11 hours ago, king fisher said:

Now unless I'm around wood,

Try the Jackall Super Break Blade.

Somehow slides through wood. It's amazing.

11 hours ago, A-Jay said:

 

Finally, in the lakes that have goby, using these little gems as trailers,

has been like a religious experience. #revolation

(I snip off the little pec fins.)

What trailer is that?

I live on a Goby lake, though mine aren't colored like that. However, I think the colour would work as it reminds of perch and we have plenty here.

Very interesting thread. I'm reminded of something @Catt said many times. It's the Indian not the Arrow.

For me it was the Texas Rig about 45 years ago. I just couldn't master the feel. A buddy of mine told me it feels like a thump when a bass hits it. I remember exactly where I was when I made a cast to the back corner of a dock. On the initial fall I felt something. I thought to myself, that kind of felt like a thump. I wasn't sure but I set the hook anyway and reeled in the fish. I've probably thrown a t-rig every time I've been fishing since that day.

15 hours ago, FryDog62 said:

The "Chug Norris" popping lure. I guess in honor of the passing of Walker Texas Ranger.. lol

I never really knew when to throw such a loud lure and really create a disturbance with a wide-mouth popper like that. Until a guide I met encouraged me to use it on Lake Lanier. You have to spot schools of fish and chug it over the top of them, but everything I saw was 15-25 feet below the surface... and being a Northerner I said "they're too far below it." He said "THAT" is exactly when you use the chugging lures - Spro e-Pop, Chug Bug, and of course the Chug Norris.

It absolutely "calls them up" out of deep clear water. And not just Spotted Bass - largemouth and Stripers. Never thought I would catch a 5+ pound largemouth on topwater in 42 feet of water. The ferocity of the strikes and how an entire school comes up to smash the lure is an absolute drug!

I must be tired, I thought your flag in the first pic was the lure and it thoroughly confused me 😆

For me it was the fluke. Unless I hit a fish on the nose with it during splashdown and got a reaction strike, then I had zero luck fishing it back to me when I treated it like a hard jerkbait. Jerk-pause, jerk-jerk-pause, nothing. Ever. During that time, I just used it for throwing at targets, which is something I could've used many other things for.

Eventually it dawned on me to start fishing it way, way slower. Like let it soak a tad on splashdown, then a slow drag, then pause, then a slow shake like a shaky head, etc. All slow. No popping either. Basically, letting it follow the contours of the endless weedbeds here while looking alive and an easy meal for grabbing the attention of bass waiting in ambush but otherwise unlikely to chase much which is the norm here during the day. Instantly I began catching fish at any point starting at splashdown then anywhere in between that point and me. These days I have a hard time putting it down, especially on those daytime missions. I now have total confidence in it.

9 hours ago, RRocket said:

What trailer is that?

I live on a Goby lake, though mine aren't colored like that. However, I think the colour would work as it reminds of perch and we have plenty here.

It's a Paul Krews' hand-poured custom job.

This one's part of his Smallie Collection.

https://paulkrew.com/smallie-collecion/

fbid=1570699429802494&set=a.1101589770046798&type=3

A-Jay

50 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

It's a Paul Krews' hand-poured custom job.

Those are really great! I really like that worm too!! Thanks!

Sadly, with current exchange rates and shipping, they'd cost a gazillion to get them here...

Wacky. Circa late 90’s, an older acquaintance took me and my buddy out on his boat, and at some point that day he showed us this far fetched “technique” called wacky rigging, with a sluggo no less. My feeble brain did not compute what I was seeing. Fast forward about 6-7 years and I read about this Japanese inchi wacky thing, a little different but similar in concept, what the heck let’s give it a shot, next thing you know I’m just tearing ‘em up left and right, it just clicked. I didn't struggle too much using it, the real struggle was in accepting this uhh wacky concept could be so effective. If only I had given it a chance those years earlier. It’s a staple for me to this day.

Just last year in late August the wife and I were camping on a lake in WV for 2 weeks.

The first few days I was trying to figure out this lake, looking for a pattern.

