DitchPanda

I personally don't throw many white bladed jigs so I'm going basic with black blue flake and green pumpkin..figure if I want chartreuse I'll just dip it in JJs magic

I'll pass on the blood sucking deal...I'm not a fan of the salty penny taste

So you guys are saying he's a police officer that punishes people by sucking there blood but also makes side money by "protecting and servicing" lonely women? That's a complex gig In all seriousness law enforcement is a much needed and much appreciated job...I have a lot of respect for anybody doing that in any capacity...one of my friends is a deputy sheriff and has been doing it for over 20 years...he's a great guy and also a pretty good fisherman...after listening to his stories over the years his job comes across as not only dangerous but often times thankless

So I noticed that you respond to many of my posts...which is greatly appreciated...but I also noticed you respond fairly late or even middle of the night and it got me curious what you do for a living? I myself used to work 12 hour nights...did that for several years until I earned my spot on days in July of 16

Gonna be getting some of these and the summer gill yum pulse...along with swimons...this place is both awesome and dangerous

Your a fighter man and that positive attitude will carry you through whatever happens...keep it up buddy we are all pulling for ya

Anybody used these? Thoughts on them? Thinking of trying some on a swim jig

I'm a bank guy so I can't bring everything... I usually bring 1 or 2 tackle trays with 3 to 6 lure options... A couple bags of plastics... And usually 3 or 4 rods is all...I do love the days when all I bring is a jig rod and a spinnerbait rod with a couple extra jigs

Appreciate all the good feedback I'll be getting some for sure

Here in Iowa the record is a shade under 11 so I would consider anything above 7 a legit stud...only caught a few over the years

My biggest thing has probably also been confidence. I'm a firm believer that this is a prime hobby where if you wanna get better you really gotta spend time and pay your dues...really take your lumps. Most things are that way I guess but I really notice it alot in bass fishing. If I didn't have confidence then I don't think I'd ever improve as id be more prone to just stay home after unsuccessful outings and id never get the experience required to adapt. Case in point my last several trips have been fishless...I realize a lot of it is water temp\ weather related...but years ago I would have just thought I suck and would just sit at home feeling bad for myself. Now days I feel like no matter how my previous trip went that I know what I'm doing and will get it figured out.

I use 6ft3in medium power fast action casting rod with a fairly soft tip..closer to a moderate fast...12lb izorline copolymer...most often throw a bone orange belly color jerkbait as most places I fish have a little stain to the water

I use a dobyns Sierra 7ft medlite fast...daiwa regal size 2000...6lb hybrid..rod is soft which I like...it's also great for shad raps

Yeah they look cool but I've got way too many craws already...as far as the Swimon goes this is the exact feedback I was looking for...I wanted a durable non z man option and looks like I found it..thanks gents

Chatterbait and spinnerbait trailers

Any of you guys have experience with these? What do you think of them? How's the durability? I know the zako is good but they are too rich for my blood and I would use a razor shad or diezel minnow but I have a lot of siebert fogys to use and find them hard to rig unless the bait has a wire keeper and the fogy just had the molded lead keeper

Glad to hear your doing good. Hey remember man it's tough on all of us... I've been out 4 times since ice out and only caught 6 bass and that was all on one trip! Gotta embrace the grind and just love the hunt\process of it all and just appreciate the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors. Glad to hear your figuring it out... it will give that confidence in yourself to get through the next funk without getting to down..you'll know hey I've done it before and I can figure it out again.

I've seen it here when the males are up cruising the bank making beds and I've been able to catch the females holding on cover on the first transition...so one pond in particular I fish is max depth of 9 ft I've seen males up in 1 to 2 ft and caught females around brush in 5 or 6 ft

People are disgusting...kinda wish you could catch em doing it...maybe sneak up behind em while there getting after it and give em a nice "tap" with a big stick Sorry man that sucks big time

So we had ice come off many of our ponds between 10 days and two weeks ago due to unseasonably warm temps ..but since then we have backed off into 40s with lows in the 20s pretty much putting the brakes on warming the water at all...I've tried shad raps, lipless, finesse jigs, spinnerbaits and chatterbaits with no luck..only thing I've had any luck on is surprise surprise a jerkbait. Normally this long after ice out we would have warmed considerably but with it being so early this year it has halted any progress. When you are itching to go but faced with these lingering conditions what are you throwing besides what I mentioned? Anything sneaky you use or maybe something you don't hear much about? Btw I had a pretty typical winter outing yesterday...fished 4 hours got all six of my bites in a 15 yard area in 30 minutes then the switch flipped off..biggest was only 2lbs but still felt good just to pull on some..shouldn't complain about 6 bites in 8 hours this time of year but with them stacked up like that it makes for a lot of fishless time

So weird how the ice out varies so much region to region...our lakes are still locked up but some of our small ponds have been open for almost 2 weeks already..I got out on March 8th in 65 degree temps..earliest I've gone maybe ever..at least in memory

I agree with the above comments...Sieberts stuff is great everything I've got from him I've been impressed with ...I do use boss stuff and make my own skirts as well which is also quality at a very good price..can't go wrong either way

I know this topic has been touched on a lot but what are your go to swim jig trailers? Mine the past few years have been big bite baits 5in finesse grub in cold water...when it warms up I throw the Eco Pro Swing Shad 3.8 some but my favorite has been the zoom ultravibe speed craw Also another question about swim jig color...all I throw is white/shad and bluegill.. Is there time and place for black and blue or are you better off with a bladed jig in that situation?

One I've heard mixed reviews of but absolutely love is the rapala shadow rap...especially in the bone orange belly color...works everywhere for me especially in cloudy skies or off colored water...I see your in Omaha so we fish a lot of similar situations and even lakes like okoboji area...I'm about an hour North of Sioux city

For me id say 50 is the turning point for temp in the spring..of course I'm in North Iowa and we are just coming out of winter the ice just came off our ponds a week or so ago so depending where you are your fish may never experience water that cold...that said I'd definitely focus along shore some as well especially on warm windy days or particularly bright sunny days...North banks are best since the sun is on them the longest...Also rock is great it really soaks up heat from the sun and holds it...for baits my two favorites this early are jerkbait and lipless cranks but I'll also throw a finesse jig with a small chunk or double tail grub trailer