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Q My Bass Cat is listed for sale and I, (like you not so long ago) have decided to come back to the Ranger family.
I want a Z-21 and have found several that are 2007/ with Yamaha or Mercury (250's) that are Pro-Staff boats and pretty good deals. The only down side is they are on the other side of the country so I posted on the NCBF for any Pro-Staff guy's ready to get a 2008 sometime soon to drop me a line.
One reply said to contact you, apparently you don't just fish but put people in boats as well
A Yes, you're right I did leave Ranger back in 1999 for a year and that sure seems like forever ago. I do hook a lot of guys up with boats. It's something that I just enjoy. I don't make a dime on it. Once I hook the buyer and seller up, I'm out of it. If I can help just let me know what you're looking for. I know this message is a little old and you've probably already bought your boat. Just keep me in mind for the next time or for any of your buddies. I can't guarantee that I can find you a boat but I usually know where there are a few good ones floating around. It is a buyer's market much more than a seller's right now. I think that holds the same with everything. Hope you catch a big one on your next trip! Q Gary,
What's your favorite type of top water bait? Spooks, poppers, frogs? And what is your favorite lake to fish top water on?
A I have three topwater baits that I throw a lot. I throw several others, of course, but let's talk about three. Frogs. I love to throw frogs. I have caught frog fish on Lake Mead, Shasta, Oroville, the Delta, Clear Lake and many more places. I use it as an open water bait more so than bait fishing on top of the mats. River2Sea's and SnagProof's new bleeding series are my favorites.
My best frog place? Dang, dude that's hard. I have won on the Delta and Clear Lake. That's a tough choice. Did I also say that I won on Lake Shasta catching them on floating debris pockets?
The second would be a super spook. I love this bait and I throw it everywhere I go. It has a different action than the sammy. It's much less erratic. It's a confidence deal with me. I catch them on the sammy but I tend to like the spook a little better. It works everywhere.
The last is actually a bit of a secret to many anglers. It's the Lucky Craft gun fish. This bait actually spits a little and walks side to side like a spook. The guys that throw this bait keep it very quiet. It is a go-to bait for me almost everywhere. It has a unique action and the fish are not conditioned to it. The bait is made in two sizes. Both are awesome. I tend to throw the gun fish 95 a little more. Sorry guys. I know this probably didn't make a few of you very happy. I've got to give up a few secrets on these questions. I tried to muddy the water by naming three. If I'd only named one it would have been the gun fish. This bait's money. Q Hello Gary,
I keep reading alot about swim baits and how they catch large bass. It sounds like when you are fishing swim baits that you don't catch alot of bass, but the ones you do catch are big ones.Do you throw them very much and how successful are they for you? What time of the year do they work the best. Which brand of swim bait would you use, the size, and color pattern for fishing on Oroville or Shasta? Thanks.
A I do fish a lot of swimbaits. I've never caught as many big fish consistently since I started using them. I also have had more 100+ place finishes since I've been hooked with the swimbait bug. I'm not alone in this.
Now, to explain that a little. Swimbaits catch big fish, period. They catch big fish more consistently than any bait that has ever come along. Swimbait fishing is almost an addiction.
There are lots of great baits out there. For Shasta and Oroville, I think three baits stand out the most, Huddleston trout, Ospreys and a hard bait made by Lucky Craft. In the Huddleston, my favorite ROF's (rate of fall) are the 5 and 12. My favorite is the eight-inch bait but that six-inch catches a lot of fish and sure is a cool looking bait. It is one of the best baits that has ever been made.
The Osprey has always been a great shallow water swimbait for me. There are lots of guys who count them down and fish them but, for me, I usually fish it shallow. I've caught numerous big fish on these baits. In the last year, they've come out with the six-inch tournament talon. The bait is unbelievable. It's very durable and one that I've always got with me. I haven't really talked about colors in either of these baits but it's usually something trout or ghost trout colored.
The last is the Lucky Craft hard bait. This new trout bait had a short production run and had some difficulties. It's coming back strong. I've been one of the guys lucky enough to do some testing. I would like to keep on testing and keep them out of the stores but that's not Lucky Craft's goal. The bait looks as much like a trout as a trout. Stand by, it probably won't be much longer before this bait is back in all the shops. The cool thing about this one is it doesn't tear up.
Speaking of tearing up, that Mend-It glue flat works on your soft plastic baits. All soft plastic baits. Good luck with your swimbait fishing. It's really frustrating when they're following, slapping at the bait, rolling with the bait but not eating the bait. Sometimes, we just seem to have those days but the days they are eating it sure make up for it.
The last part of your question was about time of year. It's a year-round bait. If I had to pick the worst time of year, it would be the summer. I love the winter and early spring but I know that many fishermen's favorite time of year is post-spawn. These baits are going to continue to get better and better. I sure wish they weren't so expensive. Good luck on your next swimbait trip.
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