roadwarrior

When you get them all together, I hope you post a picture of the whole gang. Great post! 8-)

Very nice! 8-)

I fish it with shallow horizontal movements, 6"-12" then allowing the bait to fall back on slack line. I'm trying to imitate what I think a crawdad might look like as it moves across the bottom and over rocks. When the Fat Ika is pulled forward the tentacles are pushed backwards against the body. When the bait falls, the skirt flutters upwards. Even when the bait lies on the bottom, the tentacles make it appear alive (or just recently killed).

Well, I know it was scary when it was happening, but man, it sure makes a great story!

You may be able to find a Shimano Symetre on sale for something pretty close to that. The retail price is $79. This is the reel I would recommend: FI-2500FI http://www.reedssports.com/main.taf?cat=61

Welcome aboard! Is the rod spinning or baitcasting? How much do you want to spend?

Welcome aboard!

Wow! Those are some fine bass. 8-)

Looks like a plan. I have mine saddled up to a St. Croix AC66MF, but I'm probably going to match it up with a G.Loomis PR844C at some point. As long as your doing a little shopping, check that rod out and see what you think. I have the twin (PR844S) which is my favorite spinning rod.

I have a Calais 200A (6.2:1) that I like quite a lot. The Platnium Service Plan is a nice touch, too! http://www.***.com/descpageRLCSHIMANO-SHCA.html

Hope to see you back soon. In the meantime I'll send you a spaghetti gravy recipe you can work on... http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1818,154169-233205,00.html

Oh. Actually, with all the times I've seen fisherman whom I respect (including yourself and Fish Chris, among others) recently advocating a big splash, I may be pitching less and less in the near future 8-) That sucks. I've wasted all this time working on roll casting and pitching to minimize surface disturbance and it might be all for naught. There are times when "silent entry" is probably a better choice and having developed the skill to use that option is a very good thing. Still, most of the time a big splash attracts fish.

The St. Croix AVID AC66MF is my "all-around" baitcaster. Although it is rated Fast Action, it has a soft tip. I use is for all medium weight treble hook lures (crankbaits, jerkbaits, topwater) AND spinnerbaits & buzzbaits. It is NOT appropriate for soft plastics or jigs which require a rod with a firm tip.

If I only had one rod it would be the MBR844C.

I fished these baits exclusively this weekend in a local pond. Maximum depth is 23', but most of the structure is 8-16'. I fished a total of five hours in the mornings and two hours each day between 11:30 and 2:00 in 102 degree heat! Here are the results: No big bass and only one fish was caught deep. Nothing special. In the mornings, I killed 'em when they were bunched-up feeding on schooling baitfish in open water. Saturday morning I caught four bass on five casts and fourteen total. The bad news is that these were all tournament fish, the total weight would not have tipped 14 lbs. So, my initial opinion of the bait is that they were not very special for me. However, I think there are some other applications where they might work better. I will fish them this fall on the Tennessee River and see if my pet brown fish like them. During the fall threadfin shad are schooled in the millions and the bass are VERY orientated to minnow profiles. So...we'll see.

I fish the Fat Ika EXACTLY like a Senko, in exactly the same places and the same situations. It's just another profile. For the past few years the Fat Ika has simply been more productive than the Senko for me, especially for better fish. However, most of my DD bass have been caught on a 6" Senko and I have yet to catch one on a Fat Ika.

Hmm... I have been fishing Senkos since 1997 and have never fished one with a weight of any kind.

Sounds like a great trip to me. I glad you were able to land a couple and share some pics. Congratulations! 8-)

Well, give this one a try and let us know what you think: Mizmo 3 1/2" Kent's Classic (squash green).

Welcome aboard! I see no reason why swimbaits wouldn't work, but fishing a swimbait is going to depend a lot on the water you fish. I'm not going to fish a $10+ lure on the Tennessee River in fast current, but I would on a lake.

Those are my thoughts, too.

Great post! Nice fish, too. 8-)

Neither. I plan to fish them like a true swimbait (steady retrieve) over deep structure.

Although it seems the bait was designed for fishing shallow, I intend to fish some deeper structure. Has anyone had success with this lure in deep water?

Thank you Lane.