lunkerglx10

I have a Dobyns 795 SBMT that I use a lot for 6.5" wooden punkers, and I like it a lot. It definitely has the shorter handle you're looking for, and walking baits are very easy to maneuver on that stick. If you're throwing 8" punkers though, I don't like throwing anything over 3 oz on the 795. The rod starts to feel very overloaded to me. The 796 SBMT they came out with recently might be better suited as it also has a shorter handle than the guide select. Haven't had an opportunity to try that rod though, so I couldn't say for sure.

I'm a huge fan of their products. It's extremely tough to match the quality they bring at such reasonable prices. The line thru trout especially is a really great bait for 18 bucks. Really excited to see how these turn out!

That crappie is a an absolute hog!! beautiful fish, can't wait to do some hudd fishing this weekend myself.

In

That pickerel has been eating! I know most bass anglers aren't fond of pickerel, but I've always loved em.

looks like an ocean sunfish. they're wild looking. I've seen them in the long island sound.

That photo is incredible. The hat-sunglasses combo gives a young Bill Dance vibe.

Definitely some constructive stuff on here, but it essentially all leads to one place: death, taxes and flippers; all of them are unavoidable. We just need to stop harping on it as a community. Ultimately, complaining about flipping (trust me, I've had those thoughts myself) takes away well-deserved attention from the members on here who make INCREDIBLE contributions to SU. I'm from Long Island, New York. Very few people where I'm from fish freshwater, let alone throw big baits. I messed around with throwing big baits for a year and a half before I stumbled on this site. The information on SU and access to the BM completely blew me away, but it was the community and members that made it special. Within a week of joining the site, Scott (Fishing434) not only hooked me up with some awesome 3:16 and Mattlures baits (baits I never would have dreamed of owning), but gave me some awesome tips for fishing the baits and for navigating the BM. I'm mentioning this story, because the incessant complaining and negativity re: flipping completely takes the spotlight off the good guys in this community and may even dissuade people from joining and contributing to SU in the first place. Instead of the 400th forum about flipping, I would love to see somebody make a post about something like this: http://swimbaitunderground.com/forums/index.php?/topic/26423-wtb-pats-trout/ Seeing something like that pumps me up far more than a flipper could ever piss me off. Jon got hooked up, and he immediately reciprocated in a big way. And there are a ton of guys on here like Brian (bassbass) and Ralph (River_Pirate) who are constantly hooking guys up--including myself. The beautiful thing is that guys like Scott, Jon, Brian and Ralph are far more representative of what this place is about than a flipper or scammer could ever be. People flip baits, nothing will ever change that. Let's just get it over it and pump up the positives of this community.

I caught a pretty nice brookie on a mission fish right after ice out this year. I've had browns follow glide baits quite a few times, but haven't tempted one into biting yet. By far the coolest trout/swimbait interaction I've ever witnessed though was a 20+ lb laker following a gan craft 178 all the way to the boat and taking a swipe at it at the last second. Already have plans to chase some lakers with swimbaits during the smelt run this year because of that one follow. Haven't been able to get it out of my head

Completely agree on the Gan Craft 178s and 230s. They often get overlooked. I have plenty of other glide baits in my box that I really like, but my GCs have easily out-fished most of them 3:1. My two favorites are the 178 SS in perch (gets bit any time of day) and the 230 F in visible gold ayu (great for low light conditions).

Personally, I would just sell the OG and purchase one of the new 175s (you can find them for around $60-65 on eBay last time I checked). The mystique surrounding OG 250s does NOT apply to the OG 175s. I have been really happy with the new 175s though. With a simple, slow retrieve they glide really nicely. If you go for one of the new 175s, I think you'll save yourself a lot of time unnecessarily wrestling with the OG to get it to do what the new 175s do rather effortlessly right out of the box.

Paint chipping at the joints like that is very common. Don't stress it too much, because it doesn't deter the fish from smashing the bait. My TT looks like I put it in a blender, still catches fish just as well as when it was brand new. If your having issues with the trebles catching the line, try a more controlled lob cast. Whenever I have that issue, I just slow it down a bit and try to be more methodical with the cast, usually does the trick.

Received it today, everything looks awesome!!

PM sent!

I had seen a couple people asking $50, which I thought was crazy high. $70 though? Ouch. Can't remember off the top of my head, but I'm pretty sure I paid $20/bait when I bought mine, brand new. That was a little less than 2 years ago.

^that hits the nail on the head. Leaving the conventional rods home is hard, but necessary at the beginning. My first swimbait rod sat in its rod holder for a solid 3-4 months when I first started carrying it on my kayak. It was too easy to get discouraged after an hour or two of no fish, and to fall back on confidence techniques. Having said that, you don't need to "all out" commit to swimmers immediately if that's not in your comfort zone. I eased into it. I would alternate days where I'd only bring swimbait gear, with days where I had swimbaits and conventional setups in the boat. Over time, leaving conventional gear on the deck became easier and easier as I became more comfortable with my swimbait setups, and as I became more and more addicted to swimbait bites. Another thing to keep in mind is that you don't have to abandon your comfort zones. You mentioned you like fishing topwater in the morning, and then worms in the afternoon. Just fit swimbaits into that rhythm. You can throw wakes, floating hardbaits or punkers in and around cover in the morning, and then bounce around hudds or mission fish off the bottom in the afternoon. The mentality of fishing for 1-2 good bites is definitely an acquired taste. But catching fish on swimmers is like eating bacon. Everybody loves bacon.

In

http://swimbaitunderground.com/forums/index.php?/topic/24412-anyone-have-a-slammer-made-like-this-one/?hl=%2Boldest+%2Bslammer&do=findComment&comment=210428 Awesome thread.

Please do that bass a favor and let him go. You need an absolutely giant tank to keep a LMB properly.

Nice work! The 178 in perch is such a killer bait

Look at that belly! Nice work

What a beast! Well-deserved, I know you've been working hard out there!