Pat Brown

Here's a weird question for the drop shot fishing collective hive mind: Why can't you tie your Palomar through the back of hook eye (backwards) and then no longer have to pull the tag (leader) back through the hook eye to 'snell' it?

In 2023 you need some form of sonar to EFFICIENTLY target largemouth bass on reservoirs with any sort of depth for bass to relate to because it's anybody's guess on any day what depth the bait is going to be holding at. I find in general, bass key in on 'fast' during the hot months. Even on the HOTTEST days.

Here is why it's critical to find bass in the summer. In the fall, they tend to slide up on the same pieces of structure, either suspending near pieces of cover or baitfish schools in the area and usually as the surface temps cool, you see them push 'up' more. The fall is tricky though because some days they're shallow in the cover and on hotter days they'll be right back where they were all summer until the water stabilizes in the 70s. In my lakes the bass spawn again until the water hits 50 and you typically get pre-spawn/spawn/post spawn bites.

The ponds that produce my biggest fish have beavers, giant snapping turtles, gar and otters. All of these threats produce very healthy and large bass. You don't see a ton of big head small body on that pond. The fish are all built like football players with large bodies and smaller heads. The lakes I fish, seems like the bass have to work harder to compete for food and I'm more likely to run into on that looks off. Big predators that shouldn't technically be there if you want ZERO bass killed, but if you like a healthy population of bass and nobody is culling.... stunting is a thing for sure. Big predators help IMHO.

Depth and speed. In that order. I don't mean covering water less fast, I mean speed of the bait retrieval, rate of fall etc. But I will slow down when a school I find seems active (bites, catch one) Depth seems like the single most universal and important thing you need to figure out on any given lake before any other thing is worth exploring.

Got this nice one on the Hybrid Hunter and lost an 8 + lber on the way to the boat on it. It was the biggest fish I've ever hooked on the bait/a shallow diving crankbait. The fish came to the surface and jumped a couple times and then turned into a beaver like lump of dead weight on the surface. I tried to move the boat and reel and she came back to life and dove into something and my line went slack. Sliced clean off above the knot. Lost a 6 lber at the boat on the jig. Had two spectacular takes on the buzzbait where I pulled and the bait came whizzing back to me. Just wasn't my day....or it was.....and I blew it ????????

@Ohioguy25 , looks munch worthy! Only way to find out is to take it to the lake and get it wet! ??????

@Darth-Baiter I love green pumpkin/watermelon and some markers to add secondary colors if I feel like they'll make a difference. Sometimes just a little blue or red marker on the tails is as good as buying 3 different bags of plastics!

I think color only matters if they're super non aggressive, which is probably a lot of the time, so maybe it matters. But I'm sorta with Todd Castledine, in general, I'm fishing for the stupid ones first and foremost and then I'll slow down and try to figure them out when I get in an area with a couple stupid ones. I think Hackneys take on action and color and profile and fall rate and how they relate to temperature and water clarity is much much more important information to assimilate than any particular juice color. Over time you figure out the juice colors on your lake and the seasons they work best.

Yeah we don't either. Submerged thorn bushes and brush piles and trees are sort of the flipping medium here primarily but I do occasionally find some emergent pad/grass and catch a couple and that always feels really good!

That shallow flipping bite after the cane walker fish is the stuff I live for @Bluebasser86! Nice video!

Some highlights from a fun afternoon trip yesterday. It was blazing hot but a steady breeze positioned a school right off of a main lake point and when we realized the arches on my Garmin were interested in playing with jigs, we got rich in a hurry. Last cast big fish is always fun too! Jake also caught a nice one on the big bites B2 worm which has been one of the best worms for us this summer! Also caught my second spinnerbait bass in two trips out, so they seem to be easing into their fall patterns.... jigs, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits dominating.

In the late fall and early winter it's the only color I have tied on when I'm flipping and then again in the early spring. Dead ringer for juvenile bluegill IMHO.

I just think both of y'all good at catching fish to be honest and probably would slay donkeys on most things you devote time to, but I still find your free rig observations/experiences very interesting and I gotta dedicate some time to it. I have a big rocky flat where they feed that I have to fish fairly horizontally and they seem fairly bored with most bottom baits. Maybe this should be where I do it.

I love the stupid tube jigs. There's videos on YouTube how to rig the tube on them. Takes a little practice/might ruin a few tubes, but once you get it, you'll never do it another way. You get the tube death spiral and the weedless presentation. My son caught a 3 lber his first cast ever with a stupid tube jig and they have kept me skunk free on tough days.

I would fully expose the hook. Don't want to risk the plastic bunching up on the hookset.

Looks like it would be great as a flipping jig trailer or on a punch rig or a bubba/power shot or a Biffle head. Wicked cool! I love the old Havoc baits. I buy a pack any time I find one I don't have back stocked from ages ago at local tackle stores.

My uncle fishes on Lake St Clair and uses Mepps spinners exclusively and catches Pike, Musky, Drum, Smallies, Largies, Walleye, Perch, Gar and Carp! Absolutely incredible baits!

Gotta say Mike @Siebert Outdoors knocked it outta the park with 'Texas Craw' and 'Swamp Monster' The motor oil red flake rage craw and the GOAT chigger craw seem to pair perfectly. Can't wait to toss these beauties!

I like to practice my casting near the bank and I like to practice my hook sets offshore ????

Spinning rod thing IMHO. With a baitcaster go as light on the line as you can and change your brake settings and use a heavily salted stick worm and you'll have much better luck.

I am an NC junk fisherman and I basically stick to the rule book for the most part and do okay. Winter (pre-spawn/Nov-January): spinnerbait, Jig, straight tail worm, lipless, jerkbait, shaky head, drop shot, swim bait Spring (late pre spawn/spawn/early post spawn/February-May): swim jig, jerkbait, glide baits, swim bait, Texas rig lizard, shaky head, lipless, spinnerbait Summer (post spawn/second pre-spawn ?/June-August): big ribbon tail worms with 3/16-7/16 oz tungsten sinker, heavy jig with craw trailer and skirt and weed guard, Carolina rig, deep diving crankbait, spinnerbait, jerkbait, frog, buzzbait, popper, spook, shaky head, lipless Fall (second spawn/shad gorge/September-November): Lighter jig with chunk trailer or craw with subtler action and weed guard, swim jig, lipless, flat side crankbait, jerkbait, buzzbait, spook, glide bait, spinnerbait, shaky head I try to add techniques every year and I have caught fish with other presentations, but I feel confident I can catch fish on my lakes with these baits during these seasons. There will ALWAYS be a Jerkbait, a spinnerbait, a worm, a jig and a lipless crankbait on my deck during all seasons and all conditions.

This time of year I'm a big fan of melon and citrus because it rehydrates you well replacing electrolytes and replenishing calories. I bring lots of water in a cooler. I occasionally bring a sandwich and some chips if I'm going to be out for more than five or six hours. Sometimes I will bring coffee or an energy drink or something like that.

It's a white topwater so it's gonna get bit! ??? Bass like any color topwater as long as it's white.

I personally really like the big walking poppers. Haven't tried that one yet but only had good experiences with R2S hard baits.