FishDewd

Nm

Flukes are fine with each other, as are all zoom plastics I have trial mixed. Senkos- dont mix unless you wanting to change a lures color. I put a red and pink one together and it made orange! Somewhat useful actually. But they stain other baits as well so be cautious. Zman... you already knlw that's a nono as are putting them loose in most tackle boxes. Other than that not sure what else.

Holy mother of tackle! Looks like a fishing shop in there lol. I have most stuff I want, but there is a few odds and ends I still would like to have. Some stuttersteps, some jerkbaits, some different kinds of frogs, I'd like some different worms, maybe some larger trick worms and the like. I'm sure as I go along I'll find more stuff I want to try lol.

I have two of them myself... I've tossed them in some really gnarly stuff and even sent into a tree or two by mistake and they come back! Yet to get a hit on one, but I suspect it's my poor frog skills.

So far I've only lost a lipless crank on what I think was a cinder block based on how it felt. I do well with squarebills, don't think I've lost any. I put those through the ringer and they always somehow come back lol. But yeah, I do keep the rod tip fairly high most of the time. That's my trial technique in new waters. Once I get more comfortable I change it up a bit... lower/ raise the tip, vary the reel speed, add pauses. One I've been liking lately is to work it kinda like a jerk bait. I'll stand at about a 45 angle from it, give it a quick, short jerk towards then reel in to it. It really gives it a unique thump that can be felt.

I also soak my spinning spools, it does seem to help. I have a Lew's mach II and so far it's never twisted up on me! Couldn't really say what your issue is though, could be that, could be the line, could be how the bail on the reel works. Hope you solve it!

I have some in like a 1/16 oz that I've used with small finesse worms and even TRDs. The TRDs respond pretty well rigged like that, I've caught a few running that kind of set-up. Whether I want it weighted depends upon how buoyant (or not) the plastic is. I don't fish this rig too often though cause of snags, but I've had good results when I have.

I trim the skirt on things with skirts just enough so that I don't think it will impede the action of the trailer. Usually just a bit past the hook bend is ideal I think. I do like to shorten the top strands of the skirt a little more so that it kind of flairs out a touch when in the water. Gives it a little more secondary motion (by theory). The weed guards I only trim if they stick up a lot when pushed down onto the hook, and normally cutting them at a little bit of an angle makes them lay right.

I've had the same issue lately, feel the tap, reel in, swing and miss. I had it five times in a row last week fishing a few spot. The sixth time I waited another second before setting and launched a crappie a couple feet through the air. Answered my question as to what kept hitting my 4" curly tail grub lol. Least I'm getting it down... when a bass hits me, I'll get him!

Flukes are a weakness for me... I like them, design wise. Some are split tails, others are paddle tails... they have all the potential to catch nice fish... yet I've never had luck on them lol. I've gotten some really hard bites on them, both texas rigged and while running on a 1/4 oz road runner, but no luck so far. As far as durability... idk, they seem good to me! I've ripped them out of rocks, and had hard bites on them while I said before... hooks don't tear through the material too much for me... so I'd say they work in that regard.

Well that's a shame, looks like a darned good spot! Are you sure nothing else happened to it? I used to hear stories of a former small lake we had about 15 miles away from me that produced bass well over 5 lbs. regularly. A flood washed several drums of used brake fluid into it, and by the time they realized this, it was too late. The drums leaked and polluted the water. Lake never recovered, and now you're lucky to catch anything over a pound in it due to the pollution.

I have a GX2... it's not bad. I use it for catfish a lot. Think it's a MH -fast. Only downside is that it's heavy compared to graphite or glass rods.

Hey, thanks! Funny, I was at Lake Friendswood Park the other day (doing some lure hunting for lures stuck in trees) and got to talking with a man there who fishing on the front bank. He told about a few spots to try and Tuscan Lakes actually came up briefly. He said the same thing about parking, told me when he did was ride a bike in there and no one ever said anything when he did that lol. I don't have a bike though. I'm going to trying out a few leads I got next week hopefully. Apparently the Kroger on 96 has a retention pond that is pretty hot with larger bass, so maybe I'll hit that and Tuscan while at it. Correct about Clear Lake, you don't want to eat anything that comes of there except for maybe in a few spots. I always catch and release there though, not risking it. Shame cause I know of a spot that has gar. And nope, I don't have a boat, but I have an uncle who does and we go out occasionally.

No difference- dropshot is the universal technique of equal performance amongst all rod/reel combos. I've caught about the same amount of fish using spincast, spinner, or baitcasting set-ups. Can't say I have a preference! It's worked so slowly, so vertically... it just does not matter! Go with what what feels best to you. I've caught them on UL, L, M and MH rods. I just probably wouldn't pick an H as m go-to. I prefer a medium tipped rod for my dropshots, but aside from that... I can make them all work about the same really. I've used that technique so much it's a go-to and I'm comfortable using whatever is available.

I singed the tag end on that picture cause I messed up on a couple of the hitches. Lost track of whether I was going to the back or the front lol. I like to alternate, hitch to back, hitch to front, etc. The rizzuto finish helps to hold them in place better.

If Daiwa has really good spinning reels at that price range then I'd gladly pick one too! They make really good reels, just the price has always scared me away from a lot of them.

I hardly use fluoro anymore... usually I am running either mono or copolymer. There isn't enough difference in buoyancy imo. But I do like mono for mid-depth and surface lures cause that bit of extra stretch can be handy with my fast action rods. Btw, I tied this FG a little quickly so it's a bit sloppy but it's still really small, strong, and will work perfectly fine:

I have three jigs so far, I actually found one yesterday in a park while lure hunting lol. I mostly wanted to rescue a popper I lost to a tree (and I did get it back!) It was trapped underwater on a stick near a dock. I was watching the bass and bluegill school around when I saw it. It's almost brand new but had a little corrosion on the hook. I cleaned it up like new minus one spot near the front where the hook meets the head. Typically the lures I find tend to be lucky for me. Maybe this will the jib to break the jig ice for me. I'll toss it next outing and see what happens.

