@AlabamaSpothunter, monster bass!!

 

that shad rap is the ott Defoe special 

@AlabamaSpothunter I caught so many fish on that exact color shad rap in the #5 size when I was growing up. I trolled it from my 2 man and caught crappie and cast it for bass, but it caught everything. I still have probably 10 of them in that color and I'd guess 20 in assorted colors. They cast like a potato chip, but bass also eat them like we eat chips. I don't throw them often in favor of the Flicker Shad Shallow because it cast so much better, but I might have to break out the old shad rap on an upcoming trip. 

 

That's an awesome fish. They're just different when they get to that size. 

9 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said:

They cast like a potato chip, but bass also eat them like we eat chips.

 

Great writing, Clayton.

 

10 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said:

That's an awesome fish. They're just different when they get to that size. 

 

Amen. Don' cha love the in-the-water pic?

Thanks a bunch guys!!!

 

Clayton, I loved reading that you had a similar experience as me on the Shad Raps growing up.   LOL at the potato chip part.   I think you're being too generous, it cast more life a leaf 🤣

 

I'll check out that Flicker Shad later today at the monkey shop.  I was looking at TW last night and was surprised at all the new Shad Rap type baits.   The finishes are so much better.   

 

Growing up it was one of the go to cold water finesse cranks.    @TnRiver46 brings up Ott Defoe, and I think some of his designs have become Rapala's new cold water finesse cranks like the OG Tiny 4 and 7.    I caught a couple on the Tiny 4, but the Shad Rap seemed to produce much better.    

@AlabamaSpothunter I couldn’t agree more with everyone else, that is one of the prettiest bass I’ve ever seen. Congratulations 🎉 

I surely appreciate it Eric!    Seems we have the same type......fat bottomed girls 🤣

1 hour ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Thanks a bunch guys!!!

 

Clayton, I loved reading that you had a similar experience as me on the Shad Raps growing up.   LOL at the potato chip part.   I think you're being too generous, it cast more life a leaf 🤣

 

I'll check out that Flicker Shad later today at the monkey shop.  I was looking at TW last night and was surprised at all the new Shad Rap type baits.   The finishes are so much better.   

 

Growing up it was one of the go to cold water finesse cranks.    @TnRiver46 brings up Ott Defoe, and I think some of his designs have become Rapala's new cold water finesse cranks like the OG Tiny 4 and 7.    I caught a couple on the Tiny 4, but the Shad Rap seemed to produce much better.    

He still throws that exact plug you did, quite a bit. As does his son Parker 

@AlabamaSpothunter has activated beast mode!

 

9 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

I'll check out that Flicker Shad later today at the monkey shop.  I was looking at TW last night and was surprised at all the new Shad Rap type baits.   The finishes are so much better.    

TW doesn't seem to carry the standard colors of the shallow Flicker Shad, but they do have a couple of the HD colors that are currently on sale. 

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Berkley_Flicker_Shad_HD_Shallow_Crankbait/descpage-BFKS.html

 

DUO makes a little shad bait that I really like also, but TW doesn't carry them though unfortunately. 

Are the megabass jerkbaits really what they are hyped up to be?

 

Looking for solid preforming shallow jerkbaits 

Appreciate it Clayton!   Just got home from the tackle store, being a dummy, I thought Rapala made the flicker shad and now I know why I couldn't find it.

 

Turns out the one I was throwing yesterday was the Shad Rap 7 and not the 6. 

 

@Fishlegs  Thanks friend! 

 

@Rocky998  Lots of good threads on that exact subject, but yes the Vision 110, and 110Jr are the gold standard for shallow running colder water jerkbaits.    Shimano jerkbaits are right up there as well.   Lot of good jerkbaits, but those are the easy button.  

10 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Lots of good threads on that exact subject, but yes the Vision 110, and 110Jr are the gold standard for shallow running colder water jerkbaits.    Shimano jerkbaits are right up there as well.   Lot of good jerkbaits, but those are the easy button

Thanks!! I'm looking at getting one sometime down the line. 

