DitchPanda

Oh man big bites baby creature( think baby brush hog) is $5 dollars for 25 and every bit as good as zoom. I use to use yum dingers a lot but they don't produce as well anymore. But still yum stuff is a bargain at $3. Havoc pit bosses used to be a huge player for me...I don't like the powerboat version near as much. Oh man the Cordell spot is my lipless of choice...especially gold black back. I caught my biggest of the year so far (pushing 7lbs) on a chrome blue back spot. How did I forget that one. Anything zoom sells is a cheap allstar. Low price per quantity. Kind of like yamamoto I don't think zoom makes a bait that doesn't catch fish..just half the price and more durable. A trick worm is a magnet...one of the best fish catchers I've ever thrown..for me maybe even better than a senko style bait.

So threads like this have been done in the past but I wanted to start one back up. What are some lures or baits if you prefer that come in price wise much lower than there performance level. I'm talking baits that punch up in weight. For me I'll start with two:1) the recently rediscovered Mr Twister phenom worm..nothing special you say? Just a plain old school 6 inch curl tail worm? How bout a worm they don't leave alone..oh yeah and a 20pk is $2.99. 2) Bomber square a- this little dude is a fish catching machine and even after upgrading hooks and rings(I only do hooks) it's still only like $5. I've got probably 15 of these in the 3/8th size and maybe have $70 in them total. That's a deal.

My local small lake which is more like a big pond borders a tributary of the Missouri river. The past several years it has flooded several times so we got a free stocking from mother nature. We gained 3 tiers of fish:straight trash - bighead carp, I'll take ems/not so bad - white bass and drum and yes please can I have more-pike and smallmouth.

For me a special sight would be a smallmouth on my line. My local lake has some in it but I've only caught 1 this year so far.

No bass for almost two months? That's pretty rough. It's been tough for me this month but even on the slowest days I usually manage 3 or 4.

I'm currently using the siebert morel heads and like them very much...I'm not a purist so a larger hook does not bother me as long is it's not way to big. Looking on tackle warehouse I see the Berkley half heads are reasonable by comparison with virtually everything else being over a dollar. I will try those and also stick to the sieberts.

I placed an order in the 17th and chose free shipping...it shipped on the 23rd and will probably be here monday

What head do you guys prefer for ned? They seem very expensive for what they are...so I'm looking for some suggestions

There is something undeniably cool about jig fishing..a certain mystique for sure. About the only thing that intrigues me more is crankbait fishing particularly learning about old crankbaits. I'm obsessed with learning about old wiggle warts...and the old poes cranks. I've watched the bassmasters casts from the past where David fritts talks about winning the classic on a crank at least 5 or 6 times in the past few months.

You know I've got a good buddy...member here as well...we have been fishing together for about a decade. Several years back I gave him a swim jig and got him started on them. Then he started throwing a menace on them and raving about how good they are. I didn't believe him at first...after a while I bought some but wouldn't even throw them. This spring I dug them out and started throwing them alot. He wasn't lying and now I'm ticked at myself for not doing it years ago.

The reason I like them is simple: when the water is in the 40s there are 3 hard baits I can get bit on...lipless, jerkbait and shad rap. They get bit under tough conditions.

I've used several different things the past few years...single tails grubs,swimbaits,speed craws...my favorite by a landslide not even close is the rage menace.

Oh yeah of course. I do it with lots of baits...cranks, spinnerbaits,weightless stickbaits, poppers...all types of things really

Pad crasher guy here too..almost said something else just so I didn't copy everybody but I'm not a liar! I've only tried 3 or 4 types of frogs but the booyahs are the best of the bunch I've tried

My last two orders took longer than normal but not near as long as estimated. What would normally take 5 to 6 days took about 1.5 weeks..but not the 3 they said

Guess I don't know where to look for tungsten that cheap. I use 3/16 the most...cheapest tungsten I've seen for that is .67 each...seen lead the same size for .15 or so

I'm really liking them and will be ordering more soon. The motor oil ones are great.

So the trend for a long time is towards tungsten. I started using tungsten a few years ago and like it but I'm not sure I catch anymore fish with it. Who out there is still using lead? Are you using it exclusively or mixing in some tungsten?

I was gonna suggest glycerin

My local pond/small lake has a reputation for not being very good. I fish it all the time and I constantly hear this place sucks..I fished 3 hours never got a bite...been camping all weekend I caught 1 dink. Yesterday was 111 heat index and the water temps are probably mid 80s. I fished about 4 hours today caught 9, biggest in the 3lb range. 4 of my fish I caught mid afternoon..not ideal time in summer from shore. Is it a great fishery? Not at all...is it worthless? Far from it. I think people don't know how to fish..also they have no ability to adapt or grind out a bite. They roll up to the ramp, motor to a laydown,throw a spinnerbait twice and say they aren't biting and just pout ? Also heard my lake has fish but they are all tiny. I caught a 4.5 and several around 3 in the past week during the toughest time of year for me. I've caught several 5+ fish this year including one in the 7lb range in April on a lipless.

I'm all for good gear in due time. I had a buddy buy a $700 dollar baitcast combo when he started bass fishing...one of those guys that's gotta have the best. Great guy but not great with his money. Anyhow I told him he could get a perfectly serviceable combo for $200 or less if he watched sales but he had none of it. So he gets this combo and we go out one day...he asks what's the nicest combo I have. I told him it cost 1/3rd of his...so if he didn't catch 3 times as many fish as me he didn't deserve it. He caught 1 that day I caught 8 or 9 I believe. There is nothing wrong with high end gear if you need it...in the sense that you are accomplished enough to really use and appreciate it the way it was made to be. For others sadly it's just a status symbol. Give a crap angler the nicest setup you want..he still couldn't catch a fish with it and a box of dynamite. But that's what helps keep high end gear moving for companies. For every hardcore basshead that saves up for a high end combo or two because he loves chasing bass there is some jerk that has more money than brains who couldn't catch fish at a hatchery.

Good old senko man...still amazes me how good they work in horrible conditions. Straight skunk repellent.

Summer fishing that is. Water temps around me are in the low to mid 80s which is usually peak for us. The bass have acted accordingly . Bites been tough to say the least and I've had to Hodge podge/ junk fish to get bites...not really finding a pattern. Today I went out from 7 to 9...5 bass total 2 dinks and 3 in the 2-3lb range. Caught 2 on the ned, 2 on a phenom worm Texas rigged and 1 on a swim jig. The 2 fish on the ned came tight to shore on a rip rap bank in a shallow channel that connects 2 ponds. The swim jig fish came slow rolling in a shallow featureless flat outside the mouth of the channel. The worm fish both came from brush/wood...one is a shallow beaver dam and the other is a sunken brush pile a long cast off the tip of a jetty. Kinda cool offshore fishing from shore. One thing is for sure this last week or two has givin me a new found respect for the simple effectiveness for a TRD on a mushroom head..a rig I had almost wrote off. Glad I didnt.

I've only been fishing frogs heavy for a few years...after I discovered the beauty of a pad crasher. I've almost exclusively thrown a walking frog and was wondering when you go to a popping style? I've got a few poppers but never really gave them much of a go.

I've seen you mention these several times...they look like a cool bait. I've looked at the G5 on tackle warehouse more than once. They have some cool colors and appear to dive shallower than a wart so I may pick up a few. I'm intrigued by the pre rapala warts but I won't pay what they want for them.