**Had me a Lando Calrissian moment this afternoon**

[Cristo]

Few things recently got in the basstrix 8" PTS in trout. I'm new to these Baits although there a tried-and-true industry standard. Super nice profile a lot skinnier than I had anticipated or imagined which isn't necessarily A Bad Thing just have to be spot-on when you're rigging them. Thus far they seem to be a durable formula I'm excited to bash them on the structure here. time will tell but  I may use this more for a Shad and shorter say 6" presentation due to  the profile difference of the other mentioned Thumpers. So though I picked a trout pattern I think I would much rather have gone with a Shad pattern but none of that may make a difference. I want a bit of a juicier profile if I'm going to try to mimic a trout with the plastics(other than the 68 special) Anyhow they tend to spiral down so I've surrendered to the fact that most type of swimbaits/tails/softies are going to do this if rigged weighted which is going to be my main focus. I put them on a 10.0 weighted Beast hook as seen. Also they have a tighter shimmy and don't thump as much like in the really big gz 8" and swing fat 7.8. In my personal pool testing time it tends to want to be worked faster, the bait didn't seem to want to work/have action on slower retrieves in my experience so that may not be too good for people wanting a slower presentation, although I'm sure if you did a jerk pause and kind of start the bait up I think you could work at a slower rate and still have it work/kick. Again it was brief pool time they will get some more work for sure  and more notes to be taking. Obviously I still have decisions to make on what to go with here full on. I like the fact that they have eyes though not sure if that makes much of a difference/advantage maybe in Clearwater situations? I also like the profile of the overall rig and I feel you can skin hook this plastic within reason to get a more streamlined snagless profile.

I have a small care package courtesy of the awesome folks over at Triple T coming down the pipe. Nothing too crazy to speak of but I'm trying the STC line of swimbaits going to rig those with you guessed it, 10/0 Beasts, 6" ole Smokey with be the choice to rep a fat threadfin. I have been told the STCs have a less pronounced nose dive so that is great news to me. Of course additional 7-inch spark Shads as well!!

Stoked and pleased to say I finally got a 5-inch version of the Bull Gill from the absolutely amazing Triton Mike Bucca line of lures! Although I may be biased by now these things are just ridiculous barnone, top notch all the way around in my humble opinion. Had the deal brokered with Triple T and ultimately sent over by the Craftsman himself.

I will also like to add that Steve Whitmer of bassaholics/22nd century is an excellent dude to deal with all the way around as well, and has sick offerings in his own right. most of this stuff is probably not news to many but now that I've extensively been focusing on bigger profiles these two cats who make these industry/legendary products are amazing craftsman. So super thanks!! For all those you're beginning like me I hope some of this is useful and helps save some money, time headaches.

[Cristo]

Just a quick note to Highlight the profile on this bait, I feel it so going to be a winner hopefully in the weeds ? maybe during the daytime but we'll see as I'll be transitioning in a month or two to strictly nights so I don't care so much for colors more action so at this point this bait I have rigged on right now maybe very limited in my Arsenal as I tested again in the pool today and still not a slow rolling plastic IMHO but that's all relative lot of people I'm sure like it a lot and I'm sure it smashes fish personally for me I mean. It looks like a sick Clear Water condition type of bait definitely should be killer in the weeds as that hook is real hidden on top as you can see and it's not even skin hooked at the tip. Probably not everyone's cup of tea on how I rigged it but I bet this thing has almost no Hang-Ups that can't be undone by a little tug as this is a very streamlined setup IMHO. overall very very nice plastic still testing durability this week. just not enough action for me at slower drawn out retrieves. In my experience it has to be a very steady mid to higher-level Cadence retrieve I feel to get the tail to move and undulate. Again this is relative but I'm reeling it on a 6.3 and I have to keep a nice steady Pace in order for it to move otherwise it's just a dead stick in the water. I Envision this as a very large soft jerkbait when hooked weightless

[Cristo]

