abkeenan

Nice write up. They are nice baits indeed. Any head with a gammy suck in it will work just fine. The loctite gel (silver and blue bottle) is the deal on gluing any soft plastic to a head or mending a torn up bait. Heck I use that gel to glue my split skin back together on the golf course. Any bait that looks like a 2-4" fish will catch anything like you said. I use the Bobby Garland 3" swimmin' minnow in smoke and like you said it will catch anything that swims.

Ask Champ. He is the Official Jersey Wearing Rules and Regulations Tournament Director. By default he is also on the Official White Sunglasses and Flat Billed Hat Administration and Rules Committee.

Sorry about that. I derailed this thread twice with union talk and swimbait chatter. But it's the winter and that's what we do during this lull in the fishing season. Go at each other since we can't get after the fish (most if us anyways).

You want an honest answer to that? How to get work, jobs and manufacturing back to the U S of A? Get rid of unions. In a capitalist system the market will take care of itself and auto correct. Companies that get it right will prosper, companies that don't will fail and cease to exist. That is free market CAPITALISM. Get with the program or you're toast. That will never happen because at this point there is too much money on the line for union fat cats, lobbyest and special interest groups all in bed with the government. It's a pipe dream that I'll never see. It's not all that simple but it would be a lovely start. In my opinion unions have outlived their useful existence. With the current state of mind of the average American no company would be paying employees working for pennies on the dollar, exhausting hours or in unsafe working conditions. This isn't the early 20th century anymore Toto. Now I will say that anyone on here that is in a union I am NOT taking a shot at you. My grandfather, his brothers, my cousin, FIL and plenty of other close friends and family members were all or are currently union members. All of which I have the utmost respect for and all that they did/do.They did what was/is best for their own interest and for their families. I am simply stating that unions as a system or function stink.

One of the worst quotes, cliché, abominations that has unfortunately stuck in pop culture and especially in sports. The only thing I hate more than the phrase "It is what it is" uttered at post game interviews is the halftime on the field reporter with the interviews with head coaches as they run to the locker room. So painfully generic offering zero insight to even a person that has never watched the sport nor knows a single rule to the game at that point. Airhead blonde reporter: "Coach, your defense gave up 35 points that half and looked like they couldn't stop the passing attack from Ozark Angler State. What adjustments do you and your team plan to make in the locker room and in the 2nd half to stop their offense". Coaches response: "Well... we aren't playing well on defense. We have to stop them from scoring and play better". End of interview. Me at home: face palm wanting to end my interview of life. Drives me crazy.

Just read this after getting off my soap box. Your condensed version is much more readable than mine. Just like the Ned....should have kept it simple.

Bo, I understand that you make an American Made (and local to us here on OA's) product and you are proud of that and you SHOULD be. It's a dang fine product and I AM one of your customers (as is my brother). Love my/our NuTechs. But at the same time the American worker got lazy, wanted higher pay for less work/efficiency/production which has led to the outsourcing of labor and manufacturing to other counties that will do it for less and are happy to have the work (ie China, Mexico, Vietnam, etc). Is the product as quality as one that is made here in the States? Sometimes yes, often times no. Who is to blame? Ourselves. Unions for one but I am not intending to stir up that hornets nest of a topic. Unions were created out of necessity to protect the worker and over time corrupted by greed to where they have had detrimental impacts on labor force, costs and the overall landscape of our economy not only nationally but on a global level. As so many things do, something that was created for the good and betterment of all has been used and abused to the end resulting in unintended negative consequences that is has been transpiring for decades or if not generations at this point. That is as far as I am going to go into that but one thing for sure is that those jobs aren't coming back anytime soon. As long as you keep making those NuTech's I will be buying....even if you do shift production to China and only charge $1.75 a jig while turning a higher profit margin than you do now!

Agreed. People get their panties in a bunch over USA vs China/Overseas products. If a product is made overseas and is cheaper and just as or more effective I am going to use it. I will try to buy American Made products when I can but I don't obsess over it like a lot of people do. As far as sink rates they are really no different than an over sized jerkbait, add/remove/, up/downsize weight/hardware in order to achieve the buoyancy or action you want. With a slow sink you can tinker as well with a floater....with a fast sink really no going back on that which is why mostly all of my swimbaits (ABT Banshee, SPRO BBZ Jr, BD Shad and S Waver 168 are slow sink models. The Gantarel I have is a float but with constant motion is dives to depth and has a slow float. Looking at possibly getting into soft swimbaits like Huddlestons and whatnot. But, so much "snaggy" stuff in TR that I feel like I would go through 3-4 of them a day and that would be a C-note per outing. Unless I hit the powerball tomorrow that just isn't feasible.

