wdp

Well, the playoff picture just got a little less muddy with Michigan & Oklahoma losing.

Nothing as cool as mountain lions or bears, but this little guy was very curious as I was leaving the boat ramp one day. Noxubee Wildlife Refuge in MS. Also saw plenty of gators at this place......... a lotta gators.

Not sure Bama is gonna be in the NC. Georgia is looking scary good at the moment. I'd say they got a legit shot at winning the SEC.

I agree whole heartedly. I've had my heart broken a time or two fishing lipless cranks. Don't know why, but they seem to be able to shake loose from a lipless easier than any other crankbait. ? I upgrade to Gammy short shanks on my Redeyes but still lose a few fish.

Awesome! That's what it's all about right there. ?

Like I said..... I'm being lazy. The rod I've been using is an el cheapo I got on sale from Gander Mtn a few yrs ago for like $14. It's a 6'6" MF (pretty stiff tip section) with 10 lb braid at the moment. It actually works pretty well for shakey heads believe or not. Most times I'll switch to the Shroomz & TRD on it when I can't get bit on anything else & outta convenience. It'll actually sling a little TRD a good distance with the light braid. I'm prob being overzealous on hooksets too which doesn't help. I've only had the hook bend out on 1 or 2 Shroomz. Already tossed em. Thanks for the help & advice. That's what I'm using too but MF. Like I said, being lazy. I usually switch to the TRD when I can't buy a bite. I'm not really a fan of finesse, but the TRDs sure do catch em. I didn't start fishing shakey heads til about 5 yrs ago, Ned Rigs in the last few months. I've only tried a drop shot twice, maybe 3x. Lol. Appreciate the input. ? I'm cracking up we both used the term "el cheapo", something my Dad always says. ?

Best I've found was a brand new looking whopper plopper 90. Found a few decent topwater poppers & a rapala shadow rap too.

Yeah, think this is my problem too. I'm too lazy to switch up to a true light finesse set up to fish these. I just change up to the Shroomz & TRD using my spinning rod that already has 10 or 15 lb braid. Drag is set pretty high also. I should add that I've never had a hook completely straighten out & have a fish come unbuttoned. It was more that the hook just bent up a little a few times requiring a little rebending with some needle nose pliers. Kinda makes me a little paranoid tho that the light wire hook would eventually break if I had to rebend it a few more times.

Is it just me, or does OSU head coach Mike Gundy look like a young Mel Gibson?

Yeah, I'd guess they had to test & make sure it works with the Elaztech material. Sure doesn't look like it'd be easy to thread it on the hook tho. So, do you not use the ZMan products at all, or just not their Shroomz? What types of jig heads & baits do you prefer?

I've had good luck with the owner ultra, Picasso, and a few other brands of shakey heads. Matter of fact, caught 5 this morn on a shakey head. Only thing I tried that got bit. Zoom trick & finesse worms work well, as do ultra vibe speed worms. Bass Assassin Tapout worms work well too & will stand straight up. Last few weeks I've been using a pack of Gambler Sweebo worms I found lying around in all my tackle junk. They stand up straight too & I've been having success with them.

Sorry guys. Didn't mean to cause a heated debate. I really don't care if it's a true Ned Rig or not so long as it catches fish. Kinda why I put it in quotation marks in the title. ? I just remembered reading complaints in a few other threads about some not liking the original bait keeper & about hooks bending. Thought this might be a solution to some users. Kinda wanted opinions if anybody has tried these new Shroomz yet. And if they're worth trying. I'm prob not fishing it right either. I just started trying it a few months ago. I've used a M F rod with braid. Might be why I've had a few hooks bend. Dang thing sure does catch fish tho, especially when nothing else seems to be working. And yes @Team9nine you are a curmudgeon. ? Just kidding. You seem like a good guy & I really enjoy your posts. ?

I've had it happen a few times while using my phone. It happened the 1st time after the update and then has happened a few more times only after I've cleared the cache in my web browser. No biggie, I just assumed it was an added level of security from the latest website update.

