MO_TightLines

Well I was most certainly not looking for a bargain. It took me 25 years to catch this fish, so I was looking for quality. I had already started the process with Coast to Coast before 18RangerZ suggested Dave. And being a man of my word I felt I should go ahead and proceed with them since i had already given a deposit. Plus, they had almost the "exact" scale and size of the fish i caught. But, after looking at Dave's page I know beyond a doubt I will be giving him a call on my next mount. I'm hoping this year produce's my trophy Smallie. Has anyone seen any of Joe Pitruzzello's work of Coast to Coast Fish Mounts or had them do anything for them? The reviews i read and work i could see online seemed to be good, but I will admit not to the detail of Dave Campbell's.

So, Coast to Coast Fish Mount’s got in touch with me and they had almost the exact size. 22” Length x 17.2” Girth. I’ve conversed with them for a couple days now & researched their process and believe they do reputable work and take pride in it. I placed my order and my mount should arrive in 8-10 weeks. Now, with that being said I believe my next mount will most definitely come from Dave Campbell by way of recommendation from 18RangerZ520L. I visited his website and his attention to detail is unmatched to anyone else I’ve seen out there.

OMG, those are unbelievable

Tom, I contacted them today and they are closing their business down.

I do agree with this Bluebasser. Thanks Tom, I plan on contacting them tomorrow and explain what I’m running into.

Yeah I'm not worried about the 1/4 of length, but the almost 1' of girth makes the belly of the replica mold look much different than the belly of my fish. That is what I'm just not sure i can live with.

Alright guys, I need your help. So last year on April 22nd I caught my Personal Best Largemouth Bass weighing in at 7.7lbs. I told myself I would fish the rest of the year to see if I could better it and if not i would do a replica. Well, the year came to an end and I didn't catch anything bigger, so today I called the place I've been looking at and gave them all the dimensions and pictures of my fish. Well, they got back with me and here in lies my problem. The fish was short and had a massive belly. She measured 21 3/4 inches in length and 17 1/2 inches in girth. Well, they don't have any molds that can replicate the belly sag that "MY" fish had. So I don't feel like it's an accurate representation of my fish. The closest they can come is 22" length and 16.5" girth. So here's my question. Am I being to picky and particular here or do I have valid concern? I am almost of the mindset to just print some pictures off, frame them and hang them up. This is my first wall hanger and was really wanting it to represent the fish I caught. I hope a bigger one come's along, but you just never know.

7” Berkley Power Worm In Tequila Sunrise T-Rigged

I would probably have to say a Twin Tail Grub.

I would say 75% of my fishing is on rocky bottoms. So those Hard Heads should cause some real commotion dragging those Paca’s across the bottom with the rattles inserted.

Well, I needed to re-stock my supply of tackle I lost during the course of fishing last year. So i got that much anticipated UPS notification that my order had arrived. Like a little kid at Christmas I had to rush home from work (only 10 minutes away) to grab my box from Tackle Warehouse. This order consisted of mostly creature baits & the terminal tackle to rig them. NetBait Paca Craws, Brush Hogs, Sweet Beavers, Hard Head Swinging Jigs & Rattles. Break Down of my order: 5"/3.75" Paca Craws in Bama Bug, Alabama Craw, GP Magic Swirl, Watermelon Red & Sun Perch. Brush Hogs/Baby Brush Hogs in GP Blue Flake, Watermelon Red, Alabama Craw & PBJ Sweet Beavers & Smallie Beavers in Tramp Stamp, Watermelon Red, GP Magic Swirl, Big Texan, OxBlood & Dirty Sanchez Gene Larew Hard Head Swinging Jig Heads in 3/16, 5/16 & 7/16 Gene Larew Rattles Order #2 will be my Worms, Tubes, Twin Tail Skirted Grubs & Swimbaits. Order #3 will be Bladed Baits & Hard Baits I need to replace, and of course a few NEW additions.

The two that really stand out for me are: #1 - I was fishing a Chatterbait on Lake of the Ozarks and had a Drum hit it. I couldn’t even believe his mouth held up for me to get him to the boat. #2 - I was fishing a river for Smallmouth with a Ned Rig and my Spinning Rod Doubled over and felt like it was going to break. I took it slow and pulled up a HUGE snapping turtle that I had hooked in one of its toes right behind a claw. That was quite a chore getting him off.

