merc1997 Bo

it really is hard to figure out with the water temps where they are that there just has not been any type of consistent shallow bite. i think it has a lot to do with the lack of cover. our trees are pretty non-existent anymore. it just seems that more and more every year that bass are becoming strictly open water feeders. and too, if there is not enough food present up shallow, they have to do something different to survive. bo

he does have his mouth on it. he is just waiting hoping your put it on the floor. then the terrier takes over. we caught a big gill yesterday and put in the floor for him, and i think he descaled it. he does not eat them, although he has acquired a taste for shad, head anyway. he is like a cat. anything that flops and moves he wants to play with it. bo

i will say the bill looks like a bomber, but if you look at the body, it is much fatter in design than a wood bomber. i still have several wood bombers, and when held to the posted pic, they do not have as much of a bloated football body as the lure in question. so, unless some of the very first wood bombers were different than the ones i have from the 60's, i am not sure what brand it is. i wonder if it is possible that the wood has swelled up?? bo

hey, we probably could have caught 30 keepers if it was not for stopping to get you some pictures. bo

here ya go champ. you are always wanting pics. here are a few of the 20 keepers that linda and i caught today. bo

that is darn nice day. still amazing that there are not many up shallower. water temps are perfect to mop up slow rolling a spinner bait. bo

someone is paying for those deep discounts. bo

i have bought two new basscats straight out from my own pocket. but that has been a long time back. the last one i bought was used and it fit my pocket book. bo

i think don told me a hog wart. you can just click on don iovino from the manufactures list, and it will show his products. bo

i did not get a time line from don. since he has some in hand, i would think it would be about any time. they most definitely will be in tackle warehouse. bo

a rock crawler is a different lure than a wiggle wart. bo

the actual hunting action is after it deflects off of something. they really take a good sideways deflection after they come in contact with something. according to don, the new ones take on an even wider track after deflection. if a crank bait does not run straight in the diving process, one could never really get it to depth. it would tend to just come up to the top and not dive. if you really watch many crankbaits, they keep more in a straight line after deflection and do not track off line. there is also a difference in wanderig back and forth and just running off to one side. a good wiggle wart after deflection has a wide off track line path and then returns to center until it deflects off the next object. this wide deflection pattern is why the original warts are still the best. the other part is the exact sound pattern they have due to particular plastic used and the material the rattles are made with.

here an update on Don Iovino's wiggle wart. don called me today to order more heads to ship to his skirt tier. he also told me that he had mailed me one of the wiggle warts. to also add to the conversation here, don also used to work for wiggle wart. so, he knows exactly how they were made, the type plastic, thicknesses, and rattles. so, i will post pictures when i get it, and whoever thinks they are the most expert original wart fanatic are welcome to come over and we will go throw it and compare deflection and ect. to the originals. one thing that don did say that was changed was the running loop. he said they will run straight right out of the box without tuning and they have better deflection off of objects than the originals. so, will post pictures when it arrives in a few days. ten bucks for a good wart? could be a great deal. he introducing 4 original colors. bo

that is very true, but do boat motor companies really need to have that many give away boats? how many thousands of boat and motors is that a year? just saying. i know that is how the game is played, but it sure makes their products over priced for what you are getting. got any idea how much your vehicle prices would go up if the car companies did like wise? i am glad for those that have boat deals. but, as a consumer, i get a bit tired of footing that bill. off my soap box now. bo

great read bill. one thing that you did not mention that goes into the price of every boat manufacture's price is all the give away boats to the "pro fisherman". we the consumers pay for that. if there were not so many give aways and at cost deals with boats and motors, we the consumers would be paying much less for their products. sorry that i might be stepping on your toes about boat deals. all the give aways and lowered cost deals have to be paid for somewhere and the paying consumer is who picks up that tab. bo bo

i understand what you are saying fishinwrench. but, that is why outboards are way too high. why not get the part engine and parts right before offering them to the consumer. how long would anyone continue to buy any brand of vehicle with the failure rate of outboards? very good point about why a dealers 6 month old part may not be the best repair for today. bo

ham, the only time it hurts the bass to catch them out of deep water is if you do not immediately release them. i had a salt water fisherman prove the point to me years ago. i had taken him fishing in the winter and we were catching bass 70 ft. deep. i mentioned that i wondered if we were killing these bass. he said not and then proceeded to prove his point by pinning a hook with 100' ft. of line and a bobber to the bass and let it go. he then said now, when we come back in the evening to work these bass again, all we have to do is look for the bobber and you will find that when you pull the bass on the boober up, it will fight just as well bringing it up again. he was right. you do need to take your time bringing them up and not just winch them as fast as you can crank. i know bill catches bass out of deep water all the time. perhaps he can chime in about whether it is killing the bass by doing so. i know that if these bass were not going to make it, it would be from an over inflated air bladder, and if so, they would be floating all over the top. but, that is not the case. what is tough on bass, caught from deep water, is when they are kept in a livewell in a tournament. this is where icing the livewell water will shrink the air bladder back to normal and those bass will be swimming upright in the livewell and will swim off when released. most bassers will not ice their livewell and will haul those bass around all day with over inflated air bladders. even if they are fizzed at the end of the day, i am not for sure how many of them actually survive. bo

here is the lure list. 1 oz. NuJig, 1 oz. twin spin using a 1 oz. NuJig for head, jigging spoon in chrome, white, and chartreuse. the spoon usually will get a school fired up, but the jig and twinspin will most often catch more numbers of better quality. fishing deep is not any different than fishing in 6" of water. just takes longer to get to depth, and boat control with the trolling motor is essential. bo

we put in around noon today and fished around the mouth of the james. pretty good afternoon of fishing. 19 keepers. best depth was 40-45 ft. we did catch some up at 25-30 ft. we did have a couple of three pound lmg and one good 3 1/2 brownie. three of the keeps were nice kentuckies and the rest except the brownie were lmgs. these bass are all fat as can be. i do not know if there is any mud other than in the james, but i would think that those bass after they adjust to the change, there would be some excellent shallow fishing. the bass are eating. bo

different plastics have different float rates, and also a different sound. model a bombers come to mind. i have a few of the older ones left. number one about the old one, they all run true, and they definitely have a different sound of rattle. i have about a dozen of the newer ones that just need to go to the trash. none of them run well, they wiggle a couple of times and then quit. bottom line is the old ones catch bass and the new ones are not worth a hoot. i am not saying that you can not catch a bass on the newer wiggle warts. there are some days that it makes no difference what brand of crankbait you throw. it is on those days that the bite is not good that a good bait will save your bacon. as for me, if there is such a thing to actually make the wiggle wart as it was, that is what i will fish. bo

i don't believe the new ones are exactly the same. just going on what was told to me straight from the horse's mouth, not hearsay. bo

old plug, i would rather be able to buy them to fish with at 9.99 rather than what some are giving for an original. bo

i am betting that they will be of original exactness. iovino's robo worms are legendary. iovino pretty much pioneered drop shotting. since he is a basser, he understands that it needs to be made out of the exact same plastic and the same wall thickness. time will tell. bo

just a little heads up. as don iovino was ordering jigs the other day, he mentioned to me that he had purchased the original wiggle wart molds and would be producing them with the original plastic. he is supposed to send me a few to see if i thought they ran and felt like the originals. i think he told me they we be selling for 9.99. how sweet would that be? i will keep you posted as i find out more. if they are truly like the originals, that will sure be great to not have to worry about losing one of my originals. bo

that is a really nice largemouth. very healthy. bo