BassFishingMachine

Everything he said, but throw in Yum 2.75inch Chunks.

Theres something very similiar to this bait in the world of striper fishing. It is called the Point Jude Wobble Head. Supposably it works great for striper, and people mainly use soft plastic eel bodies on them, or big sluggos. As for freshwater bassing, I've never heard much talk about them, and they never looked to appealing to me.

Hey, I never tryed the drop shot rig, but it seems to me like a rig that works best from a boat, because you can work the bait directly up and down, while on the bank you wouldn't be able to do this. So my question to you, is do any of you fish the drop shot rig from the bank, or is it only good when fishing from a boat?

Have never used the Yum Craw bug, but I have used the Chigger Craw. I only used them as jig trailers, and I really didn't find them to be anything worth bragging about. I seen a few guys talk highly about them, particularly t-rigging them, and pegging them, but I've never tryed em that way. As for when I used them on jigs, from my experienced they're not what I would call an "action trailer", meaning they don't kick too much, or give off alot of action. They to me, tend to be more of a lethargic trailer. And in this case I much rather prefer a yum chunk, or zoom super chunk. However, I do still use them. I use them when the fish aren't being picky, and are acting extremely aggressive. I'll typically use them alot when im fishing dink infested waters, or when im just in the mood for something different. I only buy them when they're on sale, Dicks usually has them and a bunch of other baits for incredibly low prices at a certain time of the year (which slips my mind..). You can then buy them at around 75cents a pack. All in all, that berkley scent is a great producer, so thats always a plus with any of their baits.

I've seen on a fishing show, someone (I forget who) was using them as a trailer on a swim jig, and swimming em. He produced fairly well, but who doesn't on those shows :. I guess if you have a pack its worth giving a try. I have never bought a pack, so I myself cannot say anything about em. They just didn't look to "good" in my eyes to try, I don't know, just didn't get a positive vibe from em when I would see them .

15$ for a spinnerbait is a bit much for me. I won't be buying them, and I hope not many people buy them so they maybe the LC company will lower the price on them, to something more realistic.

Just wanted to know if you guys know any tricks on getting super flukes to swim low, instead of flying up to the surface when your working them back to you. I was thinking maybe insert a nail with a cut off head, but wasn't sure where you'd insert it to equal out the balance of the bait, and I also was thinking maybe a weighted hook, any suggestions?

It may be against the law, but some people still do it regardless. Which is why I was shocked to hear so many reports of it on the other forum, I don't think it was legal in any of the states in which these guys were from, but it happened to em anyway.

Well first off I'd probably pitch a spinnerbait or shallow crank around the sides of the dock, and under it. As for the tall grass I'd either flip/pitch a pegged soft plastic, such as a ragetail craw, zoom brush hog, sweet beaver, Kreature etc, or flip/pitch a jig through it. I suppose you could also work a buzzfrog through it too, like a stanley ribbit, ragetail toad, or any other buzzfrog that you prefer. As for the timber I'd first start off workin it slow, with either a pegged creaturebait as stated above, or most preferably a jig. Then I'd finish working it with a spinnerbait or shallow crank. I'd definetly keep an eye out for sunken cover, and once I found some I'd work it slow with a jig/pegged creature, and finish it off with a spinnerbait/crank. As for all the open water, to me it really depends how much time I have, or how much open water there is. That lake to me seems pretty big compared to the lakes I fish, and I am not the type of guy that would enjoy spending alot of time working open water with a slow bait, it just takes too long. I much rather power fish it with a spinnerbait or crank. However once I found a notable spot that held more fish then the surrounding open water I'd focus it later on with a slower bait, such as a softplastic or jig. As others already said, I'd spend some time around the fountain. I fish a pond with two fountains, and I wouldn't say I catch alot of fish 5 feet off of the fountain, or dead close to it, but around the general area always seems to produce well. So what I'd do is fish that general area first off with a power fishing approach (spinnerbait or crank), and then go back and finish it off with a slow approach (soft plastic or jig). To me it doesn't seem like theres much cover around the fountain, though its hard to tell cause the fountain is in the distance. But in open water which looks to be around the fountains area, I do well with soft plastics such as fat ikas, or stickbaits, I've also had luck with weightless finesse worms, such as zoom trickworms, or roboworms. Btw, thats a nice tongue peircing that frog is sportin ;D. ps. If you have any confidence in it, you could give swimming a jig a chance, especially around the docks/tall grass, and I suppose it would work well in open water too. Plus the advantage to this would be at any time you could just slow it down, and fish it as you would a typical jig, with hops, crawls and pauses. I prefer ragetail chunks, hulagrubs or doubletail grubs for swimming jigs, anything that really produces good action. And if you have any shoreline with cover along it, like lillys, or small stickpiles etc, then I'd either work it slow with a t-rigged baby brush hog, or work it with a buzzbait/jitterbug, or even a buzzfrog. If the conditions are super clear water, with the sun out, then I wouldn't so much use a buzzbait/jitterbug, but instead swim a weightless lizard on the surface, when the bass can see clearly, I find buzzbaits and some other topwaters to not work that well, while a lizard on the other hand I've found to produce in these conditions.

