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Okay well that's unfortunate. I just wanted to make sure that there wasn't anything that I could be doing to prevent it. It was a real shame that it happened to the two biggest fish of the day.

I had one on the outside and one on the inside

Just get a Spro mcstick, already has great hooks and suspends out of the box every time for $13.

Favorite: Topwater! Probably a buzzbait or a bronzeye shad Go to: weightless fluke

I went out today to learn how to fish a jerkbait and I did really well. However on my two biggest fish(both about 4lb) the 3rd hook had hooked Into the bass' gills. Is this common with jerkbaits, a fluke, or am I doing something wrong? Thanks for the help.

Green Pumpkin, even though I fish Watermelon more often.

Any watermelon or green pumpkin and any white

You really can become a very effective fisherman on a budget. I used to do the same thing as you where I would buy whatever looked cool, only to find out I had no clue how to use it. Then I simplified and mastered a few tecniques and become pretty good as now I have slowly started to expand my arsenal of lures again. But here are some simple, cheap, multipurpose lures to get you started. 1.) Zoom Super Flukes- fish them weightless on a 4/0 EWG worm hook. They are fantastic because you can slowly twitch them when the bite is slow or pick up the pace when the bass are active. They can even be fished top water. I would start with a bag of watermelon seed and a bag of white. This is still my go to bait when I can't catch them only anything else. Plus they are cheap. 2.) stick worms- Gary Yamamoto Senkos or Yum Dingers (these are much more cost effective). Again Texas rig them weightless on a 4/0 worm hook and just let them fall, wait, pick up your rod top and let them fall again while watching your line. They are fantastic! Try natural colors like watermelon and green pumpkin. 3.) while you can use those two baits for almost everything! I would also get a few search baits(fast movers) for when the bite is hot. Try a white spinnerbaits or a chrome lipless crank bait. you can literally buy everything I just mentioned for under $50 and I swear those are the only things I used for like 4 years of my life. If you learn how to use them I promise you will catch lots of fish. I hope this helps! Have fun!

Rattletrap, Strike King Red Eye Shad, Booyah One Knockers, and Spro Aruku Shad are all great and will catch a lot of fish in the right circumstances. I like the 1/2 ounce sizes best.

One way you could fish the Yum Dinger where you will still get great action and have enough weight to cast is to throw it with a light wacky rig jighead. You will get great action, fall rate, and better casting distance without having to pay the price of GY Senkos. Just a thought.

So, I'm down to a few possibilities. 1.) Spro Mcsticks 2.) LC pointers 3.) Smithwick Rougue 4.) Luck-E-Strike Stx i will probably get 3. Should I get all rattling?

So a smithwick for the pickerel. But what about other lakes? Pointers or Mcsticks? Are any suspending Rapala's worth a try? Also do I want silent or rattling?

I want to learn how to fish jerkbaits for winter bass. I never have fished them and I don't have any either. I would like to buy 2-3 quality baits to get me started. What do you all recommend? I also have a lot of pickerel in one of the lakes I plan on fishing them, so if they are a bait that will get bit off quite a bit I want the take price per jerkbait into account. Thanks for the help!

I fish similar conditions. Try a fluke. You don't have to fish it as slow as some other plastics so it may be a good transition from hard baits to plastics. It is also one of the most effective. Try it Texas rigged weightless and fish it like a jerkbait. Green pumpkin, watermelon, and white are great starting colors.

Clear- watermelon w/ red flake or watermelon seed with chartreuse tail dirty- green pumpkin or watermelon seed w/ chartreuse tail

You should start out with a rod and reel that can fish most every application so that you can specialize a little bit more as you learn. I think a good started rod would be a medium power, fast action spinning rod with 8-10 pound test line. You will be able to fish most everything with that set-up. For good starting baits just pick one or two baits and learn how to use them well, then expand. I would recommend starting with soft plastics like Stick Worms (Gary Yamamoto Senko or YUM Dingers) or Zoom Super Flukes. It would be good to also have a good quality spinnerbait around, they can be fished in a lot of ways and you will want to also have a search bait on hand. But the setup I mentioned should do an adequate job with anything you want to learn how to use. Have Fun!

X2 for anything made by Zman

Nice! So what situations do you prefer weightless vs weighted? I heard somewhere that to really exaggerate the wiggle from the tail ends of the Senko you should have a weighted hook for wacky rigs. What are your thoughts on that sentiment?

Does anyone like using wacky jigheads instead?

They are kind of personal preference as to which you use. Go with the one you have more confidence in! As for baits, I like zoom trick worms for shakes heads and roboworms and KVD dream shots for drop shot.

Cool, thanks guys

I really like spinnerbaits and buzzbaits in the wind.

Your problem is the zman baits. Some strike king plastics with do it too. They don't play nice with others. You need to keep them by themselves. Most other plastics (of like colors) should be okay mixed. I generally try not to mix across brands and colors though. Hope this helps

I just bought my first one. Do I need to change the hooks and split rings? Does anyone have experience with their stock hooks?

Well I will have to give both of those a try when the bass won't hit the loud rattlers. I appreciate the input!