snake95

Mine too. Confirmed. I had been blissfully unaware that this brick and mortar version of Outlet Bait even existed until this post. Now the mystery of where all those leftovers that aren’t sold at the end of DSG’s clearance has been solved. They go on to live again and have their prices jacked back up to close to their retail price. No stellar deals at their regular prices but looks like a spot to check on from time to time, especially for oddball colors that nobody else wants. (Who knew that silver flake Z craws even exist?)

Never heard of this store until your post. Looked it up and they are advertising their "biggest fishing buyout ever."

I guess they just rattle?

This is for anglers that have never fished soft plastics, or don't have anyone to instruct them on using them. My tip is: learn to fish a basic worm using a Texposed hook and/or wacky rig. (I know, sounds like it would be a very small minority, but I was in that minority and this site changed my world by teaching me where to start, about 3 years ago). Here's what I'd say to anglers getting started with soft plastics: - They say confidence is key. Start with confidence, because the tons of plastics lining the shelves are there because they catch bass. - There are countless configurations of soft plastics, and countless ways to rig them; basic baits to start with are: Zoom trick worms, roboworms, or any number of common straight worms Ribbontail worms Stick baits (aka "senkos") - Learn to T-rig and texpose these from Glenn's videos. Fish them weightless or with a small bullet sinker. You can also fish wacky rigs, but the good ol' basic T-rig is great for beginners IMHO because it's nearly snag proof. - How do you give them action? Well, the short answer is let the plastic do the work. It will wiggle and move enough when pulled or twitched (let the rod do the work, not the reel), when fluttering down on the fall, and often when just sitting there. It does not take a ton of movement to get bit. Use the reel mainly to gather slack. - Cast to targets: brushpiles, small points in the bank, schooling baitfish, pods of spawning bluegills (yes there are bass among them, just waiting), etc. etc. - Let the bait flutter down, and then use any retrieve you want: hop, drag, swim with short twitches, swim on surface, particularly if the weather is warm, periodically, do nothing and "deadstick" it. When guys say these baits get hit "on the fall" they mean it, it's that simple. - Put in time on the water, keep it simple, don't stress about colors. No lure, and no color is magic. Don't listen to folks who say "they are biting on this color and this bait only" - just go fishing with the tried and true lures and pick some basic colors like white, black, green pumpkin. If you want to go wild and fish a pink trick worm or blue/black swirl YUM Dinger - go for it! Thanks to the guys on this site who built my confidence in soft plastics and taught me what to do. Yes, you can do countless other rigs and fish countless other plastics, and you should, but no better place to start than with the basics. I saw with my own eyes the sophisticated gear Gerald Swindle, two time AOY winner had rigged up on deck as he came in on day 3 of the Classic: a medium spinning combo with a wacky-rigged green stickbait.

Just wanted to put it out there that this plopper tail kit is now available to mod your frogs. As always, interested in hearing about experiences with this kit. I think I'll give it a try soon and report back... (@tcbass just wanted to beat you to posting this!)

I also found the following rods in the $110 and under range: Enigma sells a 7'-10" "MH" cranking rod that's rated for 3/4 to 1-1/2 oz baits. Abu Garcia has numerous rods in that category, considering numerous versions of the Veritas that runs up to about $120. I found an inexpensive ($60) Vengeance H (mod-fast) @ 7'-6" rated 1/2 to 2 oz. Interested in any thoughts on these rods as well.

Considering getting a moderate-fast to moderate rod for throwing larger crankbaits for bass such as the KVD 8.0 magnum (1-1/8), and super spooks (7/8 oz). Might also want to use it for somewhat larger baits such as the Rapala Super Shad Rap, for stripers. I'm hoping to stay under about $100. Any recommendations for rods meeting these criteria?

Amazon has the Daiwa coastal TWS reel for around $150-160. Competing sites have similar pricing. Retail is around $230. I have one for dual purpose nearshore and bass, but use mostly for bass and just ordered a second. A little heavy but great handles for cranking and a lefty.

Many newbies will fish from the bank. My advice: You will get snagged and it is frustrating. You will lose lures, some of them quite expensive and plus your stocks will get depleted at the most inconvenient of times. That is part of the cost of fishing. But it doesn't have to be unmanageable: learn to use the various types of soft plastic lures; they provide many advantages over hardbaits. They can be rigged for fewer snags (usually by burying the hook) and when you lose them it hurts less. If they are sold in large quantities (Zoom, Yamamoto, Yum, etc. etc.) in major stores, its because they work. Learn to Texas-rig and texpose, with/without a weight. When I started, I often wondered how to "work" plastic lures. The answer is: often you don't do much, you can just reel in, and very often, all it takes is the action of the lure fluttering down through the water after splashdown, especially with stickbaits, in order to attract a strike. Often, less is more.

