MIbassyaker

"...merges a bold, yet austere bouquet of nylon and fluorocarbon, with textured midtones of strength and sensitivity, a sikly mouthfeel of introverted density, and a long, abrasion-resistant finish."

Have a look at the Lucky Craft T-splash 55. It is about the size you're looking for, and has both a popper/chugger mouth, and prop on the tail.

If you hadn't gone, you'd be wondering whether you missed some serious action, and you'd be kicking yourself for a missed opportunity.

He may have been referring to a study that was discussed here not long ago. Here's the study: https://academic.oup.com/cz/article/65/1/43/4924236 And the thread discussing it is here:

Long arm or not, that's clearly still a monster! Congrats!

But are you fishing poppers and walkers an equal amount of time, in the same conditions, at same times of year, same times of day, same locations, and with equal confidence, concentration and persistence? I'm really skeptical of these sorts of comparisons because the angler's own decision-making and behavior are always uncontrolled variables. Lure choice is not random. The majority of my own larger bass are caught on skirted moving baits: buzzbaits, chatterbaits, and spinnerbaits. But that's mostly because I tend to fish these lures more often at times and in places that larger bass are more active.

I think a shallow floating crankbait like a squarebill is the right place to start. You'll be surprised how willing bass are to smash them.

Spinnerbait chunk this afternoon, best of 9 (didn't get a weight; likely 3-something): The shoreline areas had some weeds, and some wood; the key was finding where there were both.

Broke in my new Jackhammer chatterbait on a new lake today...in 3 hours I caught 16, all about the same size -- around a pound or two, like this one:

Beautiful fish, and beautiful jig!

Yup, likely a 4+. Congrats!

There are some shallow places here that are bound to be warmer, but I nowhere that I've been to yet this year -- going to check out two possibilities tomorrow and Thursday. The earliest pads I've seen are still only halfway to the surface.

I have been fishing exactly twice this year, and caught fish on exactly two lures: a hard jerkbait, and a 4" paddletail swimbait. Waters are still in the low 50s in my area.

Post-frontal fishing from the riverbank today. Was hoping for a bigger smallie to show off, but it was not to be. So here is a little one instead. Also, a somewhat foamy largemouth:

Well then, here's to a productive weekend!?

Clear water: Anything with the words "pumpkin", "watermelon" or "grass" in the name (bright conditions), or Junebug (dark/cloudy conditions). Algae-stained (green) water: chartreuses. Tannin-stained or muddy (brown) water: oranges & reds. Blacks and whites anywhere.

I like the idea mentioned above of leaving the second bait unweighted -- you could potentially achieve two different fall rates at the same time, and it may be good for working a t-rig through an area (as opposed to target-casting).

Well, they'll be waiting for you at Lake X later in the summer! Weather permitting, I'm going to try a river area for awhile tomorrow for smallies.

Aaaand...now we're in business:

Finally got out to do my first actual fishing of the year.... The water of choice was a little natural lake, under 100 acres, visibility to about 10 feet. Water temp was 52 a couple feet down. First two bass of 2019 were these little guys, 12" and 13" on a Ghost Sunfish Slender Pointer: And then....nothing for the next hour and a half. Tried some different things at various spots and various depths: a ned rig, a jig 'n craw, a shiny new Jackhammer I've been waiting to break in...nothing. Until i got up near a guy fishing on the bank, and saw him pull in a bluegill. Immediately, I had another jerkbait dink on. We congratulated each other, and he said he had been around most of the lake on foot over the last few hours, and the spot he was on was the only place to produce any 'gills. I made a mental note ("Now, if I were a bass...."). 5 minutes later he left, so I moved in....and 2 casts to the deeper side of his bluegill spot, this 20-incher hit, just shy of 4lbs (3.96): And then one more "non-scorable" bass to finish the excursion. So first trip out for the year, 3 hours, 5 fish, one good one, all on the slender pointer -- feels good; I'll take it.

I have some rubber chair leg caps I tried using for this -- put some coins or lead weight in there, and they help counterweight the tip of the rod (although they won't make it float, obviously). They worked well for that, but I took them off because I decided in the end that I didn't care all that much about "balance" after all...

1. Fish it slow 2. Fish it often I also did not have any success with buzzbaits until a few years ago. I committed to using them every time I want out, fishing them systematically (rather than just a cast here and there), and not being so quick to switch baits. And like magic, they started producing. Within 2 months, I had a new PB from a buzzbait. I find I don't need a trailer hook most of the time on the 3/8oz cavitron. I think it's because the hook rides lower than a lot of other buzzbaits because of the bend in the shaft. That also creates a bigger gap between the hook and the blade that may help. I use a trailer hook on the 1/4oz size sometimes, though. And I use a trailer hook on other buzzbait brands.

Cork. Looks right, feels right.

I think it's silly to not fish a frog just because you're restricted to sitting down.

Zing!