Davis

The double barbed Lazer Eagle Claw offset hooks aren't bad at all. Now that I bought Owners and fished with them I just can't go back. 8-)

Thinking the same thing. Watermelon purple swirl trick stick was a monster color for me this year. Been looking at a couple different jigs with this color combo. I think one of them was a Picasso football jig at TW. I'll have to check now.

Fish it as is. I have the same bait in firetiger and silver/blue that I fished as a kid 10+ years ago. All I did was throw some new owner hooks on them and will change out the split rings when I get them in. From what I hear beat up rattletraps can produce better than brand new ones. Again just what I heard.....not fact.

I'm with ya buddy! I am a big fan of Yum (particularly Dingers) 8-). Try Brents Trick Sticks.....give them a chance and I bet you never go back to Yum. www.*.com

Since I'm just learning cranks I'm using my old Bass Pro Graphite 6'6" medium power and action rod. I also have a 7 foot medium fast action rod as well that I'm going to string up with 10 lb mono. If I have some success this year than I'm going to get a better rod.

To be honest? Seguar Invizx. Some people like it and that's great! But I'm not a fan of the spool of the 4lb line that I put on my trout setup. Actually Vanish performed a lot better for me and was a lot stronger. The 4lb Vanish actually pulled a 3lb bass out of some serious slop when I was dragging a Senko on top of the slop. Normally I wouldn't fish this setup in slop lol but I didn't have my other setup on me. Weird seeing as Vanish gets a horrid name around here and Invizx is praised. But it was the other way around from my fishing experience.

Funny stuff but I disagree......fishing is not better than being with your wife! Give me a choice and I will take being with the wife anyday. 8-)

Yum plastics - just don't like how they feel and are loaded with salt on the outside. Haven't caught anything on there baits. So no more for me. Berkley Gulp - Now I caught my personal best smallie on there shakey worms but IMO it was a fluke and me knowing that there were some big smallies in this small hole. Fished with them the rest of the year and didn't get anything with them. Dry out and you can't reuse them. Over priced for a plastic. Back to original power bait formula for me. Couple bucks cheaper and more productive for me.

Seriously when I'm out there and not catching a thing, I just sit back and admire Gods creation. I fish a creek that has bald eagles soaring through it. I fish a large pond that is on a hillside with beautiful sun sets and rises. Just thankful that I can have that quiet time with the Lord and I while doing something that I love. Fishing is relaxing and recreational to me. Don't fish for money or prizes. Just for the love of nature. When I hook into that nice smallie I always release her and then just sit on the bank and praise God for that moment.

Plastics: *** Hooks: Owner

Funny reading all these posts. The Fat Ika was my big fish producer this year. First time using it caught a nice 4 lber. Seems different lures just work better in different waters.

Thanks for the input everyone. Most of my cranks are shallow runners. Only have one deep crank. My reels are all 5.2:1 or something like that. IPT are around 26-28 in my spinning reels I believe. Nothing over 30 for sure.

It's only a good deal if you don't have to pay shipping for the "free" Rapala DT.

Have you tried Texas rigging some 7" plastic worms weightless just outside the weed lines? Use natural looking colors. Hard to beat a senko type bait wacky rigged or t-rigged.

What are the disadvantages of cranking with a spinning reel?

My #1 pond producer this past year during the fall (when my water temps in NY where the same as yours now) was a GYCB Fat Ika rigged backwards on a 4/0 Wide Gap Owner hook. Green Pumpkin with black flakes. Hopping it in spurts off the bottom and letting it flutter on slack line. Make sure your throwing parallel to the shore and don't give the shallow fish a chance to see you. Work your way around the pond in this manner. Are you shorebound?

tackletour.com Look under there review archives. Yes hardwater is a bummer. Especially when I don't hunt.

TT has a review on it. I myself was planning on getting one before I read it. Seeing pics of it in the water just enforced my desire to have one. The largemouth bass color is amazing. So next week I'm ordering one of them up. Won't be able to fish it until April though.

Gotcha.... 8-) My wife loves you by the way. About once a month I get your soft plastics out on the living room floor and just "fondle" them ha ha ha. Why can't wives understand? ;D :

Are you saying the Sticko is the same as the Trick Stick Brent? I always thought the Stickos felt tougher than any senko type bait. Always considered yours to be pretty soft.

Have it in my box. Didn't catch anything with it this past year. But I was experimenting with ways to use it. Tipping mine off with a mister twister grub.

27 years old......I do the speedlimit or a little less. My wife rips on me all the time. But I have never had an accident and I'm a very defensive driver. Always aware of my surroundings. Nothing wrong with that IMO....

Was going to list cranks and traps. But I really haven't fished with cranks before. That will change this year as I stocked up on Rapala DTs, Bandits, and Lucky Crafts. Can't wait to try em.

Nothing big. 50 acre man made. 16 foot deep by the dam. 4-8 foot deep on the other end. But I can get around it in my small raft and have caught some nice bass and trout. Best of all....nobody hardly fishs it after the trout get picked off.

1) Jigs - 3/8 - 1/2 ounce football being my favorite since I fish rocks 2) Berkley 7" Power Worms - motor oil or black/char. tail 3) Trick Sticks - *.com 4) Spinnerbait - Terminator or War Eagles 5) Popper - Hula Popper 6) Buzzbait - Cavitron 7) Finesse worms on a shakey head These are some of my favorites. Make sure you have good hooks. Lures are only as good as there hooks. Use crap hooks....your going to lose some nice fish. :'( Owners being my favorite.