papajoe222

I'm to the point where tubes are my #1 soft plastics. From top to bottom, as a finesse offering, or for punching. My Flukes, Trick Worms and Beaver Baits have sat in their bags for a number of seasons and my 17ft tackle box is quite a bit lighter because of it.

Thanks for everyone's replies. This guy is more than just a fishing buddy and I would never end a friendship over this. We only get together to fish twice a year. Next time I head up to his place, my boat will stay at home in my driveway. Oh yea, we will joke about this over a couple of drinks at next weeks fish fry here at my place.

You can tell I'm a Chicago boy, I thought this was a thread about how to keep your stuff from getting ripped off. I have and SUV and use a system that hangs from it's interior roof. I don't trailer with my gear in my boats rod locker for the above mentioned reason and with my tinted windows they can't be seen by passers by when I stop for nature calls or to grab a bite. There are a couple of options if you have a cap on your bed, but placing them inside a sleeping bag is a great way to both hide and protect them.

I still have some difficulty skipping a jig and will normally opt for a tube, but when I do skip one, I like a chunk trailer with flat 'claws' I've tried RageCraws, but I have a tendency to hit the water hard and those claws seem to catch the water and kill the skip.

I love their Smash Tubes on a C-Rig and still have a few Pit Boss'. I stopped using the Pit Boss in favor of a flipping tube, but I doubt if I'll abandon them completely.

He is a friend, but as such I accept him 'as is' I just wasn't aware of this side of him. I've had fishing partners pull some crazy dodo, but this really through me for a loop. I really don't know how to react and I'm what you'd call non-confrontational. I could care less about the quick release and lost photo op. I'll likely just rib him about it in front of his other friends, but not at his next get together up there.

I went up to Muskegon, MI for the walleye opener and stayed at a friends place. I took him out on the water at midnight and I hooked a beauty of a smallmouth, 4lb.12oz. He landed it and I took a photo with his smartphone. After weighing it and before I could get a pic of myself and the fish, he released it! What's worse, he posted the pic on social media saying HE caught it. He has up to his place a couple of times a year, but I'm thinking of declining next time. Thoughts?

The bait is doing exactly what it is intended to, but it sounds like you want to work it as a topwater. If so, just slow your retrieve down until you find a speed that will keep it on top. Give a CrazyCrawler a try if you're looking for a topwater similar to a Jitterbug

I'll admit it; I'm a tube junkie. I know it isn't a popular bait, but that isn't because it doesn't produce results. Just the opposite, sometimes it'll outproduce other, more conventional, soft plastics. One of those times is when it's rigged on a C-rig and allowed to float off the bottom. There is a way to get all but the smallest tubes to float, even if they don't do so on their own. Poster boards made from pressed styrofoam make for great, small inserts that will float almost any size tube. Just cut a strip about 1/8in. wide. Insert it halfway into the tube of your choice and cut, or break it where it exits the tube body. You can add a drop of super glue to hold it in place, or if you're T-rigging it the hook will hold it in place. This also works great for using a tube as a soft topwater presentation if you ever run out of hollow body frogs, or you want a smaller profile topwater.

Not knowing what type lake you fish i can only offer suggestions based on what I do. Look for areas that restrict the current flow from the wind, like neck down areas or humps. Like a river, there is slack water, or areas of slower surface current downstream that are not only easier to maintain boat position in, but will hold fish awaiting an easy meal. Take down your pedestal seats and sit on the deck or at your console to reduce the wind resistance they and you offer. A cast off rope tied to a plastic grocery bag is a great makeshift drift sock that will take some of the workload off of your trolling motor. If there is any kind of point, island, or peninsula available to break the wind for you, you can use it to your advantage in a similar way.

The difficulty in using any 'action tail/legged bait on a mojo rig is getting the action to work as they normally need to be worked fairly quick to do so. A heavier weight will allow you todo that and still keep your weight making contact with the bottom. A C-rig is a better option for most of that style bait. If you're looking for a big profile bait, try a tube. You get bulk and action in a slow presentation and it will stay off the bottom linger with a more enticing (IMO) fall back to the bottom.

I 'customize' a lot of my topwaters and my favs are Spooks. My all time favorite was a Jimmy Houston that I'd added a white and red feathered treble on the end and switched out the belly hook to a SureSet. A splash of red on the belly and 3D eyes and I could keep that beauty in a spot forever or until a fish exploded on it. I was in a hurry to get back to a school of nice fish and didn't check my line after my third catch. My baby flew 30ft. past the trees lining the shore and I haven't seen her in three years this June.

Quick tip for those of you learning this style presentation. Let the conditions dictate your choice of components and gear. A tungsten weight has no benefit when fishing a muck bottom and braid will get nicked and fail you at the wrong time if fished through shell beds, or rip rap. You can get away with a rod with an extra fast tip when using a long mono leader or using a moderate fast tip with a short fluoro leader. The same goes for the baits you choose. Floating baits excel under certain conditions while heavily salted plastics have their place. And don't forget hard baits. Yes you can C-rig them.

