snake95

Wow that is a good idea and good score. Did not think of that.

I'm glad someone asked this, was wondering the same... Just got some bigger worms to try. I know there have been countless threads debating EWG vs round bend etc etc and the bottom line is there are different opinions backed by good experience by excellent anglers. @Bluebasser86 just curious is there a specific reason you feel EWGs are best for this or you just go with it and it works? In my stocks of larger hooks I happen to have a bunch of EWGs so I plan to try those first.

Pretty sure he means Arkie style not brand. I am not a jig expert but I think the key advantage of an Arkie is that they are a good all round shape for many applications.

Sounds like a real Frankens-tien bass! Wow! I guess it was Frankens' time. I think it would be fine to name it a Frankens' bass. Pretty awesome that this is a natural beast and not created in a lab!

This is what I use for smallmouths in a cold, clear river in eastern Ontario. I brought a tackle store worth of gear and yet I never had a reason to stop fishing this: Zman ned rig jig (finesse shroomz) Yum grub 3" in white and in green pumpkin Both can be found in the US at Walmart for $1.5 for a pack of grubs and about $4.50 for the jigs. You can use a simple ball head too, and arguably that is better than the shroomz head. You can cast even in shallow streams and keep your rod tip high enough that you rarely get snagged. If you lower your rod for a minute and stop reeling, the action of the grub tail keeps their attention. This has been a consistent producer for me.

Good tip!! if you are buying $50 worth another option is go to DSG and get $10 off after doing a previous purchase and a survey. But the academy deal is really hard to beat!

The plastic doesn't fundamentally change in a significant way while on the hook. Well, you might lose some salt (if it is salted) or a bait might - maybe - lose some of a coating due to drying (e.g. if it already had a lubricant/scent). None of these things should affect the quality or action of the bait too much for it to be unusable. I sometimes repair baits with Mend-it. I guess my SK baits wind up tasting like ripped plastic mixed with coffee with a double espresso shot of PVC pipe glue. Apparently tastes good to a bass! I keep a plano with my used ones and fish em till they can't be fished again. Many will get glued and re-used. To each his own in terms of convenience, but in terms of capability to produce, I don't see a difference.

Might have been. There were Gander brand tubes at mine. But there were also Bass Pro brand items. There were also a ton of tiny ice fishing-specific lures from midwestern brands. In Atlanta! Wow that would be nice. No such luck in Georgia. Only thing remarkable is ice fishing gear.

Wow! seems crazy since they are on sale a lot of places - but maybe supply is limited. Berkley has done a great job promoting the Frittside and their sponsored pros have been promoting it heavily on BASS last season and this one. I found it interesting that Rapala stressed the old DT flat was designed by or inspired by David Fritts too. The cranking master.

They look a lot like the DT flat to me, just with a more conventional lip shape instead of a coffin lip. My understanding is “conventional wisdom” is flat sided cranks are well suited to colder water time periods but I hadn’t read that yet and caught bass on DT flats in the heat of a Georgia summer ? Purely out of curiosity where are you hearing/seeing the hype - on the water at your marina?

Hmmmm. Do you mean the little ones from manufacturers like Renosky and Creme? I have a small pile of those and was debating what to do with them...

I also use this too. I have also used this alongside a telescoping tree pruner. Just be careful which neighbor's trees you trim. (Joking). One lady I ran into in a public waterway wasn't too pleased to see me snipping out a nice one knocker spook that I couldn't bear to part with. When I explained "the hazards posed by these things that some careless angler had tossed into the trees to rare species of birds" her whole demeanor changed and I thought she was going to hire me to do more pruning. Anyway don't cast lures into trees above water.

@A-Jay that is a thing of beauty. Thanks for taking the time to post the pic. I just told my fishin buddy that its fine trying to figure them out now in early prespawn, but what I am really looking forward to is topwater in Georgia starting about mid-May. Good point, I haven't forgotten that. But not enough noise about the mighty Sammy these days. Another good point. I don't see a lot of LC advertising but it seemed like they did a lot back in the mid 2000's. I was focused on going back to grad school and not on fishing in those days. This is one aspect of bass fishing that never ceases to amaze me. And yet some proven things don't really catch on or get adapted to new scenarios.

When I started bass fishing a few years ago, I got the impression that Sammys were the walking bait of choice. These days, I feel like there is more chatter about Vixens, Rovers and other walkers. I had good luck myself with larger Sammys on ponds in late evening outings as things were heating up here in Georgia late last spring. Not really going to change my mind about Sammys capabilities one way or another, just curious about why this bait may have fallen from favor. Or... has it?

