Crankinstein

Megabass Pop X in white python color for me. Largemouth, white bass, and even the occasional bull bluegill have been hitting it this year. I've had success in very shallow coves with a lot of cover as well as open water on fish busting the surface. On all occasions I'm using a pop pop pause style retrieve and the fish hit it on the pause every time.

I use a small 1/4oz topwater popper in conditions like that quite a bit. I've found that you generally want to drop it right on or as close you can get to the cover your targeting. I didn't have mattes but I did have a 2-3ft area with a lot of stumps and laydowns. I would drop almost on top of the cover and pop it once or twice then let it sit. The strikes all came after the first pop or two and hit it while it was still.

firetiger crankbaits have always worked well for me as well as spinnerbaits there

I actually just started learning the same technique. Pretty cool technique and its fun to fish. I've only caught a few so far but I really like it. Biffle bug has a pretty strong plastic too, the fish I've caught have all been on one bait. Tight lines!

Experiment with rattle vs silent vs one knocker. Also experiment with colors as well. I'm a huge fan of anything chrome they work great on my home lakes. Check out high end cranks vs low price as well. I've found the xcite xb1 to be a great lucky craft 1.5 drs imitator for example.square bills can load the boat quick and their fun to fish. Tight lines!

Luck E Strike rick clunn freak and freak Jr. Its a deep diving square bill and I've never seen a crank with a bill design like it.

I've got a setup for shallow cranking and one for medium cranking. shallow: Rod: *** *** Black. 6'10 Med Fast Reel: Shimano Core 101 LH 6:2:1 Line #12 FC Berkley 100% Medium: Rod: G Loomis GL2 crankbait. 7' Med Moderate Reel: Shimano Curado I 201 LH 6:3:1 Line #12 FC Berkley 100%

Strike king bitsy minnow. You can find them at wal mart. Its a tiny crankbait that catches everything and its really easy to fish. I caught a fish on my very first cast with it. It catches primarily pan fish but bass will bite it too. Great first time lure

Really awesome reel!! I've always loved the BFS. To get it under 5oz is incredible, I still think my core is a featherweight but that takes it to a whole new level. Post you final combo with rod and line when you get it set I'd like to see it. I may be in the market for an ultra light BC for small baits some time soon and I'm looking for ideas.

Spro little john MD in Chrome Olive. I can pull a fish out of 2ft or 8ft and fish it all year long. Most versatile crankbait in my opinion.

You could always work on pausing a second or two longer from the strike to the first hookset to ensure the fish has the lure in its mouth. I've seen a lot of pros say a good 1-2 second wait can help with the hookset on topwater baits.

I use deep cranks during the day as well as a shaky head when the bite is really tough. In the evening I use topwater poppers and T rigged creature baits like the KVD rodent. I've also had some luck mixing a few of those techniques as far as time of day goes too for example I caught 6 fish mid day today with a popper, I targeted really shallow coves that had some shade on them as well as some lay downs. My number one tip would be to just stay persistent and eventually you'll figure out what the fish are doing and what their biting. It can be a real puzzle sometimes during those summer days, I've seen the fish school out deep and I've seen them stacked next to a log in 2ft of water you've just got to search around and see what you find.

It could be schools of shad. I'm in NC also and the shad at my local lake just started doing the "boiling" thing where you can see them massing at the surface. They usually start at the late spring early summer around here. Throw a crankbait or a top water through their school and you can pull some nice bass and some nice hybrids out.

The lake patrol boat has a bad habit of parking longways at the end of the dock at my local lake instead of in its designated spot. Its not impossible to get around it but in the swift current that usually runs it really makes it an inconvenience. Last time out I watched the patrol boat literally drive by a boater and his son trying to wave him down. I pulled up and ended up towing them in because their motor died. Sometimes even the people in charge need a lesson in manners and safety.

Awesome frog and great review. I just picked up the same one a couple weeks ago, can't wait to throw it in some slop and catch a hawg.

I've got the Pop X in the same color, really cool looking bait and the action is awesome. They make some great topwater lures.

KVDs, Rick Clunn RC2 series, Crush 50X, Xcite XB1 are a couple of my favorites and offer a good selection of silent vs rattle vs one knocker between them to satisfy any squarebill situation you might find yourself in.

A lot of the lakes around Greensboro have limited bank access due to them being drinking reservoirs and generally only permit bank fishing at the marina. However most of them rent jon boats and kayaks for a pretty reasonable price. Check out the Southwest Park area of Randleman lake, Lake Mackintosh marina, Lake Brandt, and High Point City lake. They all have good fishing and they all rent boats as well as offer bank fishing areas.

I have #12 InvizX on one reel and #12 Trilene 100% on another. Side by side I have to say I like both and they both have advantages. I think the Trilene is stronger and has less stretch. The InvizX has better knot strength however I usually end up using a palomar knot on both just to be safe. The InvizX handles slightly better but I've noticed wind knots can get real bad with it. I don't think one is head over heels better than the other therefore they could be suitable substitutes. I actually ended up using Trilene 100% the first time because they were out of InvizX at my local store as well, ended up catching that beast in my profile pic so I have to say I'm satisfied with its performance.

Nice!!! My shallow to mid cranking setup is also a core 101 MG. Absolutely love that reel!

I have the regular one but I don't uses it as much as the MD. I've actually thrown the MD in water as shallow as 3-4ft and just pointed my rod tip up and pulled fish out just fine. I would say the MD has more versatility than the regular one but their both great lures. Cell mate is an awesome color too, they have some great colors.

I've been fishing the little john MD extensively this year and I agree that 8-10 is little deep for what mine usually average. I'd say 6-8 is a little closer to what I get. I've used 12lb FC and 15lb FC and I really have to point my rod down quite a bit to get it staying in that 8ft range. Overall I have to say I really like the MDs though, definitely my favorite little john series bait and I've been absolutely slaying largemouth and hybrids with them on my home lake. I've had trips where I landed 15+ fish with just the little john MD alone. Chrome olive is my go to color. I also landed the fish from my profile pic with a little john MD earlier this year. I haven't used the baby DD yet but that is definitely a bait I'm curious about.

Amazing combo!! ...And its Lefty!!

I'd let it go, odds are the record is just going to be broken again in a year or so and your spots going to get hit hard by everyone around. Does anyone really pay that much attention to their state records? I mean can anyone in here really rattle off the current record holder in their own state for every game fish? probably not. Most of us are aware of the what the record weight is but the name is usually forgotten, once again because a new one is there all to often. I was actually in the same situation only for a hybrid bass instead of a largemouth(fish in profile pic) and chose to release the fish. In my situation the record I broke was only 2 weeks old itself and odds are mine wouldn't last long either. I can't tell you the name of the record holder or the name of the guy before him and to that I say fame? what fame. We don't need people to tell us we know how to fish, knowing that your a true outdoorsmen and have the respect to you craft and your environment are far more rewarding than having you name on a piece a paper for a year or two. I'd say you made the right call, congrats! by the way

some really great tips here on brands and colors. I'd also add some sort of chrome color to the list like a chrome sexy shad or something similar. I've had great luck using chrome colors in a lot of different conditions. Another thing to consider, especially for the shallow cranks, is whether the crank has a rattle or not. I'd recommend getting a few of each, brighter colors with rattle and natural colors without. Sometimes the rattle ,in addition to the brighter color, can help the fish locate the bait in murky water and in clear water its not always needed. KVD also has a vid where he talks about catching fish on a bait with a rattle and then switching to one without a rattle when the bite stops to get them going again. Good luck and stay with it, fishing a crankbait can be one of the most rewarding and effective ways to catch fish and its my absolute favorite technique.