Is there any retrieve out there other than a slow, steady grind all the way back to the boat? For the most part, I'd say the answer is no. When you watch those Butch Brown videos you can see how big fish love a boring retrieve.

There have been a few times where something different triggered a strike, however. One lake I fish has some heavier weed growth and the fish tend to be a bit more aggressive. My first day out there throwing a 10 inch castaic platinum a 8lber surprised me right at the boat when I was twitching the bait through a weed clump. Another time, a 6lber hit my bait as it skipped across the surface after ripping it out of some weeds.

This reminds me of fishing a lake down in SoCal with Rob, where the fish were eating triple trout fished fast and erratically over the weed tops. But I've never been able to reproduce that bite up north.

Anyone else getting bit on an unusual retrieve with the big baits?