txchaser

I really like it on the light t-rigs, senkos, Ikas, d-shad/caffeine shad. But if I had to do it again I'd probably get 15lb - while I only fish a few places with really heavy wood, almost everywhere I fish has heavy grass. A little bit of grass will be fine, but I'm catching fish just above or just off the side of grass that needs a punch weight to get in. I feel like I baby it a lot. Reminder - 12lb tatsu is the same size as 8lb big game or 8lb YZH hybrid so it is going to feel thin if you are used to the oversize line. It holds up great; very rare that I need to retie from a nick. Sometimes from bass teeth. IMO there's only one knot - the san diego jam. I had a post a while back about breakoffs, and I credit the SDJ with at least half of the improvement. "Dressing" the knot matters a lot - I've found that pulling on both the tag end and the main line to get the knot pulled up tight to the line. and then sliding the jam down to the hook. It is worth the extra 10 seconds, and you'll find it is really obvious when it is tied correctly.

Kistler Helium LMH on sale gets into that price range. As mentioned, the tip is a bit softer. I don't find that I notice anything less because of it though. I don't have quite the right words for it, but the softness is isolated to the very end vs being deeper into the rod. Kistler has a video about it around somewhere. And slightly out of the price range is the Tatula AGS LMH. Much faster tip. The effective casting motion on the two rods is really different. Fished them both with 12lb tatsu. I couldn't see a meaningful different in the sensitivity of the two.

I have a hand control one now and I spun it around. But the foot control is the missing bit I'm solving for. The bulldog might e exactly what I'm looking for, especially if it has variable speed. Thanks!

I'd like to upgrade the trolling motor I'm using on a jon boat, which is a transom mount motor spun around so I can mount it up front. Fishing with no foot control isn't ideal, but all the foot control motors have the big permanent mount, which isn't possible for me to use since I'm on lots of different boats. I saw a video where a guy just bought a motor, pulled the big bracket off and replaced it with the clamp mount. It looked pretty straight forward. I thought someone here might know something about the process before I jump off into a big project that ends poorly. If I could really have what I want it would be some sort of clamp on or screw on foot-controlled TM with spot lock. It seems like an odd combo (dude, buy a boat already) but I just don't have anywhere to put a boat, and I'm not sure if I would get enough value from the extra friction of getting it and putting it up for the waters I'm fishing at the moment. Any advice?

American Shad frog (white belly with a little red on the nose) and a chartruese tail. New bait for me, and it got bit more than its fair share, including in open water. I probably pressed the envelope on where I'd throw it just to see. Basically I could throw it just about anywhere and get a decent presentation. So much fun to fish.

Plano Edge Jig boxes are $21.60 at Amazon.

https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p/gary-yamamoto-limited-edition-senko-kit-16gyauymmtsnkktltlur/16gyauymmtsnkktltlur Green flash came in a senko kit. What I can't for the life of me remember is why I remember that green flash came in this kit... I never bought one.

IMO it is way easier to learn the knot and get it dressed well if you attach the braid to a buttonhole on your shirt or a belt loop. The advice on cinching the half hitches tight is really good. One thing I learned by trial and error is if the braid isn't biting into the leader, instead of a steady pull try a pop pop pop. It'll get the cinching process started and you and pull normally from there.

Tail end of a torn up fluke or the end of a trick worm. edit: mostly out of need, vs trying to fiddle with it. I like having them around as I've started to catch some bluegill to get a good look at what they look like. In particular sometimes I'll find myself at a place with (I think) coppernose that don't have the orange belly, and I'll do much better with a more washed-out presentation for the bass.

This weekend an A-rig was madness in the middle of all that. As was a white chatterbait and a keitech with a willow blade. Caught maybe one on topwater, and that was on a white buzzbait down a weedline. Mid-column was en fuego. And this was with the bass coming out of the water on the shad... But topwater lures just weren't getting it done. Bait was trying to hold at ~5ft deep all day.

