A-Jay

Take a look at the heads offered by Freedom Tackle - The Stealth Head may be exactly what you're looking for. It dramatically improved my ability to present a bait in cover. With & without a shirt that rig is pretty Killer. btw - when using a skirt the VMC X Long Wide Gap Hooks is a functional option. A-Jay http://freedomlures.com/stealth.html

Hello Dave and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ A-Jay

Too bad - you missed out on some great info. A-Jay

Right on Brother. A-Jay

Try a Blood knot ~ A-Jay

Hello Andrew and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ A-Jay

Nice Bass ~ Cool Picture A-Jay

Nice Bass Jim Congrats A-Jay

And I'll add a wooden block cut at an angle to go with that prop wrench. (section of 4 X 4) and a Flashlight with Xtra batteries. A-Jay

Got to love trips like that ~ Sounded fun Congrats A-Jay

"Learning a Technique" and "Mastering a Technique" to me can and usually are Worlds apart from each other. An angler can learn quickly, the Mastering may take longer. And I will openly admit that I am not a Master at any technique or presentation, probably never will be. However, I am capable of putting a few things together that I've learned over YEARS On The WATER, that can often help me bring a few decent fish to the boat. Attempting to determine an Average time frame for something like that may be tough. If one has access to a very fertile & unpressured fishery where the bass are routinely a little more suicidal - might be a little quicker than say what most of us find fishing well used public water - tough sledding. As far as confidence is concerned, perhaps a change in perspective could help. Few of us catch fish 24/7. So by using catching fish as your only method of building & maintaining confidence, you not be setting yourself up for success. Instead, once you pick a place, time, technique & presentation ~ just go fishing. Don't look over your shoulder, don't look ahead - just fish that cast and be confident in what you're doing. If you don't have any confidence in it, why are you doing it ? But understand that it's the trips on the water, season after season that will help you build some confidence not two casts with your favorite lure. One of my favorite parts of this sport that I love so much is the fact that no matter how hard we try, no matter how many super duper electronic gadgets we have, no matter how fast our boats can go - there is just no way to speed up how, when, where or why a bass will strike. A-Jay

I will say that you're learning a very valuable lesson. Bass Fishing Information can be found in books, Fishing Forums and even Fishing Videos. But Bass Fishing Knowledge comes from Bass Fishing. Keep at it. Your commitment & dedication will be rewarded - eventually. It always is. A-Jay

Fish at night. A-Jay

I tried it too - quite a while back - didn't produce like I thought it would for me either. Ended up going with the little talked about but effective Rapala CountDown bait. (sinking version) http://www.rapala.com/rapala/lures/countdown-lures/countdownandreg/CountDown.html?dwvar_CountDown_color=Bleeding%20Copper%20Flash Sinking at a consistent rate of one foot per second, the CountDown allows an angler to easily target specific depths repeatedly. Whether the fish are suspended, at the weed tops or holding on bottom structure, this bait can get you to them consistently without sacrificing cast ability or fish attracting action. As a weighted balsa lure with the slow-rolling Rapala action, it casts pretty good (CD09 & CD11). I do change out the hooks though. A-Jay

I believe at least two factors have contributed to the rather overwhelming reduction of Pork trailer use. The most obvious is the massive influx of super convenient & arguably just as effective (but not very durable) soft plastics available today. Then add the popularity of "bass tournament" style fishing where an angler is running & gunning, often leaving a pile of rigged rods on the deck for an extended period of time. Pork baits often dry out rendering them fairly useless. Soft plastic trailers have a distinct advantage here and one that the younger generation of bass anglers who might have never used pork, ever even think about. I was an avid pork user & abuser for many years, especially surