snake95

I've found that when using a searchbait approach, fan casting a reaction-type bait such as a crankbait or a spinnerbait - the lure may get a strike but not get hammered. I use the location of the strike as a guide to where to target with subsequent casts: that may mean a specific target to try and get the very fish that just hit, or it may also mean using the conditions in the area of the bite as a guide to select subsequent targets nearby (e.g. similar location, depth, structure, etc.). After reading about strategies for dealing with fish that don't "fully commit" my experience has been that making a little change will turn hits on the searchbait into more agressive strikes. For example, they didn't really want the bluegill crank, but the chartreuse/black back fished in the same location and depth will get nailed; or maybe they will swat at a walking bait going past a brush pile, but nail a senko fluttering down in the same location.

As of June 6 they are shipping them sometime in July from Dick's. You can buy them, but none in stock. None at our local DSG store either.

Just popped into the local DSG and what do you know... the DSG Powerbait sale is back on, almost as good as earlier this year. This week it's buy 4 packs at $14 for 4, so if you haven't used the DSG/Powerbait rebate and are looking for a great deal, that works out to $1 each/pack when you buy 4 packs and get the rebate check.

I am pretty sure you're saying you put a tail on yours and then cast out, it came off, and you rescued it by snagging on the tail? Let me know. If that's the case, man, I'd be thrilled to hear that!

Several Walmart stores have reduced prices on their Powerbait packs to about $2.80 each. I have had a lot of success with the crazy legs chigger craw so far in 2017, including some of my best days out. There is an ongoing $10 rebate back per 4 packs of Powerbait (link below), so that amounts to a heck of a low net price. They allow up to 4 submissions. This is an in-store price change only, I don't see it available online but two stores I've been in have had the reduced price. The packs on sale at my local store were all brand-new, new stock, dated 2017. This isn't part of the clearance they had earlier in the year as stores were reset. Also, this is separate from the Dick's 4 packs for $10 sale earlier this year, and baits bought at DSG and others are not included. http://www.berkley-fishing.com/Berkley-rebates-promotions.html

No such thing.

@MassYak85 the "Universe" AKA the bait monkey transferred your Gantarel's from last week right into my mailbox. I went to order more tonight, and realized the flash sale was over and so the two you mentioned are now headed your way... Everyone else: they are back to regular price tonight.

Bluegill flash and silver flash for me. The most consistent bait I use apart from Ned rigs with TRDs. Fishing mostly ponds; these colors have been effective in crystal-clear water in south Florida post-spawn and northern Ontario in fall transition, as well as in Georgia ponds, slightly to heavily stained, dead calm to very turbid, year-round. Fish them on top like a fast-moving plopper, and deadsticked like a dead live shiner. Basically, everywhere and anywhere.

They only have Gizzard Shad color left in the JR version at 2:30 pm EST. I normally can't bring myself to spend more than $10 on a bait, but for $10/each I took the swimbait plunge. They are also selling the regular 2.5 oz Gantarel's for $20 each if you buy 2 or more. Gizzard Shad and Dying Golden Shiner colors only.

Interesting idea.

Agree with @Yeajray231 100%. Just about any lure that comes standard between $4-10 each or per pack, from a major name brand will catch bass when presented the right way and in the right place. Some more effective than others, depending on the situation and who is fishing them. Yes, there is no free ride, and the bargain-basement knock offs are often junk. The more expensive baits can be fun to collect and fish and can be very effective. But necessary? Rarely. Want to get name-brand lures that retail in the $5-10 range for under $5/each? No problem, you just have to watch and be patient. 1) Check Amazon periodically - on the phone app is easiest for lures. 2) Track the latest sale/deal thread thanks to @IndianaFinesse aka the chief bait monkey 3) Check the discount online sites periodically (names in (2)). Don't be afraid to pay $5 for shipping, when $8 lures are $2 each. 4) Stop in to Wally world and check clearance; want something on clearance still cheaper? ask a manager if they can reduce it, about 40% of the time they'll knock it down further; tell them you'll help them out by taking several lures if the price is low enough, and point it out when they've sat on the shelf for months. 5) Watch the fliers online from DSG etc. It makes for light reading. At Dick's, do the online review form to the get $10 off of $50, so when you get $50 of baits on sale, you get them for $40 instead. 6) Save up, shop clearance, typically in the fall (often in August believe it or not); and again just before or in the *** months after Christmas. 7) If you use the site, shop a sponsor or two, regardless of the price, most are excellent. Good luck.

