NathanW

Isn't the Sellus Worm and Jig rod a casting rod? And aren't you talking about a spinning reel. I am confused. Well, regardless I personally wouldn't put anything better than 10lbs mono on that reel. Maybe your best bet is to go 20lbs braid with a good 10 or 12 pound fluoro leader. Wont be the ideal setup but it should work just fine. Ideally you would fish the worm and jig on a casting reel with 15-20lbs fluoro or 40-60 lbs braid.

I don't use them. I understand the benefits as I used to do a lot of trout, salmon and a little walleye before I got hooked on bass fishing. There is risk and reward. The risk is that you wont hook up with as many fish the reward is that you wont lose as many fish once you get them on. I like a straight shank hook that I can hammer into the top of the fishes mouth. I think I am a little too trigger happy for circle/octopus for bass fishing.

X2. a) Sounds like you don't know for sure you are losing the fish due to pike. A lot of guys who are in their first few years of fishing T-Rig and jigs loose a lot of gear due to slack line setting. I still do it on occasion probably very few guys on here that don't. b ) Dealing with the fuss of any type of leader is probably going to outweigh the fuss of retying every once in a while. Maybe just avoid tungsten sinkers when you may be around pike due to the cost. c) Check your line more frequently for abrasion d) If you can bump up your mainline to 12 pound or better and ditch the coated line. Try getting used to 100% Fluorocarbon as it will hold up much better, coated lines are just a racket. If you are fishing spinning gear you will need to go with braid mainline and a fluoro leader.

I don't think anyone would argue against the effectiveness of a T-Rig. Top Water is not more productive than subsurface lures by and large but they have their time and place where they can be more or equally as productive. Also, when guys are catching them good punching you can bet they also have a frog tied on and visa versa if they know any better. Its just irresponsible to say that top water fishing is "just for the fun of it" and that it doesn't necessarily need to be a technique you understand and develop confidence in. Sometimes its just the easiest, fastest and most obvious way to catch them.

The Victory. No question about it in my opinion. You are comparing a plastic reel to a metal reel which would you choose? I also weigh strongly against the silver max because I don't even like Abus higher end casting reels. I haven't tried them all but the ones I have tried were very fussy and high maintenance.

Would you really claim that even down in Mexico guys aren't catching their kicker fish on a Wakebait, Buzzbait or a Frog?? I cannot tell you how many times I have heard that story or seen it happen there is no way its not happening in your area. I personally have my PB on a buzzbait and usually see about 8-10 days a year in the late summer when the only way to catch them efficiently is frogging because the lake gets so scummy. I just don't think we should publishing that topwater is a glamour technique that cannot be as productive as subsurface.

We are seeing the same types of weather patterns around here. Yes this weather will trigger the fall feeding activity but not its not going to happen over night. There is usually a transition period between the hot hot summer and fall which can make for some very difficult fishing especially for Largemouth. I think the most difficult part about this period for me is finding the active fish. A whole bunch of fish will be migrating to the tops of creeks to feed but timing this and finding them in-route can be difficult, sometimes its better to just wait until they get up there because they usually stay awhile. Some advice I can give but don't always follow is not to get stuck fishing around the areas they were all summer. You may catch one or two from these areas but trust me they wont be grouped up in those summer locations the way they were. Fish those areas once but just keep moving until you find a concentration of fish.

I have never owned one. I would if they sold them in Lefty at Walmart. I have heard nothing but good things about them from guys who know what they are talking about. They had a bit of a cult following due to the oversized handle and their ability to handle heavy tackle. Not sure what they have changed for the Victory II, I have not seen one in person yet. Just found this TT review http://www.tackletour.com/reviewskeetvictory.html

Sorry guys but to say top waters are poor producers is ridiculous. Do you know how many tournaments and and how much money has been won on top water!! There are situations where no subsurface lure will out fish a certain top water lure. Also, there some fish that you wont get any other way. Its a matter of time and place just like any lure and if you aren't confident in them its because you don't understand the time, place or have not built confidence in the proper cadence.

Snagged fish most definitely count but A-Rig fish don't. Sorry bro.

Interesting that a couple of you guys are mentioning to wait until there is chop on the water... I have not had any luck with Devil Horse but really have not given it a chance. I usually shut the top water down when there is chop on the water. I would be interested to know why it is different with this bait? Obviously sounds like it works so I will have to give it a shot. I wish the thing cast better usually chop comes with a little breeze or wind. You guys throwing it on spinning gear?

Go for it. I have had pretty good success punching with 20lbs fluoro... Lost a couple good ones in the process as well. You are not always going to be rigged up perfectly and sometimes you just have to put the bait where they are biting and hope to get them out. It works more often than not but will certainly break your heart when you can't quite get them turned toward the boat quick enough. Note that you don't like fishing braid because you aren't any good at it. It will take some practice and there's never a better time to start learning than now. I assume you are on this forum because you want to get better right?

They are all easy but just go with the spook and spook Jr. sharpen the hooks and be done, replace them with Gammakatsus if you are fishing them around shallow rock. If you have buoyant line and the right loop knot it should only take you about 15-20 minutes to learn how to walk it. Learning when and where to throw it is a whole different deal.

Badass. Looks nice and clean. What motor did you get? May take some mods to get that mounted.

