i went through some fish using chart. rooster tails. BPS carries a new one that is white/chart with red on the end, and red thread--its a killer on ultra light tackle--the only size i saw was 1/4 oz...doesnt go far but when you can reach em, its on like donkey kong

Map_Master,

Search for Nolan lures - TNT baits, he makes an AWESOME slab.

Yeah for a 2oz slab delivered to your door for $2.50 man you just can't beat that. Quality of the paint, hooks and the design excellent. And if you watch sometime Nolan will run a special like he did a couple of weeks ago. Then I have to explain to my wife why I ordered 7 lbs of slabs

I was fortunate enough to learn to slab from some guys that build slabs and have been fishing that way for many years. Not sure what you all ready know but there a couple things that sure make a difference and don�t think a couple of them were mentioned yet. I don�t think I am a professional slabber but I do catch a lot of fish that way and remember what it was like trying to learn to catch fish on them.

The first thing that matters is your equipment. When I finally got the right stuff gathered up it got a little easier. A bait caster is a must. A lot of fish are caught when the slab is falling and there is no way to keep contact and feel that hit with a spinning rig. Keep slight contact with the falling slab and get used to how it feels....when it feels different....catch that fish.......any way back to equipment. A good bait caster might cost a little more than some people want to spend on a reel.....but a cheap bait caster is nothing but frustrating. Good line is also needed. You might be able to feel more with braid....and it may be strong and all that....but I ditched it 5 or 6 years ago and haven�t gone back......mono catches more fish, hands down. I use P-Line Premium fluorocarbon. I think any good mono is good most days.....I think when things are really tough the fluorocarbon makes a difference. I know a lot of bait guys use it for leaders. I use 20 lbs line.....a lot of people think that is a bit heavy......we catch a lot of big fish and want to release them. We see a lot of double digit fish and don�t want to kill them....also don�t want to break one off if we don�t have to. That�s a whole other discussion but all the hybrids we catch go back into the water and I feel strongly that it should be that way....especially the big ones. We are able to get them to the boat a little faster that way. We may get away with not retying as often that way also. The 20 lbs line I use is a bit smaller diameter, about that of normal 17. I don�t think I would go chase hybrids or stripers with less than 15 lbs line. The rod is a really over looked part of slabbing. You need to be able to feel to catch. Crappie fishermen make great slabbers....my father-in-law is a good example of an easy convert. I fish a 2 1/2 oz slab almost 90 percent of the time....sometimes down size to a 2 oz..I know a lot of you think that is huge.....big lure, big fish. Even if you are using a 1 1/2 oz slab a limber rod won�t cut it. It needs to be a stiff rod.....not a big thick heavy rod......but a good sensitive rod in med/heavy. I prefer a rod with a through the handle exposed blank. I feel a lot more that way....especially subtle hits. I see two things happen here that doesn�t work very well.....People think limber or soft translates into sensitive....with all that lead hanging on the end of the rod you can�t tell what is going on with a limber rod. Think of it like this....lets take a stick of spaghetti....first lets get one that has cooked a bit and is soft....drag it across a rough surface.....you cant fell much....lets take the same piece while it is stiff.....drag it across the same surface....you can now feel quite well. There may be a better way to illustrate that but that was the best I could do. I started slabbing with a med weight spinning rod and I can tell you it just don�t work. The second thing I see is people trying to use Ugly Stcks and other rods suitable for baitfishing and catfishing .....these rods just arent sensitve in any way shape or form and you cant feel enough to catch fish on artificials.

Good electronics and knowing what they are telling you help. We some times fish structure with slabs but more often try to find fish before we wet a slab......it doesn�t have to be an expensive locator.......but you need to know what it is telling you. Start to notice how it looks when you catch and when you don�t.

You can slab out of any boat.....it is a lot easier in one that will turn sideways and drift that way.....it also helps if it doesn�t drift at 40 mph. Those old Falcons drift better than any other boat for slabbing.

