PaBassMan13

Berkley Havoc Flat Dawg! $2.99 for an 8 pack and they have just as much salt; if not more than a Senko. In my opinion.....these will out-fish a Senko side-by-side 7 days a week. And no; I am not sponsored or have any relationship with Berkley.

Just this past weekend I discovered the Berkley Havoc Bottom Hopper Jr. I have never used them before but decided to give them a try. I wanted to use them as an unweighted wacky worm to go along with the Flat Dawgs but they were just a little too light for me. So instead I decided to rig the Black Emerald color on a 1/16 oz Mushroom Jighead (Ned Rig) and it was game on. I caught 17 Bass in less than 3 hours. The biggest was only 2.5 lbs but another great morning fishing the "Ned Rig" AND a Havoc Bait. Back to the Flat Dawg as well; this past weekend I was fishing the Flat Dawg Wacky Rigged on a different lake; to my surprise this is what I managed to catch. I LOVE HAVOC BAITS; just sayin'

I have used the Flat Dawg weightless texas rigged and do like it; but they do rip VERY easily and are normally good for one fish. I started using them on a wacky rig and liked them but again; they ripped very easily. I solved that problem with an o-ring; I had one flat dawg last for 22 bass a few weeks ago with the o-ring. Now that was impressive, haha! I found that rigging them with a worm hook and weightless I use a 2/0 ewg hook; it always seemed like anything larger would rip the bait on even a bluegill nibble. But they do cast a mile and have great action. I would take one of those over a senko 7 days a week. I don't think you have a bad batch; that's just how they are. They have a TON of salt in them and rip very easily; but those things sure do catch Bass! I plan on using them for a drop shot as well. Actually; that's why I bought them originally; to use as a drop shot bait. When rigging do you use it wacky style or hook through the tip when drop shotting?

I see a lot of folks will rig a Zoom Trick Worm on a Wacky Rig; but does anyone rig a Berkley Havoc Bottom Hopper or Bottom Hopper Jr. on a Wacky Rig? I currently use a Berkley Havoc Flat Dawg on the Wacky Rig and it does pretty well. But I'm looking for something even a little more finesse and thought the Bottom Hopper Jr. would be a good choice. I have already ordered them but just wondering if anyone else has tried this bait. Or if you have used the Trick Worm for a Wacky Rig I would like to hear your results as well (since it's kind of the same bait). It seems the beauty of the Bottom Hopper is that I should be able to wacky rig it; I can throw it on a neko rig, a shakey head, a ned rig and even weightless texas rig. It seems as if it's a VERY versatile bait.

I did end up sinking just one screw to hold the pedal down. It seems to work pretty well but I'll give it a few more trips to make sure I like it before I sink another one or two screws in.

Just wondering if folks mount their trolling motor foot pedals to the deck. I do not have a recessed pedal nor do I have plans to buy a tray for it. But is it better to screw it down to the deck or do you guys just leave it loose on the deck. I can see pros and cons to either so I would like to know your experiences either way. I like that I can move it around right now but is it better to always have it in one place?

Well; I could always cut an inch of the Fuse 4.4; then it would be a Fuse 3.4, haha.....just giving you a hard time : ) But seriously; if I see I'm not getting bites I would certainly not object to trimming it down a bit.

Actually; I read an article in Bassmaster a few months ago where Ned himself states that he also uses a Z man Hula Stick and a Z man ShadZ; both baits are 4" and almost 5" respectively. You don't necessarily need to use a 2.5-3" straight worm to be a Ned Rig. Z man also put out a 4" big trd so you can still officially have a Ned Rig with a 4" bait. Just sayin'

New Ned Rig bait found this past weekend; works even better than a BPS Stik-O or a Z-Man TRD! The MISSILE BAITS FUSE 4.4 21 Bass in 90 minutes of fishing in the rain on Saturday; WOW.....what a fun time. I am now a believer!

Ned Rig Bass BPS 3" Stik-O in California Craw with a BPS 1/16 oz. Shroom Head. I have used the BPS Brand worm since last season and it has not disappointed one bit. I have caught some great numbers but a few very nice bass as well (along with a couple of 25"+ pickerel). LOVE THE NED RIG!

I saw that video; nasty stuff. It's things like that that make me wear my life vest all the time. How easily they could have hit their heads etc on the way out of the boat. But fortunately they had their life vests on and things turned out okay for them. Not that my boat will hit that speed but it could happen anytime.

