ErikmonBillsfon

I have lots of mud or leafy bottom ponds in CT and I understand how soft bottom can restrict using a jig or bottom bouncing lure. Some of my ponds have thick slime or mud that will stick to jigs and shakey heads. I also encounter a thick layer of hydrilla on the bottom. For these shallow water situations I like to keep it moving over the weeds or slime. I like a Rapala xrap or flat rap that suspends and will stay clear of the sludge. I will use weightless flukes or senko style lures but I find moving kietech swing impact fats in 3-5 feet of water can come through the sticky stuff. This year I did really well on Texas rigged strike king rage bugs on the smallest size I can get away with. Other than that in the weedy conditions I will go on top with a livetarget mouse or frog, popper, spook. This year I will commit myself to get good at jig fishing the few places I go that have hard bottom, whether it be Sandy or rocky and throw alot more bottom bouncing lures. It's a lot harder to feel and be an angler fishing the bottom structure than simple cast and reel retrieves but I feel like it will make us a better all all round fisherman.

I got one of these and I like that it's a jig that bass have no leverage and most importantly I can make a swimbait weedless. I thought it would be more of a moving or swimming jig. As some one who wants to learn more flipping and pitching why do you prefer that to a Trig or something like a hack attack jig? It's so weedy where I fish I'm always afraid to use a jig but if I can use that swinging jig to pitch and flip? I really want the confidence to use jigs more To the threads question I would have said kietech swing impact fat 3.8 male perch 4/0 weighted screwlock with the SK structure bug a close second

Sometimes red orange and yellow show up better against a green, brown and tan background. I use orange alot as I feel it is kinda like a perch, but then I look at a perch and the only orange is a small find on the bottom of the fish. Red might look like a leach or baby snake if it's in a curly tail. I'm not a one to use red bug, red shad and the sunrise colors but some people swear by them.

I like bass assassin single tail. They seem to have amazing colors and last forever on a twistlock hook

I use a 3/0 but mostly a 4/0 for 3.8 and 5/0 for 4.3.

The pro sizzle is amazing, I love it. It's thicker than a spook and makes a big splash if your not carefull. I caught some big fish and some dinks on the big size and nothing on the JR yet which is odd. I would tie a rapala or a loop knot for spook style lures and never a swivel

Just got a pack and I'm so pumped to try them. How do u rig the 4"? It doesn't seem as collapsible as I seen in the videos but if it prevents the lure from tearing then I'm all for it. They offer some great colors too. If some are bent either boil them for a sec or lay them out flat for a couple days. The 2 biggest fish I've seen caught were both on Bama bug big bites baits senkos. They wiggle and fall at the right speed. They are also very durable and at 25 pack for like 6$ you can't beat it. I also like the squirrel tail worm. Floats up amazing for shakey head fishing. I love the look of the bluegill but it's awkward to rig. The colors look amazing but I've never caught anything off of them, then again I never gave them enough time. One of my favorite brands but sometimes I'll pull out the expensive lures for more confidence I will still throw BBB over Gary any day.

Here is what I got... it's legs are so cool looking, I just for some reason thought it was like a dark blue. I'm not complaining about such a cool lure I just think it will be invisible in the murky cloudy water and want to make it resemble the new penny color I should have picked or a dark green like the native crabs. When I get home I will mark up only one leg and report back.

Ok so I know this sounds weird. I just got a pack of strike king to fish the mouth of the CT river in Old Saybrook, CT for flounder. I know this might be the wrong place to post this but I have a question or 3. The water in long island sound is very muddy. I got molting crab color thinking it would be more blueish, instead it's a gray smok, see through color. Now it's my understanding that zman made the plastic or collaborated with SK to make a fully or half elaztech crab. It feels an stretches like Zman elaztech. What I'm asking is I have a bunch of spike it color markers and I want to make a green crab and a red one. Should I test it on one of the legs? Has anyone tried these? I think they did a great job putting rage tails on each of the tiny crab legs and seems like it has insane action. My last question would be how do yalls rig them? Open jig head, rage rig, jig trailer, shakey head? Has anyone tried them in freshwater? I think it would be funny to catch a bass and then call him names. "You big dummy you have no business eating this!! There are no crabs in here u silly head!!"

Ribbit frogs. The Livetarget sunfish and mouse in small size are both really easy to walk even while siting. Always use a sideways rod action with the line a little more taunt and at more so a 90° angle with the line.

Ribbits used to rip at the nose as well as where the hook goes threw the belly. Same with kietechs. Now that I've switched to spring lock the lures last me 3-4 times longer. Of course a big bass or pike will bring that ratio way down but still I'm happy with them. For stick baits I found big bites baits and tight Ines UV to hold up well. Zman of course are d**n near indestructable. I'd say if you don't want to lose lures don't use stick baits at all. Sometimes you can salvage lures. A bunch of strike king structure bugs had the nose ripped from flipping hooks. I cut off the top 3 segments so it's no longer torn and now I can throw it on the back of a jig or rage blade or somthing.

