Rattle trap and Red eye shad

29 minutes ago, Centralinfinnesse said:

Try a jerkbait if the water is clear, and the ned rig specializes in poor conditions, it is my best cold water and cold front bait.  I have caught bass on the trd in water as cold as 36 degrees, and a lot of them.

I can't get on a jerkbait bite. I've thrown it countless times. I can't find any mushroom tip jig heads so I can't throw a ned rig now. I did place an order on TW with a few sizes. 

     Although the mushroom head jig is better, a one sixteenth ounce football jig or even a small ball head jig will work.  I have used the 1/16 oz. swinging football head before and they work nearly as well as the mushroom head.  Any old jig head with a short shank hook in a light enough weight will often work to. 

4 minutes ago, Centralinfinnesse said:

     Although the mushroom head jig is better, a one sixteenth ounce football jig or even a small ball head jig will work.  I have used the 1/16 oz. swinging football head before and they work nearly as well as the mushroom head.  Any old jig head with a short shank hook in a light enough weight will often work to. 

That's the only downfall of most lakes here. Covered in grass and hydrilla. It's hard to even throw a drop shot. 

43 minutes ago, Centralinfinnesse said:

Try a jerkbait if the water is clear, and the ned rig specializes in poor conditions, it is my best cold water and cold front bait.  I have caught bass on the trd in water as cold as 36 degrees, and a lot of them.

Just west of ya in Illinois and new to the Neg rig but giving it a shot this weekend with cold front moving in and water temps below 50...tips on how to work it?

2 minutes ago, Schuyler co said:

Just west of ya in Illinois and new to the Neg rig but giving it a shot this weekend with cold front moving in and water temps below 50...tips on how to work it?

That storm we got tonight is really going to effect the fishing this weekend especially it being barley 40 degrees Saturday. A Ned rig you just work really slow along weed lines. Drag, hope and shake is usually how I'll work it. Really slow. 

With the cold front the bass are going to be very lethargic, so it is going to have to be very slow.  The two best retrieves would probably be the drag and deadstick, and the swim shake and deadstick.  The drag and deadstick iswhere you slowly drag it about six inches to a foot and a half, then let it sit dead still on the bottom while watching your line for strikes.  Experiment with different lengths of deadsticking between two and thirty seconds.  The other is the swim shake and deadstick, where you slowly reel it just above bottom for about a foot or two while lightly shaking the rod tip, then let it fall on a tight line to the bottom and deadstick it for two to as much as thirty seconds.  Hope this helps, once you figure the Ned rig out nothing will be able to catch nearly as many fish as it does.

Thanks for the replies guys...if Ned rig doesn't get bit I'll just sit in the boat and blow my goose calls

So far, I've been catching all of mine on hooks. 

Hootie