IgotWood

Loon and bone for me! A general rule of thumb in regards to surface baits, are dark baits contrast an overcast sky, and light colors contrast better against a sunny blue sky. The school of thought is that the fish are looking up at the bait and only seeing its profile against the sky above.

Same for me. Typically white/bone, or black. I have heard that chrome or gold can also be effective in certain conditions.

I recently saw a vid on youtube where a guys demonstrates an o-ring on the head of creature baits rigged on flippin hooks. Hard to describe in in words, but you put an o-ring 2-3 notches down the head, and pass the hook point through the o-ring, and setting the barbs at the eye of the hooks under the o-ring. Supposedly it works just like o-rings on senkos. I haven't tried this yet, but I plan on it this week. I use SK structure bugs, and usually only get one fish per bait. It has gotten to be rather expensive lately.

Wacky senko...weighted or not. If the water is muddy, the fish are likely to be on structure, and probably won't move much for a bait, if the fish can even detect it. Put your bait right in/on the structure, let it fall. I don't typically fish them super slow like many folks do. In dirty water, I try to keep the bait in motion as much as possible. Once it hits bottom, I immediately pick up my rod tip, and let it fall again. Once my bait is just a few feet out of the strike zone, or away from the structure, I reel up and do it again. I like coreshot luminescent chartreuse tip, and watermelon lemon laminate.

I don't think color is all that important. All the fish sees from below is a black profile of your bait. A black bait contrasts well with a white or gray overcast sky, while a white bait contrasts better with a bright blue sunny sky.I guess if you're fishing super slow, a fish may have more time to track it and be able to see it in color. But for the most part, I think it's just a contrasting shadow against the sky.

I fish wacky A LOT, and use this this hook almost exclusively. I have had a few poorly hooked fish. It's part of fishing. My hook-up ratio with his hook is d**n near 100%. Think about what happens when a fish grabs your bait. He opens his mouth and sucks it in, then opens his mouth several more times to move the bait and position it in its mouth to be swallowed. Your bait gets tumbled around quite a bit. It's no surprise the hook isn't always in the upper lip or corner of the mouth every time. Or, consider this; This hook sinks head down, and hook point down. If the fish grabs the worm broadside when it is falling, and you tighten the line, chances are the hook will catch the bottom lip.

I am no jig sharpie. In fact, I have only been fishing them for s short time now. I have tried several different jigs, but I seem to favor the Siebert Dredge Series brush jig. I seem to hang them up less often then other jigs, and I really like the hook on it. I fish them in shallow water with very heavy cover (trees, laydowns). Sadly though...the fish on my water seem to be terrified of jigs and I don't get very many bites. The Siebert site is tad frustrating, because every jig, in every series, in every style has the same written description.

I had similar conditions after the big tropical storm last week. Visibility was less than a foot, and the water had cooled off by 20 degrees. From my experience, when you have such a drastic change in conditions, you can't really have high expectations on the water. Anyhow, last week, the fish were very tight on the cover, and they wouldn't really move. I tried several baits, and finally got bit on a Rage Structure Bug t-rigged, and fish super slowwwwwww. The bites were almost completely undetectable. I missed a lot of fish that morning.

I have been fishing my whole life and have never had an issue with a clinch or improved clinch. It's definitely NOT the knot...it's the line! I am very picky about the flouro I use. Some lines tie like crap, and I do not use them. So far, Seagar is a winner for me. Been using it for years. You may also try Yo-Zuri Hybrid. It is very abrasion resistant, and it ties very well. The Davy knot may also work for you. It has very few turns, thus minimizing the opportunity for burn. I use it for flyfishing to tie a fly to a flouro leader. Very strong knot, and very fast and easy to tie! I haven't tried it on spin or casting rigs though.

Interesting! I thank you all for the replies. Very useful information. Anybody use swim baits, or swim jigs? Hot Rod, do you cast and jig it back? Or do you prefer to locate fish with your electronics and vertically jig?

I have about a dozen Mojo's, most of which are the saltwater version. I haven't broken one, but I've seen a few break before, due to misuse. The more common issue I've seen with them is the reel seat comes loose on them and spins on the blank. Me and a friend of mine have sent many Mojo's back for bad reel seats. I haven not seen this issue on the freshwater Mojo's, however. At least St Croix is pertty easy to deal with in regard to warranties.

Thanks for the reply. This is exactly what I did.I have fished it several times, but a few days ago, I threw the worm where I was already catching on a big worm. I even threw the same color. I had one bite on it, but that was it. Put the 12" worm back on and hooked up right away. I'll keep at it.

I'm planning on fishing a spot with very steep banks, and dark water. The banks drop to between 10-12ft in a hurry, and the water is very dark. It's not cloudy and muddy, it's just really dark stained...it almost looks black. What would be your lure choice, and/or color choice?

Whopper Plopper 90, in loon

I have heard quite a few guys rave about this bait. I bought a bag this summer, and have been fishing it quite a bit. Supposedly, it has an air pocket in its tail which keeps the tail elevated off the bottom while at rest, and giving the tail a slow, and natural looking action. I want to like this worm, but it just does not draw strikes for me. Maybe it's me...I don't know... I've rigged it with different weights, and I've tried several different hooks and hooks sizes. I like the Owner EWG worm hook in a 5/0, but still, the movement on this bait seems minimal, and its tail lays flat on the bottom. Am I doing something wrong? Anybody here use this bait with any success?

