bigbassin'

Anyone fish this lure, if so how is it?

As I agree it's both a really fun way to catch them, and it may or may not be harmful to the bass population, my general rule of thumb is I won't fish beds if bluegill are present and/or both the male and female aren't in the vicinity. I also don't take pictures with bed fish so I can get them back in the water quicker. At the end of the day, fishing has historically been catch and keep and bass aren't extinct yet so I doubt much damage is being done if you bed fish and release them in a timely manner. I feel like it's just one of those things that if you enjoy doing it then go for it, and if not then don't.

I've more or less gotten away from t-rig worms even though they are probably the most consistent bass lure out there, I just don't enjoy fishing them anymore.

This is the only chatterbait I throw. It stays pretty high in the water column and probably doesn't get deeper than 4 feet even reeled as slow as you can go. The advantage is that you can wake these baits pretty easily at a moderate speed over shallow grass flats, which has been by far my most successful chatterbait technique.

Wait they make flukes in colors other than watermelon?

I heard there were two fish over 10 caught in a tournament about two weeks ago, however I didn't see pics and have no clue how the rest of the field did so take that with a grain of salt.

My Walmart carries Arkie jigs for $1.46, but they only have black and blue.

Well for starters, the fish has to be catchable. If it leaves the bed and isn't a monster I typically just move on because these fish won't be that aggressive in my experience. Once I've found a good bed to fish try to see if there is any hard cover in the bed (stick, rock, soda can, etc.) as bringing your bait around it will often trigger the fish to bite. My go to baits will be a t-rigged craw, worm, a jig, and a drop shot. Cast just past the bed and bring your lure onto it. Keep your bait on the bed for as long as possible, while just barely shaking it. Take different angles when you bring your lure through the bed and see if anyone path produces a bigger reaction from the fish, if so repeat this path. I'll normally move on after taking 10 casts with each lure if I haven't been hit yet.

I probably make 3 trips on the bank for every 1 I take in a boat, however I feel like this isn't really needed. In my experience the only real differences are that it's harder to free a snagged lure from the bank, deep diving cranks are more or less useless from the bank, and you can't cover as much water on foot. Other than that I fell like the same techniques work and seasonal patterns are the same, just small bodies of water transition faster.

Well I went out there today just for a few hours from shore and got two off cypress trees like you had said N Florida Mike. Both were caught with red square bills. Thanks for the advice guys.

For grass they're phenomenal just swimming them. Around wood, I like to use a 1/8 ounce weight and swim them until contact is made with wood, then let them drop down the side of the wood. Never tried them around rocks, but I'm sure they'd still work.

I've always gotten the kvd's to come through rocks and wood pretty good without snagging. With that being said, I don't typically use cranks while river fishing, so take that with a grain of salt.

I personally like the booyah poppin pad crasher. Walks easy, can be fished like a popper, or you can combine the two.

Has anyone ever tried fishing for Suwannee Bass in the Santa Fe River? If so, are there any tips or tricks to fishing the river for the Suwannees/Largemouths? Also, I'll be in a 8 inflatable with a 30 pound thrust trolling motor, will the motor be able to handle the river's current?

Easily my most productive technique for fishing lily pads. I like fishing them weightless if I'm trying to keep them at the top. It lets you go slower, which I feel can help on certain days.

Picked up a whopper plopper 90 in blue blood and Spro rat 40 in brown. Tested them briefly earlier and was very happy with the rat's action. I wish I had gone up to the 130 on the whopper plopper and gotten a different color. Blue Blood was fairly translucent, which I'm not a fan of since I typically fish pretty stained water.

Is there any clearance between the weeds and the surface? If so a shallow crankbait highsticked like a shallow a or Mann's Baby minus-1, buzzbaits, waking a spinnerbait, or waking a chatterbait would be viable hard bait options. T-rigged speed worms and swimbaits kept moving would also work if there is clearance or if it's eel grass. If it goes all the way to the top and isn't eel grass, frogs and toads are about your only options.

After reading the soft body thread and personally having a lot of success with them, I'm curious if anyone here throws hard body swim baits for Florida bass? Just about everyone I know regularly uses the paddle tails, but I've never heard anyone mention the hard bodies.

Unless I'm fishing a ridiculously thick mat where I'll just be dragging the frog, I fish a popping frog. IMO they walk easier, and you can also change up the retrieve and pop it.

Thanks for the replies guys, I'll have to grab another pack before the topwater bite gets good I guess. I actually have used the rage toads gardnerjigman. Did great with them too, got several fish over 3 pounds on a single outing with them near the end of topwater season last year and figured I'd pick these up to have a different profile if the rage toads aren't cutting it on an outing.

I was using 12 lb test mono. I had them t-rigged on a 4/0 gamakatsu ewg hook.

I picked up a pack of these and they had absolutely no action. I also had to burn a 7.1 reel just to try to keep them on the surface. Is this the norm with these or did I get a bad pack?

Zoom U-vibe speed worm in Junebug Red Zoom Super Fluke in Watermelon Red KVD 1.5 in Tennessee Shad 1/2 Green Pumpkin Jig with Zoom U-vibe Speed Craw Trailer Booyah Pooppin' Pad Crasher in Leopard

Chrome and Blue rattle trap

Pit bosses have only produced one fish for me in two years, and while it's more of a setup than a lure, for all the hype surrounding the Ned rig, I'm of the opinion bass actually swim away from the area when I'm throwing it.