martintheduck

I know brown craw type patterns sell for high $$$.

I had an AMAZING morning and afternoon bite a little over a week ago... hooking em' on shakey heads and drop shots. Then I took a break when a BUNCH of weather came through... water dropped from 68-70 down to 59-60 and theres a really defined temperature line in the water now.... tried fishing the past two days and both days went without a bite! There goes my streak :\

Your user name fits you perfectly

My 2 cents - learn to swim then worry about boating. Hypothetical - you tip over wearing a life jacket and have to get back into the canoe... you think you'll be able to do that with your lack of swimming ability?

Well I don't know about bank fishing trips, man.... make the trip, pay for the motel, and then the fish aren't in any of the spots accessible by foot? Just seems kind of risky? I'd try making a trip to Lake Fork or Falcon I guess? I dunno. Go on that roadtrip!!!!

Oh good god... why did I click on this?

They are like the ones on the bottom. I've have never seen them come in a bag like that! So, what's the verdict? Do they look different or am I just nervous over nothing?

I went in there about 5 days ago and they didn't have the new ones... maybe Robo JUST shipped em' out? Please, if you see some of the new bags, post your thoughts about them.

So apparently this has turned into an argument on what kind of bag the worms should stay in!

Went to Academy tonight and saw some roboworms in NEW packaging! They are now coming in a re-sealable plastic ziploc type bag. BUT - I put some of the new ones side-by-side to the old packaged ones and the NEW ones look a TAD different!?!?!?! Are my eyes just deceiving me? I sure hope they didn't change up my beloved roboworms!

This is a great idea. You're a bad influence, Sam! How bout dem' Saints dough'!?

Tell that to this guy I pulled in last week

Can verify - roboworms have a killer tail that stands off the bottom and flutters very nicely. I grabbed a pack of robo's on sale in early June... buddy on my boat was fishing Tricks and I was fishing robos on the same spot. I was getting bites and he wasn't. I now use pretty much only roboworms. I never thought much about the different action of a robo-vs-trick ----- but I just grabbed a robo and a trick and put them in the sink and can confirm... the action on the robo is SUBSTANTIALLY better!

I'll try to answer this without being confusing.... What do I look for? - Well, it's going to be hard for you to find structure without side-imaging. To find structure on DSI, you'll have to roll right over it, so imagine you're on a 75,000 acre lake and seeing a picture of only 20-30feet right below your boat - you will literally be looking for a needle in a haystack. That being said - what you want to look for are ditches, humps, current moving over those ditches or humps, brush piles, fallen trees, rocks... ANYTHING that isn't just flat bottom. You'll need to REALLY learn your electronics to be successful doing this. One thing I've started to rely a lot on is sonar instead of DSI... sonar gives me a MUCH better picture of the bottom than DSI. How do you fish it? Lots of ways. Vertically with a drop shot or jigging spoon. On of my personal favorites is a Flutter spoon. Carolina rig. Football head jig. Heavy weighted swim baits. Deep crank baits. Tricks I have? - Not really any TRICKS per say, but I did buy a couple marker buoys awhile back and use them anytime I'm fishing deep. If I'm fishing a ditch or hump, I will mark each end of the hump/ditch with a buoy, then troll the length of the hump/ditch and fish the entire thing. The best trick I can give you has been the hardest one for me to learn - LEARN HOW TO PROPERLY USE YOUR ELECTRONICS!!!! I really can't stress it enough. It's aggravating to learn..BOY is it aggravating!!! But it has paid off HUGE in better fish, better fishing spots, and saved time.

Welcome buddy! Monroe LA checking in!

