galyonj

Okay so two things: I love @Siebert Outdoors dredge jigs and don't ever want to throw anything else. ❤️ you bro. I don't even want to think about how much less power the bait monkey would have over me if I could just STOP THROWING LURES INTO PLACES THAT I CAN'T GET THEM BACK FROM. Seriously need to stop doing that.

Gotta take your word for that one. I know there are musky here in the valley, but I'm not sure what, if any, species of pickerel we've got down here. And, honestly, I'd just as soon ski whatever I hook back so I can get it off the hook and back in the water instead of messing around with it. Figure I'm already stabbing it in the face, so there's no sense in stressing it further. Plus it's funny.

And people just standing around beside their boats, apparently. lol The original destination was further down near Calderwood Dam, but, as so often happens, we got sidetracked. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Absolutely beautiful out there, though. We had a long forever home daydream talk while we were driving around.

Hard jerkbaits are one of the things I'll happily throw 365 days a year. Especially if the fishing is tough, because they seem to call fish up for me. Went out Sunday with the girl and the dog, and ended up stopping to fish on a huge shallow flat because she thought it was pretty. Didn't see much action at all, but it was hard to tell from the waves generated by boat traffic and wind. However, she did notice some shad jumping around. So I threw on a cheap shad-colored H2O Express jerkbait and got into the only fish either of us caught in that short session. Probably also the smallest fish I've caught all year – and this has been a year for small fish with me – but it beat driving home with a skunk in the car. @TnRiver46, this was out near the Tanasi memorial site on the other side of Bacon Bend, if you're familiar with that part of the river. As far as what jerkbaits I like: H2O Express suspending works just fine, but needs new hooks. Sexy shad, chartreuse/black, etc 6th Sense Provoke, and chartreuse pearl is my jam

They'd also be the size of a Peterbilt steering wheel.

That is 100% true. A lot of the fish I hook into are like "Ugh. I guess you got me. Yay you. Let's get this over with, I got a thing later." Not bluegill. They come up swinging every time.

Love it. I want massive bluegill/smallmouth hybrids just to see how mean a fish we can make.

What, no ammo?

My plan was to hijack a truck like in Goodfellas.

I got to have me a half-dozen or so. Ugh.

Picking up some stuff for fish with tiny mouths today…plus one or two things I wanted. Though I'd love to see the bluegill that would tuck into a 4" Rage Bug. I bet it'd be the size of a Peterbilt steering wheel. Actually that'd be terrifying. Bluegill are mean.

Nosir. About the time I was packing up to head to the office, I saw/heard a couple bass breaking the surface after something, though. In the mornings like that I only have about a half hour, so I don't expect much.

Cosigning this. I have...far less than @Bluebasser86 has, but they're my favorite hardbody jerk. I don't know how they compare to the megabass and luckycraft stuff, but they fish great and, like, dig into the water very predictably for me. Love 'em.

How well throwing lighter than the rod rating on casting gear really comes down to line thickness and how well you can control the spool. The only real risks are backlashes, distance, and accuracy. How well you can mitigate those dictates how much you enjoy the experience. If you're just flipping and pitching little stuff, that's no big deal at all. You're certainly not gonna hurt anything, but you already know that.

Hey! That's one of my secret rigs, but I use a 5th step: 5. Come home way later than I intended to and discover an angry woman on the couch.

Didn't catch a single thing this morning, but I did get to take this picture that makes it look like I have a fishing spot in Silent Hill.

One thing that I've heard over and over recently (Baader-Meinhof phenomenon, I guess) is the importance of not letting the line cross inside the hook eye with two-loop terminal knots. That may contribute some to what OP's experiencing.

Maybe just make a nice shadow box for it and put it on the wall instead of even tying it on.

The one day I had any luck at all with swim jigs this year, I was using a 1/4oz 6th Sense in sexified shad with a trimmed skirt and a 3.75" pearl flash rage swimmer on the back. They make a pretty legit swim jig. I love the screw lock.

My go to casting setup is 40lb Sufix 832 with a 15lb Abrazx leader. I use it for just about every lure that's got a single hook and weighs more than a quarter ounce. And I've broken off that leader enough that it's given me ample opportunity to do some unscientific testing with knots and whatnot, and I will absolutely cosign that fluorocarbon is finicky about how it's tied. What I've learned that is more than likely painfully obvious for anyone else: I will only use a leader. I know that having more knots means there's more opportunity for those knots to break, but it's a risk I'm willing to take given how and where I fish. I'd rather lose a few feet of flouro than have to saw off 30 feet of braid when, not if, I get hung up. If you burn your knot or try to muscle it tighter, that knot will break and you will feel like a big dummy. I really love the GT knot for my mainline connection. It's easy and fast to tie, and, in my experience it's plenty strong compared to the double-uni, FG, and alberto, with the added benefit of giving me zero trouble with the tiny little guides on my TP-1 Black rods. Regardless of line, I will not use a terminal connection that only gives me one loop through the eye of the hook. I mostly either use a palomar or Gerald Swindle's "double shindo" knot, but I generally fish in enough slop that I'm starting to move to the trilene knot just to keep from dredging the lake with my tag end. Did I mention burning the knot or trying to yank it super tight? Don't do that. Just wet it and pull it snug, then quit messing with it. No, for real. Sir! Step away from the knot, sir! Do you wanna see how far you can launch a half-ounce jig while your line flutters gently to the water behind it? Because that's how you find out.

I pretty much use white or black for all my topwater lures. Maybe a little chartreuse if I'm feeling fancy, but that doesn't seem to make a difference one way or the other. I want the lure to either glow in the sunlight or cast as stark a silhouette as possible. I make similar decisions with just about every other lure I throw, to be honest – whether it's a hard jerkbait or a soft plastic. Primarily white, or primarily dark (think junebug or black with some flake), with maybe a little bit of chartreuse because it's good to accessorize. I've got a bag of bubblegum pink Stick-Os that I'm bound and determined to catch a fish on one day, but it hasn't happened yet.

Dude, you nailed it. I don't have any confidence in finesse stuff because I've not given myself a chance to develop a feel for it. No big TRDs yet. I've got the little ones (in junebug, new money, and coppertreuse), I've got black trick worms for shakyheading, and I've a small collection of stickbaits from a few makers in a few colors. I think I just don't let myself throw any of it enough to develop a feel for it, and that's lame because I know they work if I give them a chance. It's just too seductive to throw a jig or other heavy bottom contact lure where I can really feel what's happening on the bottom, or a plug or other reaction bait of some sort and just irritate the fish until something strikes to make it go away. But I'm getting us off topic.

I love the concept, and I want all of them. However, I need to swear off plugs for a while if I'm ever gonna learn to fish any other way. Especially with slow finesse-type stuff. It's just too easy for me to get bored and frustrated, and just start firing out cranks and stuff because I can't be still anymore. Ugh.

Booyah is almost always the answer if the question has anything to do with frog fishing.