I like bass assassin single rail flukes. Almost always use a twist lock hook and they last a long time and threw pike. If the nose rips, consider cutting off the half inch and using it as a chatter bait trailer or SK rage blade trailer.

There's no way they can make and ship them for that you are very mistaken. You can buy a super spook that is the simplest plug ever for 6$ of course a plug with lights, sensors and chirping noises are going to be more espensive. I got a pro sizzle this week and caught two nice bass on it. The hooks seemed a little dull for a premium lure but I can always change them out. I got the lure 10$ shipped on ebay. I have 15-20$ lures in my tackle box that I've never caught a fish with. So even though originally I thought it was a gimmick I like the product and will buy more. Def will look into walking boss 1 and 2. I had dinks following the huge profile of the pro sizzle so Idk if I would buy a JR size.

If it's coming out for ICAST it should already be talked about. We hound dogs are researching baits every single day I'd figure I would have seen it here already. Maybe it was a shell cracker cut in half, or a early stages of development prototype for next year. I'm pretty sure pros will alter and test a lure for a full season (sometimes longer) before giving their stamp of approval and releasing it to be mass produced. Either way I'd like to find out and will check back

Structure bug as a third option. Also like kietech crazy flapper. Sorry I didn't follow rules. Also like that funky space monkey.

Livetarget mouse was my favorite lure last year regardless of type or brand. This year I just got a livingston lure pro sizzle and tried it out a hot mid afternoon in CT this weekend. At first I was shocked on how heavy and thicker it was than a super spook. Also was upset at the loud smack and splash it makes, (nearly impossible to skip). The hooks seemed incredibly dull for a premium lure and might need changing out. Walks the dog easy and when you get a nice cast with minimal splash the fish liked it. Caught a ok sized bass for the pond I was in. I don't think I wont go to the JR size since I caught dinks on it but I might upgrade the hooks. Any one else feel like livingston hooks aren't on point, this was my first lure from them.

Do they wiggle like a big bites baits trick stick or yum dinger? I know they might not have the GYCB shimmie but if they are similar to other worms I might give them a shot. Lacking on color choices but that doesn't matter as much as we think. Will be following to see if any of yalls have experience with them, good question.

I like bass assassin single tails with spring lock hooks to prevent tearing of the nose, sometimes I'll use a keel weighted hook, a bladed jig or 2 flukes in tandem. Jerk the lure back to you like a jerk bait. Twitch, and let it fall on slack line. If rigged straight it will even shimmie on the fall similar to a senko. Always make sure it's straight so it won't nose dive and falls horizontally, unless that's your intention to nose dive it : ). There is a lot you can do with a fluke, play around with them and find out what cadence and retrieve you like best.

I like super flukes but I prefer bass assassin. They quiver like a senko if rigged straight. I like to use a twist lock to prevent the nose from ripping. Twitch and let it fall on slack line.

I saw more Ned rig chatter last year. Thus year it's been all about the rage swimmer and savage gear duck. Last year was Ned rig and Kietech. If your talking about most talked about and buzzworthy or my own personal opinion? This year for your region seperation, in CT it's been keitech fat 3.8, SK structure bug, and rapala BX minnow for my own most productive.

Livetarget mouse in small size is my fav. Easiest to walk, doesn't fill up with water. Can do wide walk or short little twitches. I have a great hook ratio on it as well. I also like ribbit frogs and keitech noisey flapper with spring lock hooks for moving frogs.

I use 3.8 amd 4.3 inch kietech fats and 3/0 or 4/0 spring lock keel weighted hook. Owner and Gamakatzu are great. Burkeley fusion 19 are really good too and come in a nice clamp shell. Trokar makes one that is more of a 'monster' wider gap. They all work well and are weedless when put on straight. I get a lot more use out of one lure than many people say dispite it being fragile. For the 4.8 size I would use a 5/0 or 6/0 in whichever brand you can find or is a dollar less. They all work fine for me and the only difference is trokar being a wider gap and being unable to texpose into the swing impacts with the knife hook point. Use what you like, good luck bro : )

I have a friend that will only throw ribbit frogs after may/june untill winter. Legit 95% of the time. Im in central Connecticut and always use topwater up on the bank in the shallows. Throwing under trees and lay downs. He catches alot but you will also get missed fish. Last year I learned the hollow body and love it. My favorite is the Livetarget mouse in the smallest size. Bass and pIke just need to attack it and it walks super easy. I also will use spooks but I almost always throw into the nastiest vegetation there is and need to go weedless most of the time. This year I learned poppers and my second day caught 7 on a pressured MA lake when my buddy got 1 on senkos. I would tell you pick something you enjoy to throw and learn it and then move on to the next. Every top water has its own cadence and speed. They are hard to learn but so fun it's worth it.

Also look for bobbers that are weighted. You can throw them so much further. They work great in the wind and when using small bait (trout bait, small gulp products).

Z-man