I agree 100% with Arv's first half - I feel like this applies to people who want to spend $500 on a loomis rod and $500 on the newest Abu reel... is it going to catch more fish? Not exactly. Will most $500 rods feel better in your hands than most $75 rods? Probably so. Will the $500 rod be more sensitive? Probably so. That being said, all 8 of my rods cost between $125 and $250. All my reels cost between $75 and $275. Also - General rule of thumb (at least for me): On each setup, the rod is more expensive than the reel. Before buying a new rod I try to get my hands on one and just mess around at the tackle shop. If one of my buddies has one I'll borrow it to fish. I read reviews. I read more reviews... NOW - Duckett rods? I've got a 7'6 Extra-Heavy Micro Magic. I pretty much HATE how small the guides are... they are not micro guides --- they are SUPER micro guides. Wanted to use 50lb braid for flipping heavy cover, but the guides are so small the biggest I can use is 30lb. Still using it for jigs and c-rigging, but with a LOT smaller line than I was wanting. I'm really impressed with the ROD and really like it a lot. I would buy another Duckett rod, for sure, but next time I'll stay far away from their "micro guides."

I've got a 7'2 med/hvy x-fast Crucial casting rod and it's one of my "all around" rods. Handles weightless flukes, weighted swimbaits, spinners, square bills, med. cranks (down to 14ish feet), 1/4oz shaky heads, weighted worms, c-rig's (up to from 1/4oz to 3/4 oz), 1/2oz jigs... I literally will use it for most anything.

Can someone PLEASE get Aaron Martens on this forum!!!!

I'm so happy I clicked on this thread

Ever watch a worm just hanging out on land? They don't ALWAYS move. Sometimes they are just laying there not moving at all. I imagine in their lifetime, fish have learned what a worm looks like just hanging out motionless.... they see your worm and think "worm" and eat it... it looks natural even just sitting there. NOW - why they will hit the motionless worm as opposed to the moving worm? That can be a multitude of reasons. The simplest "hypothesis" I have is: fish are turned off and want something REALLY slow or deadsticked. I know the fishing has been on/off based on the weather in my area recently. Weather will be stable a few days and fishing will cut on on the second day, then a front comes through and turns them off for a couple days.

I agree with you on the braid. I just swapped out my fluro spool for some 10lb power-pro braid and I will say, it has made a huge difference. I used to use lead weights and started spending the $ for tungsten about 5 months ago... also a GREAT decision. I've been struggling with making a decision on buying a ML light rod because it will be a very technique specific rod and not see as much action as everything else... with that said - I also have this issue where I spend a pretty penny on rods because I can't STAND a crappy rod. Based on what you've said, I'll be buying a ML rod in the next few weeks. I was really wondering if they legitimately handle smaller weights better than a M action, but still have enough power to handle the fish. Thanks for the responses. Lots of help!

Let me ask you this, too... do you"feel" the 1/8oz better with that ML than with a M? I find with my current setup, when I drop below 1/4oz I can't feel my bottom contact worth a crap.

Well what are you looking to do with it? IE: Put in on a kayak, boat, canoe.... You can get a little tiny Lowrance DI unit for like $200, but it's REALLY tiny and hard as heck to read (b/c it's so small). I'd recommend a quality sonar/gps unit like a humminbird 365i. I feel GPS feature is really important to me b/c when I find a spot, I can mark it and get right back to that exact spot. If you CAN save up another $200, I'd recommend getting a humminbird 598c hd/si. Has gps, down imaging, side imaging.... I use side imaging to find drops, humps, and stumps. Then I get right up to those spots and switch to combination DI/sonar and troll over those spots and can see EXACTLY what is on the bottom whether is brush, grass, rocks, or whatever. The 4 parts working together (DI/SI/Sonar/GPS) has been crucial in helping me get on some quality fish. I guess the moral of my story is to get as much unit as you possibly can afford to get.

One time I caught a 28 inch 18.5 during the spawn while night fishing on an Ultra Light spinning rod with 2 lb mono line using a 1/32oz shakey head. Don't have any pictures of it and no one was with me to verify my story........ but I swear it happened!

You're THAT guy!?!? I always get nervous when I have to perform for a judgmental crowd!