Jig Rookie

The bass have moved up in my neck of the woods! I went to a forest preserve lake yesterday and there were a bunch cruising and a few on beds. Tons of bait up shallow too, so it's on now. I got one on a jig in 4-5ft, super clear water at this spot.

I'm running it pretty aggressively: cranking it down fast then deadwalking it subsurface with pauses, burn-burn-pause, deadwalk again, pause, etc. Just an aggressive, inconsistent cadence going for a reaction bite. The water in the ponds near me is really warm, I was fishing more slowly when it was colder. I haven't fished any different tails though, only the standard. On a side note, the rat bite is finally on. Went to a new pond about midnight, the dinks were fired up. Caught four this same size, figured there aren't any bigguns in this spot so I won't be making a return trip. Hopefully the bite is on at some of my bigger water spots.

With this warmup the last couple days I decided to go out overnight last night and see if the rat bite had started yet (checked my records from last year and my first rat fish was May 26th). There's a Public Works lake about a 20-minute walk (lot is closed of course so you gotta walk in and ninja it) that gets really weed-choked by mid-June so early season is the best time to hit it before it gets unfishable for everything but frogs. Winds were a constant 20mph with gusts up to 32, dang near whitecaps on this water. I did get a double-tap on the rat but not the usual kill shot-type hit, so I think we might still be a week or two away from them committing yet. As usual, though, the TK came through with this 3.59lb chunk at 12:30a.

This weather just won't get stable--past weekend got to the 70s, today it's mid-40s after getting below freezing last night. I got out about 10a before the drizzle rolled in at 11:30 and actually got two bites; missed the first one but connected 15 minutes later on a slower retrieve about half a cast length from shore.

That's the 6.6" and yeah man, it's legit. I've always got it tied on now, it's pretty much my confidence bait at this point. I just got the Klash9 this winter (the nine-inch version of the Klash), can't wait til this water warms enough for me to send it on some of the bigger lakes around. I feel you on being scared to lose it, but sometimes the sketchiest spots hold the biggest bites. You know how it goes ha.

@Bassjam2000 @Bdnoble84 Thanks for that info--now that spring is here I know I'll be fishing mainly lakes and ponds so I'll keep that in mind when I wanna switch it up. Yesterday was so windy I didn't think I'd go out, but I couldn't help stopping at this pond next to my son's little league practice field. Mega gusty out there, the water was high and chocolate milk with whitecaps crashing the shoreline. I walked the windblown side and since it was so warm and blowy I thought I might find some up close to shore chasing. I got lucky and it worked out, got a bite about ten feet off the bank.

@Bdnoble84 Nice fish! Man I tried the Fox River this winter while everything else was iced over, I cannot figure out river fishing at all. Trying to catch my first smallie. What do you let stuff sit/roll on the bottom or you usually swimming baits through current?

Hit a local pond on the way to work yesterday--I didn't expect much because it was super windy and a couple days removed from that warm period we had the few days prior. I threw the Tiny Klash as usual and got bit on the windblown side on a crankdown-pause retrieve.

Had to go down to southern IL for a few days and I snuck out to the SIU campus lake after the family was asleep. Managed to get a bite on the Tiny Klash about midnight, a few hours before these crazy thunderstorms and winds rolled through.

Man I hope some of you were able to get out there today, it was FISHY. I got out to a pond this afternoon on the way to work--it wasn't pouring yet but it was a constant drizzle with up to 30mph south winds. I decided to throw the Tiny Klash (actually a blank knockoff Tiny Klash that I painted a Golden Shiner pattern) and stuck a good one one, she went 18" and 3.19lb. Went to work and an hour after I get there my buddy texts me that he's about to hit up a lake less than 20 minutes from the casino. I'm like Man, this weather is so fishy I'm gonna run over there with him for an hour. I play poker for a living so I'm able to skip out any time and I run over to the lake. I'm working the TK, looking at my buddy's lure and not really paying attention to what I'm doing when my rod almost gets ripped outta my hands. This one ends up being barely twice the size of the lure, aggressive little dude. It was good to get this one day of great conditions; now we're back to another week of up-and-down unstable and cold weather.

I think they're awesome--paint jobs are detailed and durable, bait is durable, really natural looking tail kick and slight head wobble at slow speeds. They're a Hudd alternative and honestly in my experience the paint job is way more durable than the Hudd--I lose paint off the Hudd just from bottom-bouncing it, the only time I've lost paint on the Pulse is when it got wrecked by a pike. Pulse Tail comes with nail weights and has a chamber in the tail where you can add a rattle. Also, the new version of the Pulse, called "RTF" (ready to fish) comes with a jig hook and a built-in stinger (with the Hudd we often add a stinger, which isn't super difficult or time-consuming but Savage addressed that by just standardizing that option). I know experienced bigbaiters who choose the Pulse over the Hudd and claim they get bit way more, in fact some guys have NEVER been bit on the Hudd but slay on the Pulse. For my money it's Pulse Tail for the win. The action is pretty much the same as the Hudd but price, durability and that ready-to-fish jig hook+stinger option seal it for me. Below pic is that RTF. Note: when you actually have it in hand you push the stinger down flush so you don't see the wire or hookeye, just the two visible prongs of the treble. I guess in this pic they've got it lifted a bit so you can see what the rigging actually looks like.

