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That's awesome bigbill! I hope you crush em next time out!

In the past, I've taken a break in the really cold winter months, but I think this year I'll get out, though it might not be as often. The challenge interests me more then anything else

Sounds like I need a kickstarter account haha jk. In all seriousness, I think my gear for jigging is good enough. I feel it is. And if you could see where I fish, a rod that size wouldnt be a good idea. Yhay mojo bass is pretty d**n stiff, and I like the size. Going to Dicks today, to get some heavier braid, and some baby brush hogs. Alsways wanted to try those out as a trailer

I'm using a Revo S reel with a 6:4:1 gear ratio A 6'6"MH mojo bass rod in fast action I think my rod has plenty enough back bone, but I'll be definitely spooling some 50lb braid ASAP. Either way I'm gonna have to make it work, because I cant afford anymore gear anytime soon. Maybe bonus time, but that's not until march.

Jigs I finally took the time to really learn how to fish them, and know I don't feel right without one tied on. I can think of another lure that produces more bigger bass for me then some kind of Jig

Yep, the thing that gets me is I'll never know. I caught my PB on this lake this spring at close to 5lbs. Just a few weeks ago, I caught what would of been a new PB but I didn't have my scale or my phone(camera) on me, and that one was clearly larger then the 5lber I caught this spring. The one I lost today felt so much heavier then the two of those fish I can only imagine. I'm usually pretty calm, but this guy had my heart racing!!! But I definitely will be back at it ASAP. I cant wait to get my kayak, so I can get to these pigs with a different angle

My home lake is surrounded by some pretty dense forest, so there is an abundance of cover all around the shore line. There are paths around the lake, but the tree line often times comes right to the edge of the water. I've found a lot of success this year popping out of openings in the tree line and pitching a jig to whatever cover I think the bass will be at, and often time bass will be caught feet from the shore, even at this time of year. Lots of vegetation too. Well, I was having a slow day, when I pitched a jig at a tree that had fallen over into the water. Just like bass sometimes do, it picked my jig up and just kind of casually swam off with it. When I set the hook, all hell broke loose! It took off straight into cover pulling my drag with it, and Im trying to fight this thing. Well long story short, this fish got itself into deep cover, to the point my line just felt snagged. It most of gotten my line all tangled on that tree in the water. Either that or it had spit my hook out and I was actually snagged. I'm being totally honest when I tell you fellas, that I've never felt a bass this heavy on my line before, but once it had buried itself it just felt stuck. I tried letting some line out and waiting, hoping it would swim free, but eventually my line snapped. I was using 30lb braid, by the way. Now I don't consider myself a newbie to bass fishing, but I've just recently in the last few years begain to take my fishing a bit more seriously, and this is the first time I've ever lost a fish this size in cover like that. So besides the obvious thing of having my drag set right, and heavier test line, is there anything else I should of done to land this thing?? I gotta say, this one is really bothering me

dunno, isnt there are a ctual arkie brand? I just bought a new one at lunch time, but its in my jeep. When I get home I'll take a closer look. But I swear it was a arkie brand, with the rattle bands on them. Though I never use the rattle because, the dont sell that actuall rattles at wallmart or dicks. Which I think is the dumbest thing ever! I guess i;d have to order them, but I catch fish without them so Im not to worried about it

Ive found theat fishing a jig has been working, but fish it slow with pauses, and twitches. I also rather throw my jigs with various trailers in weed beds, and shady spots rather then just plastics be themselves

I recently joined the club, my original thinking was why buy a swim jig, when I can swim my regular arkie. And yes the the majority of jigs I use for punching are arkies. for $1.65 at wall mart I buy one everytime im out. Today Im going experiment with some different trailers on some jigs I dont normally use. 99% of the time I perfer black and blue, but today Im going fish 1/4 oz texas carw with a chartuese trick worm trailer on my spinning tackle, a white jig with a a strke king silver/grey stick worm trailer on my jig and worm rod. Then of course I'll have my swimmer tied on my other baitcaster. i like to use my swim jigs on a medium action rod with fast action. But this rods fast action isnt as stiff as u would think. I think its a peferect setup for this, and handles great

well I defently alsways have a swim jig, and some type of jig tied on for pitching into cover

I've recently fell in love with this bait. My question is can I vary my retrieve speed to vary the depth I fish. Kinda like a crank or a spinner

I've never been a fan of cranks because I fish fro the bank a majority of the time. Today after work I'm gonna be experimenting withe different lures mainly jigs I don't use, matching them up with different trailers. My main goal is to figure out what works for me this time a year and her rid of what I don't like and buy extras of what works Here in md most if the lakes I fish have stained to murky water, but sometimes what's not supposed to be effective will be. You guys know the deal. Any tips would be appreciated, as I've never been a crank guy

I never really got on board with a designated swim jig. In the past I've always used whatever jig I had on if I wanted to swim it. Well, i bought a char/white swim jig with a white soft swim bait trailer. Well I killed them with it. Now after work Im going to dicks to stock up on a few more. What are your favorites? Colors? Trailer? How do you guys like to fish them? yo yo? steady retreive? Do you like to fish cover with them? Just interested with what works with you fellas

I usually fish them early in the morning, or in the evening . Do any of you have any luck fishing them anytime between?

