papajoe222

You answered your own question and I agree with you. Those thin tails on the Lunker Grub activate with the slightest movement. Other than the Rage Tail, it's the only one I've used. I actually started using them as light hair jig trailer in colder water because that tail would spin on even the slowest fall.

A lot of great info, but as I said, I'm just starting out. Once I get comfortable with being able to replicate a load, I can start experimenting with different bullets, powders, etc.

If it had a closed line tie, I'd venture to say it's a Bomber. Head shape and heavy wire look almost identical to the two I still use for pike. The lower arm is longer than the top one by over an inch. As mentioned, they no longer produce them.

Thanks again guys. Yea, it took a while to find the right one, but Hornady offers a .75g HPBT that this rifle seems to really like. There was a world of difference in accuracy when I switched to their 68g offering and when I found a box of the 75g, I had to try it. A little pricy, but worth it. Honestly, I have no idea what the twist rate is on the barrel, but with it liking the heavier bullet, I'm guessing it isn't mil spec. Could I get that info from Savage? Edit: twist is 9 per Savage website

I was guilty of the pitfall many anglers fall into when I first started fishing heavy, matted pads; I enjoy the fight as much as I do the challenge of finding and hooking the fish. Because of that, I would let the fish head shake and bury itself in the stems. Now, I get their head up and winch them out. Once they're out in open water you can 'play' with them.

Thanks guys. The only reason I'm getting into reloading is to improve accuracy. My rifle will shoot 1in. groups @ 300yrd. with factory ammo. That may be the limit of my ability, IDK, but I'd like to believe I can get more out of the gun using custom ammo. I know that developing a load is time consuming and isn't done to reduce costs. I also know there is a big learning curve. Im just looking to eliminate some pitfalls like bad habits, through other's experiences.

I'm going to get my feet wet starting with .223 Rem. I have a single stage press and all the other components and tools on order. I've read and watched a ton in an effort to educate myself as much as I can. Seeing as this site is about sharing information, I was wondering if anyone reloads and if so, do you have any tips on avoiding mistakes or just tips in general?

I use three styles of jigheads. A standard tube jighead with the 90degree line tie and light wire hook. The other two have the 60degree tie, one with a light wire hook and the other with a thicker, EWG hook for stupid rigging. Those two are used for dragging/swimming presentations. I don't use tubes under 3.5in. so I can't offer anything for the shorter ones.

#9 Original Rapala floater, either blk/gold or blk/silver. Custom rod (Rainshadow blank) and Pfluger President (6925)

Just to show how little I use them, the only way I've been rigging them is with a belly weighted hook and fishing them in the mid to upper water column. Thanks A-Jay I'm rigging one up for tomorrow. Hopefully, I'll get int some cooperative fish and build my confidence up some.

My attempts at using soft body and hollow body swimbaits in the fall have been less than productive. I've switched up my retrieve, gone with heavier weighted hooks to get them to run deeper. When on a decent jerkbait bite, I've switched to them in an effort to gain some confidence in their use. Problem was, they wanted the jerkbait. Anyone have success with them in the fall?

I've done away with adding hook keepers to my builds for a couple of reasons. The first is I hate scratches in the finish and with my old eyes, that's a given. The second is.............I forget, but I'm sure its a good reason. Seriously, I like placing it behind the handle on split grips so it's out of the way. I really like BBF's solution.

The X-Rap and Bomber Long A are my favorites. Affordable and the flat out catch fish.

I'm not sure what you mean by open water, but I will use cranks for suspended fish and for targeting the area above the weeds. A change of direction is what will trigger strikes and that direction can be up, down, or to the sides. Although I've caught many bass with a stop and go, or pause and restart if you prefer, I find that a sharp jerk of the rod tip seems to trigger more strikes. I hold the rod tip around 8:00 when cranking and jerk the tip down sharply. It takes a little getting used to as you end up slapping the water with the rod tip if you're too aggressive. That's easy to do with small billed baits.

I use braid on both my MH Mod cranking rod and my Med/Mod jerkbait rod. Both have fairly soft tips which makes for a perfect match with braid. As A-Jay stated, you need some give somewhere and I prefer it be from the rod and not from loosening the drag.

My Lew's Laser pro Speed Spool is a fairly small reel, but I'm not sure how it compares to the LFS. It's a different shape than My Daiwa Sols, but weighs about the same.

I'm sure there are anglers that have confidence throwing big worms in the fall. I'm not one of them. That one word, confidence, should be upper most in your mind when selecting any bait any time of year. I'm not saying you should always go with your most confident, sometimes it's a poor choice. If you continue to strive to become a better angler, you will gain confidence in many baits and presentations and become what is often called a versatile angler. Until you feel you are at that point, go with your confidence presentations. BTW, in the fall, I tend to lean toward smaller soft plastics with less action as the water gets colder. I also slow down my retrieve the colder it gets.

I'll likely get some flak over this, but if I were starting over I'd begin with a jig. Pick one in a 3/8-1/2oz. size depending on the rod you use and learn how to cast, pitch and flip it. Use it until you can tell the difference between it bumping a rock and a tree stump, hard bottom and soft, when it catches on weeds or is moving along a limb. Learn how fast it falls and how to count it down. Then you can work on different retrieves. You will then have a ton of knowledge you can apply to most any other bait or technique. No, they're not all presented the same, but you will have come to understand the importance of knowing what the bait is doing and what information it is transmitting back to you. .

I've always used suspending jerkbaits in colder water and floaters in warmer water, but today I had great success with a floater when paused long enough for it to start rising. The water temp was 62-64. I switched to a suspending version and the bite all but died. I didn't have time to switch back to the floater, but I gotta believe that they just prefer a floater in the fall. For those of you that fish jerkbaits a lot, do you agree?

The mods can delete this if they feel it's political. I can not believe how many of my Facebook friends are unaware that the President of the USA is not elected by the popular vote, but by the Electoral College and the fact that it takes a minimum of 270 of those votes to be elected. Our educational system is truly lacking when college graduates don't know how our government works. There was a time when you had to pass a general civics and American history test before you could graduate high school.

I've done that and smacked the wife more than once. The last time she said: "You're using braid, you don't need to set the hook so hard!" LOL Thank God she has a good sense of humor.

I use trailer hooks when fishing buzzers and spinnerbaits with braid. I feel they make up for the no stretch of the line and the number of fish I catch on that trailer reinforces that logic. The only two times I don't use one is when fishing weeds and when slow rolling

I like brass weights, but rarely go heavier than 1/4oz. anymore. Always with a glass bead. For years, I used heavy brass for C-rigs, but tungsten transmits so much more info back to me that it's become my go to for that.

Welcome to BR Clear water with a steep drop and rocky bottom sounds a lot like a strip pit. Regardless, the fish will most likely be suspending. To find out what depth, work your way down the water column with cranks until you find them. If the bite dies off, swim a tube or jig through the same depth.

I'd stick to Perch and fire tiger patterned cranks and jerkbaits in or around whatever green weeds you can find. No weeds, rock and gravel would be my second option, in 10-15ft. Once the water temps. drop close to 50, you can drop the cranks in favor of a drop shot with a long leader and move deeper if you don't contact fish in that depth range.