finatic

LOL ....

After using the Lunkerhunt swim bentos this morning I'm back to report they are a wash. It doesn't swim very well (not like some other decent paddle tails you can buy) and the eyes keep falling off. Didn't have any bites, didn't smack them or anything, and the eyes fell off both of the lures. Also there seems to be something inside the head of them that kind of bunches up when you're trying to rig them on the hook. Just thought I would give you guys a heads up so you don't waste your money on this crap.

Been hearing a lot about paddle tails so tonight at work after I punched out I wandered into the fishing section and saw these Lunkerhunt swim bentos. I grabbed a pack of the minnows. Going to try them out in the morning

This morning I was fishing with a beetle spin blade, jig head and Mr Twister double tail brown/orange. I had casted a few times when this guy and his son came by and set up down a ways from me. The spot was a boardwalk with a double metal railing that ran for a short distance along the shore at the back of Pottawatomie Bayou. After a couple more casts I was thinking of changing lures when suddenly the line when taught, my pole bent and my bail sang. My heart caught in my throat as the line started taking off and zig-zagging back and forth. As I reeled it became apparent this was a big fish and then this humongous pike rolled right in front of me and I must have yelled because the guy and his son came down. I swear this big guy must have been close to eight pounds. He saw the fish and exclaimed, "Holy crap! That's a big pike!" We watched as I played him back and forth and then I looked down in the water over the railing and said, "Hmm, how am I going to get him out of there?" The guy said he had a net in the truck so he wnet off to get it and I sat there with his son watching that beautiful fish swim back and forth. I kept hearing this little voice in my head saying 'get your phone and take a picture' over and over, but then the guy returned with the net. He bent down to scoop him up and the pike went nuts and shook the lure out of his mouth. I was like, "Noooooooo!" We could still see him sitting down there, perhaps recovering from the whole ordeal, but as soon as I reached down to grab him he shot off. I just laid there moaning my loss.

Yep, that fish is in a pond. I'd be going back every day until I got her.

Heh, yeah that's me, too. I've been fishing these plastics for a few days now and it's definitely a whole different experience than cranking. Once I got the proper hooks and learned how to rig them up it made it a little easier. However, I have not caught one single fish using these plastics (although I did have a big bass smack the horn toad just as it was nearing the shore). I then tie on a crank (my current favorite is the Rapala X-Rap, perch) and wham - I start getting fish. I'm quite sure my lack of results is simply due to my own inexperience with plastics - and quite possibly the rod I'm using. They do make rods specifically for flipping/jigging plastics and I may have to get one of those at some point if I want to improve my chances. In the meantime, crank baits ...

I've been learning more in this forum than all the other fishing forums I've been to. One of the big things is the strength of the rod you use. If the tip of the rod is too light or weak then you'll miss more fish because it doesn't have the strength to set that hook when you pull (weaker rods just bend giving the fish an extra second or two to throw the lure/hook). If the rod is stronger and the end is stiffer this will give you that added edge when you set the hook. For more info check out this article: https://www.bassresource.com/beginner/bass_fishing_rods.html I have a Field & Stream Tech-Spec 6' 6" rod and the power is rated as 'medium' and the action as 'fast'. This should be good enough for most fishing situations, but I have had my fair share of fish come off right after I set the hook (or thought I set the hook). Usually this is right after they break the surface and shake their head, in which the lure/bait comes off. This happens to the best of us, so don't beat yerself up too much. Even a professional like Roland Martin has lost a few fish in his time.

Bait monkey got me the other day at Dick's. Even upgraded the tackle box...

