Big Swimbait

My wife had a crap-ton of cork wine bottle stoppers she bought on Etsy. I glued them to the bottom of a 3700 deep and stuck the wire they came on in the cork.

I have had decent success with several methods. I will not use a treble/quad hook anymore because they swallow this bait. You are going to hook the tongue/gills and no need to kill a fish. I will try the 2/0 frog hook whenever they are available again. The Core Tackle Dice Rig is pretty good for TPE baits. It does not hold a plastisol bait well for me. For the bigger baits, I have been using the Mag Shrooms Weedless jig head because it has a 6/0 hook (and a weed guard). Plus it has a great keeper for TPE baits. For those that bought the 1st batch of the 6th Sence Abstract (me), apparently there was a problem with the plastic formula where they did not hold their shape (mine). My understanding is if you contact Customer Service, they will replace them with the updated formula that they are selling now.

Everybody has an idea now that they are so popular. The one that makes the most sense to me is with the weight on the bottom and whatever hook you use, the hook point should be up. That way the hook is in the best position while the bait falls.

Super high quality, great customer service and Mike will make you what you want!

I don't throw frogs as much as I should, so I wanted a rod that could pull double duty. I found the Falcon BuCoo in a 7' H. It's been great when I frogged, but it also is my pitchin'/flippin stick. Very light for the rating and Academy usually has them on sale for $99.00.

I bought the one in Morning Dawn because the bladed jig was sold out everywhere. I like it - a lot! Quick start-up and has a different vibration than the JH.

Thanks for the tips.

I recently fished a private lake that had a muck bottom. Anything TX rigged was a waste of time. I had never thrown a drop shot before but it made sense for this lake. So I tied it up and immediately started catching fish. The problem was the mess I got back after every fish. My leader end (around 8 in) would be wrapped around everything, and in some cases I had to cut it off and start over. I see there are drop shot hooks with swivels. Are they the answer to this problem?

If you can find it, 832 20 lb in Camo is my go-to. It has the diameter of 6 lb. Several tests I have seen shows it breaks closer to 30 lbs. It is so thin, I use it without a leader for bottom contact baits. My success actually went up since I started using it that way.

Facts. After Christie won the last BASS derby, and said he used a 2/0 frog hook, they are non-existant. Especially since Trokar is the only one I can find that makes a 2/0.

They introduced a new color not too long ago 9024 called Texas Tilapia. I always have one rigged up.

Thanks for the link.

Before Z-Man stopped everybody, you used to be able to buy swim jig heads with an open eye for direct blade connection . I think they called them Shaker jigs. Now that the patent has expired, has anyone seen these jig heads back on the market?

The 6th Sense Curve Finesse Squarebill in Black Magic has been my most productive crankbait last year and this year so far. And just like the fuzzy baits, I can't tell you why it gets bit, but it does. I need to give Bass Reaper on YouTube credit for this bait/color.

Good deal on the Phenix rod. Order placed. Thanks for posting!

I so miss the Dangleberry Rig with the sliding weight. It made Flukes dance.

I saw a guide one time use black Spike It dye. He said he got the color and scent.

It was banned by major tournamernt leagues because it was too effective - they work. There are several brands that offer micro-sized rigs that are easier to throw.

I really miss the bladed jig version of this head. I think it was called the Rockin' Runner. I saw a Jimmy Houston show where he killed them on that bait. I bought the few I could find, but they went out of production. I talked to him at the FLW Cup one year and asked him if he had any for sale. He said never LOL.

I used to have great success with the Rage Shad, which is similar but smaller. I guess this replaced it. I used a 4/0 wide gap on that one, so agree on the larger hook.

On the ones made of TPE, you can run your hook through the bait. On the ones made of regular plastic, I use an Owner centering pin and then run my treble through that. Make sure to run a bobber stop/bait keeper over the treble barb hooking the bait. That keeps the hook from backing out and lossing $$$ baits. I am experimanting with some very slender BFS drop shot baits with the ring eye. I push it thru the hole almost to the top and then run my hook through the eye. This solves slinging $$$ drop shot weights on the cast. Good luck!

I use a 5/0 BKK

A funny story about forage size happened recently at the Sharelunker Program in Texas. They tried to spawn a 16+ that was donated, but failed because she ate every male they intoduced LOL.

I've caught fish on all 3 sizes. The small one on a Ned Rig, the medium Texas rigged and as a jig trailer and the jumbo on a wobble head. I got the most bites but zero hook ups fishing the biggie on a Free Rig. I assume they were little guys nipping the flappers.

Sorry, I missed your question. No additional tariffs.