I've got the same thoughts. I'm not a big fan of "screw on" type bait keepers for regular plastics. Always kinda of a pain to get em just right. Can't imagine how hard it'll be to get the Elaztech material on that thing. The bigger hook I don't mind. I've had the normal Shroomz hooks bend out fighting fish that were only a pound.

Just saw that Z Man has come out with a new Shroomz jig head. Looks like it has a little beefier hook and a different type bait keeper than the original Shroomz. I've read some comments in other threads that some people don't like the bait keeper on the original. Any thoughts? Anybody tried em yet? http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Z_Man_Ned_Lockz_HD_Jig_Heads_5pk/descpage-ZNLHD.html

To me, FC has improved greatly over the last 15 years. When I first started using it, it was very stiff and very unmanageable. I also had a lotta knot failures & line breakages, especially with Berkley Transition. Tried a few others that were better in the failure department, but were still stiff & hard to use. The last few yrs I've been using Invizx in 12 & 15 lb test for all my cranking. It's great line & very manageable. Not all FC lines are created equally.

Try a t-rigged Zoom Mag II or Ole Monster worm with a 3/8 - 1/2 oz weight. During the hot summer months, fish it slow in deeper water with structure, i.e. a hump, ditch, channel, drop off, etc. If there is some cover present near the structure like stumps, laydowns, grass, even better. Sometimes, deeper water is relative btw. My best fish this year came in June fishing a creek channel ditch that is only a ft deeper than the surrounding flat of 3-4 ft. But I caught her near the location where the whole flat drops off to 6-8 ft.

What your wife said is funny, but your boy's reply is hilarious! ???

How bout them Mississippi State Bulldawgs!!!!! HAIL STATE!!!!

Found em. Food for thought. https://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/catchability.html https://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/smart_bass.html

I'll have to partially disagree. A little 10 acre or less pond in my neighborhood has received a lot a pressure over the last 5 yrs, mostly by me. Others have seen me catching good ones outta of it & now there is a fairly steady barrage of fisher peoples. I always approach quietly with stealthy presentations & even go as far as wearing neutral colored clothes to not spook fish. Now the others, prob not so much so you may have a point there. I really think they get conditioned to certain baits. Lately I've been resorting to finesse, blah, which I hate. But I think you expose any animal to enough negative stimuli (i.e. repeated C+R), they'll get conditioned to not bite certain artificial lures. Your example of taking the same bass 3 times in 7 months, I wouldn't consider that often enough to make a bass gun shy. I read an interesting article about some possible negative effects of C+R that I think was published on here or Bassmaster's. I'll post link if I can find it.

Right here, in a nutshell. If the bass can't become conditioned, why does the bite become much less frequent in heavily pressured waters? Still..... not saying that makes em smart. ? But they def will learn to NOT hit certain baits.

NOPE!!!!!

I tried fishing that pond once & gave up because like you said, such limited access. Ain't no way I'd go wading in that water...... especially with moccasins. ?

@nighthawk25 I used to be same way about crankbaits vs soft plastics. I used soft baits about 95% of the time. Over the last 4-5 yrs, that has now become reversed. I'm an exclusive shallower cranker because I'm usually fishing water < 6 ft or fishing from the bank. As others have said, you gotta get the correct crankbait to match your scenario, then you'll become a believer in cranks. My best fish over the last few yrs have been on shallow cranks. For areas with grass and weeds I use the Baby 1- a lot (change the stock hooks cause they're terrible). The small BPS Egg is good too, as is the Academy brand H2O Express wakebait. 6th Sense also has a wakebait 80x Movement that has an extremely wide wobble. These all go 1 ft or less. The trick is to vary the retrieve with a burn and pause retrieve. Like 1-4 really fast handle turns, then pause. The bass will slam it on the pause. Another good cranking method for shallow grass is a 1/4 oz lipless crank. I'm a big fan of Strike King Redeye Shad but other prefer a Rattle Trap. Spool up with some stout line like 15 lb Big Game, Seaguar Invizx or even some 20-30 lb braid. Same retrieve - burn and pause it. You'll get slammed on the pause. Works great too if you occasionally get snagged in some grass. Rip it free & you'll get bites that way too.