WIGuide

They do definitely still work in the darker waters up here. Try a boot tail swimbait as a trailer. Something like a swimin senko or cane thumper. There's days a spinnerbait or bladed jig is a better option, but there's days they will just eat a swim jig regardless of water clarity.

everything you can find on lurenet is produced by a Pradco owned company. Xcalibur more or less originally started out as Pradco's premium line of baits. The offered exclusive colors and Excalibur rotating treble hooks on other Pradco companies baits. For example, the Bomber Fat Free Shad with flash foil behind the paint. Over time, these baits were absorbed back into the original brands over time, and Pradco reintroduced the brand to refresh it under the Xcalibur name. This time they featured baits unique to the the brand itself.

Also explains why their stock hooks are ALWAYS Gamies too haha. Big Bite does sell their stuff for a good price. They also make the Gander Mountain line of soft plastics which can usually be found even cheaper, or in more of a bulk package.

I fish a lot of the same depth water as you, and I use mostly 1/4 oz and 3/8 oz. The trailer varies, but the majority of the time I'll throw a Big Bite Baits Cane Thumper, but other times I'll use a grub for a trailer. Color depends on conditions and water color, but since I live up north I throw a lot of pb&j and black & blue with some purple in it.

Big Bite is it's owned by Spro. Spro is actually owned by Gamakatsu. Either way though Big Bite makes some good soft plastics!

That's when you step up to the full size fish grip!

It should be simple enough to do if you're mechanically inclined. I'd say every few years and you should be ok.

That rod should work well for what you're looking for. It's pretty much the same as a H power bass rod. As far as reels go, I've had good luck with all the bps reels I've bought and have heard great things about them. Pfluger makes some quality stuff too, but I've never used one of their bait casters to say for sure. Either way you go, get the fastest retrieve you can get for the flippin/pitchin efficiency. he's asking about a baitcaster not a spinning reel

Gosh I love some of the stuff that comes out in these posts!

I always changed mine every year regardless of whether it needed to be or not, but this last year I ended up only changing line on the reels that were low. I wondered if the fluoro would be able to make it through the year, and sure enough it did without any problems. For what it's worth, I use Berkley 100% and haven't noticed any issues with memory. Can't comment for use on spinning though as I switched to braid this year for them.

It depends on if you can afford to spend $250 or not. Don't think you need to spend that to get into fishing. It can be done on any budget, but as you get into it you'll realize that the sky is the limit. If you are just starting out, $250 would be a pretty good starting point I think.

As have already been stated, they are drum. The natural lakes around me don't have them, but the Mississippi and Lake Michigan do too. People catch them all the time on artificials. I don't know how many the guys from my club caught over on Sturgeon Bay when we were practicing for state, but it seemed like just about everyone caught one.

Hey Mike, I'm also Mike! Welcome to BR!

Although I'm sure you can catch fish pitchin/flippin from the bank I really think it's a technique more suited for fishing from a boat. Catt's advice is some you should listen to. You're getting cover confused with structure. Cover is something that will hold a fish such as vegetation, a dock, a stump a log. Structure is the makeup of the lake bottom and it generally comprised of drop offs ditches humps as well as bottom composition. What catt was referring to, is structure under the pads. See if you can find a spot that has a little ditch running through it, or find a hard spot somewhere in there. Any little irregularity has a much better chance of holding fish than just a straight flat bottom with pads

Welcome to BR!

The only point in buying one second hand is the fact that it's considerably cheaper. My dad bought a smallie replica because it was less than 1/4" either bigger or smaller than his pb and I think he only paid something like $50 or $75 for it. Yes, it's not exactly his fish, but neither is a replica. I'm sure if he catches one bigger than that he'll get his own made, but for now it serves it's purpose.

Texas actually has a winter? Haha I guess i forget that to some what you guys have down there is considered a cold season. The last few winters up here in northern WI we've had weeks straight where the high temps didn't get above 0*. I always fish as late into the year as possible, and if I lived down there I have no doubt I'd fish straight through. I believe I have a tee shirt that answers your question the best though. It states, "To fish...or not to fish... what a stupid question"

Not sure what kind of scent you're using so it's hard to say for sure. All I know is that I use Kick'n Bass and it works. I can say I've ever had a time where I didn't get bit because of it. When it gets tough, all it can do is help.

You could also try fast idling it when you try to start it and see if that helps at all if you haven't already.

I caught one in about 2 feet of water on a weightless Yum Dinger. Thought I had a huge smallie on for a few seconds until it started rolling haha.

I'd definitely go with a reproduction. Not only do you get to let someone else possibly enjoy the catch of a lifetime, but you'll also allow the big girl to keep making babies that are more genetically inclined to grow into trophy fish themselves. Not to mention they make some pretty darn good reproductions these days. They are very close price wise, they last longer, and there's no maintenance. The only down side to the reproductions is they are built from premade molds, it's sometimes hard to match the girth exactly. The first mount that was sent me was of basically the same measurement of my fish, but because of the time of year I caught it, it had more of a belly on it. We called them when it arrived to tell them it looked a lot thinner than the actual fish, and they had us box it up and send it back and completely redid it. When I got the second attempt I couldn't have been happier about how it turned out. I had mine done through. I had it done through BPS's Wildlife Creations Studio. There was no charge for the corrections and when I catch my next PB I will most likely go through them again. As for the size bass to mount in MN, I'd say it comes down to a person by person basis. Someone who doesn't fish all that much might mount something smaller than someone who fishes a lot. If it's something you can see yourself being proud of hanging on the wall, I don't see a reason not to.

I do the same as Ryan, or else I'll use a keel weighted hook depending on the bait. You could just use a swimjig head too, but if it's weedy, you'll bet better performance from a swimbait hook.

haha must have missed that comment, oh well you know what they say...great minds think alike

Nicely done!

They should feel very similar, their blanks are close to the same if not exactly the same.