for bull redfish. But hey, to each his own. I actually use 17lb braid and I use the spiderwire invisibraid. It's not as invisable as the package would make you believe...especially for the price. Maybe once it gets down deeper...I dunno. I do like how the line performs though. I think I like the original spiderwire better. Gotta love moss green.

Yeah, I was hoping it would already be on someone's product line though. Getting into custom stuff sounds like it would be really pricey. I'd have to plan on selling those things to make it worthwhile really. One of these types of hooks can last forever, so it's not an expensive endevour to buy them from the store. In fact, I don't think I've ever lost one. :-? I'm using the big bites one right now. I guess I'm just funny about my hooks. If it doesn't say gamakatsu, mustad, or owner somewhere, I start getting nervous.

Does anyone make keel weighted swimbait/soft plastic jerkbait style hook molds? I'm looking to start making my own in 1/8-3/16, but can't find a mold on shawn collins site or on barlows/do-it. Does anyone make a mold for these style of hooks?

You should wear gear that draws positive attention to yourself (professional looking) but also defines your personality. Look at Ike with his fiery jerseys and whatnot. He's got some of the best sponsors in the business, but he's still being himself. I wore khaki shorts most of the time, but in the summer I've been known to wear board shorts with a paintball style jersey (that is blank except for my name). I've worked with several small companies with lure designs and testing and none of them minded my board shorts.

My largest this year is 7.8lbs. I didn't have a camera with me because I caught it bankfishing during my lunchbreak I've got to convince my wife to let me keep the digital camera in my tacklebox lol.

Oh I'm not giving up completely...but I am giving up on the crappy baits. That's for sure. Next step is jumping to the top of realistic looking baits and I'm going to start chunking a mattlures. Maybe they will work better when I move in a few months. Who knows? I am definitely getting fed up though. It's taken me longer to get fish on swimbaits than it did jigs.

I'll lip fish if I play them out and they are behaving. Otherwise I'll grab underneath them (around the belly) and pick them up that way. Most of the time I can get a good lip on them. I don't worry too much because most of my fish come off of jigs or soft plastic rigs, so there isn't a dozen hooks all over the place.

It's sad really. I've tried the soft plastic swimbaits...berkley hollow bellies, bass magic, and shadalicious along with several solid plastic swimbaits like storm, live swim bait or whatever, and some other thingamajig that sucked. Out of that 50-60 bucks worth of junk, I have caught no fish larger than 12 inches. These are tried and proven colors that I'm throwing...matching things that work already in my tacklebox. All of those types were either given to me or I bought over the last 6 months. I know the fishing is good because I switch to Rage Craws, *** ***, and my homemade jigs and start catching fish. I establish a pattern with those lures, switch to a swimbait...cast, flip, pitch, hop, skip, and everything else...and I catch nothing. So, I've caught a few bass under 12 inches...I can do that with a beetle spin. So with that said...I'm going to swing for the fences. I'm going to get a mattlures and give swimbaits one last shot at redemption. I'm dropping the el-cheapo stuff and going for broke. Any tips? Like I said, I've established a sustaining pattern and presentation on my lake and I am trying to re-create that success with other lures. (This is how I "prove" new lures that I want to try) This is not working...at all. I don't have a depthfinder for my canoe, so fishing a swimbait is not going to be structure orientated. It's more or less a shotgun approach to hitting banks and some creeks that I know about. So with all of that said... halp plx!!!!

When me and my old buddy co-fished, we would both be all over that boat. I'd be on the front deck shoulder to shoulder with him and sometimes he'd be on the back deck. Sometimes we'd both be in the middle, fishing from each side. We worked great together in the water because our styles were so different. He'd work weightless soft plastics 80% of the time and I'd be flipping/pitching jigs 80% of the time. We caught a lot of fish.

I got a pack of these today and they look good. I'm going to fish them tomorrow, but was wondering if any of y'all have had luck on them. I can see potential on a jighead, texas rig, or a carolina rig...but I am wondering how they'll do on a slider jighead. Any ideas? If you have fished them, how did they perform and did you have any luck on them? Thanks in advance

Great video. I'm hoping that since I'll have a normal job and be out of the Army, that I'll be able to make the 2009 trip. Hopefully I'll have my super duper gee-wizz cool guy kayak by then. ;D

You handled it way better than I would have. I'm not against people catching fish...but as soon as someone gets testy with me, I boil over quickly. I don't know if I was genetically pre-programed to lose my temper or what, but I probably would have thrown that dude in the lake as soon as he started yelling.

I'll probably be getting on GTA4 or CoD4 tonight. I haven't been on in a few weeks. Send me an invite because I will forget to check this when I get on. BKReeves