Airman4754

I've got that same Huk suit. Maybe that means I'll win my next one too! Congrats on the solid day of fishing!

I only really fish chatterbaits in wood, but I just steady retrieve them and let the deflections off of the sticks make up the variation.

MH/F for the Keitech types and H/F for swim jigs is the way I've always done it.

They are awesome!

I've become a Lew's disciple because of the way they feel in my hand. They are pretty solid reels too!

I run swimbait trailers on 1/4 and 3/8oz and Mogambos for 1/2 and 3/4oz. They look so good and move a ton of water.

They don't make these anymore but luckily I have a stockpile. The black/red/orange/yellow swirl Tiki Shadicks are insane when smallies are up shallow to spawn.

I'm a football coach as well and I know what you mean. Professionally I'd have to basically be KVD for it to make sense for me to become a "pro" bass fisherman so I don't take tournaments all that seriously. I know I'm a good stick, but there is never a point where I NEED to have a good day competing. I fish the club events I want to. If the conditions suck, prefishing was awful, or it's a lake I don't like I just don't fish it. I'd rather spend two days on a lake I like on my own schedule then some crap hole on someone else's. The younger single guys that work at sporting goods stores and fish the same lake almost daily a month before every tourney will almost always beat me and I'm 1,000% OK with that.

Exactly.

I said this in another thread but keep the skirt. It will catch you more and bigger fish, but it's too long stock. Shove it down from the head and cut it even a half inch past the bottom of the hook bend. Put whatever trailer you think will work on it that is at least 4". I always run a 1/0 trailer hook but that's personal preference.

Tom and some other have given great advice. I don't target giants I suppose but I don't want to catch anything under 3lbs either. My best piece of advice is to watch what the "weekend warriors" are doing and don't do that. An example is my last trip out on a fairly small lake there are trout fisherman trolling flashers around everywhere within 75 yards of the bank and every bass fisherman were chucking spinnerbaits. Guys on the bank were throwing spinnerbaits. I love spinnerbaits but every fisherman on the lake has something flashy and clunky on their line. The big fish have seen that all day everyday. I didn't see a single bass caught by anyone else in those two and a half days but I caught over 50 fish on a drop shot, jig rig, and swim jig along with six fish over three pounds. Bass are an apex predator but they're not completely stupid. If everyone else is doing something your odds of catching number or size with it as well are small.

Sounds like you've got the idea, now run with it. Too bad Reaction Innovations is already taken.

This last week a caught a pound LMB and was getting ready to toss it back when I noticed a hook eye was sticking out of its under side. Inspecting it further it was sticking out of its rectum. So I carefully maneuvered it out of there and let the fish go. Turns out it was a 1/0 EWG worm hook. The question I still can't answer is how that hook got there. The easy answer is it swallowed it, but how in the hell did a 12" fish pass something that large without its insides getting destroyed? The fish was totally healthy.

It probably doesn't matter, but if it makes the difference on one fish then it's worth it to me. I'll never really know, but I know I'm doing the most I can.

Yes. I fish them like a Fluke in the summer with that size internal head for smallies.

I bought some of them and they are decent. I'd file them under the "If you do your job they will do theirs" which is everything I've ever owned besides the Helicopter Lure.

I prefer straight shank on everything but a jig rig and a Senko. I drop shot, shakey head, pitch, punch, and C-rig with straight shank hooks. If you rig them right they are just as weedless and I think the hookup percentage is higher. They do destroy plastics way faster. You can get four fish out of a worm if you flip it, bite it down and flip it again.

I fish mostly steep canyon lakes and most heads just won't stay standing up. The best I've found are the Megastrike shaky heads. We catch a ton of all three species on them year round. As for technique find what works for you but I drag mine on a tight line and keep my rod twitching very slightly the whole time. They're really hard to screw up on. Just fish and figure it out.

I fish three types. If it's for a C-rig then I use an 8" Kickerfish Holeshot so it stays up off the bottom. For jig rigging (I don't T-rig, but it's the same concept) I use Rage Lizards. For shaky heads its a 6" Holeshot lizard. I only use lizards for bed fishing and long cover edges but they put fish in the boat for sure. They can be a great curve ball for Spots in the late spring as they've seen the same shaky head worm daily for the previous four months.

You can't beat bed fishing when the males are on them.

If you can patrol the shallows and look for light colored areas near the bank. Then flip the craziest colored plastics you can find into them and see what happens.

Huk Kryptek.

6" Kalin Mogambo grub.

Kickerfish Hightail Holeshots

It's the same with Senkos and the Ned Rig. Usually your best water isn't calm so line watching isn't going to get you very far.