Just wondering if anyone out there fishes (or has fished) Deep Creek lake in Maryland. I will have the pleasure of spending a week there in June. I will be launching the boat at the State Park and taking it down to the Southern end of the lake where it'll stay in the boat slip for the week. I have tried to do a little research online but find most of the info is relating to the Northern end of the lake. There are some very large floating dock infested coves in the lower end so I am wondering if anyone can offer any advice. Generally most info I find says to fish the docks in June. Can anyone steer me in the right direction for the lower end of the lake? They say the Northern end is very busy and very commercialized with houses, condos etc; but the Southern end is supposed to be much less developed and a little quieter. It looks like the Yacht Club is less than a mile from where I'll be staying so that could get crowded but with those large coves around I could imagine I could spend the whole week just checking out one or two of those. As of now my plan is to hit the docks with soft jerkbaits, wacky rigs and ned rigs. I have also read that Pop-R's around main lake points can be very good first thing in the morning?

The one you show listed on Amazon is for the Manual Inflate; not the Auto/Manual Inflate. Still a good price on the manual version though. I am not an actual non-swimmer; I am just not a strong swimmer by any means. I would imagine my swimming abilities may be less if put into a "situation". I believe it can take up to 5-10 seconds for it to auto-inflate. I should be good for that amount of time. I just can't see myself swimming 500 yards to the shoreline without one (if I had to). What prompted me to create this post was the fact that a man drowned at my local lake less than a week ago. He and two of his buddies went out at midnight on Friday night. Apparently they overloaded the small boat and within a few minutes from leaving the dock the boat started filling with water. The boat flipped over; two of the men swam safely back to shore (about 50 feet away) and the third man did not make it. So of course comments were made about him not wearing a life jacket because that would have "saved his life". But yet so many of these folks that state the guy was stupid for not wearing one I wonder if they themselves are out on the lake without one. Most folks I see on my local lake do not wear them; even when running the big motor. I wear mine all of the time. So I am not saying I cannot swim; I can swim somewhat......but not sure how it would be in a panic situation.

So how many of you out there actually wear a life jacket out on the lake? When tragedy strikes I see comments all over the internet saying how the folks were fools for not wearing a life jacket etc. But yet I see so few folks that actually do wear them. I for one am not the greatest swimmer in the world so I do wear a life jacket even though I am not required to. I prefer my Mustang inflatable vest. Not only is the vest comfortable; it's so lightweight that you almost forget you're even wearing it. Certainly not the least expensive life vest around but I for one cannot put a price on my safety. But seeing so few PFD's worn by folks out on the lake I was just curious who does wear one. For the Tourneys you must wear one when operating the outboard so I am sure that rule is followed; but how many folks take them right off as soon as they shut down the big motor? If anyone is interested; Overton's has some great pricing (and free shipping) on the MIT 100. Plus they have online deals (up to 20% off) which makes them even cheaper. I actually have the manual only version now but my auto/manual inflate is on the way; you never know when you might enter the water unconscious. http://www.overtons.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?pdesc=Mustang-M-I-T-100-Automatic-Inflatable-PFD&i=845387

Honestly; when I found out they were being discontinued I bought a bunch of Centipedes and nails; it just wasn't the same at all to me. Fortunately I found 50 packs in TW's inventory (of my 3 fav colors) and bought them all. I am loaded with them now but eventually I'll be out of them and that will be a horrible day : (

Yeah; it seems like it's either a love/hate with the Havoc lineup. I just really like Berkley Baits so when they released the Havoc line I was very excited to try them. Sure there's a few of them that I did not like or they would catch a single little Bass but I am more than happy with several of them. I never tried the bottom hopper; sounds like it might be a good Neko Rig bait if it floats?

You'll have to get a pack or two of the Flat Dawgs and try them. They are LOADED with salt and durability can be an issue; but as I said in my original post.....I was able to catch 22 Bass the other weekend with just one worm (rigged wacky WITH an o-ring). Plus; 8 baits for $3.....that's a lot of Bass, haha!

