osbornj2

...What?!? No Wacky-rigs ? : What has this world come to ?!?!

LOL! Yeah..I had the same thought! Unfortunately,No...it does not really work as well w/o the lip. And it certainly will not "wake" properly! > Good suggestion, however!

Hey guys and gals - I have a little problem that I was hoping you all could help me with! I have a Jackal Mikey that is practically brand new (used one night, for a limited amount of time), but the lip is gone ! I know that I did not hit anything with it (i.e. like a boat dock or something), but, sure enough, it's not there! Where can I get a replacement lip for it, w/o having to send it back to the manufacturer in Japan? It was like a $25 - $30 lure, so I don't want it just sitting around colllecting rust! I originally purchased it at the local Sportsman's Warehouse, but when I went in there last night, they didn't have any more of the Mikey Sr's., only the Jr's. Any help would be greatly appreciated! I'd be willing to fix it myself (i.e. glue another lip in there), if I can only find one. Thanks!

Well...I promised a report, so here it is....Windy! I think that they just opened a wind-creation factory at the end of the lake, and that they were running all 3 shifts on Thursday! I'm not talking about periods of calm, punctuated by occasional gusts. No sir! I'm talkin' about an all-day steady thumping of wind! Sounds like a good spinnerbait day, huh? NOPE! Not happening! Although, we did manage to catch a few pickeral on spinnerbaits. However, between the two of us (and we're real pro's, now, mind you!!), I think that we boated a grand total of about 4 bass, the largest about 1.5 lbs! Sorry, Wayne, that I didn't really have the opportunity to gear-up before we went on the trip, as I would really have loved to throw the wacky rig. I printed off all your notes and pictures so that I can head out to Sportsman's Warehouse to get me some mosquito hooks! But, we threw EVERYTHING else that we had, and all to no avail. :-[ There were NO baitfish schooling yet, and the surface temp was right around 60 all day (we were fishing the upper end the whole time). In fact, we never even really found any concentrations of fish on the electronics. Maybe it just needs to cool down a little bit more before they start moving into the coves? Your thoughts, Wayne?

Wayne - you are, totally, "'da man" ! 8-) This is really super that you're so willing to help a young whippersnapper out! Too bad you won't be on the boat with us tomorrow, coaching us!! ;D Check your inbox...I'm sending an email now!

I appreciate your advice! We'll have to re-think our strategy now! :-/ I am curious, though, about one other thing that you mentioned earlier. You indicated that you were fishing a Fluke, and that "when it hit the bottom", a 7-lb'er picked it up! To clarify, then - do you put them on a weighted hook, and then let them sink to the bottom and fish them essentially like a T-rig worm? Maybe I have always completely missed the mark, because I have always used Flukes like a jerkbait, letting it glide down a few feet, then jerking it back and letting it dart around like a wounded baitfish. It has never really occured to me to fish it like I just described, but I can definitely see how that might be a huge benefit! And the same with the wacky-rigged trick worms? Do you let them sink all the way to the bottom as well, and then fish them slowly? If they're wacky-rigged, how do you keep from getting hung up alot? I hate to sound so "elementary", but these are burning questions!! Thanks again !

Great idea for a thread! Aside from the actual fish caught this year (one of my best years as far as "good" fish of multiple species), probably the best thing to happen was that I was able to reconnect with an old friend. We fished together quite a bit several years ago, but then he moved, I have a child and am self-employed, etc. So, we kind of lost touch for a year or two. But, now he's back in town, and we have been fishing pretty regularly most of the late-summer and so far this fall (much to my wife's chaigrin!) oh yeah...and not to mention my new pb Northern back in May of 42.25" !

