I/MBasser

I always carry Rage Tail Menace grubs and Kalins Lunker grubs.

Great call on the paper clips. Just put all my hooks on paper clips this morning and it’s simple and works great. No more trying to pick out a hook in a tangled mess.

So, which brand are you going to use?

Just bought it in natural as well and can't wait to try it on the river for smallies. Color looks great!

Sure you could do it but why would you want to? I use the brand that works best for me in each category. Don’t care if it’s Yamamoto or BPS.

Black and Blue variant/ Junebug and a Green Pumpkin/Watermelon variant is all I need.

Check out Fox River Lures and Rods. They are local and great. Price point is around $100. They have a pretty big local following.

Looking at those pictures gives me anxiety

What hook do you use with the SK Bull Worm?

Caffeine Shad in pearl and baby bass.

Siebert Jigs for sure. By far the best color selection. I always use a Black/Blue variant or a Green Pumpkin variant. Always have a brown, chartreuse and shad color as well. I use the Swim, Dredge G2 (football jig), Dredge Brush (flipping) and prefer the 1/8 Dredge Arky over the Sniper for finesse. As far as trailers, you'll get a million different answers. They all work. Depending on what I'm throwing I'll use a paddle tail, Rage Menace, Baby Rage Menace, single and double tail grubs, Net Bait Paca Craw, RI Sweet Beaver. I don't keep anything that is specifically a trailer. All of these I will fish t-rigged or on a ball head or swim jig. I also keep my colors very basic. Black/Blue, Green Pumpkin or White.

Anyone know how the Bitsy Bug compares to the Siebert 1/8 Dredge Arky? Obviously the heads are different and the Siebert skirts look a bit longer but they could be easily trimmed. But with Siebert you get such a better selection of skirt colors. Was looking to get some for river smallies.

Well, actually, I said I’ve been catching 4# bass in local ponds but have learned of a few lakes that have bass as big as 9#s. But the point of the original post was just to learn what folks have been using to target the larger bass.

I have no doubt they are very very rare in my region.

I’d say the only myth is that 9#ers don’t exist in the north. There may not be many, but they are here. For me, seeking them out is half the fun. And I’m not looking for a magic lure. Just something that may give me an edge. Other than that I do appreciate the input.

BPS is a 10 minute drive from my house. I enjoy walking around and checking out colors and what’s new. If I make a big order it’s Tackle Warehouse. If I make a small order I just started using eBay. All my jigs are from Siebert. Unfortunately there aren’t any local tackle shops within reasonable driving distance.

Ha! If/when i find them I'll be sure to send you a DM To be honest, I don't know how to differentiate between the two. Is it acreage? Habitat? I'll come prepared with a selection that works at both. Thank you very much for the suggestions.

Well, that's the hope. And if it takes three or four years I would be fine with that. I enjoy the chase and simply being out there. I'm not saying these Chicago lakes are littered with lunkers, just that they exist. Half my enjoyment comes from exploring new places and learning what's out there. Most of the ponds near me hold 2#ers or less. Buddy and I randomly stopped at a little pond that we drive by all the time and decided to give it a shot. Spent the next two hours catching a couple dozen and a handful of 4#ers. One of the best days fishing I ever had. This spring I plan on targeting a few of the ponds/lakes that I was told hold big bass. Just want to be prepared with some bigger baits. You mentioned swimbaits. From reading these forums I might pick up a Huddleston 68, Savage Gear 3D Shine Glide and a Spro BBZ-1. Which swimbaits do you use in our region? Thanks for all the input!

Too cold for me right now. I’m preparing for spring. And loaded with Siebert Jigs! Yes. That is what I’m told. I’m pretty happy catching 4#ers at my honey hole and can’t imagine the fun catching a 9#er. Looking forward to Spring Sweet. I’ll pick up a pack and give them a try.

Totally get the point about location. But what I want to know is what specific bait is working for you guys.

Up in the Chicagoland area I have a few ponds where I can catch 4#ers. Recently learned of a few lakes that have bass as big as 9#s. I want to put together a Plano box of bigger baits to target the bigger bass. Looking at some bigger Swimbaits (both hard and soft) and some worms. What other baits should I consider? What specific swimbaits and worms do you use that are successful. Thanks in advance for the help!!

I keep them in utility boxes as it's much easier to access and store. I have had minimal warping, if any at all. I do keep ZMan and Savage Gear in their bags as I've heard they will melt other plastics.

I'm in Northern Illinois and have 5 set ups as well. All my rods are Fox River Lures and Rods. It's local, reasonably priced and I like them a lot. Not sure spending an additional $100 on any rod is going to help me catch more fish. My setups are: 7'9" MH. I use this for topwater and flipping. 7' M-M. This is my crankbait rod. 7' MH-F. I use this rod for most applications... jigs, spinnerbaits, swimbaits, jerkbaits, some topwater, heavier Texas rigs, etc.. 6-9" M-F. This is my spinning rod. I also have a very inexpensive 6-6" ML-F Pflueger Trion that I use for small mouth bass, specifically the DuPage River. Currently looking for a new set up and prefer a shorter rod. Since Fox River only makes a 7' ML rod I'll likely buy a different brand.

Oh man would it be awesome to catch a 3# smallie, much less a 6#er on the DuPage. Most everything I’ve caught is less than a pound. Biggest is 1.5. Pretty new to the DuPage so still learning about it.

I bought a few things from BPS online. Shortly after they sent me a $10 off a $30 purchase code. So I purchased just over $30 and used the code. Basically 33% savings. Again, they sent me another email with a $10 off code. I have done this about 4 times these past couple months. I've also picked up the orders at the store to save on shipping. Fortunately BPS is only about 10 minutes or so away.