BrianMDTX

Yeah, I revived it in case anyone missed it and wanted to try an A-Jay Special.

Bringing this back up in case some never saw this original concept. This is a great rig to fish in slop, but also works great in weeds and in sunken timber. It’s turned into one of my favorite rigs. You can’t buy it- you have to order the components and make them. But it’s simple to put together and very versatile. To me, it’s a Texas rig jig, but I call it an A-Jay Special. There’s God knows how many styles of jigs available out there, and untold numbers of styles of Texas rigs, but I’ve never seen anything quite like this. You can swim it like a swim jig, retrieve with a stop-and-go presentation, or drag it slowly like a standard Texas rig. If you’re looking for something different to try that no other anglers are casting, give it a try.

I have great hooks ups with chatter baits. Normally using a medium fast rod with 10-12 lb. mono or hybrid. I would check hook sharpness and resharpen as needed.

Never fished the Sassafras, either. Only the lower Susky, the Nanticoke and the Pokemoke. Maybe the Chester a long time ago as a kid.

I have a few of those jigs. They are good jigs for sure. Normally with a Rage Craw or Menace trailer.

Man, I haven’t fished tidal waters in probably 30+ years. The last time was on the Nanticoke. Your post brought back some memories.

It was. Who expects a dog lol. I am glad to see my chatter bait success is rising. That’s a big plus.

Next to last day of vacation, so yeah, fishing! Basically the same weather conditions as Thursday. Hot, mostly full sun and maybe 5 mph wind. The bite was different, though. Only caught one on a TR. Did catch two on an AJ Special, but OMG did it cause some heartache. I hooked one that dove into submerged timber. I got close and almost had my hands on him and it dove and snapped the line. Lost the hook but saved the weight and jig collar and skirt. Tied a new hook on and put on a Rage Craw instead of a Menace. A few casts later it started running to the left so I reeled it slack and swept the hook. It dove, ran, jumped and my heart skipped a beat. Easily the biggest bass I’ve hooked in a couple years. Easily a 6, maybe close to a 7. But the bait went one way and the bass another. Reeled it in and the hook was still embedded in the craw. At least I know it’s uninjured and still there. Went to cast it again and heard this weird whirring sound and saw the lure and a bunch of line flying and no line on the rod. Thought I lost it, but it took so much line that enough was floating that I grabbed it and retrieved the bait. No luck on a chatter bait with the new flukes. So as I was out of Menaces, I put on a Rage Bug. All of a sudden I started getting strikes. Caught 3 in only a few minutes. A chatter bait is quickly becoming a favorite bait. Easy to cast, and you can fish it fast or slow, shallow or medium depth. And finally…in the morning I was casting under some overhanging limbs and heard light splashing. Didn’t sound like a duck. Turned and saw a tiny dog swimming across the pond. Came right up to my boat. I was afraid it was going to tire out and drown so I used my net to help it to shore. Didn’t boat it so can’t add it to my daily bag 🤣

Been having success with chatter baits lately, so while near a Walmart, I stopped to take a look. Bought the last two. Wanted to try a fluke as a trailer so bought a pack (might be too big). And since I always need craws, picked up a pack of Rage Craws, too.

If I fished barefoot I’d need a paint roller to apply enough sunscreen to keep my feet from broiling.

Ever since I joined BR, I have used Imgur for pics. It was simple and easy. Doesn’t seem to work anymore. You could never post all pics at once, but each one had a .jpg link. I don’t know if that’s an Imgur or BR issue, but I’m guessing Imgur. First Photobucket and now Imgur. Sheesh!

Today was the first time I’ve fished since 8/17. Work this summer has been unreal. Finally had a week’s vacation this week plus last Th-Fr. Left Thursday to fly back to Maryland and went to Ocean City with the family. Had a great time. Got back late Monday and took it easy yesterday so it was time to fish. I had plans to fish Lake Raven but the recent fishing report was not promising. Tried to decide where to go and my wife said “Just go to the pond up the street”. That was a good call. Boated 10 bass. Smallest were two about 2 lbs. All the rest were 2.5-3.0 lbs. with the biggest at 4.37 lbs. Caught three (including the biggest) on a green pumpkin Zoom lizard TR, three on a green pumpkin Senko WR, and four on a white/chartreuse chatter bait with a green pumpkin Rage Menace trailer. I lost the same bass twice. Once when it hit the chatter bait right at the boat, and it hit it again but threw the hook. I resharpened the hook and caught the darned bass again! Three times is a charm! A chatter bait is not doing a thing until the sun is high. Must reflect more light off the blade as it’s fire in late morning-early afternoon. Today is the first time I can recall never retying a lure or changing a bait. What I started with is still rigged. Same lizard. Same Senko. Same Menace.

That sounds like a nice day on the water! Some fatties there!

@RRocket I agree with you. If you aren’t getting bites on a WR, it’s likely due to it being an overfished bait in that body of water. The pond I frequent was a WR bass magnet years ago. Now I rarely throw one as it’s difficult to get a bite on it. Why? Because after COVID, more and more people started fishing there and one bait that was used heavily was a 5” Senko WR. I’ve had better luck using a Zoom Trick on a WR than I have a Senko.

@ATA Just for the heck of it, try the Lefty Kreh knot. You may be surprised at how strong it is, when it’s that small and that easy to tie.

Meet the skunkbeater. I boated one bass. One. Did hook another but it threw the hook at the boat. Both on a green pumpkin lizard TR. Had a hellacious thunderstorm yesterday. Raised the water level about 3”. Might have washed a lot of easy pickin’s into the water and they were full. Very slow. Hot as Hades, too.

Good Lord those are some big knots! Which is why I’m both amazed and pleased at how easy, strong and small the Lefty Kreh leader knot is. No tools. No fuss. 30 seconds to tie. No Ph.D required!

Ask them if they are Christian. If so, say “And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.” They casted. I’m casting. Hallelujah!

That’s been my go-to. Good action, not too big. Lasts for several fish.

I used to think craws were meh. So either I learned to fish them better, or the local bass simply decided enough was enough and they were just going to whack the heck out of them for spite. They’ve become one of my favorite soft plastics and out of the many, I’ve had better luck with a good ol’ Rage Craw than any others. It’s not fancy-schmancy. But those claws really have a great action, and they last awhile on a hook.

I will add this: great photos are, well, great. But you gotta catch the bass in order to take their portrait lol. On that score, Katie, I think you are in the 95th percentile on BR. And while you may downplay your skills as a photographer, you are pretty much unrivaled in painting pictures with words.

🎶Cause I'm a picker I'm a grinner I'm a lover And I'm a sinner🎶 But I'm a crappy photographer lol.

Welcome back. Sure your name ain’t Kotter? 😂

Maybe “Well, it’s about damned time!!!” 😂

It’s been almost a year since I bought this battery, and being on the Gulf Coast of Texas, it does get used 12 months of the year. So far it has performed as well as can be. I’m still running that old Minn-Kota 17 lb. thrust motor that’s 40 years old now. Neither has let me down yet. All-in-all I’d say this battery was well worth the price paid.