I fish senkos a lot! ....And I feel most of the strikes! I use two rods, a 6'6" med/light spin (it's a cheap Daiwa), and believe it or not, a St Croix Mojo Bass MJC68MXF, which is designed to be a topwater rod, but the tip is perfect, and the overall action of the rod is great. Despite what many say, I fish braid. I use PowerPro Super Slick 10lb, and either 8lb or 10lb flouro leader of 3-5'. I allow the bait to fall on a semi-slack line...not tight, but not completely slack. And even when I do not feel a strike, I can see it in the line because the the braid tends to float a little bit. If you're fishing in the wind, senkos can be a bit of a pain. If you don't have a soft tip, I don't think you will feel many of the strikes.

Went out yesterday morning after the hurricane came through Saturday. I had no expectations, but it was the only day I could get out, and I needed some aquatic therapy. Caught 3, and missed many. Water has cooled 20 degrees over the past week, and was muddy with less than a foot of visibility. The bites were coming on a t-rigged Rage Structure Bug in junebug, and were nearly undetectable. I probably had a dozen bites, but only connected with a few. This one was the only keeper and came in at a little over 17". A welcomed treat in spite of the conditions.

I understand what you all are saying, and I thank you for the replies. Maybe I could have worded the question a little bit better. If you were going to fish somewhere new, with little to no information, what is a couple of baits or techniques that you would definitely have at the ready? I know most guys will go to the jig or soft-plastics. But is there another go-to bait or technique that works just about anytime, anywhere for you?

I'm still wet behind the ears when it comes to freshwater bass fishing. I thought this might make a good discussion, and I hope to learn something from it as well. I primarily fish only two lakes, both of which are minutes from my house. I would say that I have been quite successful for my first season, but sometimes I feel bored and complacent, and I get the urge to fish new water. However, often times I am a bit discouraged or intimidated to do so, due to my lack of experience, technique, and gear. What would you say makes a rounded fishermen, who would be confident fishing on any bass water, any time of the year? I'm not talking about a guy who is a master of every single technique in the book. Rather, a guy who has a limited amount of gear, and has just a few technique he/she is good at. For example, you can only bring 3-4 rods with you, and a couple of Plano boxes, and you have NO clue where you might be going,could be summer or winter, maybe Texas, Florida, Wisconsin, California, etc.....what would you bring with you? and what techniques would you focus your tackle on?

I fish braid for everything! I always fish a flouro leader of 2'-5', and I use the ALBERTO knot, which is a variation of an albright knot. If I am exclusively fishing surface lures, or in heavy slop, I'll forego the flouro leader.

I agree with a few points previously noted. I think the difference in castability is going to be minimal. Since you said you're fishing near docks, you should weigh out the pros and cons. Gain a few feet on your cast, and lose some breaking strength, and more importantly, abrasion resistance? Or, stick with 15lb and figure out a better way to position yourself to get better casts at your target? You can also shop different brands of braid. Just as Dwight Hoddle noted, different brands advertise different diameters for their lines in comparison with other brands. For the record, I exclusively fish Power Pro Super Slick...though many people hate it, I like this line the best. It casts great, is super sensitive, and I find it to be just abrasion resistance as any other line. If financially possible, you might consider a baitcaster. You can typically cast heavier lines with a baitcaster better than you can with a spinning rod.

Funny story...My buddy and I a few years ago were surfcasting for stripers from a beach in Rhode Island. We were into some solid fish for about two hours.....well, HE was into fish.... It was a breezy night with an east wind in Novemeber. It was cold, and bitter, and the surf was up pretty good. He was fishing a large needlefish plug, and he was able to get it out beyond the breaking surf. I had a couple of lighter needles, but I couldn't cast them very well. He was catching fish on almost every cast for just about two hours. He hung up in the rocks and broke it plug off. Now that he lost the magic lure, the bite stopped. He left and walked down the beach a little bit. A few minutes later, I reeled up my plug, and saw his plug hanging off of it. Now I'M into fish! He came walking back when he saw my light on a few times and he noticed I was catching fish. It's the middle of the night, and you can hardly see your hand in front of your face. He saw me catch several big fish, and he wandered over to me asking what I was using. I turned on my light to show him. The look on his face was absolutely priceless!! LOL!!!! He let me continue to use if, but the bite died quickly. I told him I would sell it back to him when we got back to the truck. I teased him a bit about it, and gave it back before we went home.

Just a few weeks ago, my buddy and I were out in our kayaks. We were fishing a bunch of standing cypress in the middle of the lake, in 5-8' of water. We went all morning with just a few small bites. Now it's 1pm, we're working our way back to the dock. We were both bouncing wacky worms off the trees with no expectations, considering it was 1pm and and water temps were in the mid 90's. He hooks a big fish, and lands it...6.5lbs. I stopped and helped him, and took some photos. I get back to fishing, and on my next cast, BAM, I caught one 6.5lbs. They were different fish for sure, because one of them was tagged. He and I both had our PB that day.

Great looking fish! I'm dying to rip giant streamers on the White in Arkansas! That's a dream trip for me. Turkey Sandwich, what wrong with the Delaware? They have some fantastic streamer, dry, and nymph fishing. We've even had great nights chucking mouse flies in the dark. Big fish on The "D". You could even target those giant browns in the Great Lakes tribs in the fall. I used to go out to Rochester every year in late October. You can get around the steelhead and catch plenty of huge browns in excess of 10lbs.

I bought a Lews Pro G last month, and went out two weeks later and bought another one. Awesome reel! I'm a baitcasting newb, and luckily had no trouble getting it adjusted. It casts like a bomb, and the drag is smooth as a baby's bottom. I put just a small amount of 14lb mono down for backing, and have about 100yds of 10lb braid on one reel, and about 75yds of 20lb braid on the other, and both reels still have room in the spool for more. On the flip side, the Curado has been around for many years, and has proven its reliability.