Choose a slab you like and can catch fish on and then get good with it. I prefer a Sooner Slabs Cranker in 2 1/2 oz.....My good friend TNT Bryon uses a lighter slab he makes.....I don�t think that matters as much as how you fish it. Get to know how it feels.....get to know how it drops when you free spool it......or cast it...etc. A lot of beginning slabbers are getting a lot more hits than they realize.....One day Don and I had Scott in the boat between us.....we caught over 100 each......he caught 4, kept telling us he wasn�t getting hits......I couldn�t get a slab to the bottom without getting hit all the way down. (TNT Bryon witnessed that day) ask him how many fish you can catch on one rod. Color may matter some times....I really think some version of white, and some version of chartreuse is enough to start with. My starting rule......cloudy day=chartreuse.....sunny day=white. It doesn�t always work that way but it is a start.

First thing.......there is no one way to fish a slab, and may not even be a wrong way. There are limitless ways to do it. Find what works for you on any given day and keep at it, you will get better. You can fish below the boat....drop to the bottom.......jigging fast...jigging slow....even dead sticking them. Some days we "tickle" the bottom, as we drift continue to keep your thumb on the spool and just let enough line out that as you drift you are still able to make contact with the bottom when jigging. You can drop them and the burn them to the top......and a lot of variations of that. There is no magic combination......try them all........find one that work on that day. I prefer to cast and retrieve. One reason is the bigger hybrids are spooky and we catch a lot more away from the boat as we do under the boat. There are a lot of versions here also. Most often I cast and keeping contact with the slab, continue to let line out as the slab flutters to the bottom. I get a lot of hit during this fall. This works well in surfacing fish, often the bigger stripers are below the smaller surfacing fish. The retrieve back can vary a lot. Try reeling fast, then pausing....try reeling different speeds and pausing.......or even reeling and then hitting the release and letting it free fall again. Not all slabs fish well this way�...that�s why I like the slab I use.

If you get a chance go out with somebody that slabs........If you go to Texoma book a trip with JD or Mark Mac and learn all you can......these guys slab a lot. Just remember you are trying to convince a fish that 2 oz's of painted lead is food......you got to wiggle it just right to make it happen. It may be a little more challenging than drowning bait but it is a lot of fun.

Good luck
Van

MapMaster, read the thread by vstk carefully
several times, it covers slabbing well, remember
it all, especially trying the different things
each time, you will get the feel for it and
catch a lot of fish. And as I said before, use
your imiganation, you may come up with a very
successful method of catching fish, as the slab
is a very versital lure.

Van,
As usual lots of good information. I am thinking once I get caught up on things one day. I need to redo my tips/tricks section as it was something I did in just a few minutes. Heck I might just need you to write it for me and upload it, When Van mentions he started fishing with guys that make slabs/plus that man guides. He has learned slabbing from one of the best, and everytime I visit with, fish with or read stuff like this I learn more every time.

imho ...rattletrap if they r on top ....color crome /blue crome/black

Thats great fishin fool....we all like rattle traps....but he asked about slabs. Top water or crank baits, lipped or lipless is another page of writing at least...and dont rule out soft plastics...flukes, cohos and sassys There are a lot of ways to catch fish.

Hey Bryon........did you get any caught up this weekend? Had two invites to go to Foss but didnt make either one. They sat in the rain this morning and fished. We got rained out at the baseball game in the city but still had a ton of puter work to get caught up on.

Van

I wasn't able to make it out this weekend because of weather and other things out of my control. I really appreciate all of the tips you guys have armed me with and I am ready to give this another try as soon as I can get back on the water. I will probably make a late afternoon trip this week just to try a few of the things I have learned. I will let you know if it goes well.

Bryan

vskt,I got a lot done up but didnt totally catch up like I had hoped. But probably will be tonight or tomorrow night, depending if I get off track.