Luke Barnes

Best advice I've received I'm not looking to collect, reminisce, or sell my lures. I want to catch fish that otherwise I wouldnt have caught. I thought if all these weird lures wont catch them, what about something as close to real as I can get. I'm not after trophys or collectibles. But about what will catch me more and bigger fish in the right conditions.

Thanks for all the information. I've only been fishing for about 3 years so just now getting into them. I think I'm going to try a H2O express one and see if it fits my style, then upgrade to a catch co baby bull shad. You can never have too many lures! So I'll start cheap and work up to more expensive ones.

For one bait?? That's insane! Did they really catch more fish than other baits? Also unfortunately the Dicks sporting goods in my city stopped selling fishing stuff so would have to buy a catch co baby bull shad online.

Wow I didnt realize hard swimbaits were that expensive! The one I was looking at was the Catch Co baby bull shad. So the original is that much more expensive? I've got plenty of soft swimbaits that come intrigued like the SK Rage Swimmers and I have one Optimum Boom Boom line through. In comparison you all are right that $14 is way better than $50 or more, never looked into them that much.

This year I want to get a few hard jointed swim baits. I see the Mike Bucca bull shad and baby bull shad are popular, but at $14 for one I'm out. Plus I dont think they look that good. Big space betweens segments and colors are meh. The H2O Express ones at Academy, to me, look better. Less gap between segments and good colors and patterns. I want a bluegill and a shad patterned one. I have ZERO experience with them, so any advice would be appreciated. Also I have no interest in glide bait style swimbaits.

4 1/2 lb on a black and blue Zoom ZCraw, t rigged with a 3/8 oz bullet weight.

I vowed to not raise my kids like that. They love to fish and know the names of the fish. But I do agree, I dont see many kids out in my neighborhood and I am a worried parent when it comes to going in the street. Although my kids are still very young. But I loved playing sports in the street and knew to respect cars. I aim to teach my kids that. Also DSG by me is always a ghost town. I hope it closes and they put something useful in instead.

I like the idea. Will water clarity come into play as far as color is concerned? Every other game is gin clear water. But what if its chocolate milk? Would a silver and blue spinner bait still be as visible as a black one? Would green pumpkin be visible in heavy stained water and attract the fish the same way it would in slightly stained? Also I like the aggression model and adding natural forage is a good idea. Maybe varying terrain where craws are more prominent than say shad or minnows. I know this could get as deep as the ocean, just brainstorming, a certain lure moves and reacts different with different rods, reels, lines. Will gear come into play? Setting a hook on a squarebill with a 7'3 heavy with braid is way different than a 6'6 medium with mono. Same with a jig.

I went to my local DSG last night to see if they were blowing out the fishing stuff to replace the space and they already took all the fishing stuff out!!! I have ZERO reason to go in there now, nor will I go in for anything.

It would be cool the make a Wii remote work for it. I have a gaming pc so I would definitely be interested in trying it out.

I have a dicks within a mile, bass pro within a mile, walmart within 3, and academy within 10. I buy most stuff at academy. Bass pro has the best selection around here hands down but you pay for it. Dicks has the least selection, and you still pay for. Sometimes more than bass pro!! So I go to Walmart and what I cant find there I go to academy. When they cleared out the gun section I asked if they are going to expand the fishing section now, the guy said yeah big time. Wrong. They made it smaller!!! The ONLY thing I've bought from dicks is a pack of bobbers for panfishing. Also alot like others said, the place is always a ghost town. For customers and employees! Right!!!! Their sales just make the stuff the same price I can get it at academy at full price!!! They are a massive joke!!

Like I said on the other thread, I play slot of mobile games and console games. What else is there to do at 8pm when its 20 degrees out? Sure I would fish every waking moment but that's not possible. So I'm very interested and have been into gaming for 20+ years so I will give my honest feedback on it. Plus I might learn more about bass behavior and become a better Fisherman while I'm at it!! Win win!!!

I would play that game for sure!!! I .....may...... play on my phone a little bit too much. So having a fishing sim would be amazing for me!!

I had a coworker who used to own a farm. He decided to have a catfish farm as well and told me some about it. He raised the cats for food service providers. So they never got released, except into the grease. But he said he did pretty well with it. He basically dug long narrow ponds and had automated feeders and such

It was a crazy day for sure. One I'll never forget!!! Thinking I'm dragging a human leg in and wondering if it's a murder scene or something.

I've caught a fully opened umbrella that had lures stuck all over it. I guess my libe was stronger than theirs!! BUT...... the weirdest, weirdest 2 on the same day at the same spot actually. I got snagged on something sticking out of the water, as I reel it in my heart drops. It's a severed human leg. Pants, boot, all of it. I get it to the bank and call the cops. They come out and after about 20 minutes of them being squeamish, turns out it was kids playing a prank and wrapped a metal rod with clothes and put a boot on it. About an hour before that I caught this.

I just need to find time to devote a whole day to driving down there and having ample time to fish!!

I caught a good bass on a double panfish magnet under a float yesterday. Took the bottom which was black body with chartreuse tail. Fun on the ultralight!

I'm going to follow this thread because I want to know the same thing! About the only winter time bass I've gotten have been on worms slowly drug along the bottom.

Very great info everyone. Thanks and I'm mad I've been missing out on topwater action thinking it was over!!

Yeah I'm talking trust topwater lures. I mainly use buzz baits but I have some poppers and jitterbugs. I may just have to try it next time I go out. I'm still seeing them busting on top for whatever. So was hoping I could still topwater fish.

I've seen the BPS "minnows" so those aren't jerkbaits? Just a slender crankbait basically?

Very informative. Thank you!! I mainly fish ponds but do hit a few lakes occasionally with riprap on them. I've heard rock holds heat longer than anything else in the water so that makes sense. Worth a try!

I live in Oklahoma so it doesn't get super super frigid. I'm curious how late into the year will bass stop hit topwater. I've heard it shuts off when it gets cold, but then heard of people tearing them up on a buzzbait, which I love to throw. Have I been missing out on topwater action because I believed wrong?

I was thinking that, and that's why I didnt think it would be good for cold water. Once I stop popping it, it will float to the surface and didnt think they would want any topwater or close to the top of the water this time of year. I saw at BPS they had some cheap $2.50 jerkbaits but didnt say it they were floating, suspending, or sinking.