Aaron_H

The trick is to take five steps back and swing for the fences while screaming "LET'S GOOO" at the top of your lungs. Perfect hookset every time.

I went to Academy yesterday to see if I could snag any more clearance deals, but no dice. Did happen to see a little Lew's 6' spincast combo rated 1/32-1/4 oz for only 50 bucks. Rod wasn't a wet noodle and the spincast reel was convertible to LH (and not held together with a plastic pin like the new Zebco 33, shame on you Zebco) so I snagged it. Been looking for a decent replacement for my panfish rod and this seems like the ticket for now. Fished with it for a little bit today, 1/16 oz jighead with a white/chartreuse grub and then a 1/16 oz roadrunner underspin with a white grub. Two bluegill smaller than my intended size and did manage to get one little ~10" bass on it. Got me all up in the grass but I was able to put some pressure on him even with the 6lb line. Pulled some drag and fought like a champ on the little combo. Definitely want to try and get some crappie on it here soon, I'll be dragging it along with me to a few spots.

There are three things in my life that I live for: Lipless fishing, repetition, and lipless fishing. I have success on them year-round here, but fall is a primo time. Can't get enough of ripping them through those shad schools and feeling the wallop from a big girl.

If you're talking about the bill shape, it's a square bill. But if you're talking about a crankbait with a square bill, that's a squarebill. And I will die on this hill. ?

Yeah that was what I thought of when I saw the picture in the OP. It's interesting, but in general I'm not a fan of Livetarget so I haven't tried it.

I don't know much about spinnerbaits, but if it was me I'd probably throw a small teaser bait up top on a screwlock instead of the hook. Cool presentation, though. Definitely interested to hear your results, @Derek1.

5.8 is nothing to sneeze at, but here's hoping you land that 6+. That One Knocker is putting in some work for you lately.

With jigs and worms, you are moving the bait with the rod 99% of the time. A faster reel is the way to go here IME as you want to be able to pick up that slack quickly. I use a 7.2:1 but an 8:1 would not be out of place.

.......Winter?

Awesome! I hope you continue to have success on them, it's one of my all-time confidence baits.

Last fall was my first time trying a knocking lipless. That Booyah One Knocker put in so much work for me, including a PB. Flashy Momma and Copper Shiner have been my best producing colors on it. Nice catch!

I'm not worrying about it, MAN is a valid source for this info. My only hope is the Ultimate Jerk Shad isn't changed. I would be surprised if the store wasn't making use of the shelf space in the time before the new product is stocked. Empty shelves are generally a bad look for a big box retailer.

Sit in the corner until you're ready to apologize to me for this.

I lost a handful of pretty sizeable prespawn bass this year, but only one still weighs on my mind. I was yo-yoing a lipless in the same pond I caught my two DDs in this year, and I felt that thump. That one that you know isn't a little guy taking a swing at it, but a big girl inhaling the gallon of water around your lure. Loaded the rod up and set into her and she started peeling drag. Tried to keep her down but she came up and jumped and I saw her for the first time, did that big slo-mo lazy backflip the giants tend to do and she was every bit as big as the other two big ones I got from that spot. Stayed pinned and I thought it was in the bag, but she made a second breech not long after and made a big headshake and I saw that lipless fly through the air..... I ended up just sitting down in the grass for a minute to grieve. I've lost a lot of big ones, it's part of the game, but that one is among a few that definitely stung.

I throw mine on a MH/F that's a liiitle on the slower side of fast, 30lb braid to a 15lb mono leader, 6.3:1 reel. It works pretty well for how I like to fish them.

You northerners and your "seasons." ? Nice fish! You too, @HaydenS, looks like a nice handful of trips.

That's a fantastic deal. I need to stop by Academy again....

That has been the key for me as well. A random pop, pause, or erratic speed change has been the ticket for some of my best bites the past couple of years. I still get a lot of my chatterbait success with a slower steady retrieve, though.

Keep at it with the wacky rig, some of my absolute best numbers days have come on it during the spring. And the big girls love it just the same as the little ones.

Just glad to hear from you, Mike. Stay safe.

I'm blessed to be right where I want to be in east Central FL. Within short driving distances to many trophy bass lakes, and have some of the best inshore/offshore saltwater fishing in the world right at my fingertips. Every other fish on my bucket list I can travel for, but day to day there's nowhere else I'd rather be.

Thanks! Goes a long way to helping build more confidence in the spinnerbait.

Threw on a longsleeve and headed back out for ~30 mins, missed a small one right at the bank but ended up getting one that was less "little." ? My biggest spinnerbait fish, came in at 5lb 12oz.

It's the same mold as the RI Skinny Dipper, I believe. It doesn't have the same bulkier profile as the Keitech, but the plastics under Bitters label is quality stuff. And nice to support a local guy, never had anything but a positive experience with Bitters.