Yes; hooking the centipede from the bottom through the top gives it GREAT action; you'll love it. I never tried drop shotting the backslide; good idea! As far as backslides I own about 300+ of them right now : ) I have green pumpkin; chartreuse and baby bass. I have tried every color they made but these were the three that worked best for me. I have one lake in my area that just rocks on the chartreuse one; but that is the only lake that color works on. As far as the flat dawgs; they are excellent! I hope they do not stop making those or else I'll have to buy out the TW inventory again, haha. I also used to use the craw fatty quite a bit; but since I finesse fish only I do not use them any more. But I certainly caught a ton of fish on them.

Sadly when I heard that the Backslide was being discontinued I went out and bought a bunch of Zoom Centipedes as a replacement (along with a pack of nails) and they weren't even close to a Backslide : ( That's when I went and bought 50 packs of Backslides from TW (I bought out there entire inventory of my three favorite colors). On a good note though; the Zoom Centipedes are an incredible wacky rig bait. Just make sure to rig them through the bottom to top as opposed to side to side; you'll get much better action that way You want the bait on its "side" once it's rigged). I used the Centipedes all last season on a Wacky Rig and had great success; but this year I replaced them with the Havoc Flat Dawg as my wacky rig bait.

I know there have been forums in the past on the subject but it seems like it's been a little while. Is anyone out there still using Berkley Havoc Baits? I personally love them. Berkley doesn't really seem to be pushing them a whole lot anymore; as a matter of fact there were no new Havoc releases this year. My favorite Havoc Bait was the Back Slide which has been discontinued for a little while now. But before they were sold out I went on to the TW site and purchased every single pack they had in Green Pumpkin, Chartreuse and Baby Bass (over 50 packs total). I also use (and love) the Berkley Havoc Jerk; I feel as though these are much better than a Fluke or equivalent bait. I have caught tons of Bass on this awesome bait. I also have an enormous supply of the Berkley Havoc Flat Dawg stick worm. The beauty of this bait is that you can throw it on a weightless Texas Rig; you can throw it on a Neko Rig, you can throw it (my favorite way) on a standard Wacky Rig or cut it in half for a Ned Rig. It is such a versatile bait. My biggest issue with the Flat Dawg was that there is so much salt in the bait it had serious durability issuse. I recently purchased an o-ring tool and was able to catch 22 Bass on just one Flat Dawg. You cannot get much better than that. So although Havoc Baits seem to have faded into the background I for one still use them all of the time and am still having great results with them. I have tried numerous other Havoc Baits but the above mentioned ones are the ones that have stuck with me and earned FT status in my tackle bag.

I would have to say that my number one bait for 2016 would have to be a Ned Rig. I used a BPS 3" Stik-O (California Craw) with a BPS 1/16 oz. Shroom Head. Fall of 2016 was PHENOMENAL with that rig. I plan to use it more in 2017 but the Berkley Havoc Flat Dawg on a Wacky Rig so far has been very good to me; could be my top bait for 2017.....we'll see.

Any luck with the Neko Rig yet? I started fishing it this season as well and have caught a few. I'm still figuring out the exact setup as far as baits and weights etc to use. As of now I am using a Berkley Havoc Flat Dawg, a VMC 1/16 oz Neko Weight and a VMC Neko Hook (size #1). I honestly have not used it often yet but have caught a few bass on it. I start out with a Ned Rig and that typically draws a lot of strikes; if that slows down then I start throwing a Neko Rig.

Yes Sir you have.....although I must say; I really do not like the PA Fisherman Forum very much. Too much other stuff being discussed instead of actually fishing info etc. Oh well; haha! Northern Lancaster County.......So do you fish Kaercher Creek at all? I've been there three times and have yet to catch a bass out of it, haha. The first time up there my rod strap broke on the way and I lost all of my rods. The 2nd trip up my son (who rarely fishes) caught a few; I did not and my third trip up there was uneventful (including catching anything, haha). I do pretty well though on Blue Marsh and also all of the smaller electric only lakes down in Chester County.

I bought a few of the Arashi Wakebaits when they first came out. Never got a single bite on one so I sold them.

Thanks all for the explanation, haha! No hard feelings whatsoever But seriously; I do love the 3.5" Storm 360 GT's. They have caught a lot of Bass for me so far this season; and the season only started about a month ago. I honestly have never owned any Storm baits with the exception of their Chug Bugs (which are excellent) so I did not have a lot to base my decision on to buy the Storm Brand baits. Every year I look over all of the new baits that are released and skip pretty much every one of them. The Storm 360 just looked different TO ME so I went for it, haha. I am certainly glad I did.