Well we I figured out real quick that for me personally the basstrix is no good I barely got a few tosses on them before the plastic started ripping around where the hook penetrated cleanly. it wasn't ripped or anything of that nature this might be just my experience in this set aof Tails I used, but I'm done with those so the last plastic for now will probably be the STC 6" again coming down the pipeline from the famous Triple T and the awesome Folks that work there. thus far the Gambler really big gz 8" and the keitech 7.8 are proving more and more to be worth their salt so as stated worst case scenario if I don't like the STC I still have a couple good plastics for bottom bouncing at the very least and the Spark shad 7" will probably be more reserved for weeds/shallower water column and in Clearwater presentations along with 68 specials. Overall not a great day to be on the lake for a kayaker lots of steady Breeze and wind swirling about quite a bit at least for me so I didn't get a lot of great casts and I wasn't able to present my lures the way I would have liked but all-in-all an educational morning. got to cancel out the basstrix almost immediately, The Hyuga and SBSD are both proving to be  nasty nasty swimbait rods. I was on the water about 7:30 ish until about 10 ish in the AM. Couple quick shots in the area I hit. Another good day of study.

[Cristo]

Okay more ramblings.....trying to find a soft plastic that hits all checkpoints or most is proving to be more of a journey that and I anticipated which really isn't a surprise obviously in our Hobby anyway as stated previously next on tap is the STC 6" Ole Smokey pattern got some more albino 7-inch spark shads to back myself up. I really really like that sparky set up as previously discussed it in this now becoming blog anyhow I'm starting to change my thinking as well with some of the Plastics that I have procured is to go ahead and try rigging weightless and get in them with a beastly hook to see what they do there.  I'm trying to get that old school Wacky rig senko stick bait flutter or something close to it that might need me to think out-of-the-box a bit in how I rigged it and I'm not sure if there's any baits out there that are capable.  Also who is making it??? and if they are they're are they not talking about it in or as usual since I'm late to the party I just don't know about it yet? Lol! someone definitely has the magic formula and profile or combination of there of and I need to find them, lol! anyway that's just my stupid arce rambling anyway what I'm going to do to is probably go back to the keitech well and try the 8in easy shiner rigged weighted as well as weightless for when they're hanging out on the tops of the vegetation that should be emerging soon thanks to Jackson and Gary over at 3T for setting me up with a small plastic care package as previously described got two packs of sparks and two packs of STC to give a thorough testing on. I'm trying to approach the STC as a brand new bait and a clear slate mindset as stated I've tried a similar profile from a previously name brand that just wasn't cutting it at least for me. I have heard a lot of good things about the STC poured baits and researched enough to feel confident so I'm trying to be reserved but also stay excited if that makes any sense. Tightlines enjoy the weekend. I'll get out mostly tied up with family obligations just thought I'd get some random fishing thoughts out to the universe

[Cristo]

Peep game. Additional plastic arrived courtesy of Triple T, thanks to Gary and Jackson! 6" STC Ole Smokey testers and 7" SS Albino back ups rolled in tonight. I decided to go 10.0 Beast hook instead on the 7" Spark Shad for now to skip it off the bottom and bang structure. May go 8/0 again when the weeds come up but I like how it swims on a 10/0 hook personally now. it was more streamlined with the 8/0 but changes changes changes The Gambler Really Big GZ 8" with 12/0 for size comparison. Early pool test with the STC yields a grin to my face and I will test durability tomorrow and give my findings .

