FishDewd

I think I get what he was saying... for lack of a better term there can be cavities that are either areas in the middle of the slop where there is nothing, or areas inside the slop that are more like a cave. I just learned this the other day on my last outing. The water was clear enough that I saw a good sized bass dart beneath what looked like a sold wall of tree roots from my vantage point. But obviously it wasn't. It was an overhang with an open area beneath it. So I tried for a while to get my bait beneath that ledge to entice it to bite, but it just didn't happen. Am I close in my assessment?

Confirmed it has no lettering. Also, I now see obvious signs that the bill was glued in cause there is some residue around the edges. I bet it works well though, I just need to learn how to work a jerkbait. @Comfortably Numb That is a good looking jig. I may have to try my hand at making on like that at some point, but I am thinking I'd like some yellow on the bottom rather than orange. I love the black striping in that skirt.

As far as I know it doesn't. I've looked and never noticed any wording on it. But I will look again when I get home. It does feel like wood to me and it has a slight rattle when shaken.

I have something similar to this, that is really old, is made of balsa, and appears to have been hand made back in the day. It belonged to my great uncle Terri, so it has some sentimental value and I've never actually used it. Plus it needs a set of new split rings and hooks before it could be used.

I'm cool with revolvers, although I'm not fond of short barrel guns like a ***" barrel, especially on higher velocity loads. My primary personal carry is a .40 that holds 10. I shoot it real well so I'm comfortable with it. But go with what feels right to you of course. I find revolvers to be bulkier feeling though.

I throw into cover and grass quite a bit, but it's usually really close to shore (bank fisherman) so I generally just flip it in there or throw it past and drag it in. But based on that video I need more weight when doing that. There's a lot of tree roots/debris and thick grass where I do that at, and what he talks about "jiggling it down" I can fully relate to that. Hm, sounds like I need on rod set up just for doing that and the other for lighter rigging. Good info in this thread!

I'd be happy just to be able to pitch like that lol. I picked up a few points from his technique and attempted to practice outside. But it's pouring rain... so I just pitched off the covered back patio onto the deck/back yard. I am definitely way more accurate and can pitch it a little farther but still much work to do. Still haven't figured out how to consistently launch it low like that while raising the rod up as high as he does. That's pretty cool, and I'll certainly try it now that I see what I've been doing wrong.

Okay, cool, good to know, thanks! I went out this morning and fished same lake. I started with topwater, bu got no love, so went back the T rig rod. I had it unpegged and used a 3/0 EWG instead of the 4/0 round bend. It was a tough day though, we've had a front move in that dropped temps about 20 degrees pretty quickly, along with a pressure drop. Got a few nibbles from definite panfish, but not much else. But, A for effort right? Can't catch 'em if you're not fishing! @geo g Normally I will run a 1/4-3/16 weight cause of the water chop and wind but I might try a 1/8 oz next time out. The water is really deep in areas so a slower descent may be the way to go. Also, I know about the rapid tapping of panfish, but these tend to only tap or two times by comparison. If I feel the tap, tap, tap, tap going on I will reel it away from that area. One good tap or thunk and I will set it, panfish or not cause to me that could be a bass.

All right, so I downsized hook to a 3/0 EWG. I just don't like the round bends very much though I know a lot of others do. I removed the peg. And made sure the eyelet was buried into the bait, which I do generally do anyway, just thought I'd mention. So long as weather permits I'll be meeting someone at a lake tomorrow for round 2. Any advice technique wise? I usually fish the T rig pretty slowly.... let it sink/sit for about 30 seconds. Give it a slow drag a few feet with a few twitches, reel in slack. Wait about 15-20 seconds. Sometimes I'll do two quick but short pops off the bottom, let it sink as a I reel in. Seems to match what I've seen others do successfully but maybe it's too slow?

Okay thats worth a try. First few times I tried fishing this lake I wqs going upegged so guess ill go back to doing that. I do use a slow retrieve on the t rig, so guess ill have to expect bites from non target fish. Good to know about the bite marks stuff.

@WRB The worm was getting torn up from the hook itself I think, I had already removed it and spun the worm around to go through a new area. Apparently elastech is not indestructible lol. Not sure what you mean by pegging the worm if you can elaborate on that. So let's say these are all perch. Why is it I can fish the same baits someone else is using near me, doing basically the same technique, and I get all the perch hits? Lol maybe I have perch magnetism.

@Catt No there doesn't appear to be. Just a dent from bumping it along rocks, maybe a scratch or two, but nothing that looks like it was bit. @CroakHunter Pretty sure at least some were bass, but there are a lot of bait fish in this one lake as well. Sure felt bigger than the bait I see swimming around, but maybe they were just hungry and took a chomp. But I know it holds a fair number of decent bass. This is actually the first time I decided to try the Texas rig with the Z man. Normally I will use something like a senko or some zoom creature like a baby brush hog, Z craw, Fat Albert grub, etc. I actually did switch to brush hogs after a while and closed the day with Z craws. I didn't get hook penetration with the other baits after I left the Z mans which is a little confusing to me. All I can figure is the stretchiness of the elastech let them hang on long enough to poke the hook through before it got pulled away as opposed to them tailing a zoom and not having that stretch. Idk really, that's a weird one to me. Anyway, I'll keep plugging and trying... least I am starting to be able to bit on it consistently.

