tcbass

Thanks! So Yamalube Marine Grease, but what oil?

When I first got my Minn Kota Terrova I accidently went full speed ahead into a dock attempting to retrieve a stuck lure. The shaft looked it it was at a 65' angle. It bent right back and never had a problem. Couldn't believe it. I'm a believer in MK products after that. When they say unbreakable they weren't kidding. Also my bro crashed my boat into a dock doing similar thing. The plastic side cap on the motor bent way back and I thought that was gonna break. It didn't. Incredible.

Ah. You might want to try the Teckel Sprinker Frog also, it's worked great for us so far. The homemade model that is.

If you like buzzbaits for performance try the Whopper Plopper. Cast a lot farther than buzzbaits, can change your retrieve cadence, even stopping, can catch fish on the splashdown, and because of the treble hooks have a higher hook up ratio than buzzbaits which may need a stinger hook.

Topwater by far. Favorite lures for it: Whopper Plopper and Teckel Sprinker Frog (homemade for now).

I love my Minn Kota Ulterra I believe it features that the Motor Guide doesn't like auto stow/deploy.

You need to try the tube method with the Wacky Rigged Senko. I've had one Senko last 10-12 trips and more that way.

I forgot to add the chatterbait to the bust category. Only used it once but didn't get a bit. However, I haven't caught anything on spinnerbaits either. And add the Booyah Vibra Wire Spinnerbait to the bust for me also. Only used it once. Feels a lot heavier than the same sized Terminator and is much harder to work.

Any advice on what lube is best and do I need grease too or is it the same thing?

I've tried it with a weightless T-Rigged Rage Bug, used it like a hollow body frog and it has done really well. I've had misses on topwaters and thrown a wacky rigged Senko and Super Fluke and caught the fish. I'm assuming they think they hurt the bait and it's floating down wounded and they gulp it down.

Monkey Butt followed by Bone and Loon. However, while I'm throwing MB by bro caught them the same time on Loon and Bone which are exact other end of the color spectrum so I don't think color really matters. Only to the fisherman.

You use those traps in the water right?

That's why I think the 90 might be better for the OP although I think the 110 is the perfect size. However he said he had weeds too, so the 90 might be better because of that.

Don't you think the 110 could be a little too heavy for spinning gear?

No. lol. He said it was $150 marked down to $12. He's hanging it on the wall. It's an interesting conversation piece.

Thanks! You were right.

If you have spinning gear and weeds I would go with the 90. When you get some more money get a 110. They both have their places. My favorite lure. I like Monkey Butt. However, Loon and Bone have been just as successful.

Probably not a lot of great white fishing in Minnesota. lol

My friend bought it at Gander. Was initially marked at $150. I told him I think it was an ornament/art piece. Obviously it's quite large. He says it might be for holding up caught fish for photos. Next to the water bottle you can tell it's huge. What do you think?

If you don't have weeds definitely the 110. It's the perfect size. The 130 feels like you're throwing a musky lure. The 90 is good for when you have weeds near the surface that the 110 will catch on splashdown if it sinks too deep.

That's strange because they are fished almost the exact same way in the exact same places. But if the WP is killing it for you, no point in changing. If you want to see if you can get the buzzbait to work next time you catch a few on the Whopper Plopper switch over to a buzzbait and see if you can catch any on that.

Bwahahaha.

Next time you get a hit on a buzzbait switch to a Whopper Plopper and see if you get bit. When my bro has gotten bitten on a Senko I'll throw a Super Fluke just to see if they'll hit it. Always have. I'll also try different colors, if he's using a Bone WP I'll use a Loon, one is basically a white and the other is black. Both catch fish. Usually, if fish are hungry I think they'll eat almost anything. It's when they're finicky that it gets harder to catch them. If you're getting hit on a buzzbait a Whopper Plopper should work and cast much farther and cover more area faster.

What new and old lures have you tried?

