j bab

I have learned quite a bit from youtube. Matt Allen taught me most of what I know about big baits. Besides that I prefer watching clips of pros giving tips rather than kids my age (Flair, 1rod, Jon B...). Then there's the stuff my dad and friends from the lake have taught me, you can't beat that.

Sure did! silver / blue back rof 12 at 9pm on a full moon. I set the bait aside and bought another to replace it because I'm going to mount it with my replica of the fish

I could see a giant bass eating that, but I don't know that I would ever throw one. Makes more sense for muskie or something I think.

I use the Jackall Gantarel and Huddleston 8" trout mostly, but I just got a bunch of savage gear stuff to try out too. Slow sinking glide baits or maybe a rof 5 hudd would be good for suspended fish, for the 20-40 ft I'd use a rof 12 hudd. Look up Matt Allen on youtube for good gide bait & swimbait tips. There are other good ones but I learned a lot of what I know from Matt.

I blame Flair

I just discovered the Terminator Inline Spinner and bought one recently. Genius idea really, a larger size inline spinner with a free-swinging EWG hook so you can add a trailer. I haven't been fishing since it came in, but next time I go out I'm definitely throwing it.

Doesn't bassmaster let you watch live for free? What's the deal here

Are you using a 5"? I can cast mine pretty well. Also what reel?

Wait a couple months so it's not 100+ degrees

I would disagree with the match the hatch thing. Largemouth don't seem to be as particular about "match the hatch" as they get credit for in my opinion (when it comes to color at least). The silver / blue back Hudd that I threw to catch my big one this year doesn't look like much of anything that swims in Toledo. Trout shaped body (we have no trout), unnaturally bright blue back? Didn't matter though. That's just my thought on the matter, I'm not a swimbait expert by any means. Another way I look at it is that a senko can tear up the fish yet it is literally just a stick shaped plastic. It just looks alive, it doesn't match any particular forage.

What he said. I've had ship dates get pushed back a lot, and for some reason I saw Gantarel Jr's in a shop recently too even though you can hardly find them in stock online.

I'd get Lite

I can't fit one of those things in my tackle box so I didn't buy one

The strike king one is durable BUT it gets tangled just about every other cast so I'm using a Picasso one right now.

I don't have much to add, these guys have covered it. I have to say that I recommend the Lucky Craft 3.5 wake crank, I've caught a lot of fish of all sizes on it

You're describing completely different lures. Whopper Ploppers and Pompadours are basically buzzbait alternatives. They make a lot of noise and splash and you constantly retrieve them. Poppers and walking baits are different from your baits, and they're different from each other as well. I recommend getting a couple of those as well.

My only concern is the longevity of those knobs. But I'm sure they'll last plenty long if you take care of them just like anything else. Great looking reels, I think I'm ordering the new Tourney Lite soon for my topwater rod

Lizard or baby brush hog. As @scaleface said you could probably use just about anything!

Have you tried these first hand? I do agree with you, but a lot of times cost is high on swimbaits because they are hand made vs mass produced. There are some decent mass produced swimbaits out there (s waver, savage gear stuff) that are worth the money.

I'm looking at some japanese topwaters right now, and wanted some feedback first. Basically I'm wanting to know what Japanese poppers, walking baits, and "other" topwaters are your favorites. I like the smaller Yellow Magic, but I might try a Jackall sk-pop grande because I like the details on them. I already have a pop x and pop max so you don't need to sell me on those. As far as walking baits go, I haven't used them much so I've never caught a fish on one. Has anyone used a Jackall Bowfin or Bonnie? For "other" I'm referring to the Pompadour, Boil Trigger, Mudsucker, etc...

I know that Reaction Strike's Huddleston clones ("Bass Harasser") are poorly made. No balance, no action on the fall, etc. So I don't know if I should try their Triple Trout clone ("Bass Candy"). I'm afraid that they will have weak action and balance and sink too fast despite their claims. http://www.overstockbait.com/searchresults.asp?Search=Bass+candy&Submit=Submit So has anyone tried one of these? I can't find any good footage online. I'd like to get some since they're so cheap but if they aren't worth using then it's a waste of money.

One time we were dropping a brush pile and it got real windy, so there were some big waves... We couldn't hold the boat still on the spot where we wanted to put the brush, so I went up front to drop an anchor and sure enough I lost my balance and fell in. Luckily I let go of the anchor and grabbed the side of the boat and my dad's arm on the way overboard. However I broke the windshield on the driver console while trying to grab hold of something before going in. Looking back, I could have very easily drowned in that situation. I was wearing rubber boots (can't swim in those), the anchor could have pulled me down, my dad's grip could have slipped, etc... Very fortunate to make it out with only some wet clothes. Yeah it was stupid for us to attempt that in such conditions.

Wish that was my experience! I can't get anything to bite on much of anything, and I couldn't even get fish that were busting the surface to hit my WP. I know that it's a good bait I just haven't put it in the right place at the right time yet.

Don't buy those. They sink too fast, spiral on the fall, and have poor balance. Just bite the bullet and get the good ones, no sense in shooting yourself in the foot with cheap lures.