I have been trying fat senkos. Not sure they catch more fish, but they cast farther and better in wind. And they are significantly more durable and last longer. I use heavy #4 screw lock hooks and so may be a better match to those hooks too. 

fingers crossed for Friday.  throwing the Bellows Gill for the first time friday.  get this;  on a Carolina Rig!!!  

 

but my real answer.  the TUBE.  yup.  garden variety tube.  killing!!

Tubage. 
 

Free Rig baits:

 

2.8 Bellows Gill: I like it. Fish like it. I prefer it over a Bull Flat or Hira Tailor on the free rig. Smells like corn chips. 

 

Bottom Up Bulls Hog: If the Dolive Beaver is the four seam, this is the change up. Very soft; expect the end to blow out from the hook eye after one or two fish. I'd like to try it as a jig trailer.

 

3" Raid Egu Chunk: Craw profile that kind of does the free rig glide. The 3.5" has very large claws and I'd use that for targeting green fish only. Both make a nice jig trailer.

 

10 hours ago, Darth-Baiter said:

fingers crossed for Friday.  throwing the Bellows Gill for the first time friday.  get this;  on a Carolina Rig!!!  

 

but my real answer.  the TUBE.  yup.  garden variety tube.  killing!!

Tubage. 
 

I started throwing a tube again this year and I really don’t know why I stopped. They flat out catch ‘em. 

 

 My #1 soft plastics that I have caught more and bigger fish on anything else combined are the Crush City Freeloader and the Berkley Maxscent General 

Kalins Scrub 3 inch as a mini max trailer. I also think it would be good on a ned head.  It has crazy action.  

 

Netbait big Boppa. Standard swimming Worm, but cheap and gets bites.

 

Beast coast slow roll swimbait.  It is a small to medium sized swimbait, but works well fished slow or fast and is durable.  For me though it is the best perch colour i have found in that size of swimbait, which is why i like it.

For me it's the fluke, but only for smallmouth. For some reason when I throw flukes for largemouth I only catch dinks, but almost all of my biggest smallies fell for a fluke. 

I want to add one more that killed this late winter --> early spring.

 

the 6" and 8" Zoom Lizard.   6" on a free rig, 8" on a Tex rig.  it killed them!!  green pumpkin only.   lets me honest, it is BROWN.

The whiplash shad has been a killer bait to switch it up from my regular fluke fishing.

5 hours ago, Darth-Baiter said:

I want to add one more that killed this late winter --> early spring.

 

the 6" and 8" Zoom Lizard.   6" on a free rig, 8" on a Tex rig.  it killed them!!  green pumpkin only.   lets me honest, it is BROWN.

 

Thanks for the reminder, summertime the 6" Zoom lizard in junebug/chartreuse used to absolutely wreck for me. I haven't thrown it in years, maybe I should tie one on here soon....

Yamatanuki and the Crush City Cleanup Craw. I just started throwing the Cleanup Craw recently and haven't caught any fish on it yet, but the action and profile is killer.

This has been the year of the Yamatanuki.