the reel ess

I agree. There's an artificial for every situation. I've been crappie fishing many times when jigs flat outfished minnows.

Give us a report. And you might want to use a circle hook to keep it out of the fish's gut. Nothing worse than killing a large fish unless your intention is to put it on the wall. But they aren't all trophies. There are golden shiners and some very big bass in the primary place I fish. I'd like to give live bait a try there to see if I can break my PB. I see no reason it wouldn't work as it does on Okeechobee. But I do enjoy casting for them way more than free-lining.

So your profile pic is actually you?

I guess it makes a man look like a thoughtful, intelligent outdoorsman or conservationist. My dad kept on one the mantle so people would think he smoked it. I quit smoking too. I can't smoke tobacco in any fashion either for fear that I'd go back to it.

#3 jointed floating Rapala minnow. 1/5 oz Bomber model A. Rebel Tiny Wee Craw-this one slays the smaller and bigger bass. I even caught a 3 lb striper on one in the river.

I think that's the same thing. You'll have a larger pool to draw from if you target smaller fish.Go with the numbers baits like 3" grubs, for example, that are easily bought in different colors. Just my opinion.

I forgot one: 1/8 oz Roadrunner. I've caught a lot of bass on it and it'll also catch crappie and larger bluegill. I went with my friend this morning and we managed 4 small bass. He likes to troll jigs for crappie so we did. We caught 20 crappie and a bunch of small bass. These are 1/64 and 1/32 oz curly tail grubs.

I don't really target small bass. But sometimes I catch them on all the same baits I catch bigger ones on. T rigs, jerkbaits, fluke, cranks...

Sunny conditions can cause the fish to just slap at the frog like they want to stun it. After they do and it doesn't sink they don't bite. 30X in a row would be a bit unusual though.

Maybe buy several at the time. I have a Booyah that hasn't filled up at all and I've caught several on it. It's the only one I've used after another brand kept filling up. Lunker Hunt recommends superglue around the nose, but how long can that last?

I think the most important factor is unlimited baitfish. And then water quality.probably related. Good natural structure and cover helps too. Fish would prefer to ambush prey rather than casing it all the time. And the ability to get into cooler, oxygenated water will help their growth. A reservoir used for drinking water or as a backup source can be an awesome fishery. Also, and I have no stats to back this up, it seems that the less a smaller body of water fluctuates in level the better. Bass will be able to use the same spawning grounds year after year.

Taking me back to the Virgil Ward days.

I tried the Crazy Legs today in watermelon/candy color. I don't know if it was a coincidence or really mattered, but I didn't even get a bite until I pinched off the Crazy Legs.

Very true. But we already had an Academy that beat the doors off Dick's. I'm not sure I need to ride 20 miles more up the interstate just to get a tiny bit better fishing selection at Cabela's. Now, if it was hunting, shooting, boating or camping, maybe Cabela's wins out over Academy. For fishing, Academy usually has me covered.

Same here in Fort Mill, SC (near Charlotte, NC). It was basically BPS Lite. But I have a friend working there who gave me his 20% discount at a pre-Grand Opening Sale. I still managed to spend $200.

Since I usually use the kayak I take the minimalist approach. When I fish from my buddy's boat I take the whole bag. When I fish from my big boat I take the kitchen sink.

That is good stuff. I once left a bass with a face full of Super Spook because I got too excited after catching 4 on 4 casts to retie. I've felt guilty about that for 15 years. It might also explain why you occasionally see a topwater floating and wonder how somebody managed to lose it.

Smells like.......VICTORY.

Get a fast one too

I believe the Johnny Morris reels from BPS are jam-up BC reels. If they were Shimano or Quantum they'd be $200. I have one of the old ones and the drag is strong and smooth. You can feel the quality. Just spin the knob on the handle and it keeps spinning. Best reel I have and you can cinch down the drag, which is what you'll do with the frog, and you won't damage the reel.

How do you rig the Ultra Vibe size? I find them about too small for T-rigs. I ordered some thinking they were the 4". I have 2 bags I'm not using.

I'm in a big pond/small lake and will only be using 1/4 oz bullet weight. But if they slip, which they will with an ounce or more, I put two on. It's just really cool being able to adjust leader length (weight-to-hook) longer or shorter at will.

Yeah, it casts fine for anything larger than 1/4 oz. I use 15# Big Game for topwaters. It's better than alright. It's the right tool for the job IMO. The reason such a large diameter line is good for this application is that mono floats. Thicker mono floats better. This won't impede the action of the topwaters and the stretch won't rip hooks out of the fish. If you're really in love with mono and want it for T-rigs, use the best hooks money can buy and you'll land more fish. I love Gamakatsu EWG and straight shank worm hooks. I just switched my T-rig and C-rig rods over to braid because I wasn't feeling bites. Or, more to the point, frogs aren't producing in mid-day for me, so I took that rod for C-rigs. Braid with a mono leader. I don't "believe in" leaders, per se. But I use a Carolina Keeper on the line and it won't thread or stay on braid.

I'm certainly not in crystal waters. My purpose for the leader was to get some line on that I could thread the Carolina Keeper onto. I don't think it would hold on the braid even if I could thread it thru. And this way, I can simply cut the hook knot, slide the Keeper and bullet weight off and retie a T-rig and not have to keep the hardware on the kayak.

Do you use a double uni-knot? That's what I use to join braid to any other line. I also put superglue on to hold down the mono tag end.