iceintheveins

I would use a heavy fluoro or mono leader to keep them from stealing your jigs. I fish for big pike all the time, and the seldom bite through fluoro or mono of 15 - 20 pound test, so I doubt you would have a problem with little pickerals biting you off. Pickerals are fun though.

It just depends on what profile I want. I might use a small plastic trailer in clear water, but I usually prefer a pork frog.

That's a good one too, especially on calm days. I usually use the bigger models, but the little 1/8 ouncer can get you into buzzbait action when they show no interest in the bigger, louder ones. For that reason, I usually won't use a buzzbait over a flat slick surface, but opt for a quiet topwater instead. To me it seems that bass are intimidated by lure commotion that's much greater than the natural surface ripple. But the noise and turbulence from that same lure would work fine in choppy water. If you're more patient than me though, working a loud, splashy buzzer over a flat surface is a good way to nail a big slob that's not easily intimidated. I've followed nearly the exact same path as you 8-) Roger I have a lot of success on calm water days with buzzers. I usually use nothing bigger than a 1/4 ounce though on such days. When it's more choppy, I will go to the bigger buzzers and the double bladers.

Smelly Jelly. For bass I like the crawdaddy, bass feast, and baitfish flavors. SJ stays on better than anything else. It isn't magic (no scent is) but it can turn a few lookers into biters. May as well use every advantage as you can.

Do we have any sluggo fans here? I know it was one of the first soft jerkbaits. How do you guys like them compared to, say, flukes and the like.

Utah has gone off the deep end on this. They now mandate you kill all smallmouth you catch on the Green River. They are doing this because of the presence of native suckers and chubs, and other assorted rough fish. They would prefer the Green to be gamefish free. Data has shown again and again, by the very same "scientists" who begged the Utah Wildlife Board for the must kill reg, that trying to control the numbers of gamefish, or by reducing gamefish populations, that it does NOT help native fish species. Data has FURTHER shown that it is basically impossible to reduce gamefish populations, especially smallmouth bass, in a large river like the Green. So why not manage this new fishery (which can grow some BIG smallmouth) and just cut the losses? This regulation is an abomination to a great gamefish, and unenforceable. > > > > > > > > (see my avatar for how I REALLY feel about this)

That's a good one too, especially on calm days. I usually use the bigger models, but the little 1/8 ouncer can get you into buzzbait action when they show no interest in the bigger, louder ones.

Who else here misses the Risto Rap and the Rattlin' Fat Rap? Oh, and the jointed countdown (though that's technically a minnowbait).

I do well with them and similiar cranks when the water is 55 degrees or higher. The advice here is good, bang them into rocks and ledges, using crawfish imitating colors. In murkier water, bright colors, along with black, are great as well.

Your right on the money Paul. Flukes and Senkos aren't all that great of baits when the water is heavily stained. Now later in the year or if the water is clearer, they are my go to baits. I also notice that shallow cranks and jerks seem to catch early bass better than plastics. They do come up in those warmer upper layers, and a stop and go, suspending hard bait can be the best choice. As for topwaters, the floating rapala is the first one I use as well. It really does better than a lot of the others early on. When it warms up, no topwater lure produces bass for me like the Rapala Skitterpop, in my mind the best popper ever made. However, when the bass are aggressive, a Cavitron Buzzbait is even deadlier. I've done well on most all topwaters though.

I live in Grand Junction and we warm up a bit more gradual than the Front Range. But Colorado has a longer growing season and warmer conditions than NY, you are right. The bass should be starting to get hungry soon where I'm at. I can hardly wait to set the hook into that first hog.

I don't know about BETTER than a fluke but I would say they are comparable. I didn't even know they made swimbaits, anyone got a pic? I think they have a little bit more wiggle and seems to squirm more on the jerk than a fluke. The downside is they slide down the hook easier than a fluke though.

Some great bass Paul. Why don't you try some flukes and senkos? They seem to catch lethargic bass or pressured bass better than anything else? About when do you start getting them on topwater? I've caught them on poppers and buzzbaits during the first week of April before, but those years it was a faster warm up. Water usually is around 54 by the time they start hitting top.

Colorado bass usually wake up a couple weeks earlier than NY bass, but it's fairly close. I will probably hit the local lakes next week, our water is still in the high 40s. I will stick to big old trout in the river (since trout are more aggressive than bass, especially in clear water) till the bass are pretty hungry, especially since I'm such a topwater addict.

Every lake owned by the public needs to be open to fishing and at least non motorized boating. Closing public lakes is tyranny.

P - Line

Yum baits rock. For bass, most of the time it's the action and the profile of the bait, and not the scent, that determines if you'll get bit or not. However, scent does cause them to hold onto the bait a bit longer, though they will still spit it. I have not used gulp yet, but I do love Yum's baits. My favorite is probably their 4" tube. Lures will outfish bait often, but when the situation calls for bait, any scented bait usually doesn't come close to catching what the real thing can. There is no substitute for the real thing when it's needed.

Good post. Ever tried the accent hi rider buzzbait? It has a couple of small floats on it to keep it on the surface at even slower speeds. Oh, and when you retrieve a buzzbait AGAINST the current, you can keep the speed even slower. I can't tell you how many big smallies and pike I catch in Colorado's Yampa River using buzzbaits.

I have tons of favorites, but my all time favorite was Rapala's Rattlin Fat Rap, in size 4. The risto rap was a close second, also in size four. d**n them for discontinuing both lures.

Haven't used the swimbaits but have used the jerkbaits. The 5" shad assassin has a better action than a Super Fluke.

The fluke is one of bass fishing's deadliest lures. I rig the 5" with a 3/0, Gamakatsu EWG hook, with the hook point hidden in the belly pocket. It's pretty weedless and my hookup percentage is high this way. I will fish it on six pound test so I can utilize it as a deep water presentation. In the shallows I will use 10 - 12 pound test. It's just a flat out lethal lure. I let it sink to the desired depth, and then I will give it a twitch or two, and let it fall down again. I will alter the amount of twitches and the strength of them, with long pauses and short pauses to give it an erratic action. My favorite colors are white, baby bass, lemon shad, watermelon seed, and Arkansas Shiner. Green smoke is also good.

I have found many of the berkley lines to be brittle, especially after they changed the formulas. XL used to be good stuff, until they changed the formula. Then it got brittle and UV rays seemed to do a number on it much faster. Stren all the way for me.

Really? The reason I said white is because it isn't too unnatural in clear water (white being able to imitate lots of forage from small bass to trout), and it stands out in stained water. Might be the best all around color, though I do like other colors like watermelon, pumpkin, baby bass, motoroil, ect. I use white probably 33% of the time that I'm throwing a soft jerk, whether it be a senko type bait or a fluke type bait.

I do like the regular old spook probably better than any of the newer walkers, though I have NOT tried the Sammy or the Skitter Walk. I need to though. The spittin' image is a good one too.