Oh it is a for sure dead copy. Only thing I will say is that it appears to be a nice bait @ $25 (considering the SB market) which is less than half the price of a Bullshad. Can't speak for the durability of the bait yet and am only going on handling it but looks like a winner to me thus far out of the box. Hooks are kinda dull bronze seemingly cheap hooks which I will probably swap out for some Owner ST-41's or something anyways. The paint is nice, size feels just right and there is a video online from one of Mike Bucca's GA buddies (FlukeMaster) on youtube that did a review on it (admittedly biased) and seems to swim nice.

I just got a BD Shad last week and probably gonna pick up a R2S S Waver in the 200. I realize these aren't much $ in the swimbait game but the monkey is turning into a gorilla lately with these dang glidebaits and whatnot. What did you pick up?

I don't know who Dave is kidding, he only has 5 rods on the deck now all rigged with that same "little fella" these days. He is a one trick pony and I am just waiting for all his Pre-Raps in his Bass Mafia boxes to appear on the Swap/Sell boards so I can make him an insulting lowball offer on them.

Nice report Alex. Been awhile since anyone has had a report especially in our beloved dam area. Hopefully the water recedes soon and the water clears up for a nice winter/early spring jerker bite. Looks like your brothers K's has been eating good. Probably outweighs your dads smallie even though it is 2-3" shorter. Any of them burping up shad or craw daddy's?

If that was the case they wouldn't have it all the way up in that skinny water where I can jump out of the boat and my feet can touch both sides of the bank. Heyyooooo.

Was there yesterday buying a new tackle bag. Saw that bin that had some of the higher end baits for sale for 9.88 and 10.88. Had a lot of Lucky Craft jerkbaits and cranks as well as SPRO McSticks and McRips. They also had some of the Koppers Live Target bait ball series cranks for people that are into those.

While Ike does a lot of childish and bizarre things, from what I've read with people that have had direct contact with him said he is a super nice guy and genuine. He is just passionate about fishing and obviously very competitive. He just isn't very good reeling in his emotions on the water (see what I did there). I've read from guys on Bass Boat Central who marshaled an Elite event and drew Ike and in each case have said he was an awesome guy. Did Alex (Heitman) draw him when the Elite's were here last on TR? I thought I remember Alex saying he was a good guy but that could have been another Elite he was with not sure. While I don't condone snapping rods in half, throwing gear in the water (mostly because I have to pay for mine) or cussing out dogs, B.A.S.S has enough of the "good ol' boys" who are humble and polite like Mark Davis, Denny Brauer, Shaw Grigsby, Greg Hackney, etc. A little "bad boy" attitude brings a little life and flair to the events that is otherwise pretty tame on the verge of boring (to most people). A "Happy Gilmore" of fishing if you will. Not knocking the previously mentioned guys AT ALL for their humble behavior but just pointing out the fact that Ike does boost ratings or attention when he does some of his stuff. His sponsors love it when he does something stupid/attention attracting to their product, as long as it's not TOO stupid and he hasn't crossed that line.....yet.

I'd rather it NOT remain high. I am not much of a "flipper" even though I did enjoy throwing stuff up in the bushes/trees at times when the water this high in the past. It just makes a mess of things and gives them MORE stuff to hide in. I was fishing the old bank line anyways with great results last time it was this high using a Magnum Ned Rig aka a full 5" Dinger on a 1/4oz Spot Remover. But ya crawling that Beetle around flooded trees would make for a fun day. Heart might skip a beat or 50 with them blowing up on it.

That's funny. Good abstract eye you have there JPB. That Molix Beetle might actually be kinda fun at times if they are on the topwater bite. A weedless jitterbug that you can throw up under docks and under bushes....if this flood hangs around long enough could be tossing one in April.

I saw those were "on sale" at TW the other day. Discounted from like $13 to $7 or something. I mean I wouldn't put that up if they gave it to me for free and I am not a Ike hater.

Hope that Kentucky grows into his tail. Thanks for the report. Anyone know how far the mudline/stain is coming from Long Creek towards the dam (if any)?

Thanks Quill. I love that kind of info verified by science and studies.

I only play are sports where beer drinking is woven into the fabric of the bylaws at this point in my life.

That and you don't have to be good at them to have fun doing them....hence why I participate in both activities. I have one of these pinned to pocket on my fishing jersey and also as a belt buckle when I play golf.

Fish can always be caught. But if you can delay, postpone or go another time at a later date that would be my suggestion. I only say that because there will be so much trash and debris in the water you run the risk of doing serious damage to your boat. Finding access to launch will be another pain in the rump and needs to be considered. Can it be done? Yes. Is it worth the hassle of coming down and potential doing damage to your boat/motor? That is for you to determine.

Good to know. I also play beer league softball so my man card, albeit tattered, is still intact by OA standards.

To get back on topic "The Bass Pro's" has always been one of my favorite INFORMATIVE fishing shows. Most fishing shows these days only INFORM about using said bait by said sponsor. More of a Phishing for your Wallet show if you will. I understand plugging sponsors product's but it shouldn't be to where it essentially makes the product the star of the show and fishing takes a back seat. Sorry for the rant.