I love it when guys post awesome knowledge like this! Cool! For my part, I agree with Catt, I have learned different stick baits for different applications. I love to lob a 6" dinger into sunfish pods in shallow water. I like the Ocho and the XZone core center stick, and like everyone else a true Senko.

I don't remember firecraw being "ever popular." I know there are guys that have seen fishing trends come and go more than I have. But this has to be the trendiest since I started bass fishing in 2015. I think I had a dream that they were selling cheereos in firecraw now.

Good post. I also like it. I have spoken with the current owner and he seems like a really decent guy. I'm happy to send $16 or whatever to a small business guy for an excellent product and service.

I sure won’t disagree with you or KVD or for that matter Aaron. I was more focused on the question about the uni. Personally my go to is the Berkeley braid knot or the reverse which is G mans double shindoe around the farm or something like that. Depends which way the wind is blowing and angle of the sun and whether or not the bass are hitting on topwater. ?

When it comes to connection knots you will get a lot of different answers. Most of them correct. To answer your specific question I use the uni in my rotation but with one or two variations: If using a plain uni, I run the line through the hook eye twice and carefully cinch down the wraps on top of the doubled line. This was done in one of knots submitted in the knot wars series and resulted in a superior knot (called the Fishin' Fool Knot based on the gent that submitted it). More often, I double my uni knot line before tying the uni knot. This is Aaron Marten's signature knot that he can be heard calling a "double uni slip." He claims to have chosen it based on Japanese publications. My belief is that in general terms doubled lines, at least at the hook eye, tend to produce stronger knots all other things considered.

? This kills me. What is going through people's minds when they do this stuff with rods??

This topic could probably justify a whole article, or maybe a book to itself. I have picked up a few "open box" rods (e.g. without the plastic wrap) recently and they look 100% fine. I look at: - Rod visually straight with no chips or significant scratches - Guides straight and rings intact and not chipped - Reel seat clean, threads intact, and tightens well without slipping Anything else I should be looking for? Clearly, it is always possible for a rod to have a defect that could lead to failure. However, I think getting a rod from a reputable seller with at least a short term return option is not too much of a gamble, and a reasonable quick look should reveal any significant issues.

I picked up a Dobyns Fury 795 SB and intend to use it for A-rigs and to throw smaller swimbaits like the Gantarel Jr and the S Waver 168s - generally in the 1-5/8 oz range. Consensus from what I've read is this is a fine rod up to say 2.5-3 oz. Check out the review by TackleTour guys: http://www.tackletour.com/reviewdobynsfuryswimbaitrodpg3.html Though rated up to 5oz. I found the sweet spot with this rod to be right around 2-3 ounces, and while you can certainly lob cast 6oz. baits with the Fury 795SB, it does start to feel like you are starting to tempt fate. This is consistent with opinions I have read on Dobyns Facebook page in discussions regarding this rod. Admittedly so far I have only used it to cast 3-arm A-rigs and to cast/swim Zman paddletails rigged in the 1-1/2 oz range and it was awesome for that. (Don't have first hand experience with the hardbaits yet).

They were discontinued recently - estimating a year or so ago. You will find them either really inexpensive on clearance, or very expensive because fans will be looking to get them before they are all gone. Ollie's bargain outlet was selling boxloads of them for $4 or $5 last summer. With their popularity I have to wonder if they will just come back re-branded? Trend seems to be toward circuit board lips so its hard to believe they will be changing the lips on them.

Enjoy these perspectives from guys who have been at it for awhile. Coming into it relatively recently (past 10 years), it appears to me that there has been a trend towards longer rods at the same time there is a trend towards technique-specific rods (guessing this is something that has materialized over the past 15 years or so, but I don't know). As part of this thread - what is behind the overall trend towards longer rods?

That will be awesome. I can imagine that will be a good approach for us, too. I have a Garmin striker and will set my son up with a "Deeper" fishfinder. They aren't too fancy but they effectively show water depth, cover, hard bottom areas, and sometimes fish. I think it will be a fun and effective way (sometimes) to both find productive areas and get on patterns more efficiently than doing it alone. My plan is to work together with him to narrow down the location of ledges, points, and submerged roads, and to try out different tactics to narrow down what the fish want.