tcbass

What is his bear trap you speak of?

So you're not trolling the senko across the top? You're trying to drop the senko down down into pockets?

Why creature bait over senko in thick vegetation?

Never heard of those.

The rubbery Winn grips on Cabelas Tournament ZX rods are nice.

And is the senko on spinning gear or baitcasting?

When you guys are using plastics and stuff are they weightless T-rigs? You aren't trying to punch them through?

So you just missed a blow up on a topwater frog or other topwater on lily pads/weeds. What do you use as a tossback bait, the same lure or do you reach for something else like a jig or senko?

You won't get as many bites, but the ones you do will be big-uns. One time I was getting misses on a Ragetail Toad, slowed it down with the Moss Boss and caught said fish.

My friend got me onto these. They've been around for a long time. I drag them over weeds and pads and they work well sometimes. They don't get as nearly many hits as say a Ragetail Toad but when I've caught fish they have always been over 2lbs. Sometimes right when you get to the edge of a weed bed and hit open water you'll see bass come from under the pads and out into the open water and smash this lure. What's also nice is that they almost never, ever get hung up. It's definitely a worthwhile lure and also not very expensive so you can afford to have a few. I'd just get 2 dark ones, one in small and one in large. http://www.cabelas.com/product/Heddonreg-Moss-Boss8482-Lures/702269.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3Fform_state%3DsearchForm%26N%3D0%26fsch%3Dtrue%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Dmoss%2Bboss%26WTz_l%3DHeader%253BSearch-All%2BProducts%26x%3D0%26y%3D0&Ntt=moss+boss&WTz_l=Header%3BSearch-All+Products

Try the Ragetail Toads and let them sink to the bottom. A lot of times you will catch fish on the sink too.

This is a Heddon Moss Boss. A great topwater bass lure. I've caught a few lm's on this. It doesn't catch all of the fish, but it has accounted for some of my biggest fish. I use it on pads and weeds and catch fish in the weeds with it like a frog and a lot of times when it comes off the pads into the open water is when fish crush it. http://www.cabelas.com/product/Heddonreg-Moss-Boss8482-Lures/702269.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3Fform_state%3DsearchForm%26N%3D0%26fsch%3Dtrue%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Dmoss%2Bboss%26WTz_l%3DHeader%253BSearch-All%2BProducts%26x%3D0%26y%3D0&Ntt=moss+boss&WTz_l=Header%3BSearch-All+Products

Both, but you can't use poppers in the weeds. Unless it's a popper frog.

Good to know.

Hollow Body: I've had some success with hollow bodies but not much. I did catch some nice ones on a Scumfrog Bigfoot and Spro Poppin' frog. I also have 2 Live Targets and a Booyah and never thrown them. Solid Body: I love Ragetail Toads and have caught a ton of bass on them. Because of this I guess I forget to use my hollow body frogs. I also have tried a Stanley Ribbit frog with no success.

I'm not sure if it's oil injected. All I know is that the oil is in a tank that is built onto the motor and when it's low I fill it up. I don't mix the fuel and oil together like my older motor.

What about a sand bottom with sporadic weeds?

I've only used it bare and caught fish. But I think a lot of people on here use twin tails with success.

I'm looking to order some hinged/swinging football jigs for creature baits. Apparently these are few and far between. I've only found one for purchase actually and they are Gene Larew Biffle Hardhead jigs. http://www.***.com/Gene_Larew_Biffle_Hardhead_2pk/descpage-Ganother siteHRD.html I see they come in many sizes. Hook: Weight: 3/0 3/16 4/0 5/16 4/0 7/16 4/0 11/16 6/0 1 oz. Gene Larew Biffle Hardhead Jig: Unknown brand swing jig: My questions are: 1.) What other brand heads of this style are out there? 2.) Are there any out there that you can just pick up at big box stores like Cabelas or Gander rather than ordering? 3.) Where can I purchase these heads? 4.) What size should I get these heads in? I mainly fish lakes in the Twin Cities of Minnesota for largemouth.

I ran Seafoam and Stabil in every tank of gas I put in my boat so when it came to winterizing it I only opened up the lower unit screw to see if there was any water in it and to drain it out if there was and then fogged the engine with Seafoam fogger. To De-winterize it I was going to change the lower unit oil, start the engine to burn off any fogger and then run it in neutral at a little higher throttle to burn off any more excess, once it was running clean turn it off and put new spark plugs in it and then I would be done. My friend said do all of that but don't change out the spark plugs. He said the spark plugs are fine for years. I was always told to change spark plugs every year and that they were a cheap insurance policy. How do you De-winterize your boat? What spark plugs do you use? **** I know some of you live in places where you don't have to winterize your boats. No wise-cracks. lol. ****

I learned from a guy who was a boat and automobile mechanic. 1.) Lower Unit Oil: Do not change the lower unit oil in the winter. Just open up the lower plug to see if any water comes out, if it does, let it all drain out and then put the plug back. Change out the lower unit oil in the spring. 2.) Fog the engine: Take out the spark plugs. Shoot 2-3 good squirts of fogger (he recommends Seafoam fogger) into the engine where the spark plugs go. Turn the key for about 1-2 seconds. Shoot about 2-3 good squirts into the engine again. Put the spark plugs back in, but not all the way tight so they don't seize up. That's it. Whole process should take about 10 minutes.

I used to change fishing line every year. It was always mono when I was younger. However, when I got back from the Corps I started getting into bass fishing and using braided line. Specifically Power Pro which was recommended to me by my friend who worked at Gander. At the time I only had 1 baitcaster. I asked my friend how often he changes fishing line and he said, "A couple of years for braid and about 2 years for mono." I was a little surprised to hear this. He's the kind of guy that takes 12 rods out when we go fishing. But I've had the same Power Pro on my original baitcaster for like 5 years and haven't changed it or lost a fish to broken line yet. So, how often do you change your fishing line? What kind of line is it? I think line maybe like bullet resistant vests and oil changes, they recommend you change both more often then necessary not to be on the safe side, but so that they can sell more. I look at it like seatbelts, they are beat up by sun, heat, sand, dirt, and grit, and how often do you change them? Never.

Nice. Did you keep the fish?

I believe I saw a tv show where the host stated had he has his reels drag locked all the way down so that the fish wouldn't pull any line when he set the hook or pull out any line and allow the fish to go back into the slop and escape. However, isn't that ruining the purpose of the drag? Granted, most bass under 6lbs can be horsed in with today's super lines and rods. Mine are set so you can pull like out and if I set the hook normally I have my thumb on the spool so the spool doesn't move when I set the hook. How do you have your reels drags set?

So I just installed the Boat Buckles to my trailer and the boat buckle retractable rod buckle to my boat. The boat buckles work great but the rod buckle is really a pita to unhook. The directions say to pull back and up at the same time. Well, it might be easier if the was more strap to hang onto or if the loop in the strap was big enough to fit a finger into. But neither is the case. I was wondering if after some use it will loosen up and become easier to unlatch. Has anyone else had problems with unlatching their boat buckle retractable rod buckles?