wdp

Shallow cranks & swimbaits. Forget how many I have til I buy more (usually when on sale), then I look and say to myself..... I really don't need any more crank or swimbaits. ?

I've tried & had success with quite a few different swimbats. For hollow-bodied, I really like the Luck E Strike Bass Magic swimbaits. Caught some really big ones on those. I've also used the SK Shadalicious. They're good as well. I use the hollow bodied in more open water, sparse grass situations. For soft, solid bodied I've used The Big Bites cane thumper, Zoom swimming fluke, Keitech Swing Impact, and RI Skinny Dipper. The cane thumper & swimming fluke seem to work best fishing around grass - they come thru it a little better. But I've caught bass on all the ones I've mentioned. I always use my swimbaits with an Owner or Gamakatzu weighted spring-locked hook, anywhere from 1/8 oz to 1/4 oz. I mostly fish pretty shallow waters. Dang those look sweet. I'll have to give them a try. I have to admit I have a swimbait problem, lol. I got tons of em.

dragger201 I haven't fished Loakfoma in over 3 yrs, and it was from the bank. I used to fish Doyle Arm a lot. Did really well swimming horny toads & zoom ultra vibe speed worms on the surface along the weedline & lily pads edges. Had some great blowups! And oh yeah! Great to have the golden egg back at MSU! GO DAWGS!!!!

Here's my 2 cents worth. I think a lot that's been said makes logical sense, but when it comes to fishing, sometimes it's hard to explain bass behavior. For example, I was fishing a spot one day that was a deeper depression next to 2 big fields of lily pads. It was probably only 4-5 ft deep, but also had a couple of sunken logs on it. I would throw a white pearl super fluke past that depression and twitch/jerk the fluke into that spot & I'd kill it. It was non stop action for about 20 mins or so. Bet I caught 15 or 16 one to two pounders right after another with a few misses mixed in there. Then all the sudden I hooked a hawg. Was prob 6 lbs or more. My point, you never know. I was using that same bait & presentation the whole time. Then finally hooked a good one. Kinda hard to leave a spot when they're biting that good. I got no idea why that big one finally bit. And anybody that tries to explain it is just guessing. No way to know for sure.

Lately, I've been using a SK KVD splash. It's pretty noisy, but more of a splashy/spitting noise. Comes with good stock hooks too. Other than it & the Rapala skitter pop, I use old fashioned Rebel Pop R. It's got that distinct cork popping noise. But also has terrible hooks that I'll replace.

My wife is from Indianola, very close to Sunflower. P.S. I like Coach O a lot better now that he's at LSU, instead of leading them Rebels. ;-)

Fished slews on Tenn Tom a little with my Dad while I was in high school, mostly for bream & crappie. And yeah, I had my best luck on Loakfoma before the rebuild. The handful of times I've fished it since then I haven't done as well. It's hard to get down there now since I moved.

You might also check out some of the h2o express jerkbaits at Academy. They're pretty inexpensive. Not sure if they will dive as deep as the LC pointer tho. I've been pleasantly surprised by most of the hard baits at Academy. They have really sharp vmc hooks & usually only costs a few bucks so you don't get bent outta shape when you lose one. They seem to work well too, at least for me.

Hey! I'm guessing you live in Starkville. I lived there for 17 yrs until I move to Southaven for work a little over 8 yrs ago. Went to grad school at MSU & also worked on campus for 12 yrs. And another tidbit, I grew up in Columbus, MS & worked for a bit making Scum Frog fishing lures while in college. If you get a chance, check out the bass fishing at Noxubee Refuge. I had many a good day on Loakfoma.

I've thought about trying it. Went by there one day, but a soccer tourney was going on & they were charging for parking. Plus, the entrance on Shelby Dr close to the pond was blocked off as an exit only for people leaving the tourney. So didn't end up fishing it. So I went to Halle Park instead. Good to know it's got bass. Thanks for info. It's on Forest Hill Irene close to 385. Huge soccer field complex.

Welcome. I'm new to these forums also.

Hey everybody. Joined a couple weeks ago but just now getting around to introducing myself. Been fishing for 40+ yrs since I was young & my Dad and grandad would take me. I mostly fish for LMB around N MS and West TN/Memphis area. Looking forward to all the great info on the forums and this website. Occupation: Analytical Chemist Hometown: Southaven, MS College: Miss State (Go Dawgs) Fav technique: Shallow Cranking

100% agreement!

I've never been a Dallas fan until this year - always kinda hated them. But then they drafted Dak. I went to Miss State, worked at the university for 12 yrs & lived in Starkville, MS for 17 yrs. My oldest kid is a freshman at MSU now. Most of my wife's family are Bulldawg fans. My point, we bleed maroon & loved Dak Prescott while he was at MSU. He's a great guy. I've watch every Dallas game this yr - the most NFL I've watched in probably the last 10 yrs combined. That was a close one tonight. I hope they win it all. Go Cowboys!

I let the conditions dictate which I use. On calmer days, I'll use both a spook style walking bait and a popper. But, with the popper I've learned to walk the dog with it too. It's a much more subtle action than ripping & chugging the bait - and it doesn't track left & right near as much as a spook. The Rapala Skitter Pop works great on calm days. Now if it's windy, I work a popper more aggressively with a chugging & true popping sound. Or, I'll fish a buzz frog - horny toad or ribbit.

Yep. I fished there Sunday evening. Saw lots of big bass busting in the middle on pods of shad. Occasionally one would bust closer to shore, but they were still hard to catch. Tried a popper, fluke & baby 1 minus with no luck. Finally got one on a red eye shad. Only bout a pound. Immediately hooked up again in same spot & it got off. Only 2 bites I had.