[Cristo]

oh it took a while but I finally have a decent review of the STC 6 in overall pretty Stoked!! durability seems to be pretty high up there only tested it from Shore this morning although I wanted to be in a yak  the wind has been a little bit blustery the last couple days/mornings plus I had a flat on the truck the other day that cramped my style as well, doh! I banged from shore in the keyhole area at Saggy for about an hour and really tried to be considerate and hit structure and bottom dragging it through, I tried to beat it up and it doesn't seem to have any adverse effects on it. The plastic is not sliding around the hook or anything like that so the plastic formulation is on point to me as I flung this bait around quite often and hard in this hour I had of observation this morning. I'll be excited to put them into extensive use this season overall very nice swimming action. I definitely want to try an 8" version now. although the paddle tail flange is quite a bit smaller than the bigger mentioned plastics it still has excellent movement IMHO like the 7" Spark. the STC really shakes nicely at all different speeds, it doesn't seem to want to roll or do anything weird like that and I even rigged mine kind of canted so even when i burned it it stayed fairly true during retrieval. I did have fun doing pause and sweeps with it to kind of treat it like a darting jerk and it has nice thump to it! it has a nose down fall for the most part. I really think this 6-inch profile is really slick here's a few shots of overall specimen....Definitely a keeper in my "Thunk Box"

[Cristo]

Similar stomping grounds today wanted to get out before the holiday weekend and it gets messy in these parts anyway threw the triple trout for about a third of the morning and then the last 2/3 was focused on slinging the 5" Bull Gill. 0730ish-10ish in the am. Pretty quiet on the water overall but looked like other Anglers that made a trip to the area were having some luck doing bottom contact from the looks of it great morning great weather unfortunately no luck for myself other than slick water time hopefully next time enjoy the holiday weekend folks. As always thank you to TT for letting me share. Thank Zeus for the bait knocker as it came in handy a couple more times today

[Cristo]

Okay more randomness pertaining to swimbaiting. in hopes to try to hook up on the 7" triple trout I swapped out stock hooks as they were pretty dull and beat up from the amount I've been tossing this one in particular. Set her up with owner st36 stingers #1s and used the feather dressed hook up front. It gives this a new twist since the feathers make the hook float now. the front hook kind of dangles on a given side and gives an  interesting slow tornado ish fall in that it isn't dive bomber nose down like say a weighted soft plastic or straight horizontal like some treble hook offerings. again I'm generalizing here this isn't exact science obviously in any case the triple now has a new look in my opinion. in the water it looks like a trout with its gills and innards  blasted out the side from getting freight trained by a bucket and with the way it falls it looks like a hurt fish now. in my opinion it's pretty neat those of you have it give it a shot it's pretty cool trick or old. Now with new look it doesn't take away from the action in a negative way IMHO and in general on the front hook it likes to float to either side on the fall to give you that cool dying fish, spiral of death down to the depths look. Anyway again more random nonsense for me. Also like to add I'm excited as I'm about to be getting on the homicide Glide tip. I have one on the way from Mr. AB! keep you all posted thanks again for letting me share my random bologna in between prepping for the big family weekend. My mind is constantly active on this subject so thanks again TT for letting me share

[Cristo]

Another quick 2 plus hour grind before the winds and clouds rolled in. 2/3 triple trout last third I finally put on the top water as there's quite a few explosions around the Butcher Jones secondary point or primary depending on your view had a real nice time before the winds and clouds came up roughly from the south Southeast. Still waiting on a 7" homicide Glide and I'm going to go ahead and give a river2sea s waver in the 200 variation a shot sometime this season. Between those two I should be pretty set for Glide bait presentations but who knows that stuff always is changing, Am i right well for now it'll give me some different options/looks on the SBSD. It also is looking like vegetation is starting to come up a bit as I was pulling up some weeds on a number of casts trying to hang and hover above the structure lines, Waters still quite a bit stained was hoping for it to clear up as there was some talk about flushing or opening up the waters and let them flow this past week a bit my guess is they might be still waiting on later this week or possibly when the tubing season opens up later in May. Side note hit up the Can last Monday with my son had a blast just kayaking lots and lots of dead Shad on a surface look like some Day of the Dead type stuff my guess along with the rumors or talk is that couple drastic temperature changes of recent past it's probably to blame anyway thanks for letting me share

[Cristo]

