Aaron_H

That's what I thought it was when I saw it on the ground, once I picked it up I realized it was something different. Unless they've changed the design?

Found a couple of these on the ground yesterday at one of my fishing spots that some knucklehead decided he was too good to throw away properly. Picked them up to dispose of and thought they looked interesting, but didn't see them in the creature baits on Tackle Warehouse. Anyone know what they are? I feel like the eye pattern on the head is familiar but I can't place it. Apologies for the picture quality, main lens on my phone is a bit damaged, but hopefully the bait is clear enough.

Those H2O ones I posted are only 20 cents per hook, if you can make peace with the heavier wire. I have no issues with penetration throwing them on a medium power rod.

Academy used to sell a 5" glide bait under their H2O Xpress brand. I have one in baby bass and it swims nicely, I'd love to get more in shad and shiner patterns. It's hard to find smaller glides like this, especially for the $5.99 price tag....

Went out this evening, got rained on for over an hour and ended up getting run out by lightning 40 minutes earlier than I wanted, but got one last big girl to close out the month. First fish of the day was a nice 7lb 7oz girl on the ol' chatterbait. Fished it along a grass line that runs over a shallow flat and she choked it. Next fish was a nice 4lb 12oz on the jerkbait, again hit it shallow along a grass line. Rest of the fish were 2lb or less, but it ended up being a fun few hours despite the weather.

RES 2-Tap is next on my list to try, little bit different sound from the Booyah. One of the things I like about the Booyah is that it comes with quality hardware for being so cheap, only thing I do to it is swap the line tie for an oval split ring. Nice to see Spro come out with a silent lipless, I might have to try that one. I've had good success with the silent version of the Thunderhawk lipless.

Can't say I've taken one to the glutes, but I've been hooked a couple of times. This was the most recent:

That's the dream right there. I'm still trying to figure them out, but that's the end goal. Looking forward to seeing your success.

I would contact @Delaware Valley Tackle, services all reel brands as far as I know.

Right now I'm fishing in a state of euphoria. (I'm down here in Florida)

Thanks, Dwight! I'm hoping March has some surprises in store for me. One of the houses on the water was throwing a party while I was fishing, they started hollering and cheering when they saw me land that fish. Not gonna lie, felt for a split second like I just walked on stage at the Classic. ? Hopefully they don't tell their buddies about it though!

Too many fantastic and talented fishermen here to choose. So I'm not going to name any members, but I did already admit my plan to stow away in one of @A-Jay's hatches while he's not looking, so cat's out of the bag on that one. I would be happy to fish with and learn from the vast majority of the people here. As for pros, Scott Martin, Scott Canterbury, Bill Dance, Rick Clunn, and John Cox. But even that was tough to choose.

Tell 'em to kick rocks. Plenty of room to be a fan of whatever species you want, no need to tear other anglers down. Now good natured trash talk between friends is another thing, but I don't have room in my life for anyone who gains happiness by trying to undermine my happiness.

If you have an Academy near you, their H2O Xpress EWG hooks are on par with the Gamakatsu Super Line EWGs but for a fraction of the cost, $5 for a 25 pack. Can't comment on their other hooks, but this one is a winner for the angler on a budget. I haven't had the line slip through the eye gap like that, but I'm fishing larger diameter line than you are so...YMMV.

Shape of the grip is more important to me. I have EVA and cork grips that I love, and have a couple of both materials that are less than comfortable. The cushion of a quality EVA gives it more wiggle room than cork if the grip shape isn't just right IMO, but I enjoy both. If I had to pick, a good high density EVA foam (like Shimano's) would be my first choice, followed closely by cork. Winn grips are comfortable but they aren't very durable or long lasting. I have EVA and cork grips that are over 20 years old with heavy saltwater use and are still just fine.

All quality fish, but that last one is a porker! Hope it keeps up for you this week.

At least that one bite was the right bite! Gorgeous bass, congrats.

The ones I have are slow risers. Personally preferring that more and more since I can always add weight, can't really remove weight. More wiggle room for stouter hooks and can always play with suspend dots if you want it to truly suspend. And the fish don't seem to mind it rising. ?

Thank you! ? What a life that would be, eh?

Thank you both. I've been dreaming of catching one of those big prespawn girls for a long time, and then getting two in the same month is unreal to me. Just have to keep grinding, you never know what that next cast might be.

I would skip the DC braking and get the Curado 150 MGL.

Today was a pretty good day. Aside from catching another DD, I managed to find a Rapala X-Rap XR10 with the body in great shape once I scrubbed the slime off. Hooks completely rusted off and split rings went right in the trash, but not a bad ten dollar find.

I am kicking myself for not putting in the effort to learn the jerkbait sooner, it is FAST becoming one of my favorite presentations. Headed out today to the same water I caught the last double digit and the bite was slow, a few fish here and there. Got to the area I caught my PB in and knew I'd be remiss if I didn't make a few casts just to see. First cast in that spot and WHAM, fish hammered the jerkbait in between twitches much much more aggressively than the last one. Not as long of a fight, a handful of nice solid runs and she got off two spectacular (but nerve-wracking) jumps. Got her landed and couldn't believe I got another DD so soon after my last one. She was a little smaller, 10lb 2oz, 24.75" long by 19.6875" girth. Again caught on that H2O Xpress jerk shad in the crackle color. Thrashed another one of those Gamakatsu EWG trebles, too.

I throw a lipless on nearly every trip, and they are responsible for almost half of my catches last year and multiple personal bests over the last few years. For me, sound is king followed closely by color. I throw a few different ones that all sound different in the water, from silent to loud, deep to high pitched, rattling to one knocking. Red Eyed Shads, Rattlin' Rapalas, and One Knockers are the ones I find I throw the most often, but there are a handful I throw depending on conditions. The others are the Thunderhawk Sergeant (rattling and silent), Rat-L-Trap, and Berkley Warpig (much lower pitched than other rattling baits I throw). Colors are primarily bluegill and shad patterns, with some chromes and golds thrown in, and a few reds. One thing I have found I prefer in a lipless is the rear hook placement. Many of them place the rear hook underneath the bait (like the Rat-L-Trap). I prefer the rear hook to come straight off the rear point of the lure. This is most likely just a confidence thing, but I feel I hook up more often on fish that short strike with this design. This: Versus this: As for setup, I went the other side of the same coin as @Catt. I want to rip the bait but wanted the feel of braid so I throw them on a MH/MF (Dobyns 705CB so closer to a moderate than a MF IMO) to have some give in the system for keeping the bait pinned.

6'11" medium+ Poison Adrena would be a good option if you can find it in stock somewhere.