McKinneyLonghorn

I prefer Academy also for most items. That being said, at least in my part of Dallas/Fort Worth, Dick's is close to Academy on price (usually about 50 cents more) but has a better selection on lures and terminal tackle. That being said, both of them are far better than the Cabela's in Allen or the Bass Pro Shops in Grapevine or Garland, which are typically $1-2 more on most items.

I'll go with a watermelon senko with red and black flakes.

Will, I'll see what I can do. The main reason I changed the hooks is that about half of them had rust/corrosion issues, combined with the fact they were dull. I considered sharpening the original hooks but was worried that the rust might have weakened them to the point they might fail. Since I was going to change the rusty hooks out, I figured I might as well change them all. Since it is getting closer to spring I just now need to find a time to go fishing and try them out. Sam, one thing I did figure out is that the hooks were too strong for my cheap budget Kobalt side cutters to cut through. I ended up going a buying a better pair of Knipex cutters from Sears and they cut through the hooks like butter. I have been working over the last year to upgrade all my cheaper tools to better quality ones, so this was the excuse I needed to upgrade the side cutters.

Thanks for the offer. That is what I love about Bass Resource, members are always looking out for one another and are willing to take useless tackle off their hands for free. I am only 31 so I never really used Mud Bugs in their heyday, but I am looking forward to putting these to work.

Here are the finished products. For the most part, I went with KVD Triple Grips on the front hook and VMC Round Bends on the rear hooks. I have no idea how old these are (except for the fire tiger and chrome/blue ones, which I bought new in the early 2000s. The rest came from eBay. The top right and bottom right Mudbugs are interesting because they don't contain any rattles. They also appear to be the oldest, but I can't really tell. I also have no idea if the ones I bought of eBay feature original paint jobs or not, but I like them nonetheless. I have attached a separate photo of the one on the bottom left. In the top photo it looks black, but in reality it is brown with black stripes. I have one more on its way to me. It is a flat gray paint job with scales painted on. Pretty neat looking bait. At the same time I also ordered three Rogers Craw Paps in black with a yellow head. I have never heard of the Rogers company but the lures look virtually identical to Mudbugs so I am sure I will enjoy them. I haven't received the newest purchases from eBay, but here are the photos from the auction.

Good to hear it will work. Nothing like using Mud Bugs (some of which are a few decades old) to catch fish.

Over the past year or so I have bought a handful of Mud Bugs on eBay. I love the vintage colors and action of the baits, but the hooks on them are rubbish. As I am sure you know, the hooks on these lures are not attached to the body via a split ring. If I cut the hooks off with a pair of side cutters, would it be possible for me to install a split ring and then put on some new hooks? Obviously, I know it would physically possible. I guess my question is more along the lines of would this affect the action in a negative way? I am thinking my Mud Bugs with some KVD Triple Grips would be a deadly combo.

The one I have had the most luck with is the Matte Tiger. It is in the Minus 1 Elite Series that comes with the red hooks.

I only had about 30 minutes to fish today after work so I couldn't try too many things. Did use the 4 inch senko but got no action. Right at the end I switched to a Yamamoto Flappin' Hog in green pumpkin with purple and copper flakes, rigged weightless. Only got to make about a dozen casts but on one of them a nice bass absolutely mauled it. There was no missing the strike because he hit it like a freight train. Definitely excited to try it out more extensively in the future.

I will second this. I love the Minus 1. Great lure that the fish around here seem to love.

I am brand new to soft plastic fishing but so far watermelon with red and black flakes is by far my favorite color.

I had never really used soft plastics until about two months ago. The first ones I tried were 4-inch Senkos in watermelon with red and black flake. After a two fish performance my first time out, I hauled in 17 over my next two trips to the small community pond I fish. That was enough to make me say "holy cow, these things really work." Since then the fishing has slowed down and I haven't approached those catch numbers, but my initial impression was enough to make me a believer.

I have been interested in this as well. Also, I haven't watched it yet but the Bill Dance that came on today and is waiting on my DVR says it is focusing on the Buzz Plug.

Bankbeater: I am working the bait pretty slowly. I think next time out I will work it various speeds to see what they are liking. Loop_Dad: As far as water temp goes, I have no idea what it is. Good idea about using the cooking thermometer. Will definitely throw one in my bag. pbizzle: I will definitely try the 3-inch senkos. As I saw above, the worst that can happen is I don't catch anything, which is pretty much what is happening now. Like you said, it may also result in me hooking a few sunfish. Raul: I am definitely going to set the hook more. QuakenShake: Never tried a wacky rig but definitely will in the future. Is it best to use a hook with a thin wire weed guard, or does that interfere with the hooking capabilities enough where I won't get the benefit of having the exposed hook?

Thanks for the reply. The bluegill thing crossed my mind. The other day I used a small Storm swimbait (the 1.5 or 2 inch version that comes pre-rigged on a jig head) and I am positive it was bluegill that were hitting it. Every cast it was getting hit and for 20 minutes I set the hook on every cast and caught nothing. Since I am still fishing in the same place that might be what is going on. If they are intent on hitting my lures I am going to just have to go with the ultralight and target them instead.