Well, wasn't sure if this was the right place to post this, but it relates to fishing so I figured it may be. Anyhow this is a question that was asked in another forum I use, and it was fun to hear the stories, plus it'll be good to read some stories to lessen the cabin fever :-/ . What I mean by anti-fishermen is someone who started giving you crap about fishing, like a peta guy for example. Someone who tryed to go as far as get in your way while you were fishing (in person) in an attempt to stop you. Or just plain out started jabbering their bs about why fishing is bad and cruel etc. So have you ever had a run in with a individual(s), like this? If so share your story, it'll be a good read. I have yet to be confronted by someone like this *thankyfully* (knock on wood), but I was shocked to hear how many people were when this question was posted on the other forum I use .

d**n Matt, you lucky son of a gun... You don't know how much I wish we had bass like that in Jersey.. The only shot I have at a fish like that is plugging the beaches, that'll do though .

My best producers are the Bill Lewis Rat-L-Traps, and Luckycraft LV-0. I fish shallow waters from the bank in small ponds/lakes. The Lv-0 will run somewhere in the middle of the water column. Really helps me from cleaning the bottom on every other cast, like alot of lipless cranks have done for me in these shallow waters I fish :-/. The Lv-0 has produced well, and I really don't snag too much crap on it.

Ditto on the Ikas! I bought 3 bags of those things, and after a half-dozen attempts, I haven't caught squat. Not even one bite. The fish were there too. After 1+ hours (per trip) of unproductive fishing, switching back to a senko put fish in the boat. I know that other people on bassresource like the Ika, but I'm really starting to think that they suck. Oh yeah, I tried them backwards & forwards. No difference in the bite. Maybe I'll cut one in half (length wise) and see if a "leech Ika" works any better. :-? RIDICULOUS! Fish the Fat Ika EXACTLY where you would fish a Senko and EXACTLY the same way. This bait is simply a different profile with different action. Sometimes the fish prefer the Fat Ika to the Senko, sometimes it's the other way around. http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1141053342 8-) : : Sorry Kent.Not doubting your credibility at all.I just think the Ika is one of those baits that won't work in all kinds of water or areas of the country. I've pitched it in cover,used on a c-rig,rigged front, back, sideways, over humps,drops,up,down,across, parallel,fast,slow,twitch,deadstick,lift,drop with very limited success.Gave it a fair chance.I could join the crowd that says they can't catch a cold on that thing. That being said I don't think I made a "dumb" purchase (4 times). It looks fantastic in the water.It just doesn't jive with me. I agree; it could just be the part of the country that dictates whether or not the fat ika is effective. Here in WA senkos are deadly. Strangely enough I've caught more & bigger fish using the 4" senko than the 5". Maybe worms just don't grow that big here in WA??? I've also had MUCH better luck with small crankbaits than bigger ones. One of my favorites is the "sparkle fire tiger" wally diver. I've caught largemouth, smallmouth, crappie, perch, and even 1 kokanee on that thing. Wow, surprised to hear you guys didn't do any well with them. I don't really throw them in real weedy areas, its a bait I do well with in open water, or sparse cover, like a lillypad patch here and there. I fish it backwards. I'll cast it and let it sink to the bottom, then give it around a 4-5sec pause, while watching for the line to pick up and slowly take off. If nothin happens I'll give the rod a good upwards jerk to get the bait to fly upwards (I try not to make it go as far as the surface though), and then I'll let it fall and pause and just repeat the process. Sometimes instead of one hard jerk after letting it pause that is, I'll give it 2-3 jerks. The fish tend to pick it up when its either paused, or falling. I have done pretty well with this bait. And I love the look I get from other fishermen who never seen the bait before, they look at the backwards ika on my line, and then look at me with that "huh...?" look. That is until I pull a bass up infront of em . Colors I use most are greenpumpkin and watermelon, if its overcast or muddy water or dusk I use black/blue flk.

