Brad_Coovert

I've seen a lot of stores that had tons of the old packaging, yet I see lots of places with all of their products in new packaging. 99% of all of my GYCB stuff is in the new packaging. Now and then, I get some of the old packaging from one of my suppliers, but very seldom. Still, baits in the old packaging are always in great shape, but the bags get soft because they absorb some of the oils the baits were packed with. I see this happen on most baits packed in the old style poly bags. Brad

Long ago, I had a book by Mike McLelland (the walleye guy, not the bass pro) that had the diving and trolling depths of about every plug on the market. The methods they used to test the baits were excellent. Very few baits actually reached the diving depth listed on the package when cast. Brad

I read an article years ago about some guides in Texas or somewhere near there that rigged soft plastics under slip bobbers and then let them drift back under docks. When the bait was back under the dock, they would jig it up and down. They caughty quite a few bass this way from places that even skipping would not reach. Brad

It is the clear poly bags with the stamped-on labeling. GYCB used these for decades until they changed bags last year. Brad

For anyone wanting to try these, I just got another 3 bags of Fat Ikas in Watermelon/Black Flake in the old GYCB packaging. Nothing wrong with the baits, they just come in the old packaging and thus, they sell for less. They are $4.79 a bag for BassResource.com members only, plus shipping. PM or email if interested. Brad

Bomber Square A Lucky Craft BDS Series Norman Thin N Brad

Norman makes great baits. The DD22, DLN, Middle N, Thin N and Fat Boy are some of my favorite baits. Most times, they are true out of the box, but sometimes they need tuned. No big deal though. Brad

These are great baits. I will be adding a huge amount of SPRO baits to my inventory next spring. They have some great baits coming out this winter. Brad

There are several manufacturers that charge different wholesale prices for the same bait depending on color. Lucky Craft is one as their MS baits cost $1 more wholesale. Some Reaction Innovations soft plastic colors cost a little more each bag. Laminated Senkos cost more than standard colors. ZOOM also charges more for certain special run colors, thus these colors can cost more at the store. Another factor may be the wholesalers they use. I have four places to get ZOOM baits and they all have a different price. Not all retailers want to deal with pricing baits at different prices, so they keep all the prices the same for ease of managing. Others will have the prices different. Brad

Whatever you do, don't Carolina rig a creature bait like a Brush Hog. Never works. : Brad

Actually, I think I could fish the rest of my life without a single soft plastic bait. Toss all the Senkos overboard. A jig, crankbait and spinnerbait would be all I would really need to fish effectively all year, at all depths in all cover. But....what fun would that be? Oh, and the bait monkey would be, you know, really ______. You fill in the blank. Brad

Deep fish + big worms +Crig can equal some good fishing. They can work well on a Trig as well with a heavy bullet weight and bead for deep fish. Try both ways and see what happens. Brad

"In Pursuit of Giant Bass" by Bill Murphy Brad

Fish can turn on and off in a moment and can move off of or onto a structure at any time. I've had many situations the same as yours where I caught nothing and then suddenly, the fish turned on and I did well on several casts. I made no changes, yet the fish turned on. I've done the same thing, except I changed colors and then got more bites......and we all know color is a whole different debate in itself. I'm not saying your scent did not do the trick, maybe it did, maybe it didn't. I'm just not convinced that adding scent has been proven to be that big of a factor in overall catch rates. Even though I'm not convinced, I still use Megastrike. I have more confidence in a bait with something more than just "plastic" and confidence is a very big factor in the mental side of the sport IMO. Like ghoti said, I might as well use something I can control and then, if does happen to make a difference, I already have it on the bait. Brad

5" Senko, 1/4 oz. Screw in weight, 4/0 straight shank, round bend Gammy hook. Totally different type of fall with this rig than you would expect. There is a GYCB video with this rog and the fall along vertical trees was cool. I used to have a link to it, but can't find it. Can't find my DBVD of it either. > Brad

IMO, scent is all about confidence. If you are more confident using scent on your baits, then by all means, use it. Confidence in your baits, equipment, etc. is very important IMO as a lack of confidence causes distractions in your mind and that leads to missed fish. I like MegaStrike, mainly because it comes in a tube, is easy to apply and is not messy. Brad

I will throw buzzbaits with and without clackers as well as double bladed buzzbaits. The fish will tell me which is best for that day. Brad

I seldom miss a fish on an EWG style hook and my hookups are very good. I've had a lot of EWG's buried in a fish so bad I almost did not get them out. The few times I have had hookup problems were with smaller bass. Bigger ish get the bait deep enough to allow for a good hookset. Brad

So Glenn, were you drooling over some of the cool baits on tap for 2008? What did you think of the coffee tubes? Also, did you check out the Daiwa booth? They had some awesome custom rods and reels in one of their cases. I wish I had taken my camera. :'( Brad

NAFC must be improving if they're giving out Furbits. They're not a bad frog. The rabbit fur has a different look than the rubber legs you get on other frogs and the blade adds something different as well. I like the Furbit baits in sparse weeds or over slightly submerged grass. Brad

Shallow running, flat style crankbait such as Norman Middle N Medium running flat sided crankbait such as Lucky Craft Flat CB MR or DR Lipless crankbait Brad

River2Sea has many copies of other Japanese brands. They copy a lot of Jackall products. They had a lot of cool baits at the ICAST show this year. Brad

Seems like the fish wanted a different profile bait that day. Flappin Hogs and Speed Craws = Chunky. Swimming Senko = Longer, Slender. If you throw a spinnerbait and get nothing and then you toss a crankbait and catch 12 nice fish, do you give up on the spinnerbaits for good as well? Remember, you can't force feed a bass a presentation it doesn't want and expect good results. Don't give up on one outing, like all baits, these baits will catch fish at the right time. Brad

I guess "best" depends on what you want to do. Take some of my cranking. I love a Norman Thin N in the fall. I just kill fish with it at that time of the year. Rest of the year, hardly a fish. A Method crankbait does well for me in colder water aswell, but for some reason, I do much better with these in the spring. Summer is my favorite time to fish shallow crankbaits in flooded wood. Bomber Square A, Norman Fat Boy, Manns Minus Series, Lucky Craft CB001 and Lucky Craft BDS Series baits get a workout. Good luck with your search! Brad

I've used them several times and caught quite a few fish on them. I was basically swimming them over submerged grass. I did not have a durability problem with the bait. In fact, I made a few trips to the test pond and caught fish each trip using the same bait. I was rigging them on a Mustad Impact Ultralock hook and the nose of the bait would just slide off the plastic barb on the hookset sometimes, but I would just slide it back on and back to fishing. Good baits IMO. Brad