DitchPanda

I know this topic has been brought up a lot in the past but I wanted to get your guys current thoughts on this in case you've had any new experiences or breakthroughs... At what water temp do you begin throwing topwater? What are your lures of choice for cold water/ when you first try them in the spring? I've always wanted til late spring/ early summer and want to know if I'm missing out

I agree with ditching the leader...I think you could do any single hook application...Texas rig,any jig,spinner,buzz,chatter...could even frog with it in moderate cover...could also throw big topwaters like whopper plopped or super spook if the rod has any softness to the top I myself am not a huge braid guy but if someone asked me for an all purpose setup I would say: 7ft medium heavy fast rod 6.3:1 to7.5:1 reel 15lb copolymer or 40/50lb braid this combo is the epitome of Jack of all trades in my opinion

Yep I would talk to a park ranger, someone who works as a dnr officer or gfp employee of some type of even just ask somebody working at a local bait shop Also the idea for looking online for lake surveys is always a good idea But I will add that shad color baits work in ponds without shad...bluegill colors work where no bluegill are..crawfish colors work...well you get the idea

One of the best big fish catchers of all times is a jig with a chunk trailer be it pork or zoom style plastic chunk...not much realism there I would never say realistic doesn't ever make a difference but I think size, profile and to a lesser extent color are more important. And of course location is the thing that really matters.

Pop-r! Ok can't say it's the best just my favorite...but I've never tried any of the expensive ones..scared to

I've been using 10lb big game and before I used Stren high impact which I feel is similar in a lot of ways for both small cranks and poppers...I'm shore bound so I dont care about the extra depth fluoro supposedly gives...for lipless and Squarebills I'm using 12 and 15lb copoly..my thoughts on the mono is a little extra stretch with small hooks could help plus I use 10 since I can throw it a little better with the light baits

This is why I only use braid for frogs... I was jig fishing one time a few years ago with my frog setup and got hung up on rock...wrapped my braid around a stick to pull and to say it was hard to break is an understatement.

Being from the Midwest I don't know Aaron like some of you guys...but I remember seeing him in bassmasters as far back as the classic in Pittsburg think that was 2005.I've always been a huge fan and very intrigued by his approach with finesse which at first was unique but now is common place a lot of which is because of him. He has been one of my favorites for years. My girlfriend is by no means a fishing fan or up on the sport but even she was like oh no not A-mart...which I think speaks volumes on his impact and appeal when someone who isn't even interested in the sport is still a big fan. I watched Luke Dunkins new podcast last night on youtube where he and Cody Meyer told stories and kinda just paid tribute to there friend during these trying times for hum. If you have time you should check it out..it's always nice to see people show appreciation for someone whose a great angler and sounds like an even better human.

I've caught some over the years 7 and over and weighed them so I felt comfortable saying 7...I agree with letting them go quickly but my fish are definitely nowhere near a bed..water temp is in the 40s yet here...every time we get several nice days we are followed with a harsh cold front that knocks it back

I'm wanting to replace some split rings on some baits and I've settled on owner black hyperwire rings but am confused what size to go with? Also what size oval ring for the line tie? Mainly using on 1/2 oz lipless and 1.5 to 2.5 squarebills

She was about 22.5 but super fat..id guess full of eggs I caught one the same length a few years back but it was barely over 6 cuz it was postspawn and pretty thinned out

So I went back out today to a local pond...caught 3 bass 1 dink 2 decent ones and about 20 bluegill. On my way home I started thinking about my home pond the closest to my house and although I haven't had a lot of luck there yet this year figured what the heck. Well I pulled up to a left hand on my 2nd cast with a lipless caught a true stud. Now I don't have a scale...did add one to my cart in TW when I got home!...so I took measurements and used several weight conversion charts. Depending on how much these can be trusted I took several estimates and averaged them out to be as accurate as possible without a scale. She was 7lbs from my research. And whether or not she was actually 7 or 6.5 or 7.5 she was a beautiful fish that swam off well under her own power..she reminded me why I love this so much.

