ChrisD46

For those who may struggle with the FG Knot , I saw this for the first time : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qrcecw3a3yI I have no affiliation with the maker - I am weighing whether it's worth the approx. $35 or should I try to learn the FG knot from someone who has an easy , proven approach to tying the FG knot ?

*Smalljaw67 forgot more about hair jigs than I will ever know !! ... I enjoy the learning though .

*I agree , best to wait for a sale (if possible) as Carbonlite rods usually go on sale at Christmas and possibly one more time during the year ...

*More good points - simply jumping from one catch being reeled in to the next guy's catch being reeled in is not real interesting ... I believe with better directing / editing this is an area that could be improved .

*Just be sure to look at the Blue Label line diameter as it is larger than the same pound test in InvizX .

*I have the Owners in various weights with the willow leaf blade - now going to pick up some new ones with colorado blades as well - They work well and TW sells blade replacement kits cheap .

*I'll take any subtle or gradual changes to improve the MLF product for viewing - in it's current first year format , I find the product a bit boring to watch ...

*I have to agree with your comments !

Tweak the BPT / MLF rules a bit to improve the product and I'll watch more - they have most of the bass fishing stars no doubt. Yes , I too can usually tell what a angler is using as a lure category on TV but it would be better to have a "winning / leading gear" two minute segment at the end of the 3rd period of each show (i.e. rod , line , reel & lure(s) . TV viewers become more educated and sponsors benefit (unless they are not on the Johnny Morris preferred list - thus getting no air time) . Timmy may indicate that viewership is up on MLF is up on cable - however I believe at least 50% of that viewership is watching out of curiosity because it's new ... If BPT / MLF doesn't tweak the rules , then the causal viewer will become less than thrilled and leave .

*Oh , I failed to mention - Forget trying to learn anything from the BPT / MLF anglers as they speak little about their techniques / set ups ... How about adding something similar to BP Elite : "Winning Ways" programming to help educate TV viewers ? If you are not a preferred supplier to BPS / Johnny Morris then you can forget about your products / lures getting mentioned on BPT / MLF (and now FLW - don't forget that BPS / Johnny Morris own all of these now) . Lets face it , people like to see the drama of a weigh in (modern live well techniques save bass just fine). BPT / MLF contracts are for three years with a $50K buyout to leave ... Gerald Swindle and Brandon Palaniuk already bailed and I predict more will bail when they can afford to as they realize the format doesn't work for them or their fans . Now I return you to the regular BPT / MLF programming : "That's a scoreable bass : 1 lb. 2 oz." ; "That's a scoreable bass : 1 lb. 2 oz." ; "That's a scoreable bass : 1 lb. 2 oz." ; "That's a scoreable bass : 1 lb. 2 oz." ... Yawn .

**To all who watch or are interested in the BPT / MLF future success (this means you Boyd Duckett !!) : The format needs to change to count ONLY the top five (5) heaviest bass from each participant ... Yes , every bass can still be weighed - but only have the top five heaviest bass from each participant count . The main reason for this strongly suggested change ? The majority of BPT / MLF tournaments are a "dink fest" !! Who wants to watch that - seriously ? BPT / MLF has the top bass anglers people want to see - however , growing sentiment (like mine) does NOT want to see a grand total of "dinks" weighed in as it will erode viewership and prevent popularity and growth of the BPT / MLF . To conclude , feel free to shoot holes in my suggested revisions - but if the BPT / MLF does not adopt the "only top five (5) heaviest bass count towards each participants total "- then I predict viewership will drop , advertisers will drop and revenue will diminish for the BPT / MLF - when that happens (and it will without rules changes) then perhaps I will get your attention then ? ... Come on Bpyd Duckett - do the right thing here for the future of the BPT / MLF and revise the rules to only count the five (5) heaviest bass weighed ... Please put an end to boring dink fest BPT / MLF viewing the current rules have created .

*That's a great tip - I have seen 1/16th oz. shaky heads with 4/0 hooks before but always bypassed them for heavier 1/18th or 3/16th oz. versions ... I'll have to pick up a pack of Owner (or compatible) in 1/16th oz. plus 5" soft stick baits and just cruise them along at or near the bottom without thinking so much about a stand up tactic (like a true shaky head) .