Thanks for the tips man. They really liked the senkos! Unfortunately, I didn't tie one on until the last half hour of the day. I caught a small LM, and very nice smallie.

When you say "goofy" do you mean rain? Here in Maryland, we' ve been getting lots of rain this summer. I'd also say this summer has been mild compared to last year. I haven't had to much luck this summer unless I'm fishing my home lake, and that's probably because I know the lake so well

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I broke my g loomis GL2 a few weeks ago while snagged up in some cover and fortunately I purchased the warranty for it. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise because I wasn't that impressed with it, and at $200 its a very expensive rod for me, at least. Well for the money I paid for that I bought a st. Croix to pair up with my revo, and a cheaper field and stream tec-spec for a really old lews speed spool that I brought back to life. The lews was my fathers, and the bait cast reel I cut my teeth on. So it's got sentimental value to me. Anyways, I got out late tonight so I figured I'd fish a buzz bait to cover more area with the time I had. I had the buzz bait on my lews/tec-spec, and brought my st. croix/revo with a jig/craw tied on. On my second cast with the buzz bait I was retrieving slow and let the bait pause for a second and bang! A nice bass hit it hard! I could tell it was a "biggin" right away, and it was confirmed when the bass jump out of the water and spit my bait right back at me! Quite rudely, I also might add...haha. Anyways I followed up with my jig/craw in the same spot and caught this guy. It wasn't the same fish but it was nice. Didn't have a scale or tape measure on me, but I'd say it was about 14-15 in maybe 2 lbs. It's nothing special but its always cool to "pop the cherry" on a new rod, so i thought i'd share with you fine gentlemen/women. Still need to get my first one on that tec-spec/ lews combo I just paired up. I'll be back at it tomorrow.

Spinning or baitcast

Going fishing this weekend in the potomac river for some smallmouth. I truth be told, I havent caught a smallie in years, not since I was a kid. I remeber catching them with spinner baits, and tubes. Just wondering, what you guys like to use? Im assuming the water is gonna be stained. Any of you guys have any luck swimming a jig? I'll be wading down the river and fishing from shore in some spots, so I'll only have one rod with me. So I'm debating which lure to tie on first. A spinner, crank, or a swim jig.

Thanks for the advice fellas, I think I'm gonna tie my jig on instead. I just bought a red/ black one I wanna try out. So about the frog, u guys have luck with them mid day, rather the mornings or evenings

Well after cashing in on my warranty of my broken GL2, I went back to dicks and got a replacment rod, plus another rod to use with an old lews speed spool I recently brought back from the dead. I also bout a topwater frog, and some new split rings and hooks from some old jerkbaits and cranks that needed some TLC. I'll be fishing from the bank, but this time I'm gonna lug 3 rods with me. I'll have my spincast rigged with a zoom super fluke to throw out quickly when I miss that strike. Which will happen! One ofr my baitcasters rigged with that frog, and my last baitcaster rigged with a suspended jerkbait. The kind that has 2 sections. My tried and true jig/craw combo will be sure to make an apperance sometime as well I've never fished the frog, but I think I can manage that one. But the suspended jerk has me concerned. my Lake has a lot of logs, branchs, etc...underwater, so im concerned with snags. Water is always stained at best, but with the rain we have been getting lately im pretty sure its going to be muddy. So any tips or pointers you could give me withe that jerkbait would be much appreciated. Also with that topwater frog, is this a bait best used early in the morning or late in the eveniong when the fish are aggressive, or have any of you guys had luck catching them all day using it

Nice!

At my home lake, the place I fish most often, you won't find me having to many of those 20+ fishing days as far as number of fish caught. But I do catch fish there at' what I would say, a "consistent" basis. For me that number is about a fish an hour. If I can average this, I consider that a good day of fishing. Quality over quantity, but for that sake of discussion lets just assume all the fish are the same size. At my lake 15 in fish at about 1.5 to 2.5 lbs are caught consistently, or what I consider consistent. Im Also usually fishing from shore, so keep that in mind. I also realize, it's possible to have a good day without catching many fish. But again, for the sake of discussion, lets talk numbers, avg size, species, etc... Any thoughts?