Craw

Once I've tied my skirt, I'll be adding a drop of glue. Which glue do you recommend to use on a rubber skirted jig tied with nylon?

I say go for it. I like to see this type of "out of the box" thinking. I have a friend who fishes primarily with 1/8 to 3/16oz jigs, and he uses a setup similar to the one that Bass-Brat suggested. It works well for him. I myself would be interested in hearing about your results. Good luck.

Another vote for Eakin's. A great little bait!

I'd say it was a "darn good day." Glad you had plenty of success. Gorgeous bass!

Zoom and GYCB are neck and neck for me.

Great photos. That gill is quite a slab!

Sweet photos! Those perch look ready to pop. Way to stick'em through that ice, great job!

I don't fish tournaments, but one very popular technique that co-anglers use I keep reading about is a shakey head worm. I have used this technique with excellent results. Between a senko and a shakey head, I'd say you could really frustrate the guy up front.

Great job Avid. Talk about versatility! Anything you haven't caught bass with?

Man, that really is a good picture. What a head on that bass. Congratulations!

I love spots! My home lake is absolutely full of them, and one river in particular that I fish pretty regular is also loaded with spots. I don't know how big my largest spot would go, but I've caught some toads. During warmer months I catch a great number on the pig-n-jig, as well as a variety of other baits. During winter, the jigging spoon has accounted for many a spot. One thing I'd like to add about fishing for them is this...Take advantage of this fish's' curious nature. They react to many colors and presentations that would seem odd to use. They swat at baits out of pure playfulness at times. At least, this has been my experience. I call it the curiosity factor. One example-bright colors in calm, clear water sometimes get them to hit when it seems that they have all but shut down. An orange spinnerbait w/matching orange blades or a bright yellow tube. Baits like these can spark interest from these fish and get you strikes when it gets tough.

Hit the river today for a couple hours with my dad. Fishing was slow, but I managed two bites. Got one on a jerkbait, and this one on a jig. Dad hadn't had any bites, so I suggested that we head over to the deep hole for some spooning. He agreed. We spooned around for about 25min. when suddenly, Dad hooked up. He fought what we assumed was a flathead for 6 or 7 minutes. When he finally got it to the surface, SURPRISE...mudbass! Foul hooked in the tail. We both had a nice laugh over that. Slow day or not, another great outing with Dad.

Nice catch. Looks more like a pointer 78, but I've been wrong before. Those pointers are just awesome. Great job lightninrod!

Thank you folks for all the kind words. I hope to stay with the fish throughout the winter months, but I will undoubtedly have some dry spells. It's been a nice run so far and I plan to keep after it. Thanks for all the support. I hope to post a few more pictures soon.

I've had the most success with Bomber Model As. The 6A and 7A specifically. Brown crawdad, green crawdad and firetiger. Those baits are the staple cranks here in my neck of the woods.

OK...my jaw just hit the floor. Very impressive!

SWEET!! Craw likey de smallies.

I'm also a fan of the Bang-O-Lure. I use them with the prop and also with it removed. No other minnow bait twitches quite like it. I've caught lots of bass on them. My dad turned me on to these baits years ago.

Great pictures! Very nice bass! What a cool place to live! It's GOOD to be YOU!!!

Great report and the pictures are outstanding.

Decided to fish some still water today and get away from all the current. My knee has been hurting from standing on one leg all the time! Loaded up and headed to Claytor Lake in hopes of sore lipping a few largemouth. Didn't happen...got several smallies instead though. Check out this chunk. My work week starts tomorrow morning, so that's it for awhile.

Hey folks. Had a beautiful day here in Va. today. Air temp. in the 50s, partly sunny with just a slight SW breeze. My river has been a muddy mess since last Sunday. Water levels are trying to return to normal now. Still a little on the muddy side, but my home lake is a mud hole now also, so I thought I'd take my chances in the river. Water temp. was 39, visibility about 6". I didn't exactly slay'em, but I caught a few little smallies on a jig. Here's some. I know they're tiny, but I still get a wicked thrill from catching them. Just felt so good to get back out after working this past week.

I've caught a few fish on rogues, but I never really caught on to what was so great about them. Since the pointers and xraps have been introduced to me, I've been a jerkbait maniac! I do have quite a collection of rogues and hope to give them another go this spring. To many people swear by these baits for me to completely dismiss them, and I feel that I owe it to myself to find out what I've been missing. Be on the lookout for me starting this thread up again in a couple months.

The pros have mad skills! I do however, understand your point. These guys have the best of everything, not to mention their schedules, which put them on some of the best fisheries in the country. I myself used to always think...Yeah, come on down to my local lake and let's just see what you can do. Truth is though, I have a different outlook these days. Professional bass fishing has evolved year after year, and even a non tournament angler like myself benefits from the things these guys are doing. I won't sit here and tell you that I'm a highly skilled fisherman, but I will say that I'm much further along than I would be without all I've learned from the pros. Let me say once more, the pros have MAD skills! Even if I had access to all that they have, no way I could hang with them. Could I possibly cover as much water during the course of a day as Kevin VanDam? Could I dissect a dock as thoroughly as Gerald Swindle? Could I crank a brushpile in 15' of water as effectively as David Fritts? Could I take my jig and saturate a laydown like my man Denny Brauer? My answer to all these questions is no. One thing I can do though is ask myself how each of these pros would tackle a particular situation that I am up against. I ease up on a series of laydowns and I think, OK, how would Denny approach this? I honestly believe that this helps me. My hat's off to the professional bass fisherman.

Glad you're back at it. You will be making up lost ground in no time flat. Congratulations!