Jaderose

No.....lol

Good lord......I need to cross the state and come fish with you! The thread I posted about killing it on a Pit Boss was about a 25-30 fish, 10 hour day. I thought I was hammerin them!

I've looked at those enough, I'm surprised I haven't pulled the trigger. I need to

I can't say it any better than this except for I know the same holds true for Missouri. If you ever find yourself in the Show Me State, my and I'm sure others boats are at your disposal (so long as I can go with! I promise to sit down, shut up, and listen and learn and be a helluva net man.) Peace to you and your family.

Fair enough....I'm not trying to stir the pot nor am I trying to be political or try to get anyone else to stop buying them. Strictly my opinion that won't even buy a cup of coffee. I've seen enough praise for them to realize they are probably great baits.

Good question.....This isn't about tourney fishing. Just a general question of style......The mods seem quick on the draw to move stuff out of Gen Bass Fishing for some reason. I don't think I've ever even looked in this board before...lol

What's your style of fishing? As I do not tournament fish, I tend towards Low & Slow. I'll spend a couple of hours working a stump field or frogging a mat. I want every fish in there. I watched a guy the other day Runnin & Gunnin faster than I've ever seen. He had his trolling motor cranked up and he was moving and casting like a mad man. Funny thing was, he kept back-lashing his reel so he'd dig that out and go back to just letting it fly and reeling like a mad man. Never seen anything like it and it looked about as fun as getting a root canal. I've back seated with run & gunners and it taught me to never bother with tournaments. Some would look at me out in my boat and probably wonder what the heck I was doing or if I was still breathing...lol Btw...I saw him catch one fish. He didn't appear to be a novice either as the lake is FULL of stumps and he was weaving around them like he was in Formula One. Also....this isn't an endorsement for one way or another. I'm just curious to y'all's style.

I can't believe I'm going to publicly admit this but I find some of the names of their baits and colors to be offensive. I'm not a prude in any way but I guess I see fishing as a family friendly activity and as a man with daughters I just don't like it. Not enough to "protest" or worry about but enough that I won't buy them. I'm sure they don't miss my money and I have no interest in telling others what to or not to buy. I just personally don't care for it

Well.....I dunno then. I was gonna suggest you switch to an 5/0 EWG hook. I don't throw a toad that much. I have a couple of spots in my little lake that I specifically use a toad. No mat coverage but too weedy for treble hooked top waters. Shallow and a ton of stumps. There are also a couple of holes that I want the toad to sink in to. It might seem strange but I use a VMC drop Dead Hook for my toads. Weight doesn't really matter. Keeps them pretty level when I want them to sink and the hook up is about the same as a swimbait because that's basically how you're fishing it, just on the surface rather than down in the column. The only thing is you gotta rig them dead straight or they don't run right.

I love it when a new (to me) technique begins to gel and I start getting proficient at it. This year has been particularly productive for me. I've never had any confidence with jigs or fishing deep water brush piles.....until this year. I've actively worked at both and experienced all the usual frustration with trying new things until one day it just clicks and you start reaching for that rod with enthusiasm instead of dread. Now I get it. I guess most would know me as an avid frogger and I've fairly good at it. I ain't Ish Monroe or Dean Rojas, but still. I didn't get that way with raw talent...lol. Hour after hour after hour of casting and targeting and learning how to read mats. All the achy shoulders and Advils. All the expensive frogs thrown and lost until I settled on one I love that happens to be fairly inexpensive. For what? I don't eat Bass. I dunno. I don't analyse it too much. All I know is that I am addicted to it to the point that at 52, I am planning the rest of my life around it.

We all like Glenn but no one.....repeat...NO ONE wants to see that

Yes you were...lol. Fish or no fish, we all would have been!

THIS! When I see a swirl and the lure disappears my first thought is usually "OH ****" and then the fight is on! A good explosion is great but a big ol' girl is even better!

You're fine. I still have one from around 2010 and all it's ever had on it is braid. Never any problems and I use it on every outing.

Interesting....are you using toad hooks or just a straight EWG?

The biggest reason I fish. Being out in the wild......I watched a Mother raccoon teaching babies how to wash food for a couple of hours one day last year. Forgot all about fishing. I've watched huge deer drink at the water's edge and one day I was eating lunch in a small creek channel next to a laydown that went all the way across the creek. A juvenile coyote walked out and didn't see me. He got close enough I could have touched him. When I said, "Hi Buddy" he jumped up and starting running in mid air like a cartoon. I laughed for hours. Seeing all the babies in the spring, watching eagles soar in the fall. Watching the sun come up while the geese are screaming at each other. Nothing like it. I've told my wife that when it's my time, I hope I'm in my boat on a beautiful Missouri morning. I'll die a happy man.

Just the thing for you....When conditions are like that, I throw these......made by a small producer in Maine (single guy) called Rego's Custom Tackle. I don't work for him or make/get anything from recommending other than I want to see him stay in business so I can keep buying his baits. He's on Facebook....

This is ALL experience. All things your brain is filing away to be used on a different day, different lakes, different conditions. You'll learn as much from those periods of nothing as you will when you are hammering them. Learn, enjoy and realize that whether it's your first or 50th summer of fishing, you will always be learning and gaining experience. Welcome to the addiction.

I bought them all...lol

Pretty much this. I know my lake so well I know where the fish are. I might go a couple of hours but never a full trip. At least not for a long time

Come close but never actually lost one. It sucks but it also happens. I tied a lure on for my daughter one day becmany years ago because she wanted to fish like Daddy. It was a good one so I was reluctant but I did and told her to avoid one particular area. She of course cast it directly into that area and I lost the lure. I was mad. She was heart broken. I saw how upset she was and I realized it was just a lure. Whether a lure or a rod, it's just gear. It can be replaced. Yes, it's aggravating but my daughter and your son did not do these things on purpose, of course, and they CANNOT be replaced. Spending that time with your kids is worth more than a million rods and reels. Kids grow up and move on. Your gear will be there. Now you got NEW stuff coming!

Admittedly, I have not tried them but have not heard good things. Luckily, PB's are one of those things that I have just absentmindedly bought through the years when they have been stupid cheap at wally world. Unfortunately the color that has been slaying for me (Watermelon/Orange Fleck) is one I am running low on. I will try the Powerbait ones when I run out and I hope the opinions I've heard are wrong

I've got a single old 1 minus with a terrible hand paint job that has caught a ton of fish. It's a weird grayish blue that proves to me that a bait like that, it's the action and not the color. This thing is rough but keeps on chugging

A Havoc Pit Boss on an Owner Ultrahead Finesse Ball Head worked around brush piles, stumps and laydowns is about as close to cheating as you can get. It was all I threw yesterday other than a frog and had an insane day. I'll be a sad camper when I finally run out out of the Havoc's. I will never understand why Berkley felt the need to do away with them.

Yes and supplies on the Bay are dwindling. I could tell you but .......