In central texas about mid-may bluegill started producing better. The adults (over 4 where I am) were the last ones to stop biting, so towards the tail end it would be no fish at all except that one big bite.

While I'm sure this is true for every presentation, for me it is extra-true on a chatterbait - the extra time you spend trying out a few different actions and lines will likely dial you in very quickly on your preference. This graphic shows my horrible drawing skills, but maybe it'll help... this is the result of my experimentation, and your mileage may vary wildly:

Take a look on Fishbrain. I was surprised at how many people logged catches on there, and I doubt it is different in Florida than in Texas.

I think Fins and Vicious no-fade are worth the money, because they don't fade, so I think I get a bunch more time. 832 was great on everything but the fade - but if wanted white braid I'd buy white braid, and if I wanted to color with markers I'd get a coloring book On Fins I like the sling braid better than the windtamer, because it much smoother. It is really soft though so if you don't like soft braid get the windtamer. I got some daiwa j-braid 4-carrier braid free with a reel, so I've been using it for frog line, and it isn't fading yet. The fins and vicious are too smooth for cutting weeds. If I was going to try something else it would be maxcuatro.

With just two acres you'll be able to sort out really quickly if the fish are active and interested in what you are fishing. Most of the smaller bodies of water I come into contact with are likely to be weed and mud heavy, and stone and wood light, so here's the progression: Buzzbait (chart/white/red) or a frog, depending on weed cover, these have been big fish getters for me if they are willing to get up and moving for it. Chatterbait (bluegill mostly, GP/red was good this spring), fished both mid-column and as slow and low as I can get it. Keitech 3.8 in bluegill flash on a colorado underspin (occassionally a swimjig if the water is really clear or they are picky), Senko or Fat Ika (usually at targets or high probability spots), @WRB 's finesse carolina with a rattlesnake (kind of like a 4.75 ring fry), I've almost stopped fishing this because it gets bit on the drop so much, and it's really easy for me to miss the bite and get a gut hook, and I try to be as gentle as I can on smaller water. Rattlesnake did a lot better for me than the 4" zoom curly tail worm. I think all these people saying mojo/split shot/finesse carolina is under-fished and under-appreciated are right. Ned rig. Crankbaits are just a PITA to fish, too much time picking off the gunk. Chatterbait seems close enough and gets big fish. Perhaps I should try it more to see if I can pick up new fish. If it is colder a jerkbait and a fluke probably start to get some play. Texas rigs and jigs mostly just bury up in the mud or weeds, but a light tokyo rig with a creature or a worm (size depending on season) seem to work, but don't seem to produce fish that the other stuff above woudn't have picked up yet. Maybe if you knew they were holding on the bottom but needed to move faster than an Ika it'd be worth throwing.

https://www.insideline.net/features/2016/10/31/tracking-trophy-bass-with-john-hope An interesting summary.

I assume you have tried speeding up a lot, and slowing down a lot... but if not, one of those may do it. They may not be missing - they may be rolling at the last minute. Sometimes speeding up has forced them to fully commit and increased hookups for me. And the mention above on a toad is a winner. Try a really steady retrieve in addition to using it to get down in the holes.

This is my current chatterbait rod as well. It is a good fit for braid (with or w/o leader), Sufix Advance copoly which is designed to have low stretch, and heavier flouro, which stretches less because it is heavier so it takes more force to get the same amount of stretch. I settled on braid with a 19lb Armilo leader or 20lb blue label leader after trying a bunch of stuff. The flouro was second-best, but I couldn't get the pop out of the weeds that I really wanted - too often it wouldn't clear the weeds. And while the Advance was low stretch, I was missing little things that I could feel on the flouro or the braid. IMO a fast tip has some drawbacks and I can't find much advantage. And the crankbait rods I tried it on were noodly. If I was forced to chose between those two though, I'd fish it on a fast tip with 13-15lb flouro (tatsu diameter) or 12lb mono (assuming big game diameter) over a crankbait rod with almost any line. I'm coming to basically the same conclusion for everything else with a single hook moving bait - while I learned to hold the line on bottom contact baits (thanks to bass resource) I'm not able to get good feedback on a chatterbait or a swimjig by doing it that way. Kistler's 2020 "do it all" rod has a similar tip - I've fished it but not with a moving bait yet. Little higher price point, likely a better range on what you can effectively fish on it. ps: don't forget the weight of your trailer... a 3/8 chatterbait with a decent trailer is well over 1/2 oz, and the 1/2oz are pushing 3/4 to 7/8 depending on trailer.

