Jaderose

I don't think color matters.....until it does. My frogs are either white bellied, black, yellow, or green. Most of the time, I throw based on what SIZE I think will best but there are times when I will throw one color and get nothing so I switch to a different color of the same size and the ***** hits the fan. You just never know. I don't know why but green almost never works for me. Unless it does. *shrugs*

Over the last couple of years or so, I've just about given up on buying baits from the big mfr's. Most of the soft plastics, jigs, spinners, etc. I buy are made by folks working in their garages and have facebook pages or the like. There are some real artists out there that are doing some really cool things...I typically get EXACTLY what I want, how I want it, AND I get the satisfaction of dealing with and giving my money to a single person that I can talk to and discuss things with. This is NOT a slam on the big producers nor is it an advertisement for for any particular bait maker. Just curious if anyone else has moved away from the big boys.

BPS Pro Qualifier. Been beating mine to death for 4 years and can still throw it a mile and it's still smooth. Just clean and lube it occasionally.

When I was learning jig fishing (which I'm still not 100% comfortable with but it is part of my arsenal), I'd go out with nothing BUT jigs. All types. Started with cheap ones that I didn't mind losing and I lost all of them. Different types, different trailers, etc. I swam them, drug them on the bottom, hopped them around rip rap, etc., learned what a bite felt like, when to hookset. Now, I'm able to use them when the conditions call for them. Favorite way to fish? Nope. But I can use them and I can catch fish on them. this summer, I've been focused on wacky rigging. BORING!!!! Still haven't caught anything of size but am getting there and have added it to my bag of tricks.

Lol...sorry bro.

It's called learning. and the cool part about doing it as an adult is that pretty much no once cares when you make a mistake or "look like a fool" because even thought it may seem like they are...pretty much no one is paying any attention to you. Try other techniques....make mistakes...and keep on fishing. The only real dummy is the one that keeps making the SAME mistakes. Relax, man...it's only fishing.

^^This^^

This might be the greatest answer I've ever seen on here. Lol

Bait monkey stays away from me during actual fishing season..for the most part. I'm mostly just replenishing at this point and using stuff I bought in January. THAT'S when that ba$tard is really monkeying with me!!

I use 1/4 and 3/8 Northland Thumper jigs rigged many different ways. Love em http://www.huntingart.ru/store/published/publicdata/STORE/attachments/SC/products_pictures/22127372-origpic-aab72d_enl.jpg

What does this have to do with anything? Ok...I just noticed the mention in the OP...sorry.

Me too. They may not look like much but they flat out work and I don't have to fret over them if I get one snagged.

I use braid for everything but finesse. Don't miss many fish. Sometimes use a leader.....sometimes I don't. I think this is very very easy to overthink. I frankly don't care what KVD or anyone else uses because I'm not them and I'm not competing against them.

Hollow Body Frogs H&H Spinners RatLTrap type baits. Northland Thumper jigs rigged with various grubs

You are going to get many different answers and they are ALL right. You can get a heck of a lot of reel for $150 and MOST of them are high quality. Go to a big box that carries a lot of different brands and check them out. I would NEVER buy something like a reel without handling it first. They become an extension of your hand and you d**n well better be comfortable with it. A $500 reel is useless if it isn't comfortable in your hand and you hate using it. Just my .02.

I used the Glide Swimmer with a Titanium leader up in Northern Minnesota and had no problems. Worked fine

Fish more and don't fish "angry". What the hell does that mean? It means have some dedicated time to actually do some quality fishing. I've noticed that for the first hour or so when I'm on the water, I rarely catch much. I'm fishing "angry". I'm tense, I'm fiddling with my gear, I'm paying attention to the other "idiots" on the water, etc. I'm NOT focused on fishing. And then the magic happens..the reason we all do this. I focus. My breathing slows down...I'm FISHING. I'm paying attention to patterns, dialing in my tackle, tuning out the troubles of the outside world. I'm not thinking about jobs, or mortgages, or rental properties. THAT is when I start catching quality fish. I'm lucky that I have a wife that knows I MUST have this time. It is not optional. Fishing to me is as important as oxygen. It keeps me sane and grounded. Without it, I get pretty twitchy pretty fast. Allow yourself the time to spend some quality time on the water. All that other stuff will still be there. those long summer days on the water are fleeting. Cherish them. I almost guarantee that if you do this, you will catch quality fish...unless you just suck.

WANT!!!!!

I was tearing it up on Saturday ripping Big Rat-L-Traps and Xcalibur xr50's through the grass. Throwing them past the grass and as soon as they hit the water, I reeled as fast as I could. When I felt the grass, I just ripped it through. It was actually pretty 'violent" fishing and it wore me out...not to mention I wound up embedding a treble in my middle finger.......but it was FUN!!!! And yes...you have to clean the grass off after every cast...but if it's working.........

18 bucks....works like a champ. http://www.savagegear-usa.com/product/view/lures/specialty-lures/glide-swimmer-1

Power Pro. I use the Slick 8 but not sure you need to

WE HAVE A WINNER!!!!

This ran right up through the middle of my finger. There was no way to get at the barb or I would have cut it off myself and pulled it out. I normally wear a glove on my left hand and I ALWAYS use some very stout forceps to remove trebles. I had neither today. That WON'T happen again. Gonna try cutting the barbs off one or two crankbaits and see how they work. If I don't start losing fish, I may do it to all of them.

Unhooking a nice LMB today and he shivered and buried a Rat-L-Trap treble all the way to the hilt in my finger. That felt good. Luckily, there was a guy pretty close the helped me with the fish and then helped me load up my boat. for the trip to the ER. First time in 10 years of Bass fishing I had to have one extracted. Don't usually get them in THAT far.

Maybe try a little heavier line?