I've done it both ways with worm hooks- today I was running purely a 4/0 round bend buried into the plastic. I had tried the EWGs from 2/0-4/0 prior and decided to give round bend a try. I also have 1/0-5/0 round bends and EWG hooks. 2/0 usually feels too small and 5/0 are too big for anything but lizards. Usually I feel comfortable with a 3/0 or 4/0 for most of my baits but I could probably scale down if I was running a finesse worm or something.

This is true, that one I showed was the least penetrating of the three swings I took thinking they were bass. I was using a baby brush hog after that and had similar results but the hook never actually penetrated. So idk. I know I set hard enough, made my drag scream and it was set just below breaking strength of my leader. Could be some sort of aggressive perch. Not sure if there is supposed to be goggle eye/rock bass in these ponds but maybe that's what it is. Or could well have been really small bass. Well, one things for sure, at least I know the technique works and I"m on the right track. Lol. Now to attract the bass instead of the perch and I'm set!

Possible, but they usually do multiple taps whereas these were just one good thunk. Big bluegill maybe? That is a 4/0 hook

Did some pond hopping this morning, visited three different ponds. In two of them I got some really good bites, but as is typical when I texas rig, I reel down, set it hard, and there's nothing there. Only this time my bait was actually sliding down the hook which I'm not sure what to make of. Normally they slide up the hook when set? Perhaps they were just short striking it? I've tried striking quickly, as well as waiting for a second or two before setting, but I get the same result. I took a picture of what my bait looked like after one of these failed strikes in case it can offer some clues as to what I am doing wrong. Z-man Hula stick btw: I did have my weight pegged, which I am wondering if whether that could cause an issue or not. I did this because the area being fished has severe debris in the water, as well as a sharp overhang near the bank. I opted to use this ned rig bait with a lighter weight in t-rig fashion for the different fluttering action while slowly descended. And it got bit. A lot. Yet I could not hook up with a fish... so... ideas? Any downside to using a pegged weight vs. unpegged for example? Was it the bait itself?

Which ones? I like to lure hunt with my new retrieval tool. Hehe. If I'm ever in your area I can get them back... problem is, I claim them if I do! :P

I have 4 primary squarebills I'll throw: one is silent and mostly white with some yellow on the side. It's worked for murky water and I suspect it could work even better in clear water. It only dives about 4' deep. I have another one that is a Berkley that rattles which resembles a bluegill and dives maybe 5'. I have a green Rapala BX brat that will hit 6' and is also a silent lure. Then the one I rescued from the tree is silent and appears to only go about 3' down and it's a Cabela's mean eyes. So that pretty much covers all the depth of water I would want to run one in. When in doubt, start shallow and work further down. If you feel a snag, stop the retrieve and try to see if it float itself out of the way. If not, a few little pops will usually free it up. The squarebills seem to do pretty well for the most part, but I wouldn't try tossing it over logs intentionally though. Maybe parallel too though.

I catch perch all the time with dropshotting in water only a few feet deep, but if you're asking about bass, I haven't really used it much for bass. I caught one once on a wacky rigged dropshotted finesse worm but I'm not real sure how deep the water was cause it was a pond.

I haven't fished the neko much since it's doesn't do well around structure, but I agree with the previous posters about using an O ring to help the worm last a bit longer. Secondly, I don't use the dedicated neko weights. I have so many loose screws laying around that I find some that are of a reasonable weight that I like, and just screw those into the front as weights. If I lose them, oh well! In bulk they are way cheaper than the nail weights, plus they tend to stay in a lot better.

Removed

Ah, so that's what smacked me in the head this morning when I stepped outside... figured it was a bug or something.

I like copolymer myself... when in doubt, use the copo!

If you are light skinned... they sell this stuff called Neutrogenia at walmart that is rated SPF 100+. I used it successfully during the hottest part of the Texas summer last year with some younger cousins while we did a trip to Schlitterbahn water park in New Braunfels. Applying it regularly, we kept two very, very white skinned kids from being sunburned despite being outside all day. So I'd recommend that. As for me, tbh, I generally use a low SPF tanning oil since I have my father's genes and get/maintain a tan pretty easily. Though it came at the price of many, many freckles. My grandfather died from a melanoma mole that was improperly removed, and spread to his lymphic system eventually. I like having a tan and all, but that still sticks with me, and I know I should take better precautions. I have recently learned that just because you don't get burned doesn't mean you aren't getting cellular damage from UV-C that can cause cancer. So don't be a moron like me, wear proper sunblock! I figure at this point, if I'm gonna get it, I'm gonna get it. But I do limit my sun exposure and don't have too much skin exposed during peak hours, which I believe is crucial. When you feel that tingle on your skin, take cover.

I rescued a crankbait that a fellow local member sent me a picture of sitting stuck in a tree at a park we like. First time I used it (this morning before work), I missed what appeared to be about around a 2 lber which would easily have been my PB lol. Biggest bass I've ever seen any way. It grabbed it swimming away from me off the bank, I did my normal side sweep set and totally missed it! Dangit! Maybe next time...