5bass

It's not a "who's the best fisherman" type of thing. It's way deeper than that. BR is just trying to recognize some members that stand out in everyday life as well as on this forum.....giving us a different perspective of what these people do and how they came up. I thought the first one with Alpster was a grand slam.

How about a 2008 Nitro Z9 SC, some Berkley Power Bait Hand Poured worms and a handful of Rapala DT Fat cranks.

^^^ That's all of us giving you a round of applause! ^^^ You are well deserving of being the very first ever BR Elite member. We appreciate you hangin' around here, totin' people around in the Bass Bus, putting up with muddy and sharing all the knowledge! Congrats Ronnie! Keep on keepin' on..... Scott

I will go out in the spring with a trap on one rod, a flat side tight wiggle crank (LC Flat Mini, DT Flat, Flat Maxx) on another and a Storm Wiggle Wart on one. Some days you can catch on all 3, sometimes just one....the wiggle wart produces the best overall for me.

I was mainly just trying to get a feel of the rods he has used so I'd know where he's coming from when he's talking about the ASR's....like what he's comparing them to.

I use the 8035MG Supreme's mostly but I do have an 8030MG which fishes 6# real well.

Yep, thats what I've been getting them for. Great deal.

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Football jigs are about all I use anymore. GMAN, hook a brother up! Seriously.

Will there be any bassin' going on while you're there or will you guys just be admiring each other's gear and tackle? ;D Have a safe trip!

You won't hear many, if any, bad words about Joe Gibbs. I was glad to see him come back around for a little while even though I'm not a Skins fan. I wonder who his replacement will be?

Thats the one I saw. They caught some nice spots and the underwater footage was great. I'd watch it again.

I'll continue with small jigs and jigging spoons for now and when March gets here and the fish move up onto the points, I'll bring out the Pointers. After they get shallow, I'll go back to the jig and mix in some crankbaits and spinnerbaits. Same thing every spring.

I've been using Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon for a while now and it performs real well. I see no reason at all to change to another brand. I don't believe the Yo Zuri lines are actually considered straight-up fluorocarbon, thus the name Hybrid. And if it was 100% fluorocarbon, it wouldn't be so cheap. Strong stuff but has very high memory in my opinion.

Brent's baits are actually softer than the original Beavers.

I'm a tournament fisherman so I'll go with 5# ;D RW will appreciate this post

I like the very first smallmouth pic where he's crushing that crawdad. Good stuff! I cant wait for springtime!

OUCH! ....and good one Matt As for tonights "Championship Game", I don't like either team but I don't like LSU more. I'm really hoping that Ohio State wins so there will be a "clear" National Champ with only the one loss.

There are several different ones that I depend on. One of my favorites is the Bagley's BB2, another is the WEC E2. The Bomber Model B's have done well, the LC Fat BDS and RC cranks are good ones too. I expect the Rapala Fat DT's will be killers as well. Oh yeah, almost forgot....Mann's Baby 1-...great bait around fallen brush.

The idea behind that technique is to make your crank look like its a small fish (bluegill, perch etc...) just swimming along and feeding off the bottom. You will see some cranks, especially deep runners, come across ebay and other internet places that are custom weighted in the nose that makes them stand straight up off the bottom when retrieved. With the nose weighted, you can actually pause here and there and your bait just stays standing up off the bottom. It's very effective at times.

Shallow cranks: 12# mono (sometimes 15# if super shallow) Mid-depth cranks: 10# mono Deep cranks: 10# mono Jerkbaits/spinnerbaits: 15# Trilene 100% carbon Carolina Rig: 50# braid w/15# carbon leader Texas Rig: 17# Trilene 100% carbon Flip/Pitch: 30# braid Spinning rods: 8# and 10# Trilene 100% carbon

There are times that digging a crank just kills 'em. At least where I fish it does and especially on structure where there isnt much bottom "cover". If there is ample cover on the bottom I wont dig the crankbait into the bottom.....thats when I concentrate on hitting the cover.

Thanks Carl.....only 6 days to go.....unless of course, I get a reprieve from Governor KU_Bassmaster. I will review the situation tomorrow night. After all it has been less than 24 hours. There is a good chance the sentence could be reduced, but it definitely needs to stay through the weekend. 8-) I'll take what I can get And the loss itself will last much longer than this bet pay-off, even if it runs a whole week.

Thanks Carl.....only 6 days to go.....unless of course, I get a reprieve from Governor KU_Bassmaster.

In my opinion, the biggest mistake people make is not choosing the correct crank for the situation at hand, as many have stated already. You should at least identify the depth that the fish are holding first, then choose a crank that will put you in that zone. If fish are mainly relating to or feeding on the bottom, I will always try to use a crank that will dig into the bottom or at least bump it every now and then. The deflection of the bait off the bottom (or anything else for that matter) is what triggers the strike. When cranking shallow brush, I prefer a square billed balsa crank that deflects well and floats up and away from obstructions quickly. Lucky Craft is making some plastic cranks now that have alot the characteristics of a wood crank, only more durable and consistent right out of the package. The LC SKT(Skeet Reese) cranks are going to be real killers. If the fish are suspended at 10' I will use a suspending crank that runs 10' or a little less and pause it every now and then. Suspended fish usually indicates a negative feeding mood and you should try several different retrieves on them before moving on. There are so many crank choices nowadays, it can be confusing trying to figure out what each one is best for. Just remember to keep it simple. Overthinking a situation is almost as bad as not thinking about it at all.