Link it?

For me, grass at least gets a shot at a chatterbait.

Smallest fish I have on a 6.8 (bluegill flash) was about 1.5lbs. It is throwable on a heavy rod, but really works better on a swimbait rod. More often than not they smash it a little before they bite. With that said my biggest fish on a paddletail was on a 3.8. Probably because I throw that more than any other size. Tip - it is worth the time to upsize the CPS spring on the owner underspins. The ones they come with are tiny, and your paddletail will last way way longer.

+1. great book. Includes great nuggets like which wind speed gives the best results, and which baits are statistically more likely to get bit. Preview on the wind - big wind makes for a better shot at big fish. It costs something like two bags of senkos, and the knowledge will never get shaken off by a dink.

While there are some grass carp in the lake, I'm pretty sure these are bass given they were suspending in the bait zone, and I recall correctly I saw the carp doing that carpy roll thing on the surface. I don't think there's regular carp in this lake. Maybe so though? These were really thick returns. I need to hit with DI and see if I can get a better/more clear read... mostly blobby. I watched a guy be able to ID fish on a DI, it was pretty impressive - just took some zoom and you could (as an example) tell it was catfish. Thanks though, gives me something else to check out and make sure of. I did get a line-mounted camera as a gift, not sure if enough light at that depth given the low vis. You know, I threw it, but I bet I ran it too fast and was above them. I'll do it again and drag it on the bottom and move up from there.

I've had a couple of run-ins with suspended summer fish, with no luck getting them to bite. As an example, this weekend was suspending at 10' deep in 15' water, no thermocline. Most activity and bait was between 5' and 10' deep. 2" visibility. 15' is the deepest part of the lake unless they go to the one hole that's about 22' - big area of 15' like a bowl. Seems like they are too far up for a big worm on the bottom, and a 5' dropshot seems really unwieldy. Swimjig produced nothing, slow rolled chatterbait, lipless also did nothing. Big worm did nothing. I didn't put a crankbait through them. Am I missing anything or those fish just aren't biting anything anyway and I need to move on?

Just stories, no data, but here's my 2020 summer below. Spring was about the opposite, it was "easy" comparatively. Bigger fish this summer vs last, fewer fish though. Most fish and biggest fish have been on hard to get to or otherwise non-obvious spots. Electronics and being super-hardheaded and willing to deal with trying to get the boat through a goofy amount of weeds/mats. But for one day where it was just "on" (all-day topwater bite) I feel like I had to work for every fish. I haven't had a single good day of morning bite this summer. Makes it hard to roll out of bed early, as not much seems to happen until about 9-10am The story I'm telling myself on the big fish is that all the fish are making me work hard, so I'm trying harder to be in the right spots with everything dialed in, even when it means busting my butt. Days have been like this: Missed a fish on a frog (user error, I didn't keep reeling) so I threw a senko at it. Nope. Chatterbait, nope. Keitech, nope. All three of those caught fish that day. T-rig with a rage menace, fish on. Shrug. Same thing happened in another spot that I was pretty sure was holding a fish. Six lures and all three columns later, it was happy to eat a lobina rico in bone on the first twitch. Or like this: It almost didn't matter what I threw, but unless it knocked it in the head I wasn't getting bit. Or even this: Water column, presentation, size, etc mattered little. No flake or flash, no bite. Took me something like six hours to figure it out. Overcast day. I guess the fish didn't read the article. Bluebird sun-blasting days in clear water and the fish were shallow mid-day. Just wasn't picking anything up deeper so I had to try something new.