J Francho

A scale is a horrible investment, and will probably ruin a great run of monster fish you have been catching! But seriously, a good scale should be with you at all times. Looks are VERY deceiving, and pictures never tell the true story. years ago, i carried a Chatillion, which was rather pricey, but very consistent. I carry a similar spring type scale these days, and I've verified its accuracy. I don't have a ton of faith in the cheaper digital scales, but I know more than a few guys that have the X-Tools scale, and they seem pretty accurate.

My buddy uses an old BPS Extreme 7-6 heavy power rod, and hasn't had any reason to replace it. they are usually <$100. I bought my Kistler on clearance for $100, and its held up well for two seasons.

I'll pinch off the front "arms" if I find the bait is getting caught in heavy cover. Mostly, I look for another bait that's better suited for the cover, and leave them intact, though. Same with GYCB Kreatures too.

Two different baits altogether. Yes, you can dead stick a Slug-O, and yes, you can work a Senko like a soft jerkbait, but each is best suited for their intended tasks. Incidentally, the Super Fluke has pretty much replaced the Slug-O in my bag of tricks.

Do your best, its probably just a spot of bad luck. if they are inhaling them opn the drop - try even bigger baits. So you don't feel bad, its happened to me, too: Glad you put yours to good use

http://www.orlandobass.com/PDF/Inside_Angles_28-6_F.pdf

Because its a fully documented, witnessed, and photographed fish, unlike the current world record, which to me stands more of a benchmark for trophy bass.

As many know, I spent 10 days fishing some of the great waters of NY state, and with some great anglers as well. One of those days was spent on Port Bay off Lake Ontario, with my friend, Secret Weapon Lures pro staffer, Burnie Haney. Like many others, myself included, Burnie was looking for a good flipping hook. Most EWG, superline hooks, and straight shank hooks have not lived up to their hype. One, however has, but is very difficult to find lately, the Reaction Innovations BMF hook. Burnie decided to try something different. Here is the story with some videos that show how to, below: A few days ago I mentioned using a 6/0 Gamakatsu Octopus Hook with my plastics this year. So far I've rigged the Sweet Beaver (4") and a Zoom Black Lizard (6") and this hook has been great. When using the EWG Superline hooks I found after a few good fish I could actually open up the hook gap a bit using either mono or braid, so I wanted to find an alternative hook option. My initial desire was to get a few Reaction Innovations BMFs and give those a try, but after looking around on the net or at local stores during the month of April I soon learned those hooks seem to be in great demand and they aren't readily available. My next best option was to find a comparable hook and see how it performed. Well, I'm happy to report I found another quality hook that's up to the task. The Gamakatsu 6/0 Octopus hook, take a look at the following videos on how I tie and rig it. Nothing fancy and it doesn't need to be. It's a strong hook that does the job required and the best part is the shelves at your local Gander Mountain stores are loaded with them. Who knew… a Salmon hook that does a great job when T-Rigged in plastics Maybe this can give you another hook option too. Thanks for Reading Burnie Nice bed smallie on beaver using the Gammy 6/0 Octopus hook:

Sweet beaver, Ugly Otter, Kreature, Norie's Bug, Brush Hogs.

I have a couple, and they are discontinued. I don't do much twitching, just a lift - drop presentation. They work well in clear, deepish water, near ldges or points. Nice smallie bait.

That's the way to man up, brutha. I do have to say that just shouting it at takeoff is a little sketchy - I'm surprised you were the only ones that missed it. Don't they do a kill switch/livewell check for each boat? I'd think that would be the BEST time to make the new end time clear.

I'm having a hard time putting my thoughts together into a post that doesn't include some pretty foul language. Needless to say, I wasn't even there, and I'm PO'd. I'm kind of a "Nixon" when I want to be, and it would not have been pretty had it been me there at the weigh in.

If that inlaid logo is the side cover release button, then I'm ALL WRONG, and its a Pinnacle.

Its based on the Daiwa Aggrest (JDM lite SW BC) sold as the Exceler here. Why? Daiwa has a centrifugal brake system, called Centriflex.

Also toss some MS American Shad. They seem to replicate ANY species of baitfish.

Use a moderate action rod, easy, sweeping hooksets, and play the fish with merely constant pressure - no skiing the fish in to the boat. That said, you'll lose fish with vibration baits - a lot of bait, little sticky hooks - it happened to me a couple of weeks ago. Hadn't lost any fish the whole day fishing Aruku Shads and LVRs, lost a decent fish that just came unbottoned. I can't really think of anything I'd have done differently.

It depends what depth, what cover, etc. Lucky Craft's Aurora Black is a pretty good imitator. Norman's Lavander Shad is another. Super Flukes in Albino is another good color. You can also use the markers to add highlights, especially the purple and green highlights I see on many local alewife.

close to 75%

why? are you sight-fishing or bed-fishing? Could be for bed fishing, but I assure you that bright colors work pre and post spawn as well.

I love my Mustang AI! Pretty much all the pics of me this year, you'll see me wearing it.

I own a lot of Lucky Craft baits. It isn't that they actually catch more fish, its the consistency of identical baits that is the big selling point for me. I know if a Northern Pike takes off with my Pointer 100 in Aurora Black, that its backup will work exactly like the one I lost. I can't say the same for some other big name manufacturers. To add to your list: Pointer Pointer DD Gunfish Staysee Flash Minnow LVR and finally a new one I added to my box o' producing baits: Slim Shad Up here, we have alewife galore, so MS American Shad and Aurora Black work well.

Hmmmm....you fish ponds, but don't fish worms. You're missing a big part of the pond fishing picture.

Not having a dedicated "frog rod," I have two rigs that suit frogging, neither is perfect for it, but they work. One is a 7' Heavy/Mod Team All Star spinning rod with a 2500 series reel spooled with 30# Power Pro. The other is 7' 6" Kistler XH/F flipping stick with 50 or 65# Power Pro. Seeing a strike on a frog, let alone catching a frog fish tends to melt any gear stigma away.

Catt will probably explain a lot to you, and inevitably refer you to this site: http://www.buckperry.com/. I read Buck many years, and it was invaluable.

The ONLY time I use any kind of weight with Senkos is when fishing significantly deep water, like 15'+. I use a drop shot rigging with a long, 2-5', drop line. I'm looking to "expedite" the bait into the strike zone, rather than sit patiently as the worm drops through empty water.