roadwarrior

A plug knocker is mandatory if you are going to successfully fish crankbaits. The BPS version works great.

No. The Rig looks and probably feels line a small school of baitfish that are lost. Here's another angle: Suspended bass are difficult or almost impossible to target, especially if the are in whatever a fish's equivilent is to sleep. Sometimes (often?) they are just not in the mood to feed. However, when a school of bait invades their territory, all bets are off. To some extent the fish that are attracted to The Rig are the same fish targeted by big swimbaits. Mattlures once described fishing his baits "out where they don't belong". So a big, dumb baitfish comes scootin' along out in the middle of nowhere, but maybe that's exactly where Big Momma spends all her time. The big bass might not be hunting, but maybe she won't pass up an easy meal. Maybe Speedbead will drop in and tell us about those big bass he catches in PA.

Cabela's Guidewear, uninsulated for me. BTW...Never pay list price, it's always "on sale".

2'-3' for everything. Part of the reason is for potential line shyness, but with jigs in particular, I want to be able to break-off on hang-ups. I can recover most baits from a boat, but fishing ponds from shore is an entirely different issue. This is why I rarely (never) fish hard baits at my ponds.

Actually, two and three. My first outing fishing Tuf-Line was with "moving" lures, mostly Smithwick Rogues. This weekend I stayed home and fished a local pond Saturday and Sunday mornings. Both of these outings involved bottom baits: Sworming Hornet, Seibert Outdoors Storm Series Jig & NorthStar Original Swim Jig with a Rage Tail Menace trailer. Both days I fished with a Seaguar Tatsu leader. Two issues I thought were most important: general abrassion resistance and knot strength, especially the leader connection knot. The results were another dead solid 10. No visible abrasion of any kind, NONE! Several hang-ups resulted in lost jigs, but the leader tie remained intact...amazing. So far, so good.

Very interesting.... This topic lends itself nicely to explaining a phenomenon occuring over the past two years on the Tennessee River reservoirs. More double digit fish were caught on Pickwick last year than cumulative in the entire history of the lake! I know of at least three 11+ weighed in tournament and a 14 1/2 claimed this year! Two weeks ago the winning 5 fish bag came in at 35 pounds and change! These kind of numbers sound like something from the lakes of the Big Four States, not TN and AL. Three friends from our local BPS all caught their first DD last year together with me. That was POWERFUL! I don't know how I got left out of the mix. So what's going on? I think we are seeing "uncatchable fish" being caught. Dottie was the perfect example: Never caught except on bed, during spawn. This behavior may be characteristic of bass that never come in shallow, never chase and never eat anything but minnows. Does this sound far-fetched? Well, this is my theory on The Rig. Fishermen are catching fish that have never been caught. Putting what appears to be a school of their favorite meal right in their face is simply irresistible, they lose all their inhibition. Note too, many if not all of these bass have been caught in what most would consider open water.

Hmm... One of the most popular and productive baits ever invented and you can't catch a fish? Maybe this will help: http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/13845-guaranteed-to-catch-bass/

Tried them dry and the noise was just too annoying. I added a drop of Shimano Oil which is probably thicker than some would prefer. I may have given up "maximum performance", but I like silence.

Well you are obviously a skilled angler, so I guess you did what you thought was the right thing in the moment. I check my drag before casting and NEVER adjust it with a fish on.

WOW!

Jerkbaits, Red Eye Shad and The Rig.

Looks to me the Lemon-Lime is made for the Tennessee River!

Hollow Belly http://www.bassmaster.com/news/hite-hits-new-high-eighth-win

The Rig

Nothing of interest... Baseball's "Buy A Team" sucks.

Don'T "stock-up" on anything until you try a pack or two. I fish Keitech, Shadalicious, Yum Money Minnow, Hollow Belly and a new paddle tail from MegaStrike, the Fat Shad http://www.megastrikefishingproducts.com/shop/fat-shad-soft-plastic/

Focus on cover and structure.

On Pickwick jerkbaits, Red Eye Shad and The Rig are on fire. They should work on your lake, too. Focus on cover and structure in 5'-15' of water, especially around the mouth of coves or anywhere there a creek empties into the lake.

I fished in a Make-A-Wish event with Andy Poss, the man credited with inventing The Rig. I have never caught a fish on the outside arms, never had a double or fished with any that has. I have caught small doubles on crankbaits and been with a few friends that have, also.

#1 for me is "preferred forrage". My observation is that sometimes bass are focused on baitfish (moving lures) and at other times they are more focused on bottom creatures. Both may work, but often ther is s distinct preference. #2 is depth #3 is cover vs structure #4 is both profile & action And although color is sometimes critical, I consider it to generally least important. Let me expain why: Next time there is a "What Color Is Best" thread running, you will see nearly every color recommended. I think you start with your favorite!

I don't know...I like jigs so much I often fish them even when I know something else would be a better choice! However, I'm going to offer you different advice: stick with soft plastics, weightless or T-rigged and always weedless. First of all, if you are worried about losing jigs, they will never work out for you. My motto is "If you're not getting hung-up, you're in the wrong spot!" From a boat and with a lure retriever, recovery rate is high, but from the bank, low. Second, although it's probaby true that many guys have caught their biggest bass on jigs or even most of their big bass on jigs, you still have a good chance of catching these same fat girls on soft plastics alone. Right now isn't the best time of year for traditional jigs anyhow. I do like swimming jigs in the spring, but anything "moving' tends to be productive now. Right now the reservoirs of the Tennessee River are on fire and the lures of choice are Red Eye Shad, jerkbaits and The Rig.

Great tip! I hadn't thought of that.

Not around here...If bouys are abandoned, the area is "free game", but when someone puts them out and is fishing the marked area, the message is loud and clear: Stay away! Nobody "owns" a spot, but they are entitled to claim a spot. Just to makes it clear, most guys anchor and re-anchor as they move around their claim. Note too, if you have a super special spot you should NEVER put out a buoy. Nowadays nearly everyone has GPS and will always mark other peoples buoys...always.

Woo-Hoo!