This will hopefully be a mid-summer tradition, a thread that covers lures that you've had success and failures with. This thread may introduce people to new lures that they've never tried before that they may try that will bring them success. People can also talk about lures that didn't work for them and perhaps others can give tips and hints on how to make that lure work better for them. I'll start with what has and has not worked for me. Boom Lures: Whopper Plopper: My new favorite lure. This lure is incredible. It casts super far, has amazingly sharp hooks (which is why I think so many people have the rear hooks foul hooking fish), attracts fish from far and wide, covers water fast, works well in calm and rough waters, catches fish consistently in all weather conditions. I love topwater, I'd rather catch 1 fish topwater if I had to miss 3 fish regular. My old favorite lure was the KVD Sexy Dawg, however, the Whopper Plopper has taken that top slot because it just so effective and is easy to use. All you need to do is cast it out and reel it in. You can go from extremely slow to extremely fast and catch fish on the splashdown, you can also stop and go which you can't do with a buzzbait. It is just so versatile. The KVD Sexy Dawg was great but was limited to calm water to mostly calm water and didn't cover water nearly as fast because you need to walk the dog with it. The WP can cover so much water in such a short time period it is a great search lure but will also bring fish in from far away. It is basically a far more versatile buzzbait. One of the problem's I've always had with buzzbaits is that because of their lightweight you can't cast them as far as a heavier lure, well, the Whopper Plopper solves this problem being able to be cast a country mile and also has variable speed, the ability to catch on splashdown, more hooks for short striking fish so you don't need a stinger hook, and the ability to be effective in larger waves and rough water. I think the 130 is too big for anything I do and the 110 works fine until I get into areas that have weeds that are just under the surface and the Whopper Plopper 110 goes too deep on splashdown and catches weeds, in that scenario I use the WP 90 because it doesn't sink so deep into the water on splashdown. Although the 90 doesn't seem to make nearly as much of a Whopper Plopper sound it has caught fish just as well. Teckel Sprinker Frog: The only downside to the Whopper Plopper is that it is not weedless. And with it being mid-summer lake weeds have had time to grow up from the bottom and reach the surface. This has made the Whopper Plopper the wrong lure for the job. But what if you want a Whopper Plopper/buzzbait style action but don't want to catch weeds on every cast? There used to be no solution. Now you have it, the Teckel Sprinker Frog. I actually haven't gotten my hands on the a real Teckel Sprinker Frog, but my homemade ones have been killing it. I've used a Spro and Livetarget frog and also a Snagproof Phat Frog. I caught a lot of fish initially but am now having problem getting the lure to plane quickly and it is being dragged in subsurface for about the first 10 feet. I'm hoping using a ball bearing swivel over a regular swivel will resolve this problem. However, the homemade Teckel Sprinker Frog has proven to be a winner, similar to the Whopper Plopper but the added bonus of being weedless. I have not lost a lot of fish on it in open water and I think the reason for that is is because it is being retrieved pretty quickly when the fish hit it they are immediately hooked. It can also be reeled in a lot faster than a regular frog that has to be walked the dog retrieved and because of this it can cover a lot more ground quickly. It also works well in rough water and open water, something that isn't a strong point for regular frogs. Another benefit is that it merely needs to be reeled in to catch fish wherein a regular frog normally has to be walked the dog which can be extremely hard to learn for some folks and I myself still cannot get a frog to walk the dog. Can't wait to get my order of real Teckel Sprinker Frogs see if they work better than the homemade version. Bust Lures: Ned Rig: I wanted the Ned Rig to work so bad, but it just hasn't worked for me. Despite using a weedless version it catches a ton of weeds and doesn't catch any fish that a CPS nosehooked Zoom Super Fluke or Wacky Rigged Senko can't catch under docks or out in the open in weeded areas. I've tried giving it time and popping it off the bottom or dragging it but it just catches a lot of weeds. I have caught some fish with it but it definitely isn't a presentation that I will be using in the weeds under docks. Whopper Plopper hooks are sharp! Prime Whopper Plopper 110 area with weeds well underneath the surface: Prime Whopper Plopper 90 area with weeds just underneath the surface: Prime Tekel Sprinker Frog area with weeds either just under the surface or on the surface: Homemade Teckel Sprinker Frog fish: So, for 2017, what lures for you have been Boom or Bust?