Brett Strohl

I don't really even like messing with small baits after seeing little bass go after lures 3/4ths the size of their body. I don't know if that's a good strategy or not, but I honestly don't have any luck on small lures anyway.

We had a lot better weather today so I tried a lot of differing things. I had a lot of bites on the craws, mostly just from chucking them up under overhanging limbs and bushes along the bank. I only got one fish into the boat on the craws. I felt like maybe the lure wasn't collapsing enough to hook the fish. I'm new to plastics but I know when I get bites on senkos I don't have that problem. I dunno, I might try some Yums since they're only $2 a pack, or I might just stick with senkos. I don't get the impression that throwing one plastic lure is much better than another so far. I feel like fishing this pond is going to be incredibly slow under even the best circumstances. The bass all seem very timid for some reason, even though I don't think it is hardly ever fished. I saw one follow my crank bait all the way up to the boat and just turn around >_<

The jawbones look almost exactly like the Yamamoto's, and I can't imagine them being much less effective.

what about large mouths or rock bass?

Pull the legs off? I'm confused O_o

I'm just asking b/c I happened to try them out and didn't come away with an opinion one way or another. I want to know if fishing conditions are tough if they are a waste of time or if I should be using something else. If I'm wasting your time you don't need to be respond, but there is no reason to be rude.

I wasn't expecting to catch anything, but I had the day off work and nothing else to do so why not go fish?

They were a very dark brown I think, and TBH no they didn't have a lot of action when they were swimming. They were very limp when I was pulling them through the water, but I think they had decent action when they were falling. Would I be better off trying Yum or Havok craws if these don't work out?

Ah that isn't horrible. I think one of the ones I saw at Dick's was about $14, and that price tag would be pretty hard for me to justify. I just bought 3 packs of Yums, and 4 packs of Power Bait for less then that But I'd personally usually rather scour discount bins and turn in rebates then buy something really specific.

I fished that craw 4 hours at least, and had two poles in the water for catfish all day and got nothing. I switched to a white senko and got one bass. I can't say I really have any idea what I'm doing, but the weather was bad (dropped from 80's to 55 and it was raining). Plus the pond we're fishing is super muddy. I just stuck with that craw all day b/c I read you have to fish bass really slow when cold weather rolls through. I'd expected it to be a bad day. We fished 6 hours the day before and did worse then that. But hey, sitting out in the boat all day in the rain is still 100 x's better than school

well if any of you guys have shallow scatters that you don't want I'd give you $4 or $5 bucks for one since I had mine stolen.

I got a pack of Big Bite bait plastic craws b/c they were $1.45 and they looked to be very similar quality as everything else I've seen. I fished them all day in bad weather and didn't get a nibble, but that's not saying much when I only pulled in one fish in 6 hours. What are your thoughts on them? I'm not sure how much I'm going to want to commit to them when I could be using something I trust a little more.

I can't imagine them being worth the price tag

what are the advantages of snaps?

I'm not saying your wrong, but I just haven't. I like swivels and switching lures out every 15 or 20 minutes, since it's so hard to find something they'll take.

I caught 15+ fish on my shallow scatter rap the first day I used it. I bragged so much about it I think someone I was fishing with stole it lol. The only complaints I have about it are is that they're just too freaking expensive.

I'm not proficient enough in my knot tying yet to get rid of swivels unfortunately I've been fishing multiple other cranks and honestly haven't had any issue with them. I might just get rid of the Rebel and the Chinese lure (You pay $1.60 for something and it's hard to expect much). One of the things I'm starting to dislike about cranks is that if I'm not using at least a moderately expensive lure, they aren't even worth having on the line for the most part.

I have three crank baits that are looping in circles when I real them in. Is it possible I'm working the lures too fast, or is the swivel interfering with the bait action, or is just that the lure defective? The lures I'm having trouble with are a Rapala scatter lip, a rebel deep diving crank, and some chinese jointed minnow I got off ebay.

I can't claim to have any idea what I'm doing whatsoever, but I've been fishing a couple farm ponds this year and these are my only lures that have caught around 10+ bass: 1. Rapala shallow scatter-lipped crank bait (blue gill paint) 2. Chartruese tailed 7" power worm 3. White 5" yum stick bait/senko. I got a bunch of different lures over the winter/spring but so far most of it isn't effective at all, especially top water lures which I've only caught two fish on

I imagine, unless you are in to the more technical aspects of the spot, mono vs. braid just depends on what you want. I've been fishing 30 lb braid for the last year and it's hard to imagine ever going back. The main difference for me is I don't have to fight backlash anymore (which makes me angry enough to not even want to fish to begin with), but when you do get tangled up the line is more difficult to untangle b/c it is so small. Plus I can cast quite a long distance on very strong line. On one hand I am losing out on the excitement of really fighting a fish, but on the other hand I don't ever have to worry about leaving a hook or lure in a fish's mouth b/c the line snapped (which is personally more important to me). Plus I absolutely hate losing lures and hooks, not only b/c of the cost of the lures, but b/c I don't like the idea of polluting fishing spots with that stuff. (I can't really cast light lures with my setup so I actually wouldn't mind having an ultra lite setup for panfish, but that is probably a project for when I'm done with school.) I haven't been posting here long, but I can tell there is a real concern between balancing the "sporting" aspect of fishing between catching as many fish as efficiently as possible. Everything that makes fishing easier also seems to make it less sporting and more mechanical or machine-like, so I imagine striking that balance between the artistry of sport vs efficiency is just going to come down to personal preference.

That's understandable.

I've been using an ugly stick my friend gave me, and have been using my dad's old rod for bobber fishing or drop shotting Yums. (I honestly know next to nothing about the technical aspects of rods/reels.) The ugly stick is I believe, medium action but it's sturdy which is what I want, since I absolutely hate losing lures on rocks and branches. If I get hooked on a big stick I just pull it straight out of the water and get my lure back, or if I get caught on a rock sometimes I'll just straighten the hook out until it comes free

I've been fishing a couple ponds a lot this year and have gotten a lot of bites of a shallow scatter-lipped rapala, a chartreuse-tailed power worm, and yum stick baits. I haven't been able to catch fish with anything else consistently.

Oh I found I can get worm rattles for $5 -$9 on Ebay. Are they worth it? I've been fishing a lot this year and probably have had less than 3 strikes on baits with rattles.

I'm not sure that it's the greatest thing in the world, but it's something I can drop off the side of the boat and not have to worry about while I'm working something else