Wow...sounds like the water turned over pretty quickly and cooled down significantly. Stu and I are still planning on heading down on Thur am. Weather.com says low 60's and sunny. So, no baitfish or shad balls yet?? We'll still probably start off with atleast a little bit of topwater just after daybreak...just because why not?!?! Wayne - do you have any particular thoughts about this? Since Stu has never fished Briery before,I told him that we could launch the boat and not even lower the gas motor and just troll back into the cove there at the ramp. I noticed that you had the opposite bank marked on your map...isn't there a "mini-cove" there with lots of lily pads and laydowns? Also, is this cove productive,since it was essentially closed to fishing for, what, like 2 years I believe? We are thinking Flukes, spinnerbaits, and maybe jerkbaits. Anything that you could add that we're overlooking? Again,I appreciate all of your help, and I hope to be able to post a report here after Thursday's adventure!

You're right...she's a beaut! Congrats! And, yeah - Kudos to you for doing the right thing. I'm proud of you 8-)

Matt, thanks for the tips. I guess now I'm glad I ended up getting the "better" version ! Funny how things work out sometimes.... Now that I've caught my first real fish on your swimbaits (those smallies I posted last week), I am hooked on throwing big baits! You've ruined me! One last question....so, it seems like when you're talking about using essentially 2 coats of superglue, you're intending for the tail to stay on there permanantly. Is that correct? Or, is it ok to pull the tail back off again and try a different color? What's your preference?

Jay - tks for the heads-up. So, it sounds like you use this bait??? 'Cause I KNOW that if YOU use it, it must be "off 'da hizzle" ! (that's East Coast, mid-30's something for "it's awesome, dude!") Yeah - I got 2 of the heads, and I even bought an extra tail (packaged separately), and none of them has a thin, rigid plastic tab on the tail section > Another quick question - you mentioned super glue. Do you mean the plain 'ole Super Glue that I can pick up at Wally World for like $2; or, do you have a fav Soft Bait glue? Take care, and I hope that you're not still carpentering : You's gots to use 'dem mad skills for somethin' worthwhile!!

I'm feelin' like the Village Idiot over here, because I'm thinking that there is a very obvious answer to this problem! And I just can't seem to figure it out! :-[ Here's the skinny...I was trying to switch out the tail section on this Castaic "Real Bait" which has a hard head and soft tail. It's a Gizzard Shad imitator, if that helps out any. Literally, right there on the package (I went to Sportsman's Warehouse this afternoon and purchased a new one, just to be sure I didn't have an older model or something), it says that the tail has a "snap on" feature. That you are supposed to be able to "pull back on the release snap that is exposed on the belly. Lightly pry the head and tail apart and slide the tail up and off the head." Promises it will only take seconds, right ?!? Well, as I mentioned, I am certainly not the sharpest hook in the package, but I cannot locate ANYTHING that even remotely resembles a "release snap" or the so-called "plastic insert that is attached to the surface of the tail". A visit to Castaic's website yeilded no results, so I naturally turned to the guys that I trust the most anyways! Any assistance would be GREATLY appreciated! I really want to throw this lure, but I cannot even get it re-attached without glueing it, which will be my last resort. Thanks!

Nice fish, and GREAT pics! You're on a roll with those swimbaits! Keep it up!

Wayne - got your email...it was FANTASTIC !! Thanks so much for sending that over..it is greatly appreciated! With this cold front pushing through, we are thinking about trying to head up there later in the wee next week (probably on Thur., weather and work permitting, of course!) Don't know if anyone else is planning on being there then, but, if so...maybe we could hook up and say hello! When we do go, I'll be sure to post a report on this thread (and hopefully be able to add a decent photo too )

With all this talk about being the best fighter and the most difficult to land, I am surprised that noone has mentioned the Striper (fresh or salt-water), or even better - the lowly Hybrid striper. Hands down, I would have to say, the best freshwater "fighting" fish that I have ever caught. Lots of shakes, jukes, dives, dances, etc. and, like the Energizer Bunny, they just keep on pullin' and pullin'. True, they are generally caught in more open water than either SMB or LMB, but, boy, do they use every bit of the water column to fight you with! Any thoughts on these bad boys?