Welcome to the forums. When you lock down your drag, it becomes a useless feature. It's purpose is twofold. First, to allow line to be fed out under pressure in order to fatigue the fish that's fighting at the end of the line. Second, to eliminate or reduce the possibility of the line breaking under excessive pressure. Even when using 65.lb braid for catching 4lb. fish, some drag slippage is necessary to prevent damage to your gear, especially the rod and to reduce the possibility of straightening out hooks and thereby loosing fish.

If the arrow and direction your boat moves are in sync, you'll need to adjust the cable gear. If the arrow is pointing in a different direction, you can remove the head and position the arrow accordingly. If it's a new motor, take it back to where you purchased it and let them fix the problem.

Welcome to the site. You can do one of three things; Change tactics, change location, or give up and play video games that will give you instant gratification. I'm not attempting to be funny, sometimes catching takes more than just chucking and winding a lure past a piece of cover or a fish that you can see. Nothing works every time and there are days even the pros have difficulty figuring out the what and where. Don't give up, this is a very rewarding sport in more ways than just catching fish.

K.I.S.S. Pick an earth tone and adjust the color of trailer. One jig and a few bags of trailers will put you out maybe $10. Go with a light, med. and dark trailer and pick a jig that can be used in different types of cover for the most versatility.

Are you talking smallmouth or largemouth? If it's smallies, go with a colored blade like lime green, or chart. The other thing is, do something different on the retrieve, whether it's smallies or largemouth. Give the rod tip a pop, pause and let the bait sink, or just move your rod tip to the side and back. A straight retrieve works when fish are ambushing the bait, but in open water, or when they just want to follow, mixing up the retrieve will get them to commit. By changing lures, you have to get the fish interested, again, and that fish has already moved from the spot where it first saw your bait. No matter what bait you throw, unless there is a school holding in the area, you're better off getting that fish to commit and then going after the others. For those of you new to fishing, this works for most any species from crappie to muskie. Explore your options before changing baits or the areas you're fishing. You're doing something right if a fish follows your presentation. Why abandon it for something, or somewhere else?

Back in the day when a floating Rapala was the only minnow bait out there, we did exactly that to get the bait down for walleye. From split shot we graduated to rubber core sinkers that we could slide up and down the line to get the bait closer to, or farther from the bottom. Next came adding a swivel below the weight to keep the lure running true. I currently use that tactic to present small, crappie crankbaits and square bills in deep water, but keep that trick to yourself because if word gets out, I'll come looking for you.

Actually, with mono's stretch 12lb. may be a good choice. You'll loose a little distance on the cast, but gain a little in sensitivity and better hook sets. Whatever shakey jig you choose, I'd start with a light wire version from shore. Hook sets will be easier and the lighter wire hook can be straightened out with a steady pull on the line if you get hung up. 3/16-5/16oz. will keep you in touch with what's going on on the business end and will also keep it on the bottom if, or when you decide to shake it in place.

What's the diameter of the braid you're using? Some braids can be .40mm+ and some as little as .17. Check the package and I'd bet yours is a thicker line and you likely didn't spool it very tight.

Line stretch has been a factor for decades and many an angler still uses basically the same line he did back then. If you're loosing fish when then jump, learn to distinguish when they are coming up and drop your rod tip while reeling. If you're loosing them on a long cast, a second hook set when you're in a good, or better position will insure getting that hook's point past the barb. Lastly, you need to match your gear to the size hooks on your baits. A big single hook on a spinner bait or jig requires heavier line and a rod with some backbone vs. say a small crankbait with #6 trebles. BTW, fluorocarbon lines do stretch, but quality ones stretch much less and transmit more information back to the angler, than mono, or copolymers. They generally have a higher test to line diameter also.

If I had to pull my boat to Mexico, I'd have to apply for citizenship because I couldn't afford to pull it home and I sure wouldn't leave it there.

I base all my tackle choices on the structure and cover I'm fishing. Wood cover requires beefier line, rod, hooks, and with weeds and rocks it depends. I'll swim and arkie style jig just about anywhere, including over weed beds that I know are uniform. I'll switch to a pointed jig with a fairly stout hook for weeds with a lot of pockets or ones that are growing on an uneven bottom. The reason I opt for the arkie style more often than not is I can fish it in many different ways, including letting it fall to the bottom and crawling it along. If the cover changes on a piece of structure, or there's another type of cover mixed in with it, I just switch up my presentation without having to switch baits.

What you are experiencing are the different phases of pre-spawn. When you were catching fish with water temps in the 50's, both males and females were cruising those spots for two reasons; to feed and to check out potential spawning sites. By the time those temps rise into the 60's, their focus shifts more toward spawning and the males and females will start pairing up looking to build nests. The males will stay fairly shallow and the females will venture in and out of the shallows until the actual spawn takes place. Do like the females and go from the potential spawning areas to the nearest deeper water in your search for them, that is if you want to catch less aggressive fish (read fewer fish, but bigger).