I will admit to say that the "chatterbait" is low quality, it is made with crappy parts, regardless it produces incredible vibration. However due to the low quality, I do a few different things to kind of "tweek" the lure. First off I personally think the hook gap is too wide on this bait between the hookpoint and the shank of the hook, so I bend the hook down just a bit, to ensure when a fish is hooked they will have a harder time throwing the hook. The hook on this bait is fairly long, so I don't think bending it down a hair causes any problems. Another thing I do is feel the hook point itself, if it feels dull I use a hook hone and sharpen it. This will get the point of the hook extremely sharp, I mean I am not exaggerating when I say the hook on my chatterbait must be about as sharp as a gamakatsu after I used the hook hone on it. The last thing I do is glue the skirt. I have noticed that the skirts on these baits will start to slide down (or atleast they have on mine), and you have to keep pushing the skirt back into place every 5 casts or so, or especially after a good hookset. Because of this I use a dab of super glue on the part of the jighead where I want the skirt to stay. As for fishing the bait I typically fish it as you would a spinnerbait. Just a steady retreive, I'll slow it down or speed it up every other cast, and once I find the retreive speed they want I'll stick with it. Sometimes I'll yo-yo it, but I haven't had any results so far this way, but I know it'll work when the time is right. I fish this bait primarily at night, and it has become one of my best producing night time baits. At night I find the best retreive is usually a slow one, fast enough to keep it swimming and vibrating, but slow none the less. I like using the color black/blue at night, and also like to use a double tail grub as a trailer on it. Particularly a black/blue fleck GYCB Hulagrub, but im sure a Yum Gonzo grub would work too. I've also caught fish using a cut ragetail craw with about 1/2 an inch cut off so it fits well on the bait. The chunks are too small imo, and just don't take up the space of the hook. I do not use the chatterbait any other time, I strictly fish it at night or in a real bad overcast condition. I just don't do well with it in the day, I find I have better luck with spinnerbaits in the day, but at night its a whole other story. Though I do plan on buying a chatterbait in a firetiger pattern because from what I hear they work real well in real muddy water, so I'll be giving this a try sooner or later and see how it goes.

Agree 100%, the black jitterbug has to be one of the best, if not the best topwater night lures. Also works great in overcast conditions. For day I like the bluegill pattern (particularly around spawn), I've caught some real quality fish on that lure. I kill em every season with the bluegill pattern jitterbug just before the spawn when the bass are really aggressive, they really go crazy on it then. I do pretty well with the jointed frog pattern jitterbug too, I like that color in more of a padded/weeded enviorment. Only thing I have against them, is the hooks are garbage, but other then that its a truly great bait if you ask me.

Darn, nobody knows of a jighead that fits this description? :'(

I agree with Maltese 100%. War Eagle, Terminator, and Booyah are all great spinnerbaits. I don't see a reason to change.

