Flushdraw

The T-rig is my favorite way to fish. I usually use a pegged 1/8 to 1/4oz bullet on either a medium heavy or heavy rod. Most used hook is a 3/0 Gammy Heavy Cover flippin hook. If I could only choose one soft plastic, it would be a Fat Ika in watermelon black flake. My two other confidence baits are the 8” bull worm in watermelon red flake and the Berkley Pit Boss in almost any color. Notable mention to a weightless Yamatanuki side hooked with the same flippin hook. I'm still testing these, but so far, so good.

The CDC is laughable. Google makes for a horrible doctor. Listen to your own body first. You know better than any doctor. Do what feels good to you. If it feels like too much, take a break. Sincerely wishing the best for you.

Same here in Texas! The bass don't know it's Fall yet. Thank you, Glenn. I've never thrown a swim jig, but it's on my short list.

Great post. I'll be honest, I'm not yet at the point of being a trophy hunter. I'm pretty impatient for an angler. I'm a single dad of 3 kiddos and my fishing times are usually an hour to two MAX. I'm a newbie and still at the baby phase of thinking catching any fish is good. If I go out fishing and catch nothing, then that just sucks! In the last year or so, I'm slowly changing to where I'm willing to sacrifice quantity for larger fish. Yeah, I know I just contradicted myself. I want to target bigger fish, but still end my day with putting fish in the boat...if that makes sense.

After reading all the responses, I think I may stick to using a short leader (1-3ft) if for no other reason than to have an easier break-off point should my line get stuck. I'm not going to sweat it, though. I very well may go straight braid in some circumstances. I don't think it's a deal-breaker in stained water.

It doesn't matter. Owner also sells the screw locks in packs. The 1/8oz 1/0 hook comes with the small screw lock. Owner has the best screws on the market by far, imo. Anyways...I replaced mine with the next size up. Makes a difference long term if you throw a lot of swimbaits. Not needed, but if you fall in love with them a worthy upgrade.

OP, I started out the same way as you...using swimbaits. It may be user error but either way I'd trash those hooks. The Owner Flashing Swimmer has fantastic hooks and is built to last. I use the 1//8 oz in a 1/0 hook. These are fairly easy to find locally around here. Good luck.

I've accidentally gut hooked and killed bass. This mostly happens when fishing a Senko (for me anyhow). Now when I fish finesse plastics, I fish them fairly fast. When a fish is truly gut hooked, I cut my line close to the hook and hope for the best. As far as pliers go...I buy used medical pliers on ebay. You can buy a German made work of art for about $10-$20. They'll last a lifetime if you don't lose them. The quality isn't even close to "fishing pliers".

I recently switched to the Alberto knot. A vast improvement over the double uni, imo. I haven't tried the "improved" version, though. Great vid!

Oh, I do. I love his simple style. He's a great teacher. I just watched his "hook set with a jig" video for my third or fourth time. That one is gold. My other two favorite channels are Matt Stefan and BassFishingHQ (Tyler Bergen). Glenn and these two channels have greatly improved my fishing skills. I wish I would have found them at the very beginning. I would have saved a ton of money and been a much better angler by now.

Good advice. I'm a widower with 3 kids. Night fishing would be tough for me, although that sounds like fun. Yeah, this forum is fantastic! I wish I could find someone local that could coach me. My fishing buddy is a great guy who has lots of experience, but I out fish him in weight and numbers consistently. I've got one "friend" who works at a tackle shop. I've run into him several times on local ponds. He's the guy that caught the 10 pounder. He's a loner. Maybe I should buy him lunch.

Manvel? I grew up in Liverpool...kind of neighbors. I just moved to Texas City which means I have a free pass to the dike anytime I like. My closest bass pond is 20 minutes away. The TC dike is a 5 minute drive. I may have to throw a line in. A swimbait on an Owner Flashy Swimmer should catch something.

Thanks, Tom. That makes a lot of sense. The question is how to find these large bass in near featureless water. The pond I've been fishing recently is a rectangle with emergent grass growing from the bank to about 10' out. There is just one area on a corner with a nice clump of cattails. That's the area I've pulled almost every fish out.

Yeah, that's why I'm using 50. Maybe it's overkill, but these bass will dive under the grass and getting them out can be tricky. Those are two things I didn't consider. Thanks. Not South Houston...south of Houston. I'm generally fishing the League City area and south of there. You're right, though. Most of that area and also north into The Woodlands is < 6" visibility. The bayous down here are all like that too.

I'm fishing small ponds south of Houston. Water clarity is stained 1-4 feet visibility (guessing). I fish ponds that have grass. Some ponds appear to have grass near the shore only (5-15 feet out...I think American pond weed). Other ponds have submergent grass and mats in some places. I'm using 50# Hi Viz braid (Power Pro). I use a 2-3 ft flouro leader (15lb). I'm fishing with a 7'4" heavy fast action. I'm generally hopping baits off the bottom, but sometimes fish a fluke or buzzbait. Is using a flouro leader helping me at all, or just another breakage point? A year ago, I was using 30# braid to a 6' leader. I'm catching more and bigger fish now probably due to experience (I'm a newbie). Do the bass care about my neon yellow line at all? It doesn't appear like they do. What's your experience?

I wasn't really disagreeing with you either. I do think many of alpha bass go back to the same place and hang out there. I will disagree with the average bass being 2.5 pounds...if you're the one that posted that. The average bass down here is probably a pound or less. Even the guy I know that landed the 10 pounder also catches tons of dinks. Hell, I caught 2 yesterday on an Strike King 8" Bullworm. This is a huge worm yet both my fish were a pound or less. The 10" Bullworm is like a snake! Maybe I'll fish that tomorrow. Good observation Tom. I have to stop myself from getting right up to the bank. Many times, there are large bass in a foot of water within 3 feet of the bank. I've seen them, spooked them, and caught them.

