Aaron_H

I didn't post it since it was below the price bracket, but yeah, they work great (and become mid-priced once you upgrade the hardware).

Got another nice one on the jerkbait today, 15 minutes before I packed it in landed this very pretty 5lb 5oz bass. Took me 35 yards down the bank before it gave up. Much prettier markings than what I typically catch. Maybe I'll get her again in a few years.

Only caught a couple of them in the 3-5lb range, they definitely fight way above their weight class. Like others said, once the initial disappointment of not having a huge bass on the line wears off, you can appreciate how much of a fun fish they are. I fully maintain that if they weren't so toothy and were more acrobatic, they'd be a top game fish in the US.

Thank you! While I may not love everything going on in my state, from a fishing perspective I am very fortunate to live here in Central FL. Side-note, I just heard back from FWC's TrophyCatch program and looks like it may not be accepted due to the whole fish not being visible in the scale picture. I had hoped providing photographic proof of its length/girth would be enough to supplement the scale picture, but perhaps not. Very hard to get a fish that size in frame while also keeping the scale readable when you're doing it by yourself. I'll find out tomorrow hopefully.

Only fished a couple of the ones you listed, but the Shadow Rap and Shadow Rap Shad are solid producers. Rapala RipStop as well.

What I came here to post, that tail looks amazing in the water on the back of a chatterbait. Or throw it on a belly weighted EWG hook and buzz it across the top like a mouse. Instead, I'll throw out the Mister Twister 5" SinSation.

I am a braid to leader guy. 30-50lb PowerPro depending on application, 12-15lb Big Game mono and 20lb Seaguar Premier fluoro all tied with a double uni.

Frog for areas where the grass is thick on top. Lipless crankbait if there are areas you can run it just ticking the tops of the grass. Senko or Texas rigged plastic of choice for pitching into holes in the grass or around grass lines. Jerkbait around more open areas (or over the top of grass if you can). Chatterbait along grass lines. This is what I would start with and branch out from there.

Oh I'm trying ?

I'd go 15lb for lipless to keep it up a bit higher in the water column, but with it being a 3/8oz it might run high enough anyhow to not bother. Everything else sounds ready to roll IMO.

A couple of the ones I got rise a little faster, but I'm good with it. Going to end up putting different hardware one them anyhow after how bad those Gammy hooks got thrashed, so they give me a little more wiggle room for a heavier hook. I picked up one in Ghost Shad to try as well but haven't thrown it yet. Crackle puts out a great amount of flash even in dirty water, very happy with it for the price. Thanks again for the tip. I believe I'll get some Bass Pro/Berkley gift cards from FWC's Trophy Catch program for this one, might try out that Berkley Stunna next. Thanks, Tom! Still gotta live vicariously through you on those big teeners. Maybe some day.

This one, it's just called "Crackle" but it looks like their take on the herring bone/elegy bone pattern. I bought 6 of them, the first one suspended absolutely perfectly but the rest are varying degrees of slow rising. Not a true floater but you may have to play with suspend dots if you want it to suspend (I caught the DD on one of the slow rising ones so they still work just fine). For under 10 bucks after upgrading the hardware it's a solid buy IMO.

I'd love to see you do it! Hopefully those monster swimbaits pay off for you. Thanks Steve! You are more than welcome to fish with me any time you want.

Maybe! Awesome fish either way, just bring a scale next time

She was like Forrest Gump, she was RUNNIN.

I'm right there with you, man. Jerkbait fishing is still pretty new to me but I'm slowly getting the hang of it. I'm also a bank angler for the most part. My retrieve varies from fast to slow, but I always start out a little faster with it and slow down if necessary. Down south here we don't get true cold water so I've found they want something a little less dead stick-y. Usually two-three twitches with a 1-2 second pause between sets (so twitch-twitch pause twitch-twitch-twitch pause twitch pause). If nothing then I slow down, give it a couple more seconds, hit it with a single twitch, etc. I've had most of my luck with slow risers, which is also nice for keeping them from getting hung, if I hit something I can just pause it and let it rise up over it and keep on going. Still a learning curve for me but I've managed a handful of nice ones this year doing this. I'm throwing them on 30lb braid to a 4-6ft 15lb mono leader. I was using 12lb but found I was retying too often. I haven't noticed any significant loss of action from upping the leader diameter.

Never even saw this thread. My best last year went 9lb 1oz on a 1/2 oz Booyah One Knocker in copper shiner.

Good looking lure and I like Yo-Zuri, but it comes with round bends so I'd still end up swapping them out. Wouldn't be a $9 bait for long. Caught a couple of really nice bass so far on the H2O so I'm gonna keep fishing it and see what it can do.

No worries, can't be upset seeing a nice big brown football regardless of the thread.