As for the fish per bait question, I can't accurately say because I really never kept track of that, but I'm guessing I can get around 6-7 bass per bait, could be a few more or a few less too, this is only a guess. It is a fairly durable bait, the hook will start to slide after a few fish, and in this case, just rerig the bait, this time sticking the hook a slightly different spot of the bait, you know, a dot down from the old hole caused by the hook point, or a dot up from it etc.

The Wooly Hawgtail is an incredibly versatile bait. Definetly one of my favorite, if not favorite creaturebait. There are many ways you can fish them and produce, and I'll tell you the ways I fish them with most success. 1. First way I fish them is waitless, almost like you would fish a senko, in open water, or along the edge of the shoreline/coves etc. Just cast out, let it sink, then hop it or crawl it, and bring jerk it back up, and let it fall, and then repeat the process. Fish take this creature weightless in the open water, just like they would a senko or curlytail worm. 2. On top of weedmats. This is probably my favorite way to fish it. I'll cast it around some thick muck, and begin to fish it weightless as said in "1.", then when I get to the muck I'll crawl it on top of the muck, like you would a hollow frog, giving it alot of twitches on top of that muck, and pauses. The bass will bust right through and devour it. When I come to any holes in the muck I'll let the bait fall into the hole and twitch/hop it. Then bring it back up to the top of the muck and start to crawl it again. You can also use a very small bullet weight, like a 1/16oz or 1/8. You want a bullet weight that won't be too heavy as to make it fall through the muck, but allow you to crawl it ontop. The advantage to adding this weight is when you come across that hole in the muck the bait will fall faster, this will cause the curlytails in the back to give off more action, though sometimes less is best, you have to find out what they prefer that day. 3. Flipping/pitching. Simply rig the bait with a bullet weight big enough to break through the muck. And hop/crawl the bait as you would a jig along the bottom. Although I must say, I usually prefer a brush hog, or sweet beaver for flipping/pitching, but the wooly hawgtail will definetly work. I have never tryed it on a carolina rig, because I bank fish, and I always thought this was more of a tactic for boat fishing. Though I could easily be wrong, thats not something I'll talk about because im not experienced in it. But I will say bassnleo is not the first I've heard talk highly about a wooly hawgtail on the carolina rig, so if you fish this rig, try the hawgtail on it.

I think your better off sticking with your common jigs, but then again I'm the kind of guy that trys to stick with the saying "don't fix it if its not broken".

Berkley Realistix Minnow. Want to know what they are, well you can do a google search to get a pic, but as far as the feel to them, let me explain.... Picture taking a solid stick about 4 - 4 1/2 inches in length, that has the width a hair less then a straw. And then covering that stick in a 1/4 of an inch of soft plastic that is is shiny due to holographic design. That is what the Berkley Realistix Minnow feels/looks like.

Has a hook shank about that same size as a 1/8oz spot remover, which is around an inch, if that, a hair less in length would work too, and I'd prefer it. I need it to be a ball head jig, and have a strong hook, not those light wire cheap freshwater hooks that are easy to bend. I also need it to come in 1/4oz, 3/8oz, 1/2oz, and 3/4oz. Although if it only comes in 3/8 and 1/2 or 1/2 and 3/4 this is okay, but all 3 sizes is definetly preferable. It also has to have some sort of bait holder, such as your standard lead "hook-like bend", or anything else, as long as its not "bait holderless". I will be using it for saltwater fluking, so this is why the hook strength is so important. So anyone know of a jighead that fits this description? 8-) Even if you know of skirted jigs that fit this description, that would work too, I'd merely take off the skirt and use the jighead.

x3

Oh I lost my sanity awhile ago... ;D ;D ;D :D ;D ;D ;D :D ;D

Looks a bit more like a striper/bluefish plug. Imagine casting that bad boy off the tip of some jetty, and the bail snaps close on your reel, SNAP...gone in the wind. One hell of a sacrafice to the fishin gods, thats for sure