Got out again for another two plus our grind mainly threw the triple trout, that thing is really starting to be a fun bait to sling on the 8-foot hyuga. pretty dang nice out unfortunately no luck again for me today, although from the sound of the hooting and hollering sounded like someone boated a chunk I was hearing words like 8 lbs thrown around I think it was some anglers chasing yellows struck gold with a large sounds like. I'll start putting in real hours here soon and once I transition over to night time although I still have about another few weeks or so left of morning fishing for me. In any case still Super Rad to be out on the water. I did manage to get the S waver out for about a third of the morning. She came in last night and I hooked her up on the SBSD, pretty fun, and very neat Glide bait although kind of wonky on the cast but I think that is been an established commodity but I'm still able to chuck it out fairly far again I'm throwing the 200 variation and all together a very nice offering. After the little front or whatever it was that came through had blown over I still saw blow-ups although not as much but in the same areas. Could be schools of yellows but not sure some were big and loud, carp Anyway sounds like the fish are there to be had just got to put it all together again for them hopefully. thanks again for letting me share today enjoy the pics

[Gone Phishin]

Great pics, as always. Additionally, that Scorpion looks pretty boss on there.

[Cristo]

okay a little catch-up been pretty busy with family and other things past few days but managed to get out a little bit this past Thursday the 2nd of May another typical quick grind for me for about two plus hours focused mainly around the fisherman's cave area of saggy did a lot of work with the triple trout as usual I really want to connect with that bait hopefully soon also threw a long the 6-inch STC offering threw that for about 1/3 the last part of my trip of ,course I didn't connect with any fish water still pretty stained seeing lots of dying Shad lots of small small schools of them huddling close to shallow shorelines had a decent Breeze coming from the West a little bit real beautiful day out course want to say thanks to Triple-T and Brian in particular for squaring me away with some additional STC backups in 6 in old smokey and new to my experience the 8" version in trout colorway. As you can see I've rigged it with a 12 Beast hook and Big GZ 8" for comparison. It is going to be a nice profile to throw this season super psyched I really think the 6"
is super super slick. Of course rigging Plastics of this size requires a little bit of patience at least for me anyways in order to not beat the bait up too much but I'll have to say STC formula is on point with these as it's a tough tough plastic thus far as proving in the 6 in for my testing. Side note mend it glue obviously to those in the know is your friend and I tell you what you got yourself a real nice swimbait for lower cost than most companies in my opinion at least so this season should be pretty good I think I've got my "thunk box" is getting fairly tuned for my season. I am still waiting on in 7-inch homicide Glide what should be here by tomorrow I'd imagine anyway just dropping in to say what's up hope everyone had a great weekend also want to add a note that the bald eagles around saggy seem to be nesting a little further east than Sunset Ridge they are quite a sight to behold and hear when they call out, super rad to see and watch them grab fish, way better Anglers than I could ever hope to be

[Cristo]

Okay so this week thus far has been a bust as as far as water time. This sucked eggs as the weather has been unbelievably sweet for fishing but anyway enough boo-hooing on that. Now the fun parts of the week I was able to get the ABT 7" homicide Glide in a nice little custom trout colorway, and of course finally was able to procure an additional 8 inch bull shad which was lost earlier in the season do to my ignorance pictured along with a 7" TT for reference. Also finally blessed in the cards as I was finally able to come around and get that long-awaited 7'6" Valkyrie XXH, not for punching of course many thanks to Triple T as always being my go-to brokerage and especially Brian for taking the time to explain some of the nuances of that particular specimen enjoy the weekend all

[Cristo]

This Scorpion is now battle worthy Jun and Kayo banging it out quick! Can't go wrong when the Sonoda brothers are involved Super leverage time with a Yugo Yamada signature handle

[Aquaftm45]

This Scorpion is now battle worthy Jun and Kayo banging it out quick! Can't go wrong when the Sonoda brothers are involved Super leverage time with a Yugo Yamada signature handle

That is what I am talking about! Forget putting a quarters stuffed table leg bumper on the butt of your rod for balance, just add a bad ass handle.
I picked up the 29XL a while back, which is actually smaller than the one you have, but still a beast. Backlash has a limited edition 25L version, which is suitable for daily duties.