river-rat

I'm a big fan of punching. I usually start with an Oldham's Jigs 3/4 - 1 oz. Eye Max Grass Jig with a Gene Larew Salt Craw trailer on 65# braid. If I'm not having any luck with the jig I have another rod rigged with a 1 oz. tungsten weight and a Strike King Punch Bug. I seldom use a punch skirt on this set-up.

Black Neon and Red Shad have accounted for untold numbers of bass in the Atchafalaya Basin.

I bring two sandwiches, some Clif Bars, and water. In the winter I'll have a thermos of coffee. In the summer I'll throw a few oranges in the ice chest with some Biolyte Liquid IV electrolyte drinks.

In some of the Mississippi River oxbow lakes here in Louisiana the I frequent a blue 7 1/2” blue Fliptail worm will generally out produce other colors.

You're not doing anything wrong. I catch as many fish swimming a flipping jig along the bottom as I do crawling it. Like CATT said, it depends on what they want that day.

I would try a weightless swimming worm like a Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Worm or a Bitter's Vibe made by Bitter's Bait and Tackle. Probably would not be 100% weedless but should be more so than most everything else.

I literally grew up on the LSU campus. My Dad was a professor and my Mom was an accountant in the business office. My first game in Tiger Stadium was in 1958 and I also graduated from there. Needless to say I'm a Tiger fan. There is a lot of talent returning but the team is thin in some areas so hopefully the injury bug doesn't hurt them overall.

I've been using skirted jigs for over 40 years and I always have at least one jig rod on the deck. And, I'll have at least one more jig rod in the rod box. But, like Catt stated, there are days when bass just won't hit a jig.

I can still take the heat fairly well, I just choose not too. Since I'm retired and can pick and choose when I go out, I fish mostly at night during this time of year. And I might add, I absolutely love catching bass at night.

I've been using a Bagley Honey Bee since they first came out in the late 1970's. I've still got a couple dozen and they do not have any printing on the underside like those shown in the pictures. This leads me to believe that these are some of the later models produced in the last few years. My suggestion would be to use them. I can assure you they will catch fish.

Agree 100%

I drink a gallon of water a day regardless of the time of year it is. My doctor says it's one the best things I can do to stay hydrated and in good shape.

I don't change my approach or lures whether it's warm water or cold water although I will make adjustments during winter. For example, I still use a 1/2 oz. jig but I'll thin out the skirt and use a smaller trailer to give it a smaller profile. I do this when the crawfish are just starting to come out and they are still small. Or, I may change to a 5/8-3/4 oz. spinnerbait with a single spinner in order to slow roll in deeper water. I don't know if those changes make any difference. It's more of a confidence thing on my part.

I have used the 6" Brush Hog for flipping and pitching since they first came out, which was before the Baby Brush Hog was introduced. I can assure you it's not too big. It's one of my confidence baits when a flipping tube isn't producing. And, I have caught a ton of fish on the 6", probably as many if not more than the Baby Brush Hog. I use 3 colors -- watermelon/red glitter, black/red glitter, and Junebug. I like to Texas Rig them with a 3/16 - 1/2oz. slip sinker depending on the time of year. I discovered many years ago a 6" Brush Hog with a 3/8 - 1/2 oz. slip sinker can be extremely productive in the Atchafalaya Basin and Henderson Swamp when the water level gets really low like it is now.

I've used both and caught fish. Can't really say one is better than the other.

I'm kind of like Tommy Biffle - he stated that when bass quit eating crawfish, he would stop throwing a jig. It's been my experience that crawfish imitators, whether it be jigs, plastics, or crankbaits, will produce year round.

I've been using Terry Oldham's jigs for over 20 years. Top quality product at a good price. http://oldhamjigs.com/

A chrome/blue back/orange belly Rogue and Devils Horse has been very effective for me for a long time.

I can assure you a Johnson Silver Minnow will work. Rig it like Catt is showing in the pictures and throw it on 50 lb. braid. Make sure you sharpen the hook before using it. Straight out of the pack, the hook is very dull due to the plating process used in making it. A Texas Rigged Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Worm would also be something I would try. Use a light weight and swim it through the pads.

Same here. I remember those days.

With heat indexes reaching 112+ degrees for the past week, I'll be fishing at night until we get a break from the heat which is usually mid to late September in south Louisiana.

This is a Clark Water Scout. They were made from the mid-1930's to the late 1950's and were very popular for fishing in shallow water with heavy cover. My grandfather had several which I still have. The Clark Water Scout is a collector's item. Do a search on eBay and you will find that one in mint condition can be rather pricey. Strike King came out with a wooden model in the early 1970's called the Spence Scout which they later made in plastic.

A Bitter's Bait and Tackle 10" worm with a 3/8 - 1/2 oz. slip sinker has been very productive in the Atchafalaya Basin at this time of year. I'm using it in 4' of water or less around cypress trees and logs. My best colors are Red Shad/Green Glitter, Junebug, and Black Blue Tail.

I use black nickel blades on a solid black spinnerbait in the winter and spring on a bluebird day after a strong cold front has passed through.

Same here in the Atchafalaya Basin. I don't need to use the front depth finder since I'm fishing in 4' of water or less all the time.