Interested in hearing anyone's experience with the Pro Model Series 4S, specifically the HC4S. They have Trokar hooks and are billed as being specifically for shallow water cranking. Both sound good to me. They are on sale at Dick's buy 2 get 1 for Memorial Day week. Are these only sold at Dicks? The body style appears to be similar to a KVD 1.5 squarebill. What is the difference with the KVD? What does the "HC" stand for? Thanks for any and all input on these guys.

@whitwolf great note, I felt your disappointment when that fish came off. Last fall I was tossing trick worms to a shallow area where bass had been splashing and feeding on baitfish. It was an unplanned stop, and I was using an ultralight spinner that I happened to have in my trunk. I was in a hurry to cast, and didn't take the few seconds to tighten the drag properly. A good bass by my standards - maybe 3.5-4 lb slammed my worm and raced off towards a rockpile. I reeled frantically but couldn't catch up to her. As I fumbled for the drag, she buried herself in the rocks and broke me off in an instant. I think I went home feeling the same way you did.

I have been using the buzzbaits, lipless, and spinnerbaits. For me the buzzbaits are fantastic and all of my own pb's over the past two years are on Banshee buzzbaits. Have not used the spinners much but that has nothing to do with their quality. The lipless have worked great for me. I cannot tell the difference in any way from a regular RES, and I believe they are the same, just a limited number of very specific colors. I have noticed that DGS' in the Atlanta area have most or all of their Banshee hardbaits on clearance (e.g. ending in *.47 or *.97 on the price tags, typically 3.97 each). I have not paid attention to the spinnerbaits and buzzbaits because I already have a huge stock of them. Hard to understand why but they appear to be discontinuing them considering that several stores have had them on clearance for months and have not restocked as they did the past two years. At this point banshee hardbait stocks are very low or eliminated entirely in the stores I've been in near Atlanta.

For all the Mothers out there that like to repair their plastics on their special day... Mend-it from Central Coast Bass Fishing is 10% off this weekend when you enter code "Mom."

@Brent Heermans just have to ask you: did you try a good ol' Heddon Crazy Crawler and do a comparison? Would like to know how effectively the Jackall has improved upon one of the originals... I picked up a couple of Crazy Crawlers and found that they roll a lot, maybe the Pompadour is more stable?

Well, I guess I will do my weekly stop in to Dicks, thanks to you @IndianaFinesse. I need to try finesse frogging per the revived thread. BTW guys the whopper plopper deal seems to be going on periodically throughout the year for DSG. Also on their regular sale rotation for 2017 are buy two clackin raps or buy to Yo-Zuri Sashimis for $5 when you buy 2 or more.

X2 ^^ @Jaderose probably just gave you the best advice on here. I've been hard at it for 3 years fishing with kids. The first year was very frustrating when I tried to make it about me and me catching fish. Here's the thing: if you hang in there and work to put them on the fish and don't get discouraged, it will pay dividends in the long run, big time. My kids now love to fish and once over 6 they've become very independent. As a testament to that, at age 7 last year by son fished on his own to catch the winner in a pond tourney and after landing that fish, a sports photographer caught the action as he worked a whopper plopper (topwater lure) by himself and fought a wildly jumping bass. It was awesome. Make it about them and their fish when you are together and then take some time for yourself later.

