cdlittle

Yikes.

I never said anything about size. I was pretty specific that I was talking about noise/flash. The Super Fluke and RipStop jerkbaits I was throwing are identical in size... It's happened with crankbaits that are the exact same model, just one with rattles vs silent. I consistently get less fish on rattles when there are other anglers around, even when they are not catching fish. I live just outside Chicago, so the amount of anglers is very high.

As soon as the grass gets unbearable, my SLX goes from being used for jerkbaits to weightless Texas rig/wacky rig duty. Works fantastic!

I have a shad and a couple gills. Haven't caught anything on them yet, but they have an awesome action. I also haven't put a ton of time in on them.

I hard disagree. Many times I've had to swap to finesse to catch fish when there are a lot of anglers around not catching fish, then switch back to regular after they leave. Most recent was last week, fishing jerkbaits. Was at my favorite local pond, bunch of anglers around, basically all of us throwing hard jerkbaits. Couldn't catch crap until I swapped to a Super Fluke, which isn't flashy and silent. Caught several, then everyone started packing up, and I swapped back to the hard jerkbait and was still catching. This happens to me all the time at my local ponds. In my mind, it's pretty clear evidence that bass can be pressured just by having a crap ton of lures and loud anglers around.

I love fly fishing bass on hoppers/poppers in the summer. It's basically my primary way of fishing in the dog days of summer. It is so fun!

There's a pond that's 5 min from my house that I end up fishing a lot when I only have 30-60 minutes to fish. It's full of trash from inconsiderate anglers, has impenetrable weeds in the summer, and the fish are all a pound or less. OR SO I THOUGHT! Was fishing after dark, using a jerkbait right after ice out, and I freaking got a 5lber. Didn't know there were even bass that big in that pond. So yes, fish when others aren't and force them to react.

Interesting that it seems either you love it or it doesn't work at all. I caught my first bass on a Junebug worm on a shaky head and I haven't thrown Junebug or a shaky head since that day, probably been a decade since then. I'm gonna order some shaky heads and Junebug worms now.

Likewise

Same thing happened here in Chicago. Got real warm, up to 80 even, the fish were slamming pretty much anything. Then cold front moved in and they are locked down. Only thing I've been able to get bit on is suspending jerkbaits and slowly working a finesse jig.

This is my first time fishing prespawn this far north and I've about had it. Couldn't keep them off my line last week and now I'm contemplating why I enjoy fishing, as I take 5 minutes to work my jig back to shore.

He's being serious. Loud topwater lures can get absolutely hammered at night.

This is exactly right. I have two Aird-X rods that I absolutely love. Every bit as sensitive as a couple $100+ rods I own.

As you should! I still see it recommended as a great bait finesse option all over the BFS community. Hnng, those old reels with the very flat, squared off fronts like that are so freaking sexy. You've got a real beauty there!

Dealing with the same thing here in Chicago. Was sunny and 75 last week, caught more bass in two days than all of last fall. Now it's cloudy and in the 50's and they're shut down. Been trusting in the jerkbait and it's been alright.

My weakness is never being confident if I should change the way I'm working the bait, the size/color of the bait, or switch to a different presentation altogether. It haunts me.

Been killing it on jerkbaits. Few lipless and standard crank fish in the mix. Can't get a bite on the dropshot to save my life.

In order of water temp, lowest to highest, I use: Suspending jerkbaits Lipless crankbait Regular crankbait I'll also use a jig and glide bait any time.

Interesting. I have an old Lucky Craft GDS SSR which runs barely subsurface. I haven't bothered with it since the cold front has moved in this week. I have a couple of 4" FishLab bluegill wakebaits that I'm dying to try. I just don't have any confidence at this water temp.

Never seen an 11 year thread resurrection before! FWIW, I use a Shimano SLX XT for jerkbaits/shaky head/weightless plastics and I'm rather impressed by how well it does. I throw jerkbaits from 1/4-7/16 oz and while that's not light compared to my BFS stuff, the reel does a great job of handling how non-aerodynamic the lures are.

Ultralight fishing! One of my favorite aspects of fishing. Here are matching XXUL rods that I made for my wife and I from 6' 2wt fly blanks. They are super fun! http://imgur.com/a/833cMMx http://imgur.com/a/oKspZ2p

Yum Dingers and some wacky hooks will keep you catching fish!

Those look pretty awesome.

It's the absolute worst right? I'm not an amazing angler or anything, and I'm certainly not trying to toot my own horn here, but I rarely see anyone else catching fish when I'm at the local ponds/lakes. I spend hours and hours a week researching, learning, tweaking, etc just to get that 1-3 fish bag when I go out. There's just no hope for the casual angler here in Chicagoland.

Exactly. Good for him. In this world, he should sell them for whatever the can. There's no certainty.