j bab

You could definitely get away with it

Baby Brush Hog. I've caught numbers on it when nothing else worked and I also caught my old PB on it. As others have said though, a lizard works too.

I'd put 8lb CXX

Being skeptical is a smart idea... The answer is, it depends. Some of them make money by selling stuff, others don't (commision vs hourly pay). A lot of times it's easy to tell when people are full of crap. I work at a tackle shop, and some of the guys I work with are definitely just trying to sell stuff, but others are legitimately knowledgeable and trying to help.

They are designed to float. To make them "sink" you jerk the rod tip. Regarding the hooks, you should definitely replace them.

Yellow Magic popper, the small one in white shad

That's exactly what happened to me this week on Toledo Bend

The ugly = the color

Youtube is a very good fishing tutor.

Brace yourselves, bait monkey victims, Tackle Warehouse's memorial day sale is going on I got a couple Hudds. I needed one to replace the one that I'm saving to mount with my 11 pounder replica And I got another one in a different color.

I plan on having plenty of both

Have you used the 8" line thru? How about the paddle tail ones ("real trout")? I'm about to order several SG swimbaits and wanted to ask on here before I pulled the trigger. But it seems like people on here have lots of good things to say about them, especially at the price point...

@Fisher-O-men here's the story! http://www.louisianasportsman.com/details.php?id=9644#

Anybody up here right now? We had an excellent day Saturday, Sunday was pretty rough, yesterday and today were a real grind for us. Saturday we did good both on and off shore, we've tried both in a ton of different spots every day since, just haven't had the same results. Any reports/tips/secret spots I need to check out?

A blow by blow will be published on Louisiana Sportsman soon, they called me today I'll post the link when the article comes out! The lake record is over 15. Mine won't even make the top 100 bass caught here The cool part is that this same fish was caught and released for the lunker program a couple months ago, so there's proof that it works!

8" Hudd... Don't tell anybody though Yeah no kidding, my dad got his free replica today, he caught a 10.64 in March. Looked much better than expected, and the length & girth were spot on! I'm excited to see my replica but I'll have to wait a full year sice they restarted the cycle just a couple days ago

To be fair, I am long-arming it, but even still...

EDIT: Here's the article Louisiana Sportsman wrote on me and the fish: http://www.louisianasportsman.com/details.php?id=9644# PB went from 6 something to 11.12 last night! Last year I lost one that I "know" was over 10, this makes up for it. Didn't break me off this time because I was prepared with the right equipment. It qualified for Toledo Bend's "lunker program," so I'll get a replica for free. I weighed her in on an official scale and let her go back into the lake, it was a beautiful sight. WOO!

If the net is out and ready and/or if the GoPro is up and running we won't catch any big ones that day.

WRB's alternative plan is pretty genius. It'll get you used to positioning and casting like you would with a deep crankbait but it'll work really well on your setup rather than just well enough to get by. A-Jay said you'll find out what he means after an hour of throwing, I think it'll only take a handful of casts before you find out what he's talking about.

Let's just say I caught a giant last night on a trout swimbait in a lake where the bass have never seen a trout. Bluegill & shad are the primary forage here.

Lots of great, informative replies here. Thanks guys. I'm headed to the lake in a few hours, time to start practicing

Yeah you should do your own "Mysterious Luck Tacklebox" challenge, where you go out one day and try to catch a fish on each of the lures that were in the box. Might be a fun challenge.

I usually have to fish from the bank when I'm away from home for college, so I keep all my stuff in a big tackle bag. Therefore I use a lot of Plano 3600 size boxes, because 3700s are just too big. My favorite is actually the 3601, it's a shallow box. This is good for me because I have a lot of tackle for a bank fisherman, but not so much that I need deep compartments to stack 4 of the same exact bait in one slot like some guys do in their boats. So the shallow box lets me keep all of my boxes technique specific (a jerkbait box, a lipless box, a terminal box, etc) while allowing me to fit more in the bag. Three 3601 boxes are the same height as two 3600 boxes. That being said, this might not apply if you have a boat with huge compartments where you can get away with using 3700 size boxes. I use plano because they are the most easy to come by around here and I like the prolatch.

Thanks for the info, and that amazing story! I'm glad you didn't poop your pants, although I might have too.