Seems like the color discussion can go on forever, and maybe it should. It's always interesting to see what others have experienced. I'd guess the charts give you an idea about what is a reasonable place to start picking out lures. I've been fishing in small, slightly stained (not tannic) Florida ponds and in a single trip yesterday we were nailing them on black trick worms, green/multiflake "honey candy" ocho's, and smoke black blue/gold flake senkos. Pretty sure we busted every chart out there. I like to keep it simple like lots of guys, but I like good sale and we just used the baits I got cheap. Apparently the bass have not been reading the charts here either.

Nice work! One of our stores had about 3 dozen War Eagle Spinnerbaits of various configurations for $1.50 each last week. Apparently some guy crated them all out in one box. (It wasn't me, unfortunately).

Right on the money about everything regarding these WM sales. Was not originally a big fan, but man they have some crazy low prices when this clearance happens.

The deal with WM is they "reset" their fishing selections in Feb-March and clear out certain items to make room for new ones, sometimes just the same gear but with revised packaging. A few pointers: There will be some things in common in terms of what is on sale, and what the prices are. Some stores move faster than others in terms of getting stuff out. Some are prone to getting cleaned out early in the game before prices drop much (esp. those near lakes, oceans, vacation hotspots). Some stores just have nothing on sale (esp. those near lakes, oceans, vacation hotspots). So, someone finding shad raps for $1 does not mean it is likely you'll find them that price everywhere. But that's a score worth boasting about! Those are $20 each in Canada.

I'm primarily just a pond hopper and I'm also a bargain hunter. I watch for sales at DSG and I maintain a continuous stockpile of all sizes. However, I consider Keitech swing impact fats something I don't regret paying for, because they are simply among the most effective and versatile best bass catching baits I know of. You mentioned shipping costs, but right now Academy is offering free shipping no minimum (as they do periodically), and their retail prices on these are not unreasonable. I have also caught fish on the Eco Pro's mentioned, one of the few products I've ever seen at bargain basement prices in Cabelas. And, you can't go wrong with advice from RW. I will experiment with these others, but I still don't go fishing with the Keitechs.

Z man jackhammer. But seriously... 1 x Zman finesse Shroomz 1/15 or 1/20 oz - 5 1 x Zman TRD Canada Craw - 4.5 1 x Yum grubs, white - 2.5 1 x 2/0 worm hooks - 4 1 x trick worms, watermelon with chart tail - 3.5 Yep, I'm using a 7 ft long, M spinning rod with 10 lb Power Pro and 6 lb or 8 lb Red Label leader.

Hm. THAT'S an interesting thought.

@punch thanks, and I've found the same thing with prop baits. I also like the Xrap Prop, but still catch them on the old torpedo.

I use the crazy legs T-rigged and do really well with them in ponds. In my experience, the least durable craw you can throw. You can't re-attach lost claws with Mend-it. However, I would put almost in the same category as live bait.

@geo g thank you for that clear explanation. I have been fishing that area for 3 years now, and each time I go, we see a few apparent spawners, a few spawned out females, some aggressive bucks, and some fish that could be anywhere in the spectrum. Your explanation makes total sense to me. I catch them on Pop-Rs, Skitter Walks, Trick worms, and Keitech Fat Impacts. Didn't know why. Thanks for responding and allowing the fog to clear.

I love to fish poppers, but they seem very slow now that I have gotten used to buzzbaits and ploppers and prop baits. After a few years fishing various topwaters, including lots of lures that maybe aren't supposed to be topwaters, here are a few questions: 1. When do you select a popper over the other baits that can be (or are) worked so much faster? 2. When you want to fish slow on top, i.e with a popper, when do you go with a floating minnow and a jerk and stop retrieve instead? 3. When do you select a propbait over a plopper (or vice versa)? 4. What conditions do you to start with a walking bait over the others? Thanks, guys.

Heading to southwest Florida - south of Ft. Meyers - in the first week of April, 2018. I go there every year at this time, and typically catch what I think are postspawn largemouths. Often look spawned out, but surprisingly aggressive. Fishing mostly small ponds and canals, south and west of Lake Trafford and Ft. Meyers. Any observations -- are they spawning now, or is the spawn over?

@new2BC4bass another thought is to try out a Yo Zuri floating minnow such as the crystal minnow. Can't say I have tried it extensively myself but I'd give it a shot because: - floats/minnow shape/natural colors - weight transfer system for casting - good hooks, some have saltwater hooks - widely available at Walmarts in Florida in the $5-8 range vs much more expensive elsewhere; can also be found at Florida Dick's

Not that I have noticed; I have been using it on 2 reels for the past 2 years, including one on a Fenwick Eagle with cork handle. Frankly, I bought it because it was in the clearance aisle and was in the size range I like for spinning. I looked at the one in my trunk after this post and saw that it has a light red color. I didn't think about where it was made, and maybe I should have. Good idea to heed the advice of the experienced guys that commented above. That said, the red Power Pro has worked just fine for my purposes.

I'd be lying to say I've really thought about it much, but it must be decent because I gravitate to the reels I have spooled with the red line. I'm using 10 to 20 lb on spinning reels to fish small plastics and the occasional small crank or minnowbait.

I use red power pro that is commonly available on several rods. Its almost pink, and it looks good to me.