Good reminder smalljaw 67 !! I have a few colors of the standard Zoom Fluke and recently picked up some BPS Shadee 4" Flukes that have dark backs / bright sides (Albino and Arkansas colors) I thought would create a nice flash on a chatterbait or a scrounger ... Now I plan to use on a underspin as well and see what bass want on that particular day . *Everyone is thinking jerk bait right now - but shaky head , football jig for slow retrieves and scrounger , underspin + fluke trailer for a bit faster retrieves can be great alternatives in cold water .

A wife that buys ANY fishing equipment for you is a keeper ! ... Mine threatens to serve divorce papers or put me "in a home" if she sees any new fishing equipment show up .

For feel , touch type applications try to spend a little more than the non - sale $100 range such as a Dobyns Sierra 702 SF , St. Croix , Daiwa Tatula , etc. Also look at Daiwa spinning reels in the $79 range as I believe you get the most bang for your buck with Daiwa spinning reels .

*Also Netbait T-Mac , Davis Baits Shaky Worm , Big Bite Baits Jeff Kriet Squirrel Tail Worm , ZMan Finesse Worms , Zoom Swamp Crawler , Berkley Powerbait Bottom Hopper Worm , Grandebass Airtail Wiggler Worm and Roboworm Fat Straight Tail Worm ... Look for a Green Pumpkin color variation , a Watermelon color variation and a Junebug / Redbug color variation as those three ~ 4 color families will cover most of your shaky head needs . Additional color worms which have their place for shaky head : Alabama Craw , California Craw , Desert Craw , Texas Craw , Okeechobee Craw , Bama Bug , Tilapia , Prism Shad , Electric Shad , Aarons Magic , Bold Bluegill , Black Grape , Dirt , California 420 and Baby Bass .

*You may wish to look at finesse type bass jigs (Siebert Outdoors has them) ...

Good reply - I bought a couple of green pumpkin variations in the ZMan Big TRD (4") to try on a shaky head - if they don't work out then they get repurposed as a power finesse Ned bait ...

*As usual Tom - great reading ; great history lesson !

Thanks A-Jay for the extra tips !!

After doing some straightening up of my tackle room I found a lost box of all sorts of soft plastic (i.e. Senko) stick baits in their original package . Based on a recent up tick in the shaky head bite locally , I got to wondering how many people use a soft plastic stick bait on a shaky head ? If you do , please describe your soft plastic stick bait of choice , shaky head , shaky head weight , rod , line , etc. *Perhaps this is more of a "power shaky head" set up where I may move from a 7' M / F action rod to the same in a MH / F action ; for main line - perhaps going from #10 lb. braid up to #15 lb. braid + #8 or #10 lb. FC line leader ? As for the soft plastic stick bait itself on a shaky head you have either the traditional soft plastic stick baits (Yamamoto , Yum , BPS , new Zoom Zlinky , etc.) OR you have the elaztech soft plastic stick baits - such as the Strike King Zero or the Z-Man ZinkerZ (essentially the same) which may offer more "stand up ability". As for the shaky head itself - I'm guessing some styles (i.e. spot remover , rhino head , mega strike , etc. ) may offer the soft plastic stick bait in more of a stand up , vertical position to attract more attention than others - however too small of a hook / hook gap may be a negative when using some shaky heads with a soft plastic stick bait. To conclude , the above are about as far as I've gotten with the concept of using a soft plastic stick bait on a shaky head - for those with experience of using a soft plastic stick bait - let's hear your set up , approach , etc. Thanks in advance !

Thanks A-Jay ! ... I'm fishing shallow , so my proposed plan is the TN River Tackle Tremor Head in 1/4 oz. & 3/8th oz. with the standard skinny body 4" Zoom Fluke . It looks like for the 3/8th oz. size I could also use the 5" Zoom Super Fluke - both sizes in the long bill version ... *Do you feel that the long bill scrounger still provides an acceptable action for cold water when bass generally prefer baits with more of a tighter wobble ?

Regarding the scrounger for those with experience : What differences in action (i.e. wider vs. tighter wobble) , retrieve speed , etc. can one expect between using the long bill version scrounger vs. the medium bill scrounger with a standard Zoom Fluke trailer ? Thanks in advance ...

I have an Academy near me - thanks , I never thought to look for pre-fabed skirts there ... As always , great stuff smalljaw 67 ...

Shad colors this time of the year for spinnerbaits / chatterbaits ; then for football jigs it's craw colors or a variation off of green pumpkin .