 

I'll also check out the Shimano ones too! 

 

I know you said they're for cold water (which is great), but do they also work for spring/summer if I was to work it faster?

Absolutely they do, however the magic/cost of the Vision 110 is kind of wasted when you fish it fast.    It becomes just another jerkbait at that point.   Where it shines is when you need its less erratic action combined with excellent suspension.   Even Vision 110s require tuning for perfect suspension though.   

Behold what the BR crew has recently caught:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You guys sure can cowboy.'

 

And for the final beast, drum roll please....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mine is actually a TN river redfish, a delicacy at many restaurants that score somewhere in the 60s on their health dept rating 

Just now, TnRiver46 said:

Mine is actually a TN river redfish, a delicacy at many restaurants that score somewhere in the 60s on their health dept rating 

 

Dang it, you just punched a hole in my punchline! 

 

No biggie. Me:

 

Finally got a few to bite.  One on the free rig which is sort of new to me and I'm excited when I have success with that kinda stuff 

 

 

Had a buzzbait fish after sunset!

 

 

A bunch on the jerkbait but all little guys 

 

 

But it was cool catching a few on a super fast moving bait again!

 

Finally the lipless bite kicked back on this week with all the rain - managed a quick trip around lunch time and did pretty well.  Two little fish and a 4.5 lber on the red craw red eye shad!  Heck of a fight!

 

 

Biggest of 2025 so far and nice to run into a big one on the lipless!

 

Jake lost a good one on the spinnerbait tonight at a different spot and missed some more bites on the lipless so they're slowly turning back on.

 

These bass felt like I was grabbing them out of beer coolers.  They were COLD!

 

Hoping I can make a little more magic happen before the winter cold times come back in a big way next week!

 

Amazing fish everyone!   Great to see spring turning on some places!

 

 

14 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

Great to see spring turning on some places!

 

You whisper the big girls. Once they're warm enough to hear your whispers, they'll be coming to you too. 

 

Pat, I added your 4.5-pounder to my post up thread. You're representing now!

Back out on the water after a couple wet, cold days. Over 3” of rain, but surface temps only dropped 4-5 degrees. Fish moved again, but we eventually landed on them and caught about a dozen and a half in 3 hours.

 

 

 

 

 

10 hours ago, Team9nine said:

Back out on the water after a couple wet, cold days. Over 3” of rain, but surface temps only dropped 4-5 degrees. Fish moved again, but we eventually landed on them and caught about a dozen and a half in 3 hours.

 

 

 

 

 

Nice job, unfortunately a little more rain coming now. What depth/lures are you finding work best? 

Envious of you guys. I’m just up here staring at ice with highs in the 20s and half a foot of snow predicted next week. Sigh lol

1 hour ago, FryDog62 said:

Nice job, unfortunately a little more rain coming now. What depth/lures are you finding work best? 

Can’t get anything to eat on the bottom. Mostly jerkbaits and swimbaits or ‘jighead minnows’, with a few crankbait fish. Fish have been focused around shad schools on main lake from 1’-10’ ft. If more rain = more stain, I might finally get to catch them on a jig or Ned rig. 

1 hour ago, Team9nine said:

Can’t get anything to eat on the bottom. Mostly jerkbaits and swimbaits or ‘jighead minnows’, with a few crankbait fish. Fish have been focused around shad schools on main lake from 1’-10’ ft. If more rain = more stain, I might finally get to catch them on a jig or Ned rig. 

I haven’t fished SC in 2 months… been in FL and those swamp lakes fish very different than the reservoirs here. This is the one time of year I haven’t fished locally and it’s going to be a learning process. 

39 minutes ago, FryDog62 said:

I haven’t fished SC in 2 months… been in FL and those swamp lakes fish very different than the reservoirs here. This is the one time of year I haven’t fished locally and it’s going to be a learning process. 

This is only my second winter season of fishing here, and it’s been completely different than last year. High level assumption is that water clarity dictates the bite. If it’s clear, they are out (main lake) on shad mostly and feeding up, and if it’s stained, they’re up on structure and cover and feeding down.