You have super advice here, so just a few other thoughts. I get the issue of not being able to get bait quickly, and for that reason I gravitated to lures even for the little guys pretty quickly. I teach kids 5 and over to use plastic worms. Gulp for me has been a lifesaver and it all works well, sometimes better than live: the nightcrawlers, minnows, and worms. All you need is a baitholder hook and you are good to go. (Or any of the other zillions of hooks mentioned). I like the thill bobbers from Walmart. One tip about hook size: once my kids caught a few bass, I quickly realized that the small (6,8, etc) hooks that are so effective for hooking panfish and small bass are also deadly to bass when fishing with small kids. They often get gut hooked or gill-hooked and you have a challenge on your hands to keep the bass alive. I moved the kids to 1/0 and 2/0 circle or other round hooks and found that while hookup ratios dropped for the little kids, bass lifespan went way up. I found it was a completely worthwhile tradeoff to make.

I've been down this road recently (mine are now 5 and 8), and getting them into fishing has been the key to getting me into bass fishing, which has been the key to me remaining sane with kids. I've bought every low-priced setup they have for kids. I'm a really frugal guy, but most are hit-and-miss at best, junk that will turn the kids off at worst. The "toy"rods are enticing to kids like the 3 yo and they can sort of cast them, but when all goes wrong with one of those reels, it gets frustrating for all involved. I wanted to like the 202 but the two I had were junk, including one that was a replacement from Zebco. The dock deamons are plastic but seem robust, especially the spinning version. I would be inclined to consider that one over the others. The 33's have held up pretty well but are heavy for all under 5. They make a mini 33 that I have that should be the best of the lot, but my son has graduated to spinning pretty quickly. I found that by age 6 my boy was comfortable with my old ultralight, and by age 7 he was doing great and fishing spinning only. Nothing intrinsically against spin-casting, but with a little patience it is not hard to teach 5's and over how to using spinning gear, and they tend to be better quality for the inexpensive versions, plus can reel much faster and help in keeping bass on the line.

I get it. I'm cheap and my favorite Yum dinger color is not found in local stores. This may be what you've already done, and maybe you are looking for something more sophisticated, but with that area of a T-rigged stickbait I use a dab of Mend-it and use a Q-tip to get it deep into the cut. If you wanted to be surgical about it you could use a razor blade or x-acto knife to cut a clean slit in the bait, and spread the mend-it into the bait and over the cut surfaces. Coincidental that you'd mention this because I just told a buddy of mine how I've used the same 4 dingers in rotation for the last 3 months by doing this very thing. I have a routine after fishing them: I set them to dry overnight, then before heading to work the next day go out and insert a dab of Mend-it into each slit. Hold tight for a minute or two to start the fusing process, and next time I go in my shop they are ready to fish again.

I have answered my own question by just doing a Google search. The answer is on the proprietary Alabama rig website, which is easy enough to find. Based on the site, the simple reason there is no more Mann's Alabama Rig is that their license to manufacture and sell it ran out in 2014. Seems logical that old stock would be long gone by now, though they have old stock for in a few Wally World's in our area. Still wondering if anyone has used the discontinued Mann's rig and if it was any good.

I wouldn't put it past Cdn Tire to pull this out of old stock in a huge warehouse and distribute at the usual high prices.

Does anyone know what became of it? Of course, a few years ago they were practically sold under lock and key, and there was plenty of noise about the trademarked name. For something that had so much buzz, I'm surprised to see that they are not sold on TW or even Mann's own site (unless I am missing something). Old reviews on TW are mixed about their quality. Reason I am asking is the WW close to my work is selling them off for $10 each and wondering if I should try flinging one out of my new boat, but maybe they are not sold anymore due to quality issues? I stocked up on several Yumbrellas that I plan to throw.

Started fishing for stripers and blues using inshore baitcasting gear with a low profile saltwater reel a couple of years ago. Mostly fishing from rocky jetties in New England on annual vacation up there. Been using an Abu Garcia Volatile rod (recently discontinued) - MH/F 7'6". It's a super rod, but the fast tip is really suited to soft plastics and jigs, and I'm mostly gravitating to topwaters, striper strikes, and other plugs. Most lures are in the 3/4 to 1 + 3/4 oz range. I am using a Daiwa Coastal TWS on this setup - a great reel. I use it at home in the south for bass fishing. Any recommendations for a more moderate tip rod suitable for inshore baitcasting with topwaters and plugs in this range?