Brad_Coovert

About any plastic bait works great on a Crig. I've thrown so many baits on a rig that I cannot list them. They all caught fish at one time or another. Just experiment and see what works best for you. Brad

Norman Middle N - Lavender Shad. This bait will catch fish anywhere. Cordell 1/2 oz. Excalibur Super Spot - Discontinued Shad Color. Ditto. Brad

If I'm fishing a popper fast and want more spit, splash and walking, I will use a snap. If I just want to make slow, deep, "bloop" noises, I tie direct. As for walking baits, it is a lost art, but I do not remember any of the true Spook users ever using snap or ring. Charlie Campbell was probably the best walker ever. He could do things with a Spook I would never be able to do. Brad

Shallow cranking and fall go together like hot dogs and baseball. While the rule of thumb is to use tighter wobble baits in cold water, that is not always the case. Bass do not have thumbs, so they frequently ignore the rule of thumb. A wide wobble bait has worked well for me on a few occasions this time of year. Basically, you just gotta fish a bait that runs at the depth the fish are. Right now, your bait may be too shallow. Other days, it might be the ticket. At the present time, I'm fishing various crankbaits that dive from 1' down to about 8'. I'm fishing in water with wood or weeds from 1' to 20'. The deep water has standing timber with suspended fish at 10' or less. In fact, I just won our club classic on cranks this past Sunday in shallow wood. Keep pluggin and good luck! Brad

If you have not a had a bait pop off using a speed clip, you're lucky. I have and I know a lot of others who have as well. They work, but they can come off. The reason is that the speed clip gets bent slightly out of shape and allows the lures ring to work itself into the split of the clip. It can then eventually come out. When I had a few baits pop off, I started checking the clip every few casts and noticed this happening. After comparing the faulty clip to a new one, the difference was obvious. New clip. I've switched back to snaps. Another reason guys use snaps is because split rings can easily damage line. Brad

I've fished with my Barely Legal Vixens quite a bit and no problems with the paint job. Might as well fish it 'til the bass wear it out. Brad

I just read a great article on turnover. Wind has a lot to do with turnover as it helps churn the water. Combine several windy days, some cold rain perhaps and cooler water temps and you can get early turnover. 48-50 degree water can produce some great fishing. It can be even better if the lake is already turned over and cleared up. The fish should be readjusted to the new water conditions. Brad

I Carolina rig mroe than anything. About any plastic creature will do the job. Jigs and plastics would be #2. Brad

Anyone ever fish these? These are becoming another go-to crankbait for me. The vibration they put off is incredible. The tip of my crankbait rod and the feel of the bait are very close to some of the chatterstyle baits. They have been catching a lot of fish. They are a wooden bait with brass hardware (like the older Bagleys) and a thin circuit board lip. There is nothing special about them in appearance, but man they vibrate. They usually need tuned at first, but they are very easy to tune, possibly one of the easiest baits to tune that I have used. Fish seem to like them too. So far, my favorites are any of the baitfish patterns. For the die hard crankers, you might look into them. Brad

I was just using a stready retrieve that day, fishing around some flooded stumps in 4 - 8' of water. They were slamming the bait hard and getting all of it in their mouths. The feed was really on that day. Brad

3/0 or 4/0 Gamakatsu EWG 4/0 Gamakatsu Round Bend, Wide Gap Offset Brad

What's the water temps in the lake you're fishing? Your more north than I am, but here in Indiana, the fall fishing is getting hot on a few lakes. I would start shallow looking for fish. My weapon of choice for fall when searching for bass is a lipless crankbait. My preference for clear water is a Lucky Craft LVRD7 - rattles, LV300N - silent or LV200 - one big knocker. If the fish are deeper and suspending, I would then go with a suspending jerkbait to get to the desired depth. Again, my first choice is a Lucky Craft Pointer or Staysee to match the depth I need to be at. Last, I will fish a jig/trailer or a Carolina rigged plastic. Between thoe four presentations, I have always scored in the fall. Brad

Original silver foil/black back. In fact, I used a DT4 in that color to catch 21 fish this past weekend. Brad

If you want to fish faster, willow blades are the blade to use. Slower, colorado. Also, you do not need to buy a special bait. Just crimp a rubbercore sinker to a regualr spinnerbait to add weight. This works quitewell and does not interfere with the hookset or action of the bait. Also, Ledgebusters were designed for use in deep water for bass. They are quite poular on lakes like Kentucky Lake and Barkley. They can be slow rolled, but they can also fished very fast. Deep spinnerbaits fished very fast (thus requiring a heavy bait) can catch fish very well at certain times. It is a presentation that fish seldom see. Good luck at your tournament! Brad

IMO, with that much wind, other presentations will work better, such as spinnerbaits or crankbaits. I do not fish a Fat Ika on a weighted Texas rig. It becomes more like a regular flipping tubed when weighted, so I'd rather fish a tube and save the Fat Ikas for weightless fishing, which is when they are at their best IMO. Brad

Yeah, it catches fish. Better than other buzzbaits? Most times, no. But, you can really fish one slow with the little blade and sometimes, slow is the best way to go. Brad

Even if there are no shad in your lakes, bass will hit shad crankbaits. There are no shad in the pond across the street, but that bass tear up shad baits. It's just another food to the bass. Everything in the lake will be feeding up for fall. Standard fall baits for me are crankbaits, jerkbaits, lipless crankbaits and jigs. I always look in the backs of coves now and work my way out. Good luck! Brad

No brand is "short strike proof". Sometimes, trailer hooks are necessary. No way around it. Brad

Get Plano's biggest waterproof utility and pull out the two dividers. Keep your dyes in this box. Whenever you plan to dye something, do it over this open box. If you spill, you spill in the box and nowhere else. You can let the bait dry on the lid. It only takes a few seconds. You can stash the box about anywhere in the boat. Under the console is a good spot during a day of fishing. Brad

#1 and #2 - Daiwa and Shimano are the leaders in bass fihsing reels IMO. #3 - Quantum finally has some good reels IMO with the Tour and Energy PT models. #4 - Abu Garcia is much different now that they are owned by PureFishing. There will never again be Abu's like the older ones from pre-PureFishing days. Brad

RI's hook is made by Gamakatsu. A bigger gap than most straight shank hooks and extra strong for flipping with heavy line. Super sharp as well. Brad

Yes, I used the little blade that came with it and no, I did not add a trailer hook. Brad

Spro Bronzeye Spro Bronzeye Jr. Reaction Innovations Swamp Donkey Boze Sumo Frog Zoom Horny Toad Gambler Cane Toad Stanley Ribbit Brad

I've fished the BMH buzzbait. By adding that little blade, you can fish this bait VERY slow. It will also run true without any tuning if you add the blade. Still, you can do that to any buzzbait with similar results. Still, nice baits. Brad

That is a common "problem" with worms with this style of tail, the thicker plastic tails require more pulling from either you or the weight to make them move. BUT, these tails move a lot of water. I have tons of Ditto Gator Tails in Black and Red Shad for stained water. Brad