papajoe222

Mine is against the label finesse fishing. We just called it downsizing your presentation for decades.

It depends on the cover I'm targeting. For weeds, I'll fan them. For wood or rock, I'll trim them to make them stiffer. I don't believe I've fished a jig in 20 years that I haven't done some modification to the weed guard.

I've been Stupid rigging for a while, but no one makes a jig heavy enough for punching weed mats. Guess I should have read Darth-Baiters response before I posted mine.

I like the looks of this set up. I use big tubes for punching more than beaver style baits. I'm trying to figure out how you rigged the hook.

A glass bead between a brass weight and a Carolina clacker ring is the loudest, IMO. I have a cash of red, green and clear glass beads in a couple of sizes. The red ones I use as an attractor in front of my worm weight, the green and clear for sound.

An XL Jitterbug that I modified. I caught it fishing for muskie. My previous PB was on an original ZaraSpook. They were both caught mid-day in July.

If you're looking for a jig that will stand up on the bottom, look no farther that a good ole ball head jig. Attach a small, ned sized floating trailer and attach it to your line with a snap, or light split ring. I only use mushroom head jigs with a Rage Tail Ned Cut-R Worm anymore.

A suspending crankbait. I like the concept, but, evidently the fish don't. I think I only have two left out of the six or eight I purchased for different depths. Neither of those remaining two have gotten wet in recent years. As for constant performers, it depends on the season. Right now, a blade bait is producing more than anything else. Come post-spawn, I doubt anything will out produce a jig/Rage Craw for me.

If I have a whole day to fish, I will normally target any number of lakes within a two hour drive. If not, there are a couple of lakes within an hour's drive that I will hit fairly frequently. I do plan two trips a year to more distant waters and will visit at least one body of water there that I've never been on.

First, I'd check out a good topographic map and make note of potential areas based on the season. Next, I'd check out the weather and barometer over the past few days. If there is some sort of trend, or stability it can give me an idea of what I may encounter concerning their activity level. I'll also check out the forecast for the day I'll be on the water. Next up would be on the water observations. Water clarity sky and wind conditions, bird activity. Lastly, my electronics will tell me bottom composition, weed depth, and the contours that I noted on the map. I now have a game plan and will stick with it for a few hours unless conditions change drastically. I can adjust presentations and techniques as needed.

I don't fish cranks much deeper than 16ft.-18ft. My two best producing cranks are the Bomber BD7 & BD8 Deep Fat Free Shad and the Norman NXS Crankbait, or DD22. I like red craw colors and something with plenty of chartreuse. I'll almost always choose a crank that runs deeper than the depth I'm targeting.

Like scaleface, if I see activity at 15ft., I'll search out structure at that depth looking for some form of cover or transition. I may check out two or three areas before contacting fish, but I'm confident that active fish will be using that depth.

The water temp. at my home lake was 42 when I hit the water yesterday. A fella seeing me load my boat asked how I did. I told him I caught one decent bass and a couple of crappie. He told me the bass were building nests and likely would spawn during this full moon.

I tie my own on good ole ball head jigs, mainly because I go through a lot of them this time of year. I'll use a plastic trailer with little or no action and just drag it a few inches and pause when the bite is tough. As the water warms, or if the fish are more active, I'll use a lift and glide retrieve.

Jerkbaits. It took me a few seasons to work out the force of the twitch, length of the pause. It's still a lesson in progress, but I've been catching fish on them all season long, so I figure a B- or at least a C+ on last year's report card.

I wasn’t aware it was plastic. All my reels have metal worm gears, so I incorrectly assumed all reels had metal ones.

There are upgrades that are both beneficial and recognizable, like carbon fiber drag washers, longer handles with bearings (if the current ones don't) and lighter spools. There are also upgrades that are beneficial, but you'd be hard pressed to notice any difference in performance. Bearing upgrades and replacing bushings with bearings is an example. Then there are cosmetic upgrades whose only benefit is the beauty in the eyes of the owner. The only thing I would recommend other than a good cleaning and lube, would be replacing the level wind pawl. Let the bait monkey convince you into getting a new reel. It's one of his specialties.

For years I kept a journal but I stopped doing so a while back. I found that I would refer to my entries for similar calendar period, water temps. barometric pressure, moon phase weather pattern and such and base my strategy on the similarities. What I ended up doing was what I call fishing history. It was beneficial only 50% of the time and the rest of the time, I spent too much fishing time devoted to that strategy. What I started doing instead, was using the conditions I was faced with and building a game plan from there. It works 50% of the time, but the other times, I make observations and make changes accordingly. I know it sounds counter productive, but my mind is wired different than most and it works for me.

I go against the norm in rod selection and go with a M/MF 6'6" baitcast rod. It loads up much easier and that reminds me not to overpower the cast. I will admit, I'm far from being proficient and much more comfortable using spinning gear for this.

I have to wonder how you rigged a RageSwimmer and didn't get any 'wobble'. Their paddle tail starts up at slow speeds and with a belly weighted hook, they will roll from side to side. The only thing I can figure is the jig head you tried them on has a hook that sits too far back on the bait, which will severely inhibit the tail action.

Basically, any soft plastic without appendages, T-rigged on a light wire hook. The first one I'd try would be a Zoom Super Fluke. Not knowing how high in the water column that muck is, it's merely guess work on our part. Have you tried waking a Colorado bladed spinnerbait, or running a toad just under the surface?

Using spinnerbaits in heavily stained water, adding a trailer like a Kalins grub will add vibration and lift. A recommendation, if you will. Switch to a smaller spinnerbait and trailer. The more compact size makes it easier for the fish to inhale, offering you more hook-ups. Plus you can slow your retrieve.

When I don’t want a lot of action on the fall (now up here), I reach for a Zoom Chunk. When I do, it’s a Rage Tail, or Creme’s offering.

Hair jig, tube and, although it isn’t listed, a Fluke. I added the Fluke as it gives you another option for the upper water column and, although some others work there as they fall, the Fluke can stay there throughout your retrieve.

I've been a die-hard fan of a splash of red on the underside of shad colored hard baits for years. The same goes for an orange belly in the spring. I have more red lipless cranks than chrome, or gold. With me, it's a confidence decision to throw something red when the water isn't clear, even though I know that it's the first color to wash out the more stained, or the deeper it's fished.