May pick one up to mess with at my local park it has a lot of rip rap in a couple spots...thanks for the feedback

Thanks for the replies

Do you guys only throw them in warm water or is it an all year bait for you? what trailers do you use in cold water? water temps here are in the low to mid 40s id guess..I've only thrown them a few times over the years in cold water with mixed outcomes

Here in Iowa we are still allowed to fish...just being smart about it...if someone gets to close I'll tell em sod off you wanker...or something of the sort...went out today and plan to go again tomorrow

Honestly the grass thing isn't a huge issue for since a lot of the ponds I fish aren't weedy...guess I'm wondering if there is anything special about the melee? Or if I should just stick to my fogys and chatterbait customs?

Have never thrown these..to be honest I have very limited experience with swimbaits have only ever thrown the eco pro swim shad. Was wondering what your favorite way is to rig the skinny dipper? Favorite colors? Thanks in advance

Soft baits: 5 inch stick bait (senko or yum dinger) black and blue & green pumpkin variant 7.5 inch culprit ribbontail ( junebug & green pumpkin) Missile baits D-bomb (superbug) Hard baits: Kvd 1.5 (sexy shad and chili craw) Bandit 100 (baby bass) Cotton Cordell super spot (gold black back) Spro Aruku shad jr (old glory) 3/8ths double willow spinnerbait either Nichols or war eagle any shad/ Baitfish color will do Jigs and trailers: 1/4oz boss swim jigs (bluegill and shad) - trailers:3.8 eco pro swing shad ( bluegill flash & sight fish) Zoom ultravibe speed craw (green pumpkin) 5/16oz siebert sniper jig (green pumpkin) green pumpkin Ultravibe speed craw trailer 3/8oz Gary Klein BOSS arkie jig (black&blue) black and blue Yum christie craw trailer Topwater: 3/8oz black with black blade buzzbait (war eagle or cavitron) Standard size rebel pop r w/ upgraded hooks Terminal tackle: 3/0 round bend hooks 4/0 wide gap hooks 3/16th ounce tungsten bullet weights Setups : 1- 7ft medium fast baitcaster 7 to 1 gear ratio 12 lb copolymer 1- 7ft medium heavy fast baitcaster 7 to 1 gear ratio 15 lb copolymer

I have researched these a little and if have found very mixed reports. For those of you that have thrown them...what are your thoughts? What specific situations would you throw them in ? Are they worth a try in your opinion?

I agree the jigs are excellent.The jig heads alone are fantastic... I've bought a lot of sniper heads as I make my own skirts. Hooks, paint and weed guards have all been perfect. Also add that I really like the fogy.. again great hook,paint,skirt colors...the football shaped head makes it unique kinda gives it a cool hunting action...you can get all this plus a wire tied skirt and a specialty blade like blacknickel, gold or copper for 5 bucks. Unbeatable. So the quality per dollar is more than anything I've found unless you pour your own jigs. On top of all this I've almost always been surprised by how fast my order is on my doorstep. I've learned a lot of great stuff from Bassresource over my years of lurking and being a member...finding out about siebert is right up there at the top of that list.

Size 5 shallow Shad rap...I also do very well with the shallow shadow raps

Not really a big sports fan.. I do enjoy some patriots football and from time to time a braves game...and when I can I watch ufc...biggest thing for me is watching fishing mostly in youtube...flw just put several of there old tournament videos up they are calling them flw classics

I've been out probably 6 or 7 times in the past month or so since the ice came off..been skunked 4 times..caught 1 one trip..4 on Tuesday..6 several weeks ago...grand total of 11.. Have caught decent quality as of late couple 2.5 one over 3 and one high 3 maybe pushing 4

Well we got out for about 3 hours..I caught 4 biggest was probably 3.5 to 4lbs..lost one and missed several bites...buddy actually broke two off which is a bummer but at least he had an opportunity...all my fish came on green pumpkin sniper jig with a Brown zoom super chunk