Thanks. Thanks. I am still working on learning what is a hit and what is some sort of object on the bottom. After that comment I assume you are going to tell me that hook sets are free and to set the hook regardless, so I will save you the time and just let you know that next time out there will be no shortage of hook sets. And I will head to the store and buy the original color. As far as changing locations, the good thing about these small ponds is that you can fish the whole thing in a short period of time. I can safely say that none of the bass within casting distance of the shore want what I am offering. I will definitely give a Texas-rigged worm a shot since the worst that can happen is I get no action, which is what is happening now anyway. I was referring to the weightless senko as being Texas rigged. Since I am new to soft plastics I didn't really know how important color was. Even though I am a newbie fishing worms, Lord knows I have enough colors so I might as well try them all.

Here is a picture of the crankbait. I see no reason why it won't catch fish, I just need to get off the couch and try it out.

This thread got me thinking, and I will apologize in advance if this is considered hijacking the thread. What are some other soft plastic colors that we don't see crankbaits painted in? I have never seen them commercially produced, but a guy I know recently painted me up some watermelon with red flake squarebills. The green paint is slightly translucent and the pattern looks just like a soft plastic in that color. I just got them a week ago and haven't used them yet, but since I have caught a lot of fish on senkos in that color I see no reason the square bills won't work as well. (I would post a picture, but I am not sure if we are allowed to do that since I don't want this post to be construed as advertising.) In addition to black crankbaits with blue specks, I am thinking junebug would be a good pattern. May need to get a few painted up and see what happens.

I do almost all of my fishing in community ponds of a few acres in size that get quite a bit of pressure when the weather is nice. While there are some bass of 3-5 pounds present (or so I have heard) for all intents and purposes we are talking about catching bass 1.5 pounds and smaller. I have recently started learning how to fish soft plastics. About a month ago I started fishing with a weightless 4-inch senko and initially had a ton of luck. Recently, in about 5 hours of fishing over two separate days I caught 17 bass on a 4-inch watermelon senko with red and black flakes. They seemed to be hitting the bait pretty hard and my hook up percentage was pretty high. However, about a week after those two good days things slowed way down. My next time out was the day before a cold front and I caught one bass on a senko (and another on a wake bait, but lets ignore that one for the time being). I also fished the day after the cold front and didn't catch anything, then fished tonight (four days after the front and after it has warmed back up) and got one bass. While I am not catching them I am getting light hits fairly often. However, when I set the hook nothing is there, or they just hit it one or two times and then leave. This happens quite a bit so I assume they are just nibbling rather than actually eating the worm. As far as senko selection goes, I caught the majority of the bass (including the 17 over two days) on the watermelon with red and black flakes. When I ran out of that one I switched to a watermelon slice laminate (basically the same thing, but slightly different) and that is what I have caught my last two on. After the cold front the water has been fairly muddy so I also tried a gooseberry laminate (black and purple laminate) and got light strikes but no hook ups. It should be noted that I am dipping the tail of all the senkos in garlic-scented chartreuse Spike It. Obviously, something has changed and they are not interested in what I am throwing. My question to the forum is should I downsize to a 3-inch senko, upsize to a 5-inch (I find this option very unlikely) or just switch to a different color in 4-inch? Or am I barking up the wrong tree with the senkos and should I switch to a craw, grub, curly tail worm or something else completely? When using crankbaits the best color by far has been firetiger (Mann's Baby Minus 1 being the predominant bait) and in spinnerbaits I have caught fish with chartreuse/white. The aforementioned wake bait fish was caught on a yellow leopard frog pattern, so yellow/chartreuse definitely seems to be a good color for faster moving baits. I recently bought a package of the Yamamoto Hula Grubs in chartreuse with black flakes that I haven't tried yet. Just not sure if I should fish them on a jig head, with a bullet weight or weightless since I am new to fishing soft plastics. Any other ideas on how I can get the bass bite to turn back on? And sorry for the length of the post, but I figured the more info I provided the better chance I had of getting a helpful answer.

I know a few guys who custom paint crankbaits and have been considering getting them to paint a few up in some sort of black and dark blue pattern. I have seen this a few times and the lures look really good, especially when they are matched with a red eye. Not sure if they would catch fish (don't see why they wouldn't) but they might catch me.

I wish I could help you, but I haven't gotten to use either of the two 10XDs I bought when they were on sale over the summer. Will be waiting to see if anyone has an answer to your question.

I'll also vouch for the H20 backpack. Though they are priced at $49 they go on sale a few times a year for $29 (I bet they will be on sale for Black Friday). I bought mine for $29 but think it would still be a great deal at full price. I do 100 percent of my fishing from the bank and it allows me to carry more tackle then I could ever need. I use the top two pockets for plastic worms and spinnerbaits, the main tackle pocket to store the plastic tackle boxes and the bottom pocket to store pliers and scent bottles. I use the cooler to store my rain jacket but I have some friends that use it to store their cast nets. Definitely a versatile backpack that has made fishing from the bank much easier. Also, while I don't use the rod holders, I did try them out one time and they work as advertised.

I picked up a few of these as well last week at Cabela's when they were on clearance for $2.99. Got some of the Xr50s, Xr75s and Xr100s. Can't wait to get out and see how they do.

Thanks everyone for the welcome. I look forward to contributing here. Felix, I will be in touch.

Just wanted to introduce myself. I have been lurking for a month or so and also post at Texas Fishing Forum. I fish from the bank 100 percent of the time and do most of my fishing in small community ponds here in Collin County (the county immediately north of Dallas). I have been fishing for all sorts of freshwater fish almost all of my 31 years but just started really getting into bass fishing seriously in the last year. In that time I have learned a lot from this forum (both threads and the how-to videos) and and am excited to finally register to I can take part in the discussion.