river-rat

#1 - Hub's Chub Rattalur - Solid Black, Gold w/black back, Silver w/black back #2 - Devil's Horse - Dragonfly, Silver Shad #3 - Rebel Pop-R (old style) - Gold, Silver I have also been known to use the Rogers Hawg Hunter later in the summer. Unfortunatley, it's out of production so I'm really careful with the few I have left.

I have had best success with the Mustad 4/0 tube hook and the Owner Extra Wide gap in 4/0 and 5/0.

I have to agree with Catt. I'm more concerned with blade color and noise than the skirt color. I use a black blade in low light or overcast conditions, a gold blade in bright conditions, and an anodized green blade when fishing in water with a greenish tint.

For most of my night fishng, I use a 5/8 spinnerbait w/black & Purple Skirt and add a purple #11 Pork Frog. As for plastics, I have come to depend on a T-rigged paddletail or gator tail type worm in black with a powder blue or pearl blue tail. As for the Rattle Trap, the tequila sunrise is hands down the best color I have ever used at night. Can't explain why. It just works

I had tried silicone to seal the hole and found that if you seal it completely, the frog won't collapse when a fish hits it. I read a post on here in the last couple of weeks to seal the opening where the hook eye exits the front of the frog with super glue to solve the problem. I tried it this past weekend and it works great.

Everything suggested will do a good job. But my first choice on these types of lakes is a 1/2 oz. Johnson Silver Minnow (JSM) in either gold or black nickel. Add a trailer like a 4" grub, #11 pork frog, etc. Gold with a white or chartreuse grub, or black with a yellow grub will work extremely well. Sharpen the hook real well and adjust the weed guard to about 1/8" above the hook point and it will come through the heaviest cover imagineable. I use the black nickel JSM early and late in the day or when it's overcast, and the gold after the sun comes up. It's a good idea to use at least 20# test monofilament or 50# braid on at least a mediu-heavy rod. This bait will catch large fish. I've been fishing oxbow lakes for over 40 years all over Louisiana and the JSM still works -- especially in heavy cover.

The Gene Larew 4" or 5" Salt Craw rigged Texas style with a 4/0 straight shank round bend hook or as a jig trailer. The colors listed below have produced best for me. Camo - My #1 color. This color was discontinued about 5 years ago, and was completely different from any camo colored plastic I've seen since. It's a black grape color with heavy green glitter on the top and heavy red glitter on the bottom - basically like a Junebug Red color but with a great deal more glitter. I don't have a clue why it works so well for me, I just know that it does. I was fortunate enough to have a friend in the tackle business who was able to get a good supply for me. I still have at least 500-600 stashed away, so it's not a problem as yet. Also, Black/Blue Claw, Butterscotch, Pumpkin Pepper/Orange Claw, Pumpkin Pepper/Chartreuse Claw, and Pumpkin Pepper/Green Glitter. I use them Texas rigged mainly from late Spring through Summer. From Winter through Pre-spawn, I usually use them as jig trailers.

I've been fishing floating frogs for as many years as they have been made and have probably tried them all at one time or another. What I have had to teach myself to do when I get a strike on any of them is to continue reeling and when I feel the weight of the fish to use a power sweep hookset to the side rather than a power set with the rod going straight up. Easy to say, but at times I forget and the result is usually a missed the fish. Last year I literally got "hooked" on the Spro frog. I fished it over vegetation and open water and had some really good days. I also used the Swamp Donkey to some extent which I found easier to walk, but I did notice I seemed to miss more strikes versus the Spro model. I use a Falcon Lowrider Model LRC 1610 with 50# test Power Pro braid. This is a 6'10" rod listed as heavy action on the Falcon website. It has just enough tip to make underhand roll casts relatively easy and remain accurate. As long as I can remember to wait until I feel the fish and then sweep the rod to the side, I don't have many problems with missed fish.

Here is South Lousiana, Coonasty has been hands down the best color I've used. I also use Green Pumkin/Red Glitter, and Bloody Bug at times, but neither come close to Coonasty.

Matt Fly, Thanks for the compliment about my first post. I've been visiting the forum for quite a while and decided recently to give it a try. I'll try to get a picture of the inline spinner/Silver Minnow set-up when I get a chance. It's not real hard to figure out though. Just remove the inline spinner from either a 1/3 oz. (#4 Colorado Blade) or 1/2 oz. (#4 1/2 Colorado Blade) Hildebrandt Snagless Sally keeping the split ring attached to the inline spinner. Put the split ring on the the line tie of the spoon and you're ready to go. I always use the gold or black nickel spinners. I'm sure that a silver blade would work just as well. This set-up will work at night also if you have a lot of vegatation that makes using a standard spinnerbait difficult. Also, I never use a trailer hook on a Silver Minnow. I think the key to hooking fish with this lure is to wait until you feel the weight of the fish and use a power sweep to the side to set the hook. I will admit though that even after 40 years of fishing for Bass, there are times I seem to forget and set the hook to soon.

I've been using the Johnson Silver Minnow here in South Louisiana since the mid 60's, especially around vegation (any kind) or areas with wood and vegation mixed. It's a great lure for a young person or someone that does not have much experience because once it's adjusted correctly it's almost impossible to hang up and will come through vegation with no problems. My kids have caught untold numbers of bass on a Silver Minnow. I use the 1/2 oz. size 95% of the time, but the 1/4 oz. and 3/4 oz. have their place at times. I've had the most success on the black Silver Minnow with a yellow or black & yellow rubber skirt, or the gold with a chartreuse or chartreuse & white rubber skirt. To place the skirt on the hook, I run the hook point into the rubber sleeve the skirt is made on to prevent the skirt from sliding down the hook. I use the large size skirt (40 tails) on the 1/2 oz. and 3/4 oz., and a medium skirt (30 tails) on the 1/4 oz. I usually pull a few strands out of the skirt to increase the action on the spoon, but I don't really think it makes a difference. If you don't have a local source for rubber skirts, you can purchase online at Brannan's Bass Shop. Do a search on the site for Ol Ben's Rubber skirts. I think they sell them in packs of 10 for about $3 a pack. You can also use an Uncle Josh #11 Pork Frog (Green Spotted or Black) as a trailer. I always have a few spoons without skirts available just in case. The hook on the Silver Minnow straight out of the package will need to be sharpened. I use a file to sharpen the point to a triangular shape, but I'm sure you could use almost any good hook file to accomplish what you need. Also, the weed guard needs to be placed slightly above even with the hook point or you will find that you miss more fish than you hook. As for tackle, think heavy. One thing about the Silver Minnow --- it will catch the biggest bass in the lake. My biggest is a 9.3 that I caught 2 years ago. For years I used 20-25# test mono, but the last few years I started using 50# or 65# Power Pro Braid on at least a 6'6" or 7' Medium-Heavy or Heavy action rod. Throw this bait into lily pads, hydrilla, milfoil, etc. and just take your time with it. It's also a good idea to have a follow-up rod with a worm or tube for those occasions when you miss a fish. I started using the Spro Bronze Eye Frog last summer for my follow-up and it seems to work just as well, as long as I can get it back to the fish fast enough. Like any other bait, there are times when it works and times when it doesn't, depending on the mood of the fish. But it's worked for me for over 40 years enough that I always have a small box of Silver Minnows stored in my boat - just in case. I have found that it works best for me from post-spawn through mid-Fall (April-November where I live) . One more tip, I have at times removed the inline spinner from of a Hildebrandt Snagless Sally and attached it to the spoon with a split ring. It doesn't always make a differnce, but I have seen days that it does. Hope this helps.