I fish 4# Fluro for Stream & River Rainbows and it does just fine. I pretty much fish Marabou Jigs exclusively, so I don’t really need mono for floating baits. And if I’m not throwing a Marabou, which is rare; I will throw an in-line spinner of some sorts. Now, if I’m going to target some big Browns, I probably wouldn’t have 4# spooled on.

July 15th

I fish regardless of what the Almanac or Solunar Calendar says. What i have noticed and always try to be, is on the water ahead of a weather front. I've caught more BIG bass; be it Largemouth or Smallie's ahead of a weather front than I have anything. My personal best day of my life came this past July, of 2018. I was fishing ahead of a front and caught 3 Largemouths in 45 minutes that went for 18.95lbs. Never in 25 years of fishing have i ever experienced a run of this magnitude. First one went 6.13lbs, then 5.12lbs & finally 7.7lbs in that order. I felt like Dean Rojas at Toho. I doubt I'll ever experience another day like that in my life. So, i really only watch weather patterns.

I generally use the 4.8's along with an Owner Beast Weighted Twistlock when I'm fishing the lakes. When I'm on the river i am using the 3.8's rigged with an Owner Pivot Head. Both of these setups flat out catch fish.

I use to fish the Original Floating Rapala almost exclusively along with a 7" Berkley Powerbait Worm. I haven't tied the Rapala on in over 3 years and truly have no idea why. It use to be such a confidence bait for me. Now it seems I'm grabbing a Whopper Plopper or a Pop-R for my topwater applications. I think because both of those baits have seemed to produce bigger sized bass for me. And as far as the Berkley Power Worm goes, it still see's it's fair share of action. Generally in the 8.5" now though as i have started targeting Quality over Quantity.

I think you and most other's are spot on. I believe at some point in time (to many years to actually put my finger on it), I've had a really good fishing day using Watermelon Red & gained confidence in it. I would say it had something to do with when i was a boy, my father only used two colors. All i ever saw him fish with was a Watermelon Red & Tequila Sunrise Berkley Powerbait 7" Worms & he had tremendous success with those. I am determined though to stick with GP for those off colored waters and cloudy overcast days.

I fish both depending on conditions. Cloudy overcast or stained water I’m using gold; clear skies or clearer water and I’m using silver.

Thank You. Since you asked about blades baits, maybe I can answer your question properly this time, lol. I only use two bladed baits. They both produce so well, I’ve never really considered trying anything else. Heddon Sonars & Reef Runner Cicada’s. Should cover all your bladed needs. Whether you’re straight retrieving them, popping them or verticals jigging them, they just flat out get the job done. Hope this helps.

My apologies, misread.

My go to is a 3/8oz Z-Man Chatterbait. I caught the Largemouth in my profile pic on it. It went 7.7lbs. I’ve had excellent results by adding a quality swimbait as a trailer. I’ve kept it simple in way of color. I use something that looks like a BlueGill/Perch or a Shad; depending on where I’m fishing and what the bait is. Blade baits are one of my “Confidence” baits.

I fish the Lizard & Brush Hog’s together in the spawn. When im fishing my local rivers I usually opt for a Zoom 4” Lizard for the Smallies. If I’m hitting the bigger lakes, I generally start off with a 6” Brush Hog to see if I can get the big girls. If they aren’t hitting on that, then I downsize to the Baby Brush Hog. Then, if they still aren’t wanting the commotion the Brush Hogs put off, I go to a 6” Z-Man Lizard, and finally if they don’t want that I’ll down size to the 4” Zoom. So to answer your question; yes I still fish lizards. Usually in that progression.

I was looking at some GP Variants yesterday at our local Bass Pro and really liked the looks of two variants. GP with Blue Flake & Purple Flake really seemed to bring it alive. Would you use the Blue Flake on clearer water and the Purple Flake on a little more stain as it seemed to darken the GP up somewhat?

I had an issue with my Chatterbait blades rusting at the base where they attach to the Jighead. A guy I work with who was from Hawaii said they would take a dab of cooking oil and apply it to their hooks. So I tried it and haven’t had any problems since.