Thanks for posting all these reports and keeping this thread alive! Glad we didn't make the trip down to Briery today (Stu and I were thinking of fishing either Briery or Sandy Run today, but decided to stay a little closer to home instead due to some work stuff), as it sounds like the fish are a little "off". We certainly didn't have much luck at all today, here at a local lake...I'm guessing it's because of the cold front that's getting ready to push through??? Wayne - how is Briery ? What's the current water temp? Are the baitfish back in the coves yet? Are you still throwing wacky-rigs and flukes? We want to make the trip down there maybe next week, and I'd love to know where to find them. You mentioned to someone that if they sent you their email address, then you'd send a satellite photo with the spots marked. Are you still willing to do the same? If so, just mark a couple of indications about where you think that they may be by next week (meaning - don't reveal all of your hotspots...just a little hint about where they MAY be ). My email addy is: osbornj2@comcast.net. Thanks again for all of your willingness to assist all of us "newbies" :

Andrew - yeah, they are a blast! But, you can't be too humble with a pic like that as your avatar!! That is a toad!!

Great fish! Yep, must be that time of the year (fall bite), because I was itching to catch my first fish on the swimbait too. We went out last week to a little lake a friend told us about, and I actually ended up with 3 pig smallies on swimbaits! 2 on MattLures BabyBass (smallmouth pattern, nonetheless...little cannibalistic suckers!!) and 1 on a Huddleston 6" Rainbow Trout! But, none of these fish "quietly slurped" these baits...they all 3 HAMMERED them! ;D Still waiting to catch my first toad largemouth on a hardbait...hopefully this fall. Anyways...didn't mean to hijack this thread or steal your thunder :-[ Awesome fish again!!

Sam - WOW! Thanks for the awesome post! This is why I love this site so much...so many knowledgable folks who are so willing to share this kind of info! I appreciate the time and efforts you put into making a post like this one...believe me...it helps out experienced fishermen as much, if not more, than complete newbies!

Matt, thanks so much for the kind words. And, yes, technically you are correct...that particular photo was the result of Mike's photographic skills! ;D Well, if you are serious about persuing the elusive bronzeback, then I'll open an invitation to you to come out this way either in the spring or next fall (I might even take you to this exclusive site that these beauties came from ). Here's another sterling example of my excellent photographic skills! (you may NOT want to put this one on your website!! )

Tks for the nice comments. I was fortunate to try out this little lake with a friend who knew the lake pretty well, so we were able to get on fish most of the day. I also got a close-up pic of the other smallie with the BB in his jaw, but it is kinda fuzzy and out-of-focus (did I mention that I am not much of a photographer ?!?). Fortunately, all 3 that I caught on the swimbaits were hooked very solidly (as you can tell, they absolutely annihlated the Huddleston), so even though they fought in typical smallmouth fashion, they did not come unbuttoned. I just thouht that it was kind of funny to catch a "big" smallie on a BabyBass smallie!

For Matt's sake, here is a little better pic of my first smallie with the BabyBass!

I'm not much of a photographer, but I just had to get a pic of the pig smallie with the Huddleston in his maw!

Had an AWESOME trip the other day with STKelley. Nasty weather, but great fishing! Caught my first fish ever on a MattLures Baby Bass (Smallmouth, nonetheless). Now, I'm "hooked" on swimbaits! (pardon the pun) All in all, I ended up catching 2 on the Baby Bass, and another one on a 6" Huddleston Rainbow Trout, all in the 20" range. Stu caught a ton on the MegaBaits Charlie. We also caught a couple on jerk baits. A major KUDOS to Matt for his awesome BabyBass!

Great pic! Congrats! I can't wait to get my own little Princess started! Also, Kudos for making sure that she was wearing a life vest. While I try to always wear one when in a "challenging" situation (i.e. high winds, storm, etc.), I am not as consistent as I should be. :-X However, whenever my daughter is on my boat, it is MANDANTORY that she wear one! Can't wait to see more of her pics! Tight Lines!