Thanks! I see fishing as art mixed with science. I love it and love to learn. I started trying to fish everything with every technique imaginable. I still have huge bags filled with plastics to prove it! These days I keep it simple. I mostly fish with just a few different baits in 2 to 3 different colors. I'll occasionally try something new, but I'm mostly trying to master my confidence baits. I also agree that big bass move. I've seen monsters...many times swimming in pairs a few feet from shore. I'm sure they hole-up most of the day, but they do appear to wander. I have < 10 hours fishing on my new rod. So far, casting has been terrific. I even threw a weightless Senko yesterday and had no issues. I don't think I mentioned my line cutting into the spool. I haven't had any problems. I'm practicing for accuracy right now, not distance. I'm in love with the baitcaster. Even as a newbie, I'm having less wind knots and tangles than I had with my spinning set-ups. I regret not making the move sooner. I use hi viz line. I'm a line watcher. I'm not sure if I can get my fingers in front of the reel. I'll try it. I have girly sized hands which makes things hard. I currently keep my thumb on the spool at all times.

This is my belief as well. Accurate casting is at least 30% of successful bass fishing. I absolutely suck at casting. It's my biggest weakness. I recently got a baitcaster and that's been a total game-changer for me. After an hour of practice I was already more accurate. I haven't had a break-off in well over a year. I just got back from fishing today and caught 2, lost 2. I think it's just bad technique on hook set. Most times I'm fishing those Gammy flippin hooks. It's d**n near impossible to lose one if it's properly hooked. Hell, I have to use pliers most times to remove them. They're razor sharp and I keep a sharpener with me always.

I fish from shore only. I don't have a boat. I'm fishing small ponds with grass. Lots of grass. I just found a new neighborhood pond which has been money. Almost nobody fishes it and it's LOADED with bass! I generally fish the Fat Ika, sometimes Senkos, and with a fluke (Caffeine Shad is my fav). I recently discovered the Berkley Pit Boss and it instantly has become my new favorite confidence bait. I fish that with a pegged weight and a Gammy Finesse heavy Cover hook in 3/0. I generally throw in areas on the edge of grass. I look for ambush points. Sorry for the misunderstanding. My post was poorly written. I'm not looking to hook into a DD, although that would be nice. I'd like to get something in the 4-5 lb range. Tom, thanks to this forum I now have a 7'2" heavy Expride mated with a 6.3 Diawa SV TW. I'm running 50# braid to 15# flouro leader (which I believe has a breaking strength over 20#). I love the set-up! I lose fish probably from bad technique...maybe too much slack. I'm still new to this and learn more every time I go on the water.

I too fish grass. At the beginning, I was scared of it...confused how someone would properly fish it. Now, I look for it. It scares most away down here. The few that fish it throw a frog. That's all they can do. Some places have mats. If I'm fishing those areas, I'm punching with a 1.5 oz weight. I generally don't like to do this, because I'm a bank angler and it kind of sucks. Most times, I cast past the grass and bring it through. I either go weightless or with the least weight that allows me to get into the grass or into a hole. Some days, it seems heavier weights work better at getting reaction strikes. I generally hop baits off the bottom. Fat Ika, Texas rigged Senko, or Pit Boss with 1/8-3/8 weight. I'll also throw a weightless Caffeine Shad in areas without much emergent grass. I'm still a baby and learning. Next time you look out your car window at a horribly overgrown pond... if you see a guy fishing there...well, that's probably me.

I've been fishing for over 2 years now. I've got good equipment and pretty decent skills. I generally do pretty well. I went out for about 1 1/2 hours a couple of days ago and landed 5, lost 2. My biggest by far was 2.14 lbs. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy catching ANY size bass and a 2 pounder is a nice sized fish. The biggest I've ever landed has been in the 2.5 pound range. Problem I have is, I know they're giants where I'm fishing. I've seen them, occasionally hooked them, and have had buddies that have landed them. I'm talking 10+ pounders. I'm not fishing with "small fish" plastics either. Am I doing something wrong, or is it mostly luck?

Thanks to EVERYONE that posted! I took advantage of the TW sale. I got the Shimano Xpride 7'2" heavy and the Daiwa Tatula SV TW. I ended up spending substantially more than I intended, but I think this is going to be a game changer in my fishing. With this sale, it wasn't worth ordering from a JDM site. I probably would have saved $50...not worth losing the US warranty and having it inside a week, imo. I think I'm going to go with either 40 or 50 pound power pro braid for the line. I'm currently using 30lb Suffix 832... which sucks!

Looks like between the rod and reel, I'd save about $130...minus shipping. Is it worth not having the US warranty? Also, I can't find the model you posted. They show only the 172H which looks like a removable handle...? Folded length is slightly shorter than total length. Is this a Jap only model?...very confusing. Here Thanks!

Wow! That's a great deal!. JLS is Japan Lure shop...correct? I don't see the 7'2" listed. Can you provide me with a link or the Japanese model number to look it up please?

Yes, I'm familiar with the Destroyer and Levante line. Unfortunately, the Levante is only available in extra fast action in their heavy rods. The Destroyer is out of my price range. I'm thinking a Shimano Zodias or Xpride. I've heard nothing but good things about them. I hate to spend the money, but I'd be using this rod for 90% of my fishing.