FCPhil

Just wanted to follow up from my earlier post...after fishing it for a year, this bladed jig is awesome. It was my most productive lure all season and outfished chatterbaits by a large margin. The vibration is a bit slower but significantly harder. More like a fast thumping than chattering. I paired it with a zman razor shad.

I found a new spot where I can catch quality largemouth bass, but I have noticed all the bass I have caught have unusually small heads. Anyone know what this means? They are all pretty fat, but their heads are even small for their length, not just their weight. (BTW they are not smallmouth or spotted bass if that is what you are thinking...)

I have had success on the using it like a prop bait. I mainly have seen that work well when fishing it next to cover like stumps or logs.

I really like the advantage baits jawbreaker jig on TW. Real nice components, lots of vibration and lower price.

For a long time I tried chatterbaits off and on but never got any bites. Then this year they started really producing for me during the pre-spawn. The key for me has been to drag them along the bottom while the vegetation is still minimal.

Leave it on. I have never had any issues.

Honestly you don’t need a throughwire construction, at least for bass fishing. Buy 1 1/2 inch zinc cotter pins from Home Depot, drill a hole so they fit snugly inside and rough up the outside of the cotter pin surface with a file. Glue with Gorilla Glue (the waterproof, expanding type, I forget what it’s named exactly). I sometime use as little as half and inch of the cotter pin inside and it is solid. If you use a full 1 1/2 inch pin with plenty of glue you will break 80lb braid and bend out 4x hooks before that pin pulls out!!!

I really like the Damiki Sneak soft plastic and have been looking all over to find some more. Everywhere I look is out of stock. Anyone know where I could find them?

Does anyone know of a fluke/hook combo that consistently falls horizontal and shimmies as it falls? I have a fluke I made out of a swimbait which sometimes does on a VMC drop dead hook but other times does not. I’m looking for something that will give me that action consistently.

I use those for everything and they work great in my experience.

I know people have compared these reels before but I have a some specific questions if someone can help. Does the Tatula CT cast further or pitch further because of the T-wing system? Do they have the same spool? *I plan on fishing braided line if that makes a difference. Thanks!

I made a swimbait out of wood and finished painting and clear coating it. I didn’t seal it properly and it slowly takes on water when fishing. Any suggestions for how best to waterproof it now without taking the paint off?

Thanks, that is the 5 inch version, not the 4 inch?

What is the bottom left bait just out of curiosity?

Straight braid or bust!

I caught a 19 inch bass today in the same type of situation you are describing. Try a fluke on a lightly weighted belly hook. Try to find the warmest bank you can. Probably the north or west bank. Look for a bank where the sun can easily penetrate down and warm the bottom. Cast parallel to the bank and work the fluke along the bottom. Bass moving up shallow to feed may pick it up off the bottom.

When you get a chance to fish them do you mind posting how they swim?

I’m trying to decide what size plastics to purchase to put on a jig. If anyone has the 5-inch size Big Bites Baits Fighting Frog and could put one on the back of a jig could you upload a picture to see how it looks? I’m concerned it might be too big. Thanks!

In my limited experience you need to go out from the beginning with the mindset that you might not catch anything and that’s alright. But you might also catch some quality fish too. If you fish from the bank I’d recommend standing back a bit so you don’t spook the likely followers as your lure gets close to the bank. When a swimbait gets to the bank it forces the bass to decide and that can be what triggers the strike if they don’t see you first.

I was thinking about purchasing a 3 pack but I can’t find any reviews online. Anyone tried them or can give some insight on how they swim? Also, if you do have one, are they exactly 3 inches?

Weightless plastics...10/10 on hooksets, 9/10 on landing them. Only reason I would expect losing one is if the bass tangled me up in cover. I always skin hook wide gap hooks. I never imbed the hook in the worm like with a strait shank hook.

Favorite lure: topwater walker... Most highly regarded: whopper plopper...

Maybe food coloring? Just and idea...

It can catch bigger fish but it is less likely to catch big fish than bigger presentations.