I got the perch and halloween. Bass were slamming the perch last night

I went out this morning to this little spot along the river I know and tried out some of the plastics. I had watched some videos on how to rig these out (horn toad, pit boss, power worm, etc) so I got some hooks and started practicing. The YUM warning shot calls for a number 1 mosquito hook, which I found, but I basically just used a pack of Eagle Claw 3/0 hooks with the bend in the neck. I tried the toad, but really wasn't impressed, then I tried the power worm, which seemed to be the best out of the bunch. The toad just flopped around and didn't swim right side up, kept flopping over. Didn't impress me and it didn't impress the fish either. And there were fish around where I was because I saw a few nice size bass roaming around. The power worm seemed the best option in that messy area with a lot of vegetation. I am totally green with plastics so I'm not even sure I was fishing it correctly, but I played around for a while. Didn't get anything, not even a nibble.

Yeah, I'm finding this out as I watch all these different videos on rigging the different plastics I got. For example, with the toads there's like 3 or 4 different hook setups, which means different hooks you'd have to buy. Now with the Tubes there's a specialty hook that's short and wide on the bottom just for rigging that bait. The toads also have a special hook with a spring on the top that you screw into the head of the bait. As for the Power Worms I actually broke some of these off and used them as jig trailers. With the YUM warning shots there are numerous ways to rig this bait as well, but I like the Texas style weedless one. I prefer the weedless options, because this category there's just a couple hook types that I would need 3/0, 4/0 offset, etc. Being a crankbait guy I want to rip everything, but with these plastics I have to slow down, which is kind of annoying for me. However, since I fell pray to the bait monkey and bought all these I figure I should learn how to fish them. Who knows, maybe it will improve my catches around here, since there's a lot of weeds, pads and vegetation in the places I fish. Typically when I go out I only catch one or two fish, because I've always used crankbaits or spinners. This isn't Florida and so my options for good Bass spots are limited, even more so since I have to bank fish.

Yeah, I'm starting to realize this as I'm watching these YouBoob videos. Have to practice with these guys tomorrow after I buy some hooks. That big bass in the picture broke the lip off my X-Rap, so now I have to get another one. I didn't even know he broke it off till I started casting again and noticed it wasn't swimming like it should. I pulled it out of the water and saw the lip was gone. Dang bass was really hungry, lol.

Thanks Just a heads up - a lot of these vids won't play.

Got a link?

You guys are welcome to razz me about this. Anyway, I went out this morning thinking I was going to rip them with all these new plastics, but when I got there I realized I didn't know zip about using any of them. So instead I tied on a Rapala X-Rap and combed the lily pads, which produced this big guy. Teach me to run out and buy a bunch of lures like an idot. I'll just stick to what I know

I was watching a bunch of fishing videos on YouBoob and I kind of got caught up in all the plastic-worm-jig-mania. I went out and stupidly bought a bunch of plastics without even considering how I was going to use them. I know...dumb. I was just thinking of some of them for jig/spinner dressing, because I'm not really a plastics kind of guy. I'm mainly crankbaits and maybe a few spinners. So now I have all these things, lol. How would you guys recommend I use them?

As the late great Steve Irwin would say, "What a little beauty!"

Thanks guys. This is a great forum.

I picked up 2 Rippin Raps tonight to add to my arsenal - Chrome Blue and Helsinki Shad. Going to try these out first thing in the morning

Picked up some size 2 snaps tonight and yes, these are smaller than the 3s. Only *** is the hook part that snaps over the body is curved around more than the ones on the 3s, which makes it harder to open and close them. I'll have to look around, or maybe the smaller ones just come like that.

Blue Fox #3 Super Vibrax (minnow pattern). It's been my Bass-killer for a while now.

When I set the hook and feel solid immovable weight, thinking, "Oh carp, I'm stuck." Then the weight moves.....

I meant something like this.....

Just wondering if you can attach a different type of hook, instead of the three-prong ones. Like maybe one with just two prongs?

I'm small potatoes next to some of you guys, but here's my rig....Okuma FINA spinning (loaded with 10lb PowerPro) and Field & Stream 6' 6" Tech-Spec rod. Some of the crankbaits I use: Rapala Fat-Rap, Dive-To and X-Rap.