A-Jay

For my money, a swim jig and a spinner bait are fairly interchangeable as far as where, when & how they are fished. But a Swim jig, a Lipless bait and a Crank bait, to me are three totally different tools. Clearly an angler can chose to fish any bait any where but to get the most out of it's potential, choosing the right one for the job makes sense. To me, a swim jig is a fairly subtle presentation. Even with a beefy trailer and through some decent cover, a swim jigs ability to roll and glide as it swims is what makes the bait work. On the other end of the bait spectrum is a lipless or Rattle bait - loud and fairly obnoxious, this bait doesn't ever sneak up on any bass. It screams "here I am - Bite me". As for a crank bait, depending on the model and it's features, it can fall any where in between those just mentioned. Can be loud, can be silent, can be subtle (as in balsa wood baits) and can have a wide wobble or a tight wiggle. But the best feature and most attractive quality of the bait, is it's ability to draw strikes by deflecting off something; whether is loud or not may play a secondary role here. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. A-Jay

Although I am a Die Hard Boston Sports fan and lately they've had a pretty good run, I am and will forever be a faithful supporter of this team . . . A-Jay

Perhaps you could present your idea to the panel members on the reality television show Shark Tank ? Congratulations on your idea and Good Luck. A-Jay

There's a rumor running around that The Scrounga Club recently secured flight reservations for March 2014 on board Aeomexico ~ What's that all about ? A-Jay

Double Digit Bass (over 10 lbs) A-Jay

The following is a post made by Dwight Hottle a while back. In it he shares what is essentially "The System" Lucky Craft Man describes above. A-Jay Alright Shimmy I'll share a little bit about jerkbaits. First of all my jerkbait fishing evolved around pike fishing. Big predators. My favorite jerkbaits were made out of wood or plastic & weighed about an ounce to 2.5 oz. . I would practice jerk bait strokes along side the boat to see what kind of action I could delvelop with each bait. Some baits would dart 90 degrees to either side like a walk the dog motion but under water. Other baits would glide forward or sideways & some rare baits would almost turn around like in your face mr pike. Hard violent jerks or strokes would elevate the motions. Then you have to incorporate a pause period or let the bait rest. Usually the baits will get eaten while your pausing or just as you start your next movement. Remember jerk baits work on all species. Now to jerkbaits for smallies. Typically when you first start fishing you use a search bait until you find fish unless you know exactly where they are. Then once you find fish you switch to your favorite presentation. I fish big water with lots of suspended fish spread over lots of rock structure. I seldom find lots of big fish in a small area. So my approach is to cover water with a jerkbait as my search bait until I find some big girls. Once we find them we work over the area. We put in waypoints when we get bit so we can revist each spot. When drifting on lake erie the waves cause the boat to surge & pause just like a jerked bait does when you are working it. Boat motion adds motion to your baits. I always prefer to drift downwind with the wind hitting my stern. I work one rod while i dead stick a second rod in a rod holder. When my forward progress is between .3 to 1.0 mile an hour drifting with the wind at my back it all works. Most of the time my worked rod out fishes the dead stick 3 to 1. But sometimes the dead stick rod is extremely effective all by its self because the boat is working the bait. This tells me to slow down the worked rod. This approach also allows you to run a deep diver suspending jerkbait while you are running a shallow suspending bait. Then you can decide to use all deep or all shallow baits depending upon the conditions. My prespawn smallie fishing is between upper 30 degrees to 65 degrrees surface temps. The colder the water the more subtle the action. As the water warms I use more erratic movements. I also select baits with more subtle action for cold water & more erratic action for warming water. You have to learn the action of each style bait you use and develop an understanding of what works best for the conditions you are facing. Colder water with poor visibility finds me using loud colors with subtle action & loud rattles. Warmer water with good visibility finds me using subtle natural colors with more erratic action and softer rattles. Smallmouth bass are extremely curious about noise & erratic action. Remember that statement. Your jerkbait represents a dying bait fish to a smallie if properly worked. Smallies will come up thru the water column to hit a jerkbait. How far they will travel depends upon water visibility & sound. When I can see the bottom in 15 feet of water I will not hesitate to work jerkbaits out to 30 feet. I try to use a bait that will get down to the depth I want to fish based on overall water depth & visibility. If your marking fish or marking bait you can key into that depth. My jerkbait inventory covers baits that run from 2 feet down to baits that run 20-22 feet down. Now I can fish jerkbaits effectively in forty feet of water with good visibility. Since i'm fishing relatively open waters I use ten pound braid with a leader on spinning tackle. And I use ten or twenty pound braid with a leader on casting tackle. The thin braid adds up to five feet of extra depth on the baits. Now when casting jerkbaits your depth is based on the bait, line diameter & the length of your cast. Maximum depth on most baits is increased by letting out more line up to around 200 some feet with diving bills. So I run my baits back from the boat about two to three cast lengths to achieve more depth when needed. This also allows you a more stealthy approach. I find that smallies move during the day between deeper water to shallower water based upon changing conditions. So I try to target different depths until I can observe a pattern of where they will be. I do not limit myself to just one manufacture of jerkbaits. I find that on some days a particular bait from one manufcture will out preform all others. Especially on a tough bite day. So I carry about four different manufactures jerkbaits. Now within just one manufactures line of jerkbaits there can be five or six completely different baits by action, size, depth, sound, suspending, floating or slow sink & tilt. They can all shine based on changing conditions. Generally I prefer suspending jerkbaits with rattles. Then I look for level suspenders, nose down or tail down attitudes. Lucky craft probably covers the most diverse offerings of all jerkbaits manufactures in my experience. Just remember when fishing a jerkbait that you are trying to excite a neutral fish into striking it because it mimics a dying baitfish. The more action you can impart to the bait the more fired up that big smallie gets. It is very similar to teasing a cat with a mouse on a string. Some times they want it barely moving and other times they want it fast and erratic.