Awesome smallie! A big one of the brown variety is a bucket list fish for me, for sure. Glad we don't have them this far south, though, I can't have anything distracting me from the Florida ditch pickles. Maybe one day I'll stow away in @A-Jay's boat, sneak some casts out of a hatch when he's not looking. I'm a pretty slim guy, I think I could pull it off.

I guess it depends on what you consider big. For my bass over 7 pounds, I've caught them on lipless crank, jerkbait, chatterbait, jig, wacky rigged senko, and a baby brush hog. Lipless is my most productive big fish bait, but it could just be confirmation bias that I'm seeing there because I just enjoy throwing it more than most other presentations. So do I throw it because it produces, or is it producing because I throw it? I don't know if I believe 100% in the "big bait, big fish" idea. It does work, but as they say, elephants eat peanuts, too.

Adrenaline really gets those jitters going. I wasn't even sure if the scale pic would be readable when I took it, so I snapped a couple really quick. Luckily one came out clear. Thanks! Yeah, there are only a few lures that I have confidence in the stock hardware, the rest get swapped. Will need to be on the hunt for a stronger treble for the jerkbaits now. Sucks because I really liked those Gamakatsu EWGs a lot... At least they held enough to land her, though. So shout out to them for that. I was throwing that cheapie H2O Xpress Ultimate Jerk Shad (props to @Bluebasser86 for getting me turned on to that crackle color), and they come with mystery VMC hooks (and who knows what split rings). I 100% do not believe stock hardware would've held up to this fish, she made about a dozen very powerful runs before she was all tuckered out. Like I tell people, I'd rather spend ~3 bucks on upgraded hardware than lose the potential fish of a lifetime. I may or may not have let out a couple yells when I had her in hand.

Thanks, A-Jay! I've always had great confidence in the Gamakatsu EWGs, they're one of my go-to trebles when I'm swapping stock hardware. I've caught a lot of really great fish on them with no trouble, but then sometimes a dink will get just the right leverage and open one up. This DD bending out three of them, one of which was bad enough to lose the fish if that had been the only hook she got, might be the final nail in the coffin for me to stop using them. I usually use Owner ST-56's when I need a stouter wire hook, but I think they might be too heavy for the jerkbaits. Tripod is a good tip. I've tried to pack as light as possible this past year versus lugging a big backpack every trip, but I may have to go back to it and strap a tripod to the side.

Went out today at the ponds I caught my PB, wanted to see if I could make something happen. Lines in at 1:50 PM and stayed until 6:30. Bite was slow going, not much activity on top as I would normally expect for this time of year and moon phase, but I ended up with 8 (and a tilapia, I cannot escape them). Six (+ tilapia) on the jerkbait, two on the lipless. Didn't hit my first bite until ~2:35, but it was a doozy. Nice healthy 22.5" 6lb 12oz girl out of a pond I've never broken 3lb in but always had a hunch it held bigger fish. I was already stoked to finally get my first one over 5 for the year, but bites continued to be slow. Got a 2lber a bit over an hour later, then just a handful of casts after I hooked into The Big One™. I was doing a somewhat brisk cadence with the jerkbait, she hit it between the second and third twitch. Twitch, twitch, then loaded into what felt like a massive log until that log let off a massive headshake. A few seconds into the fight and she came up and jumped, managed to get completely out of the water and my heart STOPPED. Kept the rod loaded as deep as I could without pulling the hooks and just held on, reeling when I could in between her runs. She only managed the one jump, but dear god she had some legs on her. Eventually got her tired out enough to bring her in, and my eyes were BUGGING when I got a better look at her in hand. Got a pic and a weight, then put her back in for a breather before I got length/girth measurements. She ended up coming in at 10lb 9oz. And to think I how stoked I was about the 6lb 12oz only an hour and half earlier, I was over the friggin' moon by now. She was 25" long and a girth of 19.5", but a smaller head than I was expecting. Luckily I had 5 hooks in her, because she bent out 3 of them on the Gamakatsu EWGs I have on that jerkbait. One of them was bent out so bad it snapped while trying to slowly work it back to true. I may end up switching to some heavier wire hooks (or try out those Owner Zo wire trebles). I sat with her again in the water for a little while to make sure she had a good strong release. She took a few minutes to get her energy back but I was happy to see her go. The next few photos are a little tougher since my hands were shaking and my rear facing camera lens is a bit messed up. I ended up getting another decent one that weighed in a 3lb 5oz, and a few smaller fish, the biggest of which was ~1.25lb. Best five for the day ended up right around 23.87lb. Today might not have been a great numbers day, but oh man what an unforgettable day it turned out to be. I am so grateful to this fish for giving me such a wonderful experience, and I am super excited to see my jerkbait grind pay off so incredibly this early into the year. But if I learned anything it's that I need a consistent fishing buddy, these pics are getting harder and harder to take by myself! ?

Yeah it runs all the way down south to Stick Marsh/Headwaters at least, not sure if it continues past that.