Dude, this post is spooky... literally three of the six baits you mention stay in my rotation: caught my first big softbait fish on the 7" Jenko Booty Shaker; the Spro Rat 50 and the Boogie Back are my GO-TO topwater baits, caught my first ever 5lb bass on the Boogie Back. Like minds, ha. Missed this post somehow. Man I've got some of everything as far as softies go; Hudd 8" and 68s; Jenko Booty Shakers; Beast Coast Creeps; Keitech Fat 7.8s; Savage Gear Pulse Tail Trouts, Gills, and segmented line-thrus; Swamp Trout shads (these are like direct knockoffs of Citizens); Shellback Customs; Real Prey shads; then two summers ago I bought a couple molds and started hand-pouring my own 7" softies with plastisol. Seriously, if I can keep the bait monkey away I shouldn't have to buy softies for a LONG time. Pics below are my softbait box and that Swamp Trout bait. Not sure if he purposely designed it like the Citizen, but it's a close rendition for sure.

100%

Start with the Dobyns Fury series--the Fury 795sb (7'9", Medium Heavy/Fast, rated 1-4oz) and the 806sb (8'0", Heavy/Fast, rated 2-8oz) are on TW for $129, that's the best price you're gonna find for a quality Swimbait rod. I own both and have zero complaints. It's good that you've got pike in your waters--I never caught a pike until I started throwing big baits but no I've caught a bunch, they're a nice side catch when the bass aren't eating. Later on you might want to get into the higher end, custom built rods (for which you can spend upwards of $1k or more for DRT, Deps, Moams, Low Down Customs and others), but just getting into the game I'd start with the Dobyns. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Dobyns_Fury_Casting_Rods/descpage-DFC.html

No personal input--I've never fished them, I've got so many softbaits I won't be in the market for any more for years. But TONS of YouTube and online info, reviews and such. They definitely get bit (check the Swimbait Underground website for fish catches and reviews) and they go like hotcakes whenever there's a drop. As in, the drop happens at 8p and they're sold out by 8:09. Black market resale value is high on em too. Also, good luck with big baits and welcome to the game! I started throwing them in 2018 and it's awesome. Two things; first, be prepared to get skunked. Not sure what fishing stage you're in but if you're one of those "I NEVER get skunked when I go fishing! *beats chest proudly*" types, it's probably not for you. You will have skunk trips, maybe even skunk weeks depending how big the fish in your waters are. When I started throwing em I was at a point where I wanted to target the biggest fish in the body of water I'm fishing, not worried about the skunk. Catching a bunch of 1.5lb schoolies held no interest for me anymore. Second thing: gotta dedicate yourself to it. Have trips where you take only the big baits out--if you bring your trusty conventional confidence baits you'll doubtless pick em up as soon as you start feeling that skunk coming on, and you won't put in enough time to really learn how best to fish them and how fish react to the big baits in your waters. Good job man, love to see another bigbaiter join the ranks.

Go to his webpage and sign up for the email notifications--you get an email a week in advance of the drop date and time.

@Bdnoble84 @Jp_midwest Blue Citizen 7s are still up on the WCZ site as of now. Drop was Friday so they've been available longer than usual. Get em while you can.

@dgkasper58 You in Northern IL too? That was the last one I stuck--been out a few times since the weather turned, throwing the Hudd, Gantarel and TK, but haven't gotten bit again. @Jp_midwest Hopefully the bite picks back up with some weather stability, it's been all over the place this week.

Got out Thursday to a new (to me) small pond in McHenry Co, maybe 1.5 acres--water was murky, less than 2 feet of visibility and it was pretty windy. An angler I met there told me the deepest hole in this pond is about ten feet so I targeted that area with a Hudd 68. She hammered it on the slow roll near the bottom and absolutely choked it; she went 18.5 inches, 3.30lb. Not bad for the maiden trip, super excited to fish this place in the spring months.

Do largemouth eat the hair jig as well as smallies?

Glide bait, super slow.

Definitely some size in there--I've caught fish over three pounds from that pond so I'm sure there are 4+ easy. The north pool also gets trout stockings and there are two fishing walls, one on the north side and one on the southeast.

@softwateronly If you're shortish on time I'd recommend the North Pool--it's smaller and shallower so you'll find them easier. The deepest hole in that pool is on the south side.

Got back out to the same pond today, mid-afternoon so the water was probably at its warmest point. I decided to give the glide bait a try and got one to eat. Slow glides with a pause in between. This fish ate in less than four feet of water, maybe fifteen yards off the shoreline.

@Jp_midwest When do you usually start sending the big stuff? You wait for a certain water temp?