MichBassMan

I only nose hook em' when drop shotting. I use a #1 gami drop shot hook.

I do not modify my spro frogs in any way. They catch fish right out of the box, and I dont mind squeezing a little water out every few casts, it only takes a second or two. Sometimes I like the water in there.

NO ONE is tougher on a trolling motor prop than I am. Mine is in the sand, rocks, logs, and weeds on most trips. What I do is take the nicks and dents out with a file or even some times with an angle grinder. I keep them pretty sharp for cutting weeds. I replace it every couple years when it gets too small. I do carry an old one for a spare in case I destroy a blade on a rock.

I keep mine in soft side coolers, in the original bags. I buy the cloth or plastic soft sided coolers, square and about the size of a six-pac. I have about 6 or so of them. I buy them in all different colors and I mark them with permanent marker by types of baits;tubes & grubs, creature baits,worms, sencos, flukes, etc. Soon you will remember what type soft plastic is in what color bag. It preserves the scent, it keeps them organized, it's easy to see what I'm low on, and it's easy to take out types of baits I won't need on any given trip. I store an inventory of my common used baits in the original bags also, but in an old dresser in my wilderness room in the house. They stay good for a very very long time if stored in their original bags and out of the heat.

3/8 oz. spinner bait with the skirt taken off and replaced with a paca craw. Slide the craw all the way on until the spinner bait head is buried in the paca. I use megastrike for lube to aid in sliding the paca on.

I use it and am positive it works. Fish bite and hold on. I'm sure I'm not the only one who does this; but I use it to lube all my knots, and when I apply it to any soft plastic bait, I always smear a little bit up a couple feet of my line so it's less prone to nicks and abrasions. Also help slide over wood and rocks. One place I don't put it on my soft plastics is at the top of the hook, it will cause your bait to slide off the hook more. I'm hard to satisfy, I don't buy into hype,but this is good stuff.

Berkly power noodles were my favorite for many years, no longer made. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

I'm not "Team 9" but I do fish with both Premiers and Avids. A couple Premiers were my first experience with St Croix rods. I fell in love with them. A couple years later I bought my first Avid. I was amazed how much lighter, more sensitive, and even better balanced the Avid was over the same length and power premier rod. Like store bought tomatoes compared to fresh from the garden ones. I still use my premiers, mostly for moving baits. My Avids are my go to rods for any baits that touch bottom. That being said; I still think the Premier is a dang good rod for $100 bucks.

Kalins in 3" 4" and 5" are my #1 single tail. Zoom Fat Albert a close second but are hard to find lately.

If you have a "Reese Hitch"; for about $30 you can buy an extension that puts your trailer about a foot or so farther behind your truck. In my case that was enough to solve the tail pipe (and the wheel bearings and brakes) in the water. I think I bought mine on sale from Cabala's.

Kruger and Al, which Quicksilver and which Amsoil; both have several options in 2 cycle oil. Thank you for your responses.

No; in fact at least to me, it seems like the red hooks are not as sharp as regular hooks. At least the Gamys seem that way.

I have a 1996 115hp yamaha outboard. When I bought it, the dealer told me"do not use synthetic oil" At that time yamalube was a non-synthetic oil. A few years ago they changed the formula and it's now a semi-synthetic oil. Yamalube is the only oil that's ever been in my motor. First the original, and for the past several years the new semi-synthetic oil, "Yamalube 2-M". The problem is yamalube is very hard to get within 90 mile of where I live. I've been ordering it on-line but that's just not handy. I'm still cautious because the dealer(in 1996) told me "do not use synthetic oil in your yamaha. My question is, what other brands may be a good substitute to run in my Yamaha? Pennzoil, Amsoil, etc? Thank you for your input. I need oil within a week or two.

I've bought several bulk packs of XPS hooks in the past. My experience with them was that they were very inconsistent. Some had barbs some did not. Some were sharp, some were dull. Some bent, some broke. Some were decent hooks, some were heart breakers. I threw some away, and gave the rest to some young kids at the dock. They were happy to get um.

My best success is with an unweighted bait. I use a 6,3" medium x fast spinning rod. 6 or 8lb test line, and find that a super fluke is hard to beat for skipping. If it's real windy I'll stick a nail weight in the bait. It's deadly on docks. Good Luck

Gamakatsu 4/0 or 5/0 Offset Round Bend. EWG seem to hang up more and also attract weeds and slime.

Original Zara Spook. Iv'e tried several others, but keep going back. Good price and they flat out catch fish. Big fish. The hooks they come with do suck though.

On the back of your transom, next to your motor you will see a plastic nut, about 1 1/2" in diameter. It may or may not have a wire screen over it. This nut is what holds your pump in, that and the hose it's connected to. If you change it take close note of the position of the hose going to your livewell. If it's not just right when you install your new pump it may air-lock.Tapping on your pump may get it to work for awhile. Usually once they begin to stick they don't last too much longer. I've changed a few. If you have anymore questions feel free to message me. Good luck.

Thank you for the replies. I have been using a 4/0 weighted gammy EWG hook. Maybe that's why I don't see much swim action, or perhaps they just don't wobble like a hollow body swim bait. D4, they are the real ones.

First off let me say, I have used the "search option", and I have scrolled back about 10 pages. Please be kind even though I didn't find what I was looking for. I just don't get much swimming action on them,and I know some of you have had good success with swimming sencos. My question is what hooks do you use to get a decent action on these baits. I'm fishing them on 8lb mono and #6 yo zuri-soft. Most of the places I will use them is 2' to 5' deep and lots of wood. Thank you for any input you can give.

"thanks to you both! i always thought cover and structure were the same thing..." structure=humps,drop-offs, & ledges, etc cover= weeds,rocks,trees,and logs, etc Anywhere you find smallies they will eat a tube. Good luck, have fun, and HANG on !

Avid, AVS68MXF, you won't regrete it.

Nope I haven't and never will. Vanish was the WORST line, by far,that I've ever used. Like wire, and unpredictably weak. I think it was marketed and left for consumers to field test it. I suspect the new stuff is the same scenario. They won't get me twice, not with all the other brands to try.

I think I'm not understanding clearly. If you have your batteries hooked up in "parallel" you are only using 12volts. Your trolling motor is a 24volt. You should be hooked up in series to achieve 24 volts from 2 12volt batts.

For spring/early summer,whats your favorite rattle trap type bait? Ive only used the original "rattle traps" but I want to expand and try some others. Which ones work, which ones are duds? Thanks, n good fishn'