Rayburn..

Headed to Sam Rayburn right after the 1st of the year..i have never been there before so what can i expect and what do i need to do? Any info would be great..thanks..

A big beautiful body of water. Take a rattle trap, and a A-rig and have fun !!

#1. Watch the weather. If they say 10-15mph winds, expect 20+. If your not comfortable with big waves there are ramps in areas to get out of the wind so it doesn't have to ruin your trip but it's something to be aware of. Ask for info a little closer and you might get a little. The big tournies start in Jan and guys get all butthurt if someone ask about a lake, especially rayburn for some reason. If I'm on anything I will help you out but it looks like there may be a good trap bite this year

Rayburn red trap, or chrome/blue/black back. I actually prefer the old Xcalibur XR series, but they all work to some extent. I would sharpen or replace the rat-l-trap hooks, though, as they do need a little work on them. Hope this helps. Good luck. Tight lines, keep safe and good luck.

Thad Rains

chrome shad color is a favorite trap for me !

Thanks to all for the info..i will post and ask again when it is gets closer

Not the case with Rat-L-Trap these days, they come with Mustad Triple Grips

2 big tournaments the first 2 weeks of Jan. With other bigger tournaments to follow, so expect people.

Outlaw Outdoors has a handy calendar for upcoming Tournaments on Big Sam. It is an all inclusive calendar not just the Outlaw events.

https://fishoutlawoutdoors.com/sam-rayburn-calendar/action~month/exact_date~1514786400/request_format~json/

Yeah, well I HATE TRIPLE GRIPS!! Lost way too many BIG fish in the 6-9 lb range because of them. They hold little fish well, but the curve inward won't let it open up to catch bigger fish, IMHO. Been that away for a long time. I trade them out for short shank 4X VMCs or Owners or Gammys. ALL work well, but I dislike triple grips because of the lost bigger fish on them. I played an 8 lber around the boat for about 20 seconds after setting the hook HARD and it just came unbuttoned because they never got a big enough bite into the fishes lips. Say what you want too, but I prefer short shank hooks. Hope this helps. Tight lines, keep safe and good luck. OH, sorry about hijacking your Rayburn post.

Thad Rains

No problem on the hijacking..good info..

Hmm guess I don't catch big enough fish.

kellisag,

I am sure you catch big enough fish, it is just probably me and the way I fight a fish. I put my drag so a 3# bass can pull a little and then tighten it up after I get a good hook set, so it is probably just me. I asked this question once and not many had occurred. How many people have caught caught big bass, 6+ lbs on triple grips? A few had the last time I asked, but not many, as a general rule, I think I had 4 or 5 out of over 1000 views say they had, to me THAT is not good enough, sorry. Sorry again to hijack your Rayburn post, Triton03Vance. Tight lines, keep safe and good luck. I hope this helps.

Thad Rains

The rule of thumb is you just add the forecasted wind range together. If it’s 10-15, you’re gonna get 25 on the water. I can’t say that that hasn’t held up for me on Lewy and Ray Bob.

Anyone use the 6th sense type rattle trap baits? Any luck with them over, or in comparison, to rattle trap?

Yes I have used some 6th sense, and they are good, but my personal preference is Xcaliber.