Heron

For those who fish with these, what are you favorite sizes and colors? I love these things, and there color selection.

Well, if anyone wants more stuff.....I have 28 bags that I want to get rid of. Let me know if youre interested. http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/143587-selling-28-packs-of-soft-plastics/

Haha....True indeed. But, be it as it may....I have a strong preference to not have an enormous amount of stuff.

That jig in the middle, that is mostly black with the red & yellow scaled highlights......whats that pattern called? Looks nice.

White skirt with Gold willow has been my best producing spinnerbait thus far. - There are many ways to retrieve it. But so far, Ive had the best luck with a good, slow roll.

Another good reason to start making my own. Been snooping around on Lurepartsonline.com and that is adding some good motivation.

Sorry, didnt mean to write so much crap.

Zoiks....I must be the only one here who is able to fight off this, bait monkey, and keep him at bay. I probably only have between 40-50 baits TOTAL, and even then, I am at the point of needing to purge my collection. Im no longer interested in trying this, and trying that. Time to reduce my small collection even further to include only those baits and rigs that work best. Simplification is a virtue. (I currently have 28 bags of soft plastics for sale, posted on the flea market) I am a shore angler, and just started fishing again late last summer, after not having fished for about 18 years. So I entered into this new venture with a few points of understanding.. > Im on foot, so pack light. No need to take anything that wont fit in my knapsack. The fish will always be there. > Baits are made catch fisherman, moreso than fish > What baits work? all of them do. > My collection of which baits works best, will already be limited by the shorelines in which I fish in. > Dont go chasing colors. If the fish are not liking the colors Im using that day - they will like them another day. > Its not the bait that catches the fish - its the fisherman. > Learn the fish first - then learn TO fish > I only get to fish for about 2-3 hours at a time. Not enough time to warrant a giant bait collection. > My goal for fishing is to obtain the ability to assess the conditions of the day, and then be able reach into my knapsack, and pull out, the right bait to use. > If I didnt catch anything, then either I was doing it wrong, or the fish were not there. It was no fault of the bait. > Catching more fish comes with gaining more knowledge and experience - not from buying more stuff. > Your mind is a better tacklebox, This mindset has served me well to keep the bait monkey away, without any loss of fish, or enjoyment. But thats just me.

I gotta say, Im fairly happy with this product. I was skeptical with the $3.99 price tag, but Ive been using it this season for the first time, and so far its proving to be a good value. It looks great, it swims great, and its priced great. The dog-walking action is easy to do, and Im loving the finish on it. I have not encountered any problems with it thus far. Worth a look. (NOTE: Bassresource wont let me post the image)

I look for the same in a spinnerbait. Except for the wire-tied skirt. I have not encountered any need thus far, for a skirt to be wire tied. Most spinnerbaits I find, and their components, are made and assembled fairly well to my satisfaction. Which brings me back to the point of this topic. The lines are blurred, or rather, most everyone makes a quality spinnerbait. So, you really cant go wrong from one maker to the next. So then from there, it just comes down to personal preference.

Can you tell much difference between the different brands?

Jack O' Connor was great....but when it comes to rifle cartridge selection, I personally dont find him to be a suitable example to follow. I found this article online some time ago, It has some points that do a fair job at summing my feelings on this topic. http://lifebeyondthegoodol30-06.blogspot.com/

I find .270 to be inadequte for animals larger than Mule deer. But thats just me. I prefer a medium bore cartridge, with calibers in the .35, 9.3mm, or .375 range. But thats just me For for large animals across open country, I like a .338 Win Mag necked up to .375....But thats just me. For Bear, and other large predators, I prefer large bore cartridges...but thats just me. .45-70, .45-90, .50 Alaskan...but thats just me. Not gonna say it cant be done, because Ive seen Wayne Van Swoll take a nice bull elk, at 600 yards with a 6.5mm Creedmoor....but I have a liking for larger bullets on larger animals....But, you know....thats just me.

I have two Revenge double willows in the Bluegill and Golden Shiner colors. Great looking baits, run nicely in the water, and seem to be made of respectable quality. Just havent caught anything with them yet.

The lines are getting blurred for me. Not noticing too much difference in the water from one maker to the next. But I am liking Booyah, Stanley, and War Eagle brand. Maybe I'll just start making my own.

Sometimes I just go to the water with a box of blank heads, and a bag of skirts of various colors and patterns....and just assemble as needed.

Nope

Nope, I actually dont like trailers on spinnerbaits. I dont think its a good presentation. Im sure it catches fish fine, its just not my preference, and it makes the whole presentation look wonky.

Yeah Ive done the craw before. I really like that one actually. Because it offers you two types of action, when doing a lift/fall retrieve. Lifting the craw of the bottom gets that chatter blade buzzin. Then, letting it fall again lets the flapping claws take over the presentation. Sounds like a gold combination to me. Ive even vertical jigged with this before.

Im sure it will sucker some fish into biting. Ive used a tube as a jig trailer before, and that caught a couple fish. That also is a nice looking presentation. Honestly though, most of the time when I put together some sort of Frankenbait, it'll catch fish, but its usually not any better than anything else.

The tube does appear to slide back a little bit after a few retrieves. For extra help keeping baits on the hook, I typically take one of those sinkers with the rubber twist tabs, cut one of the rubber tabs off, so its just a nice little rubber circle, thread that onto the hook, and set it firmly against the bait. Works well. It seems though, that when the tube is used with the skirt on, the tube doesn't move back.

No reason, really. Just to satisfy my curiosity. I like to experiment a lot.

Ok, so Im trying something new these days. I took the skirt off of a chatterbait, and put a smoke/blue colored 4" tube on it. I havent caught anything on this yet, but I really like how it looks in the water. The blade only imparts vibration on the back ends of the tentacles. Giving it sort of a nice, subtle swimbait tail action. Looks like a decent baitfish profile. We'll see if anything goes for it.

Artificial vs. Live. I have not encountered any instance where one "consistently" catches fish better than the other. Not saying thats how it is......thats just been my experience thus far. But I do prefer the durability and longevity of artificial baits over live ones. However, I do love leaches. Leaches are beautiful.

I used to in my younger days. Snapping turtle is good eatin.