FCPhil

The roman made negotiator and Kaesu Kotetsu have a top-hook harness that pulls away from the bait on the hook set. It seems like this would be a great design for any swimbait, including ones with treble hooks on bottom. Anyone seen any other hard bodied swimbaits with hooks that pull free in a similar way?

I'm less concerned with the bass shaking free during the fight and more concerned with the hook not piercing all the way before the fish lets go. What has happened twice to me is I see the fish strike, I start to set the hook and I see the hook start to turn the head of the fish, but then the fish pops free before the rod loads up all the way and the hook pierces fully. Still ST-41?

The top toad does float but the weighted hook Stanley makes for them sinks them. I cut the weight off the shank and it works great. The hooks are great as well with the weight taken off. Anyone know why they chose the name sprinker? At first I was sure it was a typo because sprinkler would make so much more sense...

Do you feel that they pierce better than the st-36?

I'm looking to get some new treble hooks for some 6 inch glide baits I have. The current hooks are eagle claw hooks and I have seen some fish strike and let go before the hook could pierce through to the barb. I'm thinking size 2 treble and the sharpest, stickiest hooks I can find. Any recommendations?

In the morning you should try a topwater walking bait. Also a glide bait could be worth trying if you have the gear for it.

I have started throwing 5"-7" slow sinking glide baits in the local ponds I fish. Any recommendations on how to retrieve them to get more bites and bigger bites on them? How is fast or slow? Stop and go? Jerks? Pauses? What has worked best for you?

Try a topwater walking lure with plenty of short pauses mixed into your retrieve. I'd fish it right along the shore where they are up chasing bluegills but cast parallel the bank keeping your distance. If you can see bass they can see you and most likely will not bite.

I agree. A steady walk produces fewer fish and smaller fish and more misses for me. Mixing in lots of pauses in my retrieve has produced more fish and better sized fish. I use braid and a snap and never have any problems. Those smaller baits are going to be harder to walk as well. Try gentler jerks of the rod. Smaller baits need smaller input to walk or they just drag forward and run over their own line.

Lunker city Texposer hooks! Buy them and I garantee you'll buy more! 4/0 for a 5 inch senko style worm.

If you are fishing fairly clear water I suggest a translucent colored WP. I have both the terminator and loon color and in my experience the terminator color gets strikes in clear water when the black on does not. I do like the whopper plopper but I sometime have issues with it staying on the surface and have to adjust my retrieve accordingly. I ordered the 110 and I hope it solves the issue. My favorite topwater by far though is the Ima Skimmer. It has outproduced any other and I enjoy the technique of the retrieve. I strongly suggest replacing the tail hook with a small single hook as it improves the balance for walking the lure. Even with just the one treble hook in the middle I rarely have missed strikes.

In dirty water I use high contrast colors: bright or very dark (black and blue). In clear water I use more natural colors. One thing I would suggest you try in clear water is translucent baits. Many hard baits can be purchased in colors that are somewhat see through. I feel this actually is best in clear water with pressured fish because it obscures the view somewhat. The bass can tell something is there but it is a little harder to see what it is.

2-5 minute fight seems too long. I fish a pretty different set up but even with 8 pound line I would be shocked if you spend more than a minute fight a bass. If you are fighting a bass that gently and they still are breaking your line it sounds like either the bass may be taking your lure down into cover and breaking the line on rocks or wood like other said...OR...your knot could be bad. Look up knots for fluorocarbon line and make sure to wet the line before tightening down the knot. Another possibility is something has nicked your line and causing it to break. A bad line guide or sharp spot on your reel could be making abrasions in the line.

Some of my best days of fishing have been windy days. Topwater is where I start and the more waves there are the louder I like the presentation. Walking topwater or popper for less wind, Pompadour and Whopper Plopper/buzzbait for more wind. If you go subsurface I recommend lipless crankbaits and larger swimbaits/glide baits (if the water is clear).

A search bait let's you cover lots of water when you are trying to locate fish. However, they usually draw only the most active fish in an area to bite. In my experience those often are the smaller fish in the area. Once you get a bite or two you can use a different presentation to catch the bigger fish. Last summer I got my PB this way. I was covering water with a lipless crank and got two or three bites back to back in a certain area. After I didn't get any more strikes for a bit I switched to a glide bait and slowly retrieved it back through the same area. First cast and my PB struck. The lipless crank got the smaller fish to bite and showed me the location, the glide bait drew the biggest fish in the school to bite. I would keep using a search bait until you stopped getting strikes on it in an area, then switch to a different presentation if you think there are still fish there.

A shallow running crankbait can be perfect for weedy lakes. Let's you cover a lot of water quickly and both fast and slow retrieves keep you at roughly the same depth without sinking into the weeds, unless you are using a lipless crankbait.

I have these too. Only one I have ever used but works like a charm on the braid I use.

Happened to me yesterday. I need to try dead sticking more often.

Thanks for the suggestions. So far all I have tried is taking off a bunch of line and re-reeling it on real tight. That's seems to have worked well for the time being.

I would strongly suggest trying a walking topwater with a slower "walk-walk-pause" retrieve. I was struggling with topwater (or anything else for that matter) until I did this. Just had my best day of fishing this year this way. I think when the water is calm and the sky is clear this presentation is subtle but still hard for the bass to get a good look at it. As a side note if the bluegills are bedding I think the bass really key in on them. Anything that doesn't look like a bluegill they won't strike. A topwater walker looks like a baitfish but bass get less of a chance to look at it than other presentations. Just a theory.

I have been making progress figuring this out. Last night got two small bass, one topwater, one on a crystal jerkbait. An improvement since it was clear skies and glass smooth water. This morning the conditions eased up some. Still clear skies but a slight breeze rippled the water. The sun was low so I fished on the shaded side of the pond. Saw lots of good size bass hanging around bluegill beds. Tried a weightless worm and suspending glide bait. They would check them out but no bites. Switched to a walking topwater (Ima Skimmer ghost shad) and started killing it. 7 bass, 4 good size ones. All came close to shore near bluegill beds and stumps. I think the bass were drawn to the vulnerability of a baitfish pinned against the surface. The erratic motion and obscured view got them commit rather then investigate the lure too much and notice it's not right. There has been a lot of fishing pressure recently and it seems bass are hungry and investigate lures but won't commit once they look closely.

Trick worms don't float. I tried them. Even if you just drop them in a sink by themselves with no hook or line they fall.

Thanks for the help!

Thanks for the replies. I definitely need one that runs shallower. Now I am thinking about the Damiki Slim Jack or maybe sanding down the lip of a jerkbait I already have.

There have been multiple threads about finesse worms that truly float, but I'm looking for a worm that not only floats, but will float a small hook (even if it's just a small finesse hook). I can't find any info on currently sold worms that you can put on a small hook and it will actually stay completely on the surface. Anyone know of one? Thanks for the help.