derds126

I've heard listerine mouthwash in a spray bottle works very well too.

Nice setup!

Just make the layer thin enough on the damaged area. Shouldn't affect action and if it does it will be minute.

Exact reason why I was thinking of getting one

Whenever I go fishing I bring a 10 foot rope with a metal clip from a stringer. Much easier than keeping a fish in the net and you can keep it in your pocket so it's not that much more to carry. I agree with Ceaser, I net everything over 3 just out of habit and to practice so I'm ready for that giant. If I'm shore fishing I just set it on the ground next to me while I work a spot and in the boat it sits right in front of me ready and not tangled in any of my rods or loose baits.

4th of July weekend I did the opposite lol. Didn't plan on fishing that weekend but it's hard to keep away. I was up at a friends cabin on a trout stream. A group of us were sitting by the fire and around midnight you could hear trout start slurping the mayflies, stumbled to the house, grabbed a fly rod and started fishing. Fly casting in the pitch black was an interesting experience. No ralphing for me though haha

I went out on Wixom not too long ago and was talking to a guy prefishing. I caught two fish that outweighed the 5 he caught. He was floored that I was throwing 5 inch baits let alone the 250 I had tied on. They aren't throwing big baits so we're throwing something different from everyone. Being different isn't enough, find key structure on the lake and fish it. Like Speed said, swimbaits aren't a magic bullet. You're not going to catch a big fish on swimbaits if you're not fishing where the big fish are. If you want, shoot me a pm, I'm in Saginaw.

Nice fish. Way to bust the slump

Thanks guys! Really weird bite on that punker wally. She slurped at it a couple times, I honestly thought it was just bluegill pecking at it until I got the hooks into her.

Got a couple smallmouth a few trips ago that I never got around to posting. First big fish of the summer and my new smallie PB went 4.25 and inhaled a cali swimjig with a big trailer. I didn't weigh the other one but she was around 3 on the G2 punker. Super excited to finally get back catching picture worthy fish.

7 inch Slammer, Cali Swim Jig with at least a 5 inch trailer, 6-7 inch soft baits(hudd 68, osprey, RP Alewife), and smaller glides have all worked well for me both day and night. I typically stay around 6 or 7 inches to match the shad in my area.

I use the leader system that Eric Aske made a how to video for. That thing is money. No more bite offs, very stealthy and comes through sparser weeds clean. As for fish breaking off, I know a lot of guys will put the reel in free spool when the fish is at the boat and use their thumb as drag to avoid the drag locking up. Those buggers are strong and will make mincemeat of underpowered tackle.

I agree with the rest of the suggestions, wait until the rod starts to load. I fish braid on my rats as well as most of my other topwater swimbaits. Usually when a fish hits I give the reel two quick handle turns, if I feel weight I swing and if not I just keep working the bait. I like a twitch twitch pause after they hit trying to make the bait look like a wounded whatever and they typically come back around and eat it on the pause. Almost like they're trying to kill/wound the bait first then come back and eat it. Good luck!

Love the orange texas tackles as well. I've used it on rings from ripbaits to 250's and its worked well.

I would try something with a slower sink and imitate a wounded baitfish. Those bigger fish are under those feeding fish and waiting to pick up the leftovers. Same reason I wait until the lines thinned down at family dinner. Why rush up there to wait in line for food when you can sit back and wait and pick up the leftovers without much effort.

Those limited slides are cool. Nice pick up

Way to key onto the fish and find out how to get them to bite. Good fish for sure.

I know Arden Hanline uses 100lb braid on some of his stuff and has had success with it.

I would seal the baits with cyanoacrylate(super) glue then paint with an airbrush and top coat with epoxy like etex or devcon 2ton. You can get an airbrush setup for under $100. I've tried the spray paint and I can't seem to get as detailed of a pattern as I like and blending is a lot harder than an airbrush at least for me. If you don't want to mess around with sealing and worrying about water getting into your bait then try pvc. I use pvc and just paint and top coat with a clear spray urethane. Easier than using epoxy.

You could always tie your own using heavy mono or single strand wire like orthodontist wire. I don't think it would be much of an improvement in weedlessness though. If it boosts your confidence try it, it wouldn't hurt to try.

Fluoro or braid to fluoro leader works for me for all of my fishing, from dropshot to crankbaits to jigs and swimbaits. I like the less stretch and reduced visibility vs mono especially when trying to snap baits free from grass which happens a lot in most of the lakes I fish. The thinner diameter of fluoros and braids can also help your baits perform better or different. I fish 10lb fluoro in spring for banging/ripping around stumps and chunk rock with a ratltrap for big prespawn walleye and that line can take a beating and fluoro has proven to be the best in abrasion resistance. I use a lot of 15 and 20 lb for swimbaits and jigs. I like sunline sniper and abrazx. Like previously stated you just need to make sure to check your line and retie. I'm going to try fishing 60lb hollowace to a longer fluoro leader(20-30 feet) this year and see how that handles the bigger baits. It's all about what you feel comfortable with and what works to catch fish for you.There's always more than one way to catch a fish.

NIce! Been looking at scoring a 250 lately. That ketabass looks like it works in the mitten. Keep it up!

Nice fish guys. Y'all have been on fire lately