EdKras

I don't see how to keep the bag dry if you have to get into it when it's raining. When I get home, I spread everything out in my basement and turn the dehumidifier on high. It's all dry in a couple hours.

I bought a few because they look interesting for jigging and casting when the baitfish are small. The only issue I have with them is the hook size. the 5/16 oz one(biggest size) has a #10 hook. I may swap it out for an 8 or a short shank 6.

The fat alberts also work as a compact flipping/pitching bait. 2/0 hook and a 1/4 oz weight. The plus is that it doubles as a moving bait when you reel it back to the boat

Smallie beaver on a 1/8 oz pro(the one with the screw lock). I usually split the tail for this

The DEEP store has a good book of maps for CT lakes. it also goes into details on aquatic plants and forage species http://www.ctdeepstore.com/A-Fisheries-Guide-to-Lakes-and-Ponds-of-Connecticut-273.htm

I'd fish it on a double willow spinnerbait for smallmouth.

I don't punch much, so I went the cheap route an picked up some of the rubber skirt cone collars from Lure parts online. They're only thirteen cents apiece and I can fit a skirt on it with needle nose pliers. Works for me.

Wacky rigged (go in the side and out the top) I use a #1 Finesse Wide Gap hook. twitch it up and then let it fall.

Check out Rich Zaleski's webpage. I think it's RichZ.com. He has a great how-to on dropshotting and many blog reports from Champlain.

A suggestion if you're going this route, Make one or two cavities on the mold where you drill the inch or so for the nail weight and then take a 1/4 inch bit and drill about 1/8 inch in on top of the the nail hole. this will create a weight with a flat face that will allow the bait to stand up. Nobody makes this. Lunker city makes them with a ball on the end, but it doesn't work the same.

I've seen Megabass baits here and there over the years in limited numbers. It was explained to me once that they are made in small batches with a lot of attention to detail. Suddenly, they are in great supply. Bass pro shops sells them in the catalog, Dicks sporting good has them. *** has a large supply. Something has clearly changed with the number of baits they are manufacturing. Is anybody seeing a change to the quality of the more recently manufactured lures? I'm in the market for a couple jerkbaits, but I'm not paying 25 dollars if the quality isn't there anymore. Thanks

I was able to do it with wide gap tube heads I had on hand (I think they were made by luck-e-strike) Some interesting possibilities with this rig.

Pick baits that can use the same hook. a 5" senko, 6" lizard, 4" tube, Sweet beaver, and a super fluke can all use a 3/0 EWG. Also pick a hook that you can both wacky rig and dropshot with. Cutting down on the types of hooks you use can save a lot of $, especially if you can buy bulk packs of the ones you do use.

I'm in central connecticut and fish club tournaments across the state.

I was thinking of using a quality cross lock snap instead of a split ring. That way you could change baits and weights quickly.

I just saw a rack of new terminator T1s at Dicks for 8.99 each.

They were made by renosky for a while. They are still on the website, but no link to order them

I mold my own(DS swivels are 7 cents apiece) for fun fishing or I use the long river2sea tungsten weights for tournaments.

Steady retrieve. Start with your rod tip high and gradually lower it as it comes back.

3/0 EWG for sweet beavers and 1/0 ewg for smallie beavers

looking at that japanese tackle link, the shrimp comes in 3 and 4 inch sizes. Bait monkey might keep me up tonight

Basswest. They usually cover the new tackle and techniques before anybody else does(even online). They also write to the level of the more experienced angler. They frequently have articles that are about the mental side of bass fishing instead of just what lures to throw. Even though I live 3000 miles away, and they don't cover my lakes, it's the only magazine I subscribe to anymore.

I'm only using them for hair jig tying supplies at this point. The only well stocked section seems to be the fly tying dept.

I had been flipping hula grubs for the jig look. That definitely has more of a jig profile. Bait monkey can't sleep now.