BassB8Caster

I have no problems buying stuff that works. That's what is great about this forum. People are willing to give their honest feedback on gear, techniques etc. Ultimately we have to decide what we are willing to pay for a bait. I'm a fan of a lot of the berkley havoc line. The stuff is affordable and works well. Getting one or 2 fish on a $2 bait may not be worth it. I'm hoping that with these larger swimbaits, the fish I'm catching are big ones. That makes it easier for me to pay more. Time will tell. I love trying new baits. So I'm sure I will give all those mentioned above a try at some point.

I grabbed a pair at that price. I ended up with $52 order, paid $26 with their tax relief sale. Most were 50 to 70% off

Like I said earlier, I have not fished the keitech swing impact fat yet. I have the 5.8 on order. With these bigger swimbaits, I'm under the impression it's all in the movement (tail wag) of the bait. And most people are saying that is what sets the keitech apart from the rest. Many will admit the other brands may be more durable, but they go back to the keitech for the action of the bait.

Ice is definitely melting. I didnt get to check any of the smaller ponds I typically fish but I live by Norway (pennesseewassee) lake and it melted a ton this weekend. I'm hoping to get some fishing in this coming weekend.

I agree. I have yet to use any of these baits. Im venturing out into big swimbaits this year and have a 4 pack of the 5.8 on order. To me it was a better value than $10 or so plus for a big swimbait. My concern, and even more so with the bigger ones, is first cast a fish grabbing the tail and ripping it off. But they should be BIG BASS catchers!

Better story....DD grabbed it on the fall, wrapped me around a stump and broke me off deep.

Keitech swing impact fat. they are coming out with a 6.8 and 7.8 version. Keitech told me they should be released end of June or so. Should be a good alternative to big swimbaits. curious to how much they will weigh tho

Hopefully you have better access to shore fishing than i do around here. I broke down 3 years ago and bought a kayak. Cost around 350. Perfect for the small ponds around me. A few times i have tried shore fishing (when i have a couple hours after work and i dont want to go through the whole kayak process) and it seams all the ponds around me have grown in shorelines and fishing from shore is nearly impossible. The kayak is a life saver. Not on the level of a boat, but maine has some awesome small ponds that the big boats stay out of (or are not allowed).

Excellent info as usual from you. Early in the year is it better to wait the day out and fish afternoons, giving the sun time to warm the water some or head out first thing in the morning? One pond in particular that i cannot hit up has a pretty shallow cove on the north end with a stream coming in there. Should produce well. I have a lot of action there last summer. This area gets tons of lillies and grass and fish were all through it last summer. I was having a difficult time getting a good hookset out of my kayak last year there. But this year will be different. Im thinking of targeting this north end working my way back to where it drops off. Goes from 3-4 feet then to 8-10 then to 20-25. these drop offs should be great staging areas. Another question...work shallow to deep or deep to shallow. Primary target will be bigger fish. Jig will be tied on along with slow rolling keitech 5.8 impact fats

Great info. Thanks. This is my 3rd spring fishing for bass. I usually see some prespawn and spawn action, but have yet to get out right after ice out. Hoping to change that. I know they will want to seek out warmer water. So sun contributes to that as well as fresh water. And of course cold water = sloooowww down.

I'm in western maine. Starting to see water along the shorelines on most lakes and ponds. Looking good forward to this season. This would be a productive topic to keep going as the season opens up. Once ice is out, obviously the water is really cold. In the smaller ponds, where are the best spots to target? Shallows where the water should warm faster? Freshwater inlets?

That thing is a beast. Anyone wanna guess what the 6.8 and 7.8 will weigh? Yeah I agree. Pleasantly surprised. I thanked her (name was Karen) for the info and she then replied with "you are very welcome". Top notch customer service. I have never purchased keitech products, this is my first real consideration. Looking for a good bigger swimbait before jumping to the $10 plus savage gear etc. To me a 4 pack of the 5.8 fat swing impact is a better bargain right now. Pair that with great customer service, I'm definitely buying keitech. Hopefully they get some more hats and shirts online. Their brand is definitely growing!

Just wanted to pass on some information regarding the new upcoming Keitech Fat Swing Impact 6.8 and 7.8 swimbaits. Keitech's Aaron Britt has a couple videos about the new 6.8 and 7.8 on his facebook page. Curious when they were coming out, as im in the market for some swimbaits, i figured i would email Keitech and see what sort of information i could get. i was surprised with a reply email about 2 hours later telling me that they anticipate the release of the 6.8 and 7.8 fat swing impact to be not until June or so. So sounds like we have a little bit of a wait for them. Im sure the demand will out weigh the supply at first. Cant wait to give them a try.

i was checking those out as well. their crankbaits look good as well. All priced great. Worth a try for sure. Let us know how they work.