The two teams that draw a lot of interest for me are the Eagles and 49ers. Both were torn apart and put back together. I would like to think that Chip Kelly knows what he is doing and this year will give us all that answer. 49ers on the other hand didn't tear their team down on purpose and their success will be more a factor of; did the organization make the right move in firing Harbaugh? Harbaugh was the most entertaining guy on the field when he came to Seattle and will be missed. The Seahawks addition of Frank Clark, Tyler Lockett and Jimmy Graham could be the makings of the best Seahawks team ever if their offensive line can improve by regular season.

I completely agree... If you are using the right equipment the hookup ratio should be very high. You cannot count a boil, a swat, a peck or a dink trying get your frog as a miss. You aren't going to get lucky like you do occasionally with spook and hook those fish, so don't even count them. When a bass wants to eat a frog he eats it good and doesn't want to let go. One thing I have found is that for every good frog on the market there are like three bad ones. I like a wider gap hook and very supple material. I also bend the hooks out slightly as mentioned previously. If you have trouble finding the right frog just grab a Booyah Pad Crasher and be done.

This what I like probably more than anything about bass fishing learning new techniques and becoming confident in them. I have been bass fishing for 8 years and still do what you are doing. Only I want to share a little secret with you...All of those techniques that you have dismissed as unproductive in your waters...Your fish are not special, if they are proven techniques they will catch on your lakes. Its all about knowing the time and place which is something you don't know until you know. Also, its hard to get good at it if you are not catching. So I cannot blame your thought process it was the same I had. You will figure them out eventually and let me tell you your first frog fish will be worth the wait especially if you are throwing it in the real nasty stuff.

I think we understand that. Its more on level of: Can this bait be productive? Thats what cranking is all about. When I have a bait tied on that might or might not reach the bottom on every cast when fishing 3-5 foot of water stacked up against, say a KVD 1.5 or DT4/DT6 that is going to reach on every cast I will choose the ladder. I think everyone knows that deflection while cranking leads to like 80%-90% of strikes and the Scatter Rap has proven that its probably not going to stay on the bottom once/if it gets there regardless of how shallow it is. This is all a nice way of saying I think its a bad bait and was duped by the heavy marketing.

The Rapala Scatter raps. I know they catch fish I just don't believe there is a real efficient way to fish them. When I am cranking I am usually targeting a certain depth range. With the Scatter rap it seems like there is not consistent means to get your bait into that range and for it to stay there. Sometimes it dives left, sometimes it dives right, and sometimes it dives down, there is just no telling.

I would say my favorite is a wacky rigged senko. I'll throw it on a medium fast action spinning rod and skip it into the pilings and under the docks. Its just plain fun. Not the fastest way to fish so I try not to do it unless I was catching fish earlier in the day on those same docks on moving baits near the top of the water column. If the fish are near the bottom I don't waste my time.

Its not really about the pedals its about cable vs. electric steer. Do you have any first hand experience with both? Your 1992 trolling motor is a cable steer motor but don't let this impact your decision because both Motor Guide and Minn Kota have come a long way since then. Fortrex, Maxxum and Edge are Cable Steer. Terrova and Power Drive are Electric Steer. Electric Steer is not always ideal for bass fishing. The head movement is slow, they are very loud, and there is no way to develop any feel for steering. It must be done mostly by site with an electric steer motor. They are best suited for deeper water fishing and open water. The advantages of these motors come by way of upgrades to the I-Pilot and I-Pilot link. Once you get the GPS features they become usable. A feature called Autopilot will steer you in one direction without touching the motor and Spotlock will keep in the same spot (within 10 or so feet) without touching the motor. I personally have run a Terrova for about five years can can preach how nice it is when you are are on rivers with lots of current fishing offshore weed lines, offshore rock piles, and ledges. It is also very convenient when fishing with your kids or just relaxing on the boat. Cable Steer is the motor you will see on the deck of 99% of serious tournament bass anglers boats. It is quick, quiet and efficient. Very responsive in tight quarters. The downside is that there is no AutoPilot or Spotlock and it takes a little bit of time to develop a feel for it. I am pretty dead set against recommending Electric Steer to anyone for bass fishing. I use it because I live next to the Columbia River and got very fed up with fighting the current on a cable steer day after day.

For me it is defiantly a love-hate deal with War Eagle products. When they are new out of the box I don't think there is a better spinner bait out there. They are sized, skirted and bladed perfectly. On the other-hand its like they use the softest lead on the planet and crappiest wire out there so they get beat up and out of tune quickly. Easy to get back into tune but most of my WE spinnerbaits wear out before I lose them where as I don't think I have ever trashed a Terminator. But what do I have more confidence in? Thats right the WE.

We considered that but it was more about sending the captain a message than anything. I definitely agree with the rest of your post. Well said.

You are fishing from a paddle board? Pretty impressive.

I don't understand the whole gratuity deal when using a guide. Not saying I don't tip I just don't agree with it. Isn't it enough that they spend their days on the water instead of in an office? It is their choice to live that lifestyle and be mostly poor. Now they feel entitled to gratuity on top of the usually steep ticket price? I'll never forget stiffing a salmon guide who all day long preached this "poor me" attitude about how difficult it is to get by as a guide. He also had a boat full of bass fisherman and did a fair share or arrogantly talking trash about bass fishing. We pooled our money together and tipped his deckhand $100.00 just for being a genuine dude. Family, friends and co-workers know I fish so I am constantly getting roped into going on trips but I guess I have never been with a guide where at the end of the day I felt "man that was worth the $250 I spent!"