Topless Tuesday

[CHIDJM]

So I didn't wear pants. Instead, I fished crab Orchard, along the dam all day long. Got my first bowfin ever a few bass, big blue gills. There were small yellow bass chasing baitfish to the surface out in palegic waters, I picked up a few of them when they swung in close to shore. Today was an UL kind of day, dark plastics on a 1/32 jig head and 1/8 inline spinners in black and yellow caught 90% of the fish. The bass and gills seemed to prefer the lure coming towards the damn from deep water, they would hit is as the lure reached about 4 FOW.

I've been pounding a pond covered in slop for a few days straight, the bass blow up like grenades on the frogs, but always miss the from by about a foot, usually back behind it. If you slow down the retrieve, the frog snags up, sinks, or doesn't draw strikes. may need a better frog?

-DJM

[J.R. in Plainfield]

CHI;

What kind of frog are you using?

I fish a couple types; a rage-tail frog fast on the surface with a steady retrieve, and a hollow plastic with rubber (skirt-like material) legs (Spro/KVD) slow. Both on braid. Either can be paused on the slop, but the latter can be held in the strike zone longer by twitching a short distance and pausing frequently. The latter floats and is weighted such that it usually lands hook-side up. Walmart is carrying the KVD brand; I'd recommend a dark brown or black, but I've had success with white as well. If you have tried these, then I am out of ideas...

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Strike_K ... KVDSF.html

Good luck;

J.R. (no longer) in Plainfield

[CHIDJM]

J.R.-

I've been using humpin' toads by PBS

http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shopsre ... LL_PRODUCT
(not necessarily these colors listed)

the day after this post I found a BPS brand soft bodied frog in a leopard frog

http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-X ... 0755/64130

buried in my car which I was able to work to score several hits with. I could feel the bass on the frog, but couldn't get any up thru the weeds. Braid would probably help with that, but I don't have any rods rigged with braid right now.

I've heard good things about those KVD frogs, but the BPS ones are so cheap, and you can normally make them work with whatever frog bite you need. Maybe next time I need a frog I think I'm going to spring for one. The BPS soft body is falling apart after two uses, mostly with the skirt coming apart. I had rage tails before my current humpin' set, and LOVED them, great noise and hook ups, but they fell apart in the nose very quickly. That's the reason I sprung for a big box of humpin' toads. I might go back to rage toads if my hook up ratios don't improve with humpin' toads.

Tight lines, thanks for the recommendations.

-DJM

[PeterB]

Might want to consider trying a Sluggo.. For me, the hook setting percentage is much greater..

Go get'm

[CHIDJM]

Might want to consider trying a Sluggo.. For me, the hook setting percentage is much greater..

Go get'm

Only ever used sluggos on jigs in saltwater, but I could see that working well here. I've improved senko-style worms before with mixed results. Thanks for the idea.

-DJM

[2sac]

Hey Peter, The 90's called. They want their Sluggo's back. I didn't even know they still made those. That was the goto bait before the Senko was invented.