Thank you very much for that. I'm really wanting to get into bigger swimbaits this year. Buying a $7 plus bait is a big step for me. I've done pretty well with the cheaper baits. But there is no denying the effectiveness of these higher dollar 7 plus inch swimbaits. If I can get 4 of the 5.8 fat impacts for the same price, to me it's a better buy at this point of my fishing hobby. But I'm even more intrigued with the 6.8 fat impacts. Thanks again for that info!

Not to hyjack the thread.....but where are you getting the info about the bigger Keitechs? as in the 6.8 and 7.8? Google searches are not bringing anything concrete up. i found links to a pros facebook page about getting to try them out (last December i believe). Im looking to buy some of the 5.8 but id prefer the 6.8 if they were available

Good honest review. I have used the pad crasher for a few seasons. The only frog i have used. Ish's phat frog sounds and looks interesting though. The first season i used this frog quite a bit. Had moderate success (from what i read is expected...hook up ratio speaking). Last season i had a tough time with the frog. I have tried bending the hooks out to increase hook ups, but unfortunately when i think to do this im out on the water. And i have to admit was unable to bend the d**n things. So they are still how they came out of the box. My issue last year was it seemed that the fish would always hit it but not take it. I tried everything i could think of to change on my end to help with the hook ups. I tend to get excited when i get a blow up so i have a bad habit of setting the hook too early. I worked hard on this and found that the fish were just not taking the frog in and going under. Just hitting it. So i went away from it and went to pitboss, lizards and the craw fatty texas rigged weedless and have had much better success. I do love the way the frog fishes though. Like you said, its very buoyant and only need to drain it once in a while. Never had a problem with it going upside down on me. And it walks great. I will have to give a better effort to bend the hooks out a bit and throw the padcrasher again this year. I absolutely love fishing topwater and grass/lillies. I have lost my biggest fish on the pad crasher. Both were over 5lbs. The booyah pad crasher should be in everyones tackle box!

No. I don't ice fish. Will be back there this spring once ice is out

Oh yeah. Very frozen. We don't have ice out until April or so.

These are chain pickerel. We do have pike in places. Not in this pond though. Never seen or heard of walleye caught here in Maine. Atleast not around me

I caught several pickerel but no bass. The only info about bass was from a land owner who says he caught a 7.5lb out of it. Other than that I have no proof there are bass in it. I think this spring during the spawn will give me a better idea.

I hear ya. I dont want to quit if there are bass in there. But i dont want to spend tons of time if the bass are not there. I will def give it a fair try. With all these small ponds around me, and fairly limited time to fish with a new baby, i try to eliminate ponds that are not worth my time. I do want to give them a proper effort, but have to draw the line somewhere. Which lead to this thread.

I have been bass fishing for only 2 years, so i know i have a lot to learn. I try to learn as much as possible (on this forum, articles etc) and then try it out in the field. I have fished ponds that were hot one day and ice cold the next. So im aware of how things can vary just one day to the next. The chance at a big bass (over 5lbs for me) has pushed me out to places i never would have thought i would venture to. I love catching fish, but i really enjoy the chance at a big girl. And many times that results in not catching anything. In all honesty, looking back, fishing a place twice and thinking that is enough time to judge the quality of the pond is unfair. I intended to go back there again regardless. I thought it would make a great topic, as im sure other small pond fishermen run into this predicament as well. I have a lot of little ponds around me, and i try to limit my time to those that have best chances of producing good bass. I guess i was a little surprised that in those two trips in the kayak in a low pressure body of water, i didnt hook up with any bass. I will admit that slowing down is a challenge for me. I can mentally prepare a game plan of slowing down, and dragging a worm or jig or even dropshot. Then when i get out there i tend to go with faster baits (after trying slow techniques for a bit). So this is something i will work on. I have heard of dead sticking, have not tried it yet though. As far as forage, honestly i dont know. I did not see signs of anything. the bottom is very soft and muddy.

I haven't fished this year. We are frozen up here. I fished it last fall. I will definitely give that a try. Just want to know if there are bass in it. Time will tell. Any particular strategy fishing (if they are in there) older larger bass in dark stained water? Shouldn't there be some smaller aggressive fish too?

Thanks everyone for your replies and opinions. I agree it looks like prime big bass real estate. I have been skunked a few times in the past in other bodies of water. But usually I will at least see some sort of sign of bass. Like I said, I only caught pickerel. Tells me that it is a suitable habitat for fish to survive. Only issue I see with spotting bass during spawn is this water is very dark. Where I live there are tons of these small ponds. I love taking good the kayak in them. There is a mystique about them. Potential of 5lb plus in many of them. Quite the challenge that can leave me frustrated and scratching my head (like this pond), but I enjoy the test.