Bazoo

Does anybody throw a blade bait during times other than winter? It’s very similar to a rattle trap, does it work around grass or on flats like a trap? What’s my options for a blade bait? What can I do with it other than just wait till winter?

Yesterday I got onto the Zmam willow vibe. I bought on in Academy and I paired it with a Zoom Shimmer shad. I went to the lake I fish, from shore, to a spot I know the fish hang out. 3-5 casts in I had a hit. It came up and jumped and threw the hook and I got a good look. It was a 5 pounder! That’s encouraging! I got one other fish on a fluke there, but no more activity on the willow vibe yet. Who fished the willow vibe and what’s your favorites soft plastic for it? What’s your favorite places to throw it?

I broke down and bought the Plano bag. It’s very well-made.

I wasn’t aware of that. Thanks!

I’m definitely not gonna go with crocs. I’m not gonna go with flip-flops. I want some kind of shoes that are gonna stay on my feet. I like to look at them frogtoggs , would you wear socks with those or not?

I went out with my buddy yesterday. His boat is a little in disrepair so we spent some time tinkering on the motor trying to get it running and keep it running. Which is fine because he told me beforehand that part of the trip was trying to get some of the boat sorted out. We trolled around some and fish, he didn’t get any and I caught 2. This was my first time on Nolin lake. It happened to be my first time using an under spin as well, I used it with a 4 inch white grub. I am very confident with grubs though so adding an understand to a lure which I’m already good with didn’t slow me down any. I didn’t take much extra. I took my normal tackle bag and three rods. Of course I didn’t know what we were gonna get into. But we mostly were in shallow water and mostly fished the way I know how. It was an awesome learning experience. We had enough drink, and we had food. I didn’t have enough of the small snacks I needed to keep me going. We had sandwich stuff, but I didn’t want to stopping and eat a sandwich so I went too long. I normally snack to keep my sugar up. It was real hot even though we got started early. We need to figure out something to stay cool because we both got overheated. I had intended to bring a gallon jug of water, with half the water frozen. But I forgot that. I had plenty of Gatorade. But sometimes Gatorade don’t cut it. I just wore my normal jeans and T-shirt. But now I’m thinking I might end up wearing shorts and a sun shirt. But of course I’ve never wore a sun shirt so I haven’t any idea how much that makes the difference. For that matter, I’ve never worn shorts.

I pretty much use natural colors, regardless of water clarity. I generally only use chartreuse or similar colors in clear water, but on super bright days. Doesn’t necessarily mean I’m right, that’s what I do though.

Great info. Thanks all.

I like my coffee, black and bitter. I have a friend that’s into all that fancy coffee and weird presses. I tried it, it ain’t for me. Most of the time being the wife drink instant coffee, great value brand hundred percent Colombian. I make coffee on the stove in a cowboy coffee pot on occasion too.

Oh thanks guys! I hadn’t thought of those scenarios. I’ll have to give it a try down at the river, the bass are more energetic there.

Anybody here use the 3/4 ounce Rat-L-Trap? Where does it shine?

I don’t wanna go bare feet because some of the places that I fish that I might wanna put my feet in the water to launch or to get out would not be pleasant. I also might would like to do some wading.

Okay, I’m sold.

Muck boots or hey dudes would be more my style. The heydudes do look pretty good. Might be the deal. I don’t have any muck boots. I just wear my work boots and wash them off, but I am never in serious muck. My fear with muck boots when boating, would be if I step in water up to my knees that they will fill with water.

Okay. Spike it pens sounds awesome.

What kind of shoes do you wear when you’re fishing from a kayak or a boat, where you might end up needing to put your feet in the water? Do you just take your shoes off, or do you wear crocs or other waterproof shoes?

You might try using something like a jig, something that’s not gonna spin in the air or in the water. That’ll tell you for 100% if it’s the lure spinning, or if it’s a line roller problem.

I have heretofore ignored spike it. But a new fishing buddy swears by it. He said that he’s had days where they weren’t biting and he dipped his lure in spike it and the bike turns on. Should I give it a try?

If your lure is helicoptering during the cast, that can give you some pretty serious line twist. I try very hard not to have my lure helicopter. If it does though and I start getting a little twist, what I will do is, I’ll counteract that twist but spinning the lure the other direction. So with about 5 or 6 feet of line out, I’ll see which direction the lure is spinning and I’ll spin it the other way until the line starts kinking up. Then I real up and cast.

I fish flukes quite a bit. I primarily use the zoom super fluke. Most of the time colors are albino, watermelon, red, baby bass, Junebug, and chartreuse. I use a 3/0 or 4/0 gamakatsu round band worm hook. I usually use a loop knot to give it better action. If your tail is not straight, you’ll get line twist, and the fluke won’t work right. I keep my tails straight by keeping them in a 3600 box just for flukes. The ones that are bent, I lay them in the package straight as I can and leave the package on the dash in the hot sun. That straightens them out and they work just fine. I usually use a rod tip down twitch. 2-3 twitches then a 1-2 second pause for a medium retrieve. Constant twitches for a fast retrieve. Or in cold water 1-2 twitches with a 3-5 second pause. I would use a larger hook if I wanted a little more weight to get the lower down quicker. I will occasionally use a weighted hook. I will fish a fluke just about anywhere. Often fit them in heavy cover, or a lot of people would fish frogs. They are great for pressured fish.

Nice. Glad to know there are some big’uns in there.

Most fun is crankbaits. Most effective is flukes.

There is a lot of crossover between an M and an MH rod. I have a loose Hank Parker that is rated M, and it’s stiffer than my Daiwa Laguna MH. A lot of it depends on not only the rating but the balance, as to how I would use it. A rod that’s tip heavy in the hand is good for crankbaits. What I do is I use each rod with a variety of different things to figure out what I like it for. A bunch of different techniques, situations, then I really understand what the strengths are of each type of rod.

I lost all those at the river, from shore. I’m not sure that a crankbait retriever would work for me there. I’ve thouggg by about it though, but haven’t tried it yet.

I mean, I am aware of it and won’t bring any bananas although I don’t subscribe to it myself.