Bigger bass not biting this year?, Or do I just suck?

I got nothin on the popmax the first 2 times out. Last 3 times, have hooked up. This helped me out I think...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02qF-3B2ZI8

I do the walk the dog retrieve, bait zigs and zags and then pause for 5-10 seconds...repeat, repeat.

It has a great walking action, I'm not really using the best gear for it though. I have itntied on a medium heavy, fast action shimano spincaster with 50lb braid lol. I checked all my rods and every single one is fast action but oh well it still walks pretty good.

I use it on a 6' 9" MH/Fast action baitcaster...lighter braid tho...likely around 10lb??

Catching a muskie is always a great day on the water . Look for lots of rock and also bait fish. If we don't see alot of bait fish we move on . Try throwing tubes threw bait fish and drag it and hop it little don't over work it. Green pumpkin is always a good go to colour.

I like that...catching a muskie is always a great day on the water...

38"muskie badly damaged the ole' PopMax this morning ;(

...amazing how a muskie can so silently just come up, swallow the bait and barely make a splash. I just saw his tail..He splashed plenty for the next 5 minutes. He tore the rear treble right out of the split ring and mashed the nice hair trailer...

Managed to replace the treble, but not the hair...hope the doesn't make a huge difference, but I know that is part of the drawing the fish in...better go get another one!

This lad was fooled by the Popmax this morning. Again, thanks Attila for the input.

That said, Attila, been experimenting with the Spybaits - as you mentioned in that same post. They catch fish, that is for sure, but man they are small! And I am having a real issue with fish throwing the hook when they jump. Haven't lost anything big, but the hooks are so small I just can't seem to get a good hook set. Trying to really set it now when I get the hit.

I hate fluoro line, where I fish it is littered with zebra mussels, they nick the line once and I have to retie or lose a fish...lost a $20 spybait on a cast after I caught a fish near bottom...line/knot was nicked. Maybe my palomar knot is badly tied.

Used straight braid today seemed fine, but really think I should try a mono leader to disguise it a bit in the clear water I fish and it holds knots better. Anyone have any leader advice for spybaits?

I tried a spybait for the first time a couple weeks ago. Nice looking lure too (I believe an 80 size). First cast lost a bass who threw it almost right away. Next cast, swallowed by a 32 inch pike. Third cast, caught an 8 inch perch. Three fish on three casts is a record for me. I used 30 lb Sufix braid, with about a five foot Sunline 10 lb floro leader. No nicks in the leader, even with the pike. Used a 7'0" medium fast Okuma rod with n Okuma Inspire reel. I tied the two lines together with a modified albright knot. I have better luck with this knot than the double uni. It seems to hold better, at least for me.

Thanks for that input. And yeah, forget to mention, first cast with the spybait I did hook into a small bass too! I am using the 80 size as recommended by the guys at Ptbo Pro Tackle.

With palomar knots and fluoro you need to be sure the line does not cross over each other in the overhand knot, and the line must be very wet before tightening. This gets more obvious the lighter pound test you use.

I've found that using light braid on a baitcaster can be a hindrance, as baitcaster outfits are generally meant to handle heavier lines. As a frame of reference, I use 20lbs braid or lighter on all my spinning outfits and have nothing less than 30lbs braid on any baitcaster setup that I currently use.

Any time that I throw a topwater lure in the 3/8oz or heavier weight class I use a 6'8" St. Croix Mojo Bass casting rod (it doubles as a jerkbait rod when the weather cools) and match it with a Daiwa Tatula HSL which is loaded with 30lbs Berkley X9 braid.

Last year I tried dropping down to 15lbs braid on that same baitcast outfit and found that I was getting a lot of overruns and also found that the line was digging in and burying itself on the spool which resulted in a few lures being launched as the line broke. Again, just my experience with it. Fishing with 30lbs braid this year, I didn't have any line burying issues and didn't notice a decrease in my number of strikes either. As a matter of fact, I caught my biggest smallmouth on a topwater this year in 3' of gin clear water - it was pushing 6lbs. Just food for thought....

Regarding spybaits, I can't stress this enough -- don't set the hook hard.

I use my dropshot setup to throw them; it's a 7'6" ML/F rod but the tip is very soft. This is the same setup I use to throw tiny marabou jigs for smallmouth. I also use a smaller 1000 size reel which is loaded with 4lbs test Berkley Fireline and about 10' of 6lbs Sunline FC leader. This keeps the uni-to-uni knot on the reel when I'm ready to land the fish. When it comes to leader line, I have never had an issue with Sunline however I have used Seaguar InvisX in the past (as a leader for my jerkbaits) as well with no issues.

When it comes to setting the hook with a spybait, I'd suggest just reeling until you get a bend in the rod and then lift -- not jerk -- the rod to complete the hookset. We're talking about a lure with fine wire hooks and I find that you can't really drive those hooks into fish. I use the same hookset when dropshotting as I found when I used a jerk style hookset I was breaking my leader line quite often.

Check your leader often, make sure you wet your knot when you tie it, and have faith in fluoro -- it really shines in rocky waters and will help you bring in more fish than just straight braid will. When it comes to tying my lure to the fluoro, I just use a simple clinch knot. Nothing fancy, it's easy to tie, and I've never lost fish on it or had it break.

Hope this info helps, and sorry I didn't reply sooner as life has been busy. Here's one of many smallies I caught on a spybait this summer.

Thanks for all that write up Atilla! Appreciate it. Should likely invest in some good Fluoro line, and make sure my knots are clean. I generally fish straight braid and knot quality isn't a factor generally. I've went to set hooks on wacky rigs with fluoro and just broke off. So when my $20 Realis Spybait broke off on a cast I was super p#####. Had a backup spybait, but still....

I fish where there are a shitload of zebra mussels and I feel that they frig up my light fluro when I get nick in it when I get into the bottom where they are.

I persevered Atilla, tied a few practice clinch knot with some 6lb braid and tested it out well before hitting the water. Knots were holding good! Success on the water today - nothing big, but about 7 1.5 pounders, 3 of them on the Spy with fluoro, no break offs and no spit hooks on jumps either! Thanks for the encouragement!

Happy to help, glad you were successful.