Brad_Coovert

Yep, works on a Carolina Rig. They have a good glide to them. They are good bait to use as a change up to a lizard. etc. If I'm on a good Crig bite, I will throw these on the same places I was throwing a lizard or brush hog. I have not really fished them weightless very much. I usually fish them Texas rigged with a weight. Brad

90% of their lineup is worth the money, IMHO. They have some baits that no one else has that I will not hit the water without. Brad

Reaction Innovations Screwed-Up Jighead. Gambler also has anew shakey style head as well. Brad.

The Wiggle Wog is a great bait. You can slither them over the surface or you can crank them just uder the surface about 1'-2' deep and fish them like a weedless crankbait. They are a Snagproof bait. Brad

I fish the 5" most of the time, but the 4" is also a good bait for me on lighter tackle. I seldom fish the 6", but it is a good bait as well. RW, kinda a regualr here, swears by the 6". Brad

I've never fished a weighted Wacky Rig, but I will fish a weighted Senko. A 5" Senko, straight shank, round bend Gammy 4/0 hook and a 1/4-5/16 oz. screw in weight can be a very effective bait. I fish this quite a bit around vertical cover such as dock pilings and standing trees. Works well. It's also one of Gary's favorite rigs. Brad

Well, 2007 will see a new front transducer, rear temp sensor, a steering lube kit, a new three bank charger to replace the two bank charger and who knows what else. I might even remove the coffee stain my buddy caused a few months ago, but still, I ight leave it. He hasn't beaten me since he spilled his coffee. ;D Brad

Has anyone used the Cable Buddy or similar system to add a lubrication point for your steering systems on your outboard? The steering on mine has gotten very tight and there is no place to add lubrication the Teleflex rack and pinion system that came on the boat. Seems the Cable Buddy looks like something that will do the job. Looks like it would be easy to put on. Just undue existing nut, disconnect cable, remove old nut, install new nut, reconnect, tighten and add lube. Just thought I'd check and see before I go installing one. Brad

While I have not fished shakey rigs in shallow, heavy cover, I have fished them in deeper wood cover using 15 lb. line and baitcasting gear. I was using the Reaction Innovations heads with ZOOM Trick worms. Brad

If $$$ are not your biggest concern, go custom on the blank of your choice. Brad

I've been using 10# and 15# Hybid all year with no problems. Brad

I use high speed reels for lipless crankbaits, Carolina rigs and topwaters. Brad

I throw all of my jerkbaits on a 6'6" Medium/Moderate Esox BQ rod with a Curado reel and 10 lb. line. The rod makes casting jerkbaits very easy and the power/action is perfect for working teh baits and hooking/keeping fish. A very similar rod would be a Loomis CBR783, which I used to fish the same baits on. Brad

Swimming worms through shallow water can be a great way to fish. One of my best techniques when I used to live in my apartment complex was to throw a weightless, Trigged Mann's V-worm and swim it over shallow grass. I've never thrown that worm since moving into my house. :-? Brad

Roboworm makes great baits. They have some great colors and their products are good quality. Their new three color injection makes some great injected baits. Check out their Sourpuss, Craw and Robotail worms. Brad

The baiyts I throw all range from 1/4 oz. up to 3/4 oz. All depends on depth and speed needed. Brad

I always have a Crig in the rod locker. It is one of my favorite ways to catch fish and works well for me in all water depths and most cover. For tackle, I prefer a 7'6" MH to Heavy rod, high speed reel and 15 t0 2o lb. main line with a 12 to 15 lb. leader. I do not like superlines for Crigging unless it is in grass. I will use anywhere from a 1/4 oz. to 1 oz. weight, a ticker, a glass bead and a plastic guard bead to protect the knot from the glass bead. Next comes a black swivel and then a 2' - 3' leader with an EWG hook, 1/0 - 4/0 depending on the bait. As for fishing the bait, I will do different things on the retrieve. Cast out and let the bait hit the bottom. I will let it sit for about 15 to 30 seconds so the bait can drift down to the bottom and "deadstick". I've had a lot of fish bite on the initial cast. They just pick up the bait and swim off or they are on when I make the initial pull. After the pause, I may drag the bait, shake the bait, twitch the bait or a mix of all of the above. I will always pause the bait now and then for another deadstick and I always slow down when I hit some cover with the weight. Pretty soon, the fish will tell you what they want. As for places to fish a Crig, you can fish it anywhere. Drag it down, across and up points and dropoffs. Drag it through stump fields, on roadbeds, over around humps, across boat ramps, through grass beds and over flats. You can cover water quickly with this rig. One place not too many people talk about fishing a Crig is in standing timber. I have caught suspended fish at 15' dragging a Crig through the limbs of standing trees in 40' of water. Learning all the bites on a Crig can be difficult. You will get bites just a like a worm bite with a small tick. Other times, the bass will grab your bait and try to pull you out of the boat. Those are easy. The hard ones can be when the fish swims at you with the bait or when they move along with you on each pull. You'll get good at detecting the soft mushy bites after practice. As for baits, I like to use lizards, creature baits, tubes, trick worms, finesse worms, regular worms, Senkos, hula grubs - basically anything. Hope this helps. Good luck! Brad

I do not know if Hawg Caller is still in the plastics business. They are owned by the same people who own Lunker Lure. Brad

Lipless baits are a year round bait for me. In spring, I will fish a crawfish pattern slowly over the bottom on rock, clay, gravel banks and points. I caught my PB doing this in March. I will also try a baitfish pattern over newly emerged grassbeds. As the water warms, I will throw these as search baits looking for shallow prespawn fish. I will throw them around grass, rock, wood - no fear of any cover. Yeah, they get hung up, but they catch fish. In summer through fall, I will concentrate mostly on grassbeds, deep and shallow. In late fall, I will use them on the deep edges of grass beds where the grass is still green. As for brands, I prefer Cordell Spots, Lucky Craft LVRMini, LVRD7, LV500, LV200, LV300N, LV0. The LV200 has one knocker instead of rattles for a different sound. The LV300N has no rattles at all. The LV0 has a small lip that makes it very easy to run the bait in 1' or less of water. I also like the Aruku Shads by Spro. They run at a nose down angle and will actually sit on their nose when you stop them. Kinda fun to fish on beds at times. Good luck! Brad

Stitching a big worm is one of the best ways to catch big bass. But it takes waaaaayyyyyy to much patience and time for me to do it. Heck, you can make 40 deadsticking casts with a Senko before you stich a big worm back to the boat. You can read up on big bass hunting and stitching in Bill Murphy's book "In Pursuit of Giant Bass". It is a great book for any serious bass fisherman. Brad

They are great topwater baits. I've caught several fish on the Basirisky. Kinda like a really weedless Jitterbug. Now that they have a US importer, I'm gonna start carrying them in the spring. Brad

Actually, it is a saltwater technique using large bar-style jigging spoons with free swinging hooks. There are entire systems designed around this technique, especially by Shimano. The better known term is Butterfly jigging. Brad

What baits are you looking for? Brad

If you're gonna limit me to one methoid, I'll have to go with a Crig. I can catch fish with it at any depth, in almots any cover at any time if year. Rough to use it through the ice though. Brad

IMO, KVD is #1 on that list. Ike is #2. KVD is a total pro. Ike is not quite there yet, but he is working on it. Brad