Mobasser

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

I love this Heddon shirt!

Catt, I somewhat agree with Rick Clunn. Mister Twister worms have been around since what the early 70s? As you point out, they are still very good, and by tournament stats still widely used. Some of the best baits have never really gone out of style. What has improved for us is the way plastics are made these days. Now, they can mold them with so much detail. Last year, my main lake got very low with drought conditions, and thick milfoil bloom in many parts. I went back to my old standby- plastic worms which seemed to come through this cover better. This year, I'm hoping things will be better. I'm wanting to fish more of some of these " modern" creature baits. Many look very good to flip/pitch, or casting. Always trying to learn, and branch out, even after 30 yrs at this.Plastic worm will always be #1 for me, but it's always good to have some alternatives too.Some of the new plastics look amazing. Color, scent, texture etc.

Oh yea. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you guys!

Catt, I never knew that creature baits had been around that long. You and WRB bring up some good facts. Like many of us know, it would be hard, if not impossible to create a totally new bass lure. All of them borrow from the past somehow

The Zoom brush hog and baby brush hog kind of started this type of bait years ago. I've done pretty good on the baby brush hog, mostly fishing them with a slow bottom lift-pull or dragging retrieve. Looking on the TW website recently, I noticed how many more creature baits are out there. Lots of them. I like the looks of the Reaction Innovation beaver baits, but for the past several seasons I've stayed with the tried and true baby brush hog. What are some creature baits you've had success with? Any certain brand or colors?To me, 90% of them imitate a craw, so that's how I've tended to fish them. Any favorites in this type of bait? Any retrieve styles that have worked well? Looking for ideas.

Well said Catt. As fisherman we have to take advantage of opportunitys

I agree on the Sedona. Good smooth reel for the money.Also agree on bearing count over rated also.I also have a Diawa Laguna 2000 size. Decent reel too

The only other real "haunting" I've had came 30 some yrs ago when I was first getting into bass fishing. I had been reading about fishing spinnerbaits at night, and had picked up a couple of black single spin spinnerbaits 3/8 oz. Also a jar of black #11 pork frog trailers. Went bank fishing on a smaller lake near our home on a Friday night around 10:00. It was a hot, humid, sticky late July night. I began walking the bank , casting the spinnerbait out, and bringing back slow and steady, and I could feel the single Colorado blade really thumping on my retrieve. After fishing down this bank for almost an hour, I had not one strike. I was let down, as I was expecting some action on these spinners.Walking back to my car, I stopped to cast around an old, rotting , half sunken dock. I'm guessing water depth at 2 or 3 ft. First cast , brought in a big string of weeds, which I removed , and cast again. The next cast I thought I felt a strike, but wasn't sure and kept on reeling, when a large bass came to the surface with an almost violent, head shaking fight. I simply wasn't ready for this, and didn't get a solid hookset. This fish was hooked a short time, then gone into the darkness. I can still see her white belly when she rolled on top in the moonlight. My lesson from this: be ready at ALL times when your fishing. After casting for an hour with no strikes, I had begun to lose my concentration. Just when you think nothing is happening, a big fish can hit. I still daydream about that fish too. She was big, powerful, and strong. Gone forever, into the night

Excellent! You guys deliver the stories I love to hear. It's a humbling experience to lose a truly big fish. You sit there for a minute in kind of a daze. I could read these stories all day long.

Yes. Control what you can control to try to eliminate errors. That's all we can do.Being prepared is very important, as well as being able to change quickly when something is not working.

Very true Sam. Man against beast.

I think Qauntum makes some very good stuff. As others have said, get the upper level if you can. This can hold true with any brands

Roadwarrior, thanks for posting this. Great read. Even though I'm not a smallmouth fisherman, I've always admired Billy Westmoreland. He lost a brown bass that he estimated at 12 pounds, a potential world record. He stated many times how he would be home watching TV , and start thinking about this one fish, and launch his boat at night, to target this bass. He never caught this fish, but fished for her many times. I believe this story- Westmoreland was one of the best, and knew how to estimate the size of fish very well. It became an obsession for him. Losing a huge bass can become an obsession for all of us.

Catt, no better way to put it! It's not the rod/reel or always some hot bait. Location is where it's at

I use spinning and casting tackle. Both have their place, and both will work. I would use what you are comfortable with, which can give you more confidence, to fish more effectively.

Good find! I've found a few over the years, but never that many. As others have said, baking soda and an old toothbrush will clean them up well

I rowed the flat bottom Jon boat to the mouth of a small cove. Picked up my casting rod, and cast an 8" Mann's Jelly Worm to a bank. Letting the worm sink to the bottom, I gave it one slow lift. As it was sinking, I felt a very light tap, quickly took up slack and set the hook. For a few quick seconds, I felt the weight of a large bass- then nothing. This was probably 15 yrs ago. For some reason this fish has haunted me. I've caught and released many fish since that day, and many I can't remember. But this one fish is etched in my mind. Maybe it's the scenario, who your fishing with, the bait, strike, or season. I missed this bass in a classic scene. Overcast sky, stump filled cove, and fishing with a Texas rig worm. Why do certain fish haunt you? If your haunted by a big bass, I'd like to hear about it. I daydream about this fish pretty often. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

In my recent thread on cold water plastic worm fishing, I got several good replies about baits that will work.Catt, WRB, and Scaleface all mentioned. traps, jigs, and crankbaits too. After all these years it's time to branch out a little! As much as I love worm fishing, there are other things that may work well too.

I use baitcasting. Heavier mono line also.

Yes. That weight will cast fine with your rod

Bluebasser86, I'm not sure what the ratio is on our lakes. I did see one fish last year I figured to be 18". That's good, because it makes for more fun knowing you can hook into a bigger one

A Texas rig worm or other soft plastic bait is my #1 through most of the year. I too fish them weightless on up to 3/4 oz with a flippin stick. Weightless, in the shallows can be an excellent way to fish.

Nice. Most of the ones we get are 12"-14". Good fish!

Brent, your rods/reels and tackle are fine. Keep throwing what's working for you, and try a few other things too. Much of bass fishing is location, then putting together the baits that will catch them on any given day. Keep fishing as much as you can, and good luck