Flukeflicker

Strike King Rage Tail 4 inch Bass Pro Shops XPS Crawdigy Bug Rage Tail Menace Bass Pro Shops Bio Bait Brawny Craw Yum Craw Papi Googan Bandito Bug Googan's smell gets me to buy more The Rage tail craws and crawdigy bugs are both very durable and are great jig trailer options when you want a good amount of action. The Brawny Craw, craw papi, and bandito bug have an action that's a little more subtle.

Wind and overcast are fantastic for reaction baits like bladed jigs, spinnerbaits, and lipless cranks, especially white ones. In calmer weather, you will typically want to throw finesse or slower-moving lures (drop shot, jig, Texas rig, walking bait, frog, etc.). Cold weather is normally pretty good for slow, deeper presentations as well, with an occasional reaction bait. Rain is also an amazing time to fish. In the rain, fish are more comfortable feeding, and they are less likely to spot you and get spooked. Prespawn is one of, if not the best, times of the year to catch the most big bass. Bass feed heavily on shad and crayfish right before spending that energy spawning. This is when I like to throw big baits and jigs the most. All that said, those lures typically work in those scenarios, and I would recommend that you use them then. But, bass dont follow a rule book.

I've done pretty well on Culprit original worms in the chili pepper color, dragging them on a Texas rig.

Picked up several Googan crankbaits that were on sale for $3.99 today. Their normal prices are a few bucks more. I got three Googan Clutch Grandes and two banger grandes. Grandes are a little bigger than the normal size.

I'd definitely still use black or other really dark colors for a good silhouette. White, silver, and chartreuse could also be good options.

Daang!! This man catches my PB on a regular.😭 Nice fish, Dwight!

That's exactly what I was worried about until I started catching them on it. The first time out with it, I put a small stinger treble on it, but ended up not really needing it. You normally will have to give them a little more time to eat it, but when they do, the worm folds right up. During the early prespawn, when they're not committing to reaction retrieves as much, or at least when I dont want to throw them yet, I like to fish it like a blade bait. letting it sink, coming toward me just fast enough for the blade to move, and giving it a pulse-like, slow pop. I caught several very nice fish with this retrieve. If I am going to fish a common bladed jig trailer like a spunk shad or fluke, I'll probably use the biggest profiles I can get away with, since a lot of places around me have lots of big gizzard shad.

When prespawn rolls around, I always fish a bladed jig with a full 7-inch trick worm. I do it for a couple of reasons. One, to have the largest profile possible while bass are feeding on bait, and two, to have the most drawing power and a unique look. Typically, the bigger the lure you fish, the further the fish will swim to eat it. This rig has proven itself to be one of my most effective lures to throw during prespawn. I almost always end a trip after fishing it, having caught at least a 4lber. I think this is one of the most overlooked bladed jig trailers. Do you use worms or different, more realistic profile trailers like Crushcity Freeloaders, Hog Farmer Spunk Shad, or 6th Sense Panoramas?

No pics for now, but I caught a couple from the bank on the 6-inch Bacca Burrito swimbait in the Table Rock color. A four flat, a three, a 2, and the smallest one I've ever caught on a big bait at about 1.7lbs. Will update with photos in a few days.

Here in Missouri, I have caught several spawners so far. They were all at a public pond with a stone bank surrounding it. The day I caught them, it was in the low 40s with wind. I think the stone wall was still giving off heat from the days before because they would come back to their beds within a few minutes when scared. I caught a 3.4, a 1.5 male, hooked a 4+ female on a small jig, and a prespawn 3lber dragging the jig. There were also around 3 or 4 5lbers that weren't locked on yet. Since then, nothing. I'll probably have to wait about a week since a cold front just came through.

500yds and up for me. Im tired of messing with smaller ones.

I dont know how stretching works, but putting the spool in hot water for a while before spooling it up has always helped me.

Got another buckeye lures flipping jig in black and blue.

Pretty much all I needed, thanks.

Hi guys, some of my casting reels are feeling a little less effortless to reel. What are some lubricants or tactics you use to keep your reels working well?

Well, the bladed jig had a barbless hook. I know it SUCKS. If it had a barb, Im pretty confident I would have landed her since Im good at handling them near the bank, and their barbs are typically pretty stout.

Well said, will do.

4lb 9oz on a black and blue Strike King Premiere pro model casting jig with a Bass Pro Shops Bio bait brawny craw trailer. I barely shook it, then gave it a couple of hops, and she bit. It's pretty chilly outside, but there is an underwater pipe that pumps in warm water that fish like to hang around. I think it causes them to bite a lot better when it's cold. Although I loved catching this fish, I lost one at least twice its size that was easily the biggest I've ever hooked on a white-chartreuse bladed jig 😭. At least I know there are fish of that caliber here.

I never have, and it's Illegal in MO to use any game fish as bait anyway. Now, if there was a 10lber behind a 1-pounder I was reeling in, I might just let him fight a little longer, haha.

Occasionally, I'll fish Table Rock from a boat and nearby rivers in a kayak, but most of the time Im fishing from the bank. I want to do a lot more boat/kayak fishing this year, though.

Another prespawner this evening on a fire craw bladed jig. They are getting plump before the spawn. This is part of a stretch of super pressured neighborhood ponds I occasionally fish. The kids who fish them use trendy lures like glides and ploppers year-round, and if you look on the shoreline or in the trees youll probably get a few. I try to tell them what lures are best at what times, but most of them ignore the advice and dont catch much. In ponds like these, if you know what your doing, you will probably have a good time.

5lber on the Red Eye Shad. I tried burning it and eventually had to do one of the slowest retrieves I've ever done with a lipless, and it worked. Crawled it with constant twitches and just spanked em.

No, I dont believe lures HAVE to run straight. I mean, come on, if one of your spinnerbaits runs crooked or veers off and you catch giants on it, who cares? Now, in some cases, I think straight running lures definitely catch more fish. Sometimes, lures like bladed jigs can get busted up and want to dive or veer off. I think this will hinder your results since you dont have as much control of the action in most situations. Also, in some situations, fish want lures that are more erratic and unpedictable like fleeing prey, like wonky running chatterbaits. I think in some cases, fish will want to see something different, and in others, precision is key to the application.

I'd say I bought a good amount this winter. A new scale, Shimano Caius casting combo, Abu Garcia spinning combo, probably 6 packs of plastics, half a dozen jigs, a few lipless cranks, a squarebill, a 6th sense divine umbrella rig, a 500yd spool of 15lb KastKing flouro line, 12lb Yo Zuri flouro, 12lb Berkley Big Game flouro, a bladed jig, a live target blugill swimbait for the spawn, and a few Berkley and Strike King swim jigs.