Sir Nicholas Winton who organized the rescue and passage to Britain of about 669 mostly Jewish Czechoslovakian children destined for the Nazi death camps before World War II in an operation known as the Czech Kindertransport, finds himself In an audience comprised entirely by those he saved.. This video is the BBC Programm "That's Life" aired in 1988. A-Jay http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIiBTP0spEA

As a former employee at a couple of difference small tackle shops, I believe that the concept of a friendly, knowledgeable human behind the counter goes a long way. Having an idea of what the current techniques, baits and places to go can be one thing that brings people in. And if the advice proves successful, may just keep them coming back. Word of month regarding an establishments reputation both good and bad is something that will affect your success. Reasonable prices and "local Specials" have their place. Additionally, there is a fine line between spot burning and friendly advice. This is something you have to feel out and it might be different in different areas of the country. Another area that should be handled carefully is being a Salesman". Recommending gear, and baits, depending on your approach can be received as welcome advice or "a push to sell your products". Something that I've seen in many local shops that seems to be a very positive and well received idea is to hang photo's of fish that your patrons bring in. I'd recommend making plenty of room in the shop in a place where your customers can get a good look at them, up close and personal. And hang ANYTHING & Everything they bring in, but try to keep it current. Shots of young anglers are particularly good. Photo's that are yellowed and faded from age may not have the same effect as shots of anglers with fish recently caught in places that any angler might go and hope to have the same results. You might consider removing and returning the pictures to the owners at the end of each season. Just have them available to pick through when a customer comes in. People like to see themselves and their fish up on the wall. I often would use these pictures in my "sales Pitch" to anglers when recommending, baits and tackle and even mentioning where, when and how the fish were caught. Shots of you and your friends with fish you've landed from local places the people will recognize may be a good way to get the program started. Hope this helps. A-Jay

First off ~ Welcome to BR ~ As for your tackle shop venture - you'll never know for sure unless you try. Good Luck A-Jay

I'll admit, that this baits effectiveness really caught me off guard. I've always likes the 1/2 version and felt it was fairly effective, but this situation was on a whole different level - in the best way possible. A-Jay

You're welcome. Let me know what you think. If you're into quality products, you're done looking for split rings. A-Jay

Strike King Red Eye Shad 3/4 ounce ~ I guess I'd call this one more of a Re-acquaintance than an actual find. Regardless of which category the bait goes in - It was Killer a couple of weeks ago. A-Jay

Barracuda Tubes ~ Good One. A-Jay

This is another vote for the Owner Hyper Wire Split rings. I prefer to change out rings & hooks on most baits and these are the split rings of choice; Smaller in size but Extremely strong and they have yet to "open up". One of the best attributes of this ring is that it will continue to retain it's original shape even after repeated treble hook changes, which is something many brands can not boast. They cost a little more but you'll save in the long run. For the application you're listed, sizes 2 & 3 should do you nicely. A-Jay

Those Numbers are just outrageous. The only thing that might be more impressive is the sheer size & frame of the bass themselves - just Massive. And btw - was 2012 the first year you and I fished together ? I'm not saying, I'm just saying . . . . Here's to popping a 7 plus next season my friend. A-Jay

My Fishing Season started out with quite a bit of excitement and anticipation. Traveled to catch both a PB LMB and SMB while sharing some fond memories with a couple of good friends. As the spring turned into summer the reality of a very slow year as far as local results were concerned set in. Then my normally abundant fishing opportunities reduced drastically. I was fortunate to get out a few times during the summer for an excellent late night spinner bait bite and did OK. But that was about it until the last month or so. Closed out the year with a Bang; Locally landing a couple of fine SMB in early November. Then traveled once again. Shared some good times on what turned out to be a mutli-species trip and then in a friends PB and first Double Digit LMB. This same trip ended with what could very well be the biggest LMB I may ever catch. So despite some highs & lows, this will go down as a fishing season like no other I've ever had. I certainly appreciate it, I'll never forget it and I have no right to ever expect anything more . . . . . . A-Jay

A fair point - I'm going to take the role of the "see no evil, hear no evil & speak no evil " Fan and simply believe that these competitors are conducting themselves ethically until proven otherwise. A-Jay

This has been and will most likely always be a highly contested topic. I can see both sides of it but as a fisherman / outdoorsman and not a water front property owner, I'll admit that it wouldn't hurt my feelings any if more of these areas were opened up to the public. Often times we (Joe Public) are our own worst enemy by not leaving the areas in and around private property better than we found them. Users who leave trash, discarded tackle, and all kinds of waste are the fuel that keeps this firey topic burning. A-Jay

I really have no idea. However, a brief review of the official rules on the Bassmaster Elite Series web page certainly leads one to believe that is the case. A-Jay

First off, I would respect your decision regardless of what you choose to do; I'd imagine you'll do whatever you can live best with. Anyway I look at this, and regardless of the actual rules, there is a certain shady aspect to it all. I guess you have to decide whether you / Megastrike want to be associated with it at all. A-Jay

Before you commit to the Go Pro, you may want to check out the Drift HD Ghost. I will tell you that I do not own one, however the list of standard features, the price and the majority of the reviews (from go pro owners) are quite favorable. My personal purchase plan revolves around a Black Friday sale. A-Jay http://store.driftinnovation.com/cameras/drift-hd-ghost

Congrats ~ Several very respectable bass right there - especially for that region and the time of year. Nice job. A-Jay