Sometimes I do straight braid. I got lazy one day after the bite was tough and I kept changing lures on a short leader until I ran out of leader. Tied a squarebill on with straight braid. Third cast, caught a bass haha. I'm not gonna lie, the FG knot is tedious. I don't consider it difficult anymore, but the tension involved with it makes it difficult the first few times. Diameter of the line also matters a lot, as does the type of braid used. I use an alberto more often unless I know I will be in a snaggy area where I will likely lose a lot of rigs. Retying leaders multiple times can become a pain when fishing. I usually keep one pole with an FG knot, and the other with an alberto.

Okay so I've been turning myself onto the texas rig a little more lately. I've gotten some really good bites on them but not yet caught anything this year on one. The other day I went fishing with a fellow forum member. He caught 4-5 on one and I got 3 hard bites but I couldn't hook up on any. One was a harder bite than I've ever felt in my life from any fish but I think it just grabbed the tail. So i went home later. Watched some youtube, good stuff... finally came across a really good video showing a great way to work the texas rig the way I wanted to work one. Yesterday I went and practiced that same technique at a brand new, never fished before lake. I got a bite on nearly every cast, but could not hook up. I found out that they were crappie hitting my lure when I set one really hard and launched a crappie 8' across the lake. But at least it's progress right? Lol. They were just too small to hook up with on the curly grub I was using. Anyway, getting a little more faith using the texas rig since I've seen people use them and catch fish. I've decided that for the rest of the season I am forcing myself to run one until I catch something with it. May be it's a timing issue, but I feel like I am on the right track and getting really close to hooking one with it. My technique is fine. Funnily, my first ever bass I caught last year was on a texas rigged senko. Weightless. Nailed it on the fall I think. And it was like a curse cause I haven't caught one since. Nope. Not acceptable! I will catch more with it! Lol. End of story, period!

So far I don't like moderate-moderate/fast action rods. They just feel... weird. All of my rods except for maybe one are fact action, and that one rod is an exception since it's a cheap rod that just happens to serve me well for drop shotting small panfish lol. I like my crankbaits on a fast action. Recently I've gotten hits using a short side tug with a reelhalf turn to one turn to while moving towards the lure to tighten it again. I side-set cranks and for me, the fast action works better whether I am side-twitching it as described, or using a reel-reel-reel faster-pause sort of technique straight back towards me. So far I have hooked up all but one fish that's hit it that were big enough to get hooked. Chatterbaits... can't comment. I don't have faith in those, they just seem to scare fish. But I think I'd want a fast action if a fish were to bite it so I could slam them quickly.

Easiest way I have found to do the Fg is by securing the Braid mainline to my big toe and second toe like I am securing a boat to a dock... same sort of style anyway. Tighten drag, and reel in until the line is pretty taut. Do not cut off your cirulation! If it hurts, it's too tight! I find it easier to secure the mono/fc/copolymer to either my other toes or maybe a heavy weight. for tension. Be sure you easily untie it! Don't use knots. Take that polymer line and lay it over the braid line. Do the wrap as such: under towards the pole, below away from the pole, until you reach 22 . 22 should end towards the pole. Pull each wrap firmly into your index finger and thumb of left hand (if you're a righty). Hold it snugly after 22, unlatch the braid from your toes. Using the braid tag end, make a half hitch around both braid and polymer going towards the pole. Over and through, under and through. At this point, wet knot and pull mainline and leader very tight to test the knot and to tighten the wraps. Repeat half hitches 8 more times. Cut the polymer tag end off close. Do a few more passes until the polymer is sealed in there. Finish with a three wrap half hitch called a "rizzuto" finish. Be careful the wraps seat properly. And done! Cut braid tag end, tie on a hook and lure, and go fishing~ You'll have to learn your own style, but that's the best way for me to do it I have figured out...

One thing I thought to add, is if you can have your index finger riding under the line (like on a baitcaster) while working the lure. Basically you hold the pole by holding the reel and let the line ride over your finger. I've been able to feel a lot better since I started doing this, even those really subtle bites I am starting to be able to detect now.

Well, as Catt said, and I think it's accurate, sometimes you want a splash. Other times you don't. It'll come down to the water conditions, the mood of the fish, etc... Doesn't mean you're doing it wrong necessarily. Don't assume the fact that you made a splash is the reason you aren't catching fish. In murky water I have found it's better so that it gives them some sort of direction to look at. Pressured water does tend to vary though... I've thrown topwater lures where it landed inches from a fish and I saw an explosion of water as the fish scurried away terrified. Sometimes they just nail it. It just depends. One thing I've learned is to raise my rod at the last moment before the lure hits the water, it does seem to slightly lessen the impact splash. Anyway, I usually make a bit of splash too cause I just learned to cast a baitcaster almost overhand, and usually use a side-roll type of cast in most cases. I've been working on light pitches atm to stretch my arsenal. I'm spending a lot of time slinging lures into my yard cause I am hell bent on learning how to do it when the situation arises lol. Normally I bring 2-3 poles with me rigged a little differently to test what mood the fish are in. Once you find the one that works... stick to it.

It's a process... I struggle with that myself after growing up fishing primarily for catfish and perch, which always make it quite obvious when they are on the hook. I guess it comes down to knowing the water and the lure you're using. Could be a weed you caught... or it could be a fish. Experience thing I guess... If in doubt, reel in and set it.