It was slow until I tied on a Ned which did just ok in the past.

Threw it a little different and have been extremely fond of it since.

Why it catches so many fish and some with size ❓idk

But I have a dedicated rod and reel for it and it stays at the top of my rod locker.

Going to the same lake again this year in late August for 2 weeks but this time I'll know what to throw from the git-go. 😁

You are basically asking for the story of my pb. People who visit the Got’em section know that I like to fish big swimbaits. When I was first getting into it back in 2019 I grabbed my first 8” Huddleston, because it’s the most famous swimbait of all time and often gets recommended to beginners asking what bait they should buy.

That bait never produced for me, and truthfully I still don’t have a ton of confidence when I throw it. Many veteran swimbaiters struggle with it because unlike a glide bait you get virtually no visual feedback from the fish. You just have to trust that it does its thing and a fish will eventually eat it.

On that particular day I only threw it because I lost the Deps 250 I was primarily throwing. I brought it in high over a tree and out of nowhere a giant came from behind and slurped it up in one gulp.

Two main takeaways from that catch:

1. It’s hard to comprehend that some of the baits we think are big actually pose no challenge to a big fish… until you see an 8” bait vanish in an instant.

2. Rules are made to be broken. At the time, conventional wisdom was that soft baits were for slow rolling on the bottom or maybe bumping through cover. Nobody was talking about fishing soft baits high in the water column. Now it’s starting to catch on.

Love the above Hudd story! And it’s all so true. People are only limited by their minds when it comes to big baits. A big bass doesn’t have a limit in that aspect.

For me, it’s deep cranking. I struggle enough with fishing deep period. You can usually find me in 6’ or less. I prefer 3’ or less. When I started bass fishing I learned the jig, T-rig, senko stuff fast but could never get em cranking. Tried off and on for years. And then last year once I got back into conventional tackle after my 10+ year hiatus with swimbaits, I decided I’m going to force it until I could do it. And I did! Cranking 12-18’ really became one of my favorite ways to catch em in a few lakes and consistently caught 3-4lbers through the summer months. It was a good backup to the shallow bite and it’s always nice to get them multiple ways when you’re a tourney angler. This year I’ll have great dedicated cranking rods too.

I can also say the frog bite clicked for me. Same story as above. But last year after really getting a dedicated frog rod and putting in the time I ended up slaying them on it all summer even caught my first ever 5+ on one. I’ve since upgraded to the goat frog rod, a Dobyns 736 and can’t wait to crack em on it.

The Dark Sleeper for sure. It didn’t take long. I started off fishing it like a football jig with drags and stops. I caught a couple. When I fished it like a wobble head and crawled it non stop, the light bulb lit up. It catches a better grade of fish me.

On 4/1/2026 at 8:34 AM, A-Jay said:

It's a Paul Krews' hand-poured custom job.

This one's part of his Smallie Collection.

https://paulkrew.com/smallie-collecion/

fbid=1570699429802494&set=a.1101589770046798&type=3

A-Jay

I'm gonna get me some of those 2.5" Pro Gobie in Purple Magic & Magic Gobie and show my Spotted Bass something new. A tiny T - Rigged Gobie.

A jigging spoon took me a bit to figure out. The thought of catching fish on a chuck of metal, didn't make any sense at first. The first trip sent me home with 10 or 12 less spoons. TIP - Don't set the hook into trees. I kept at it and now fish them year round on any lake with Shad and Bluebacks. Certain times of the year I'll have 4 rods on deck with spoons tied on. If a fish eats baitfish, you can catch them on a spoon.

6 hours ago, GreenPig said:

I'm gonna get me some of those 2.5" Pro Gobie in Purple Magic & Magic Gobie and show my Spotted Bass something new. A tiny T - Rigged Gobie.

Cool ~

The man makes these baits to order, by hand, and he's busy, so order early and often.

It usually takes at least 2 weeks, sometimes 3, to get an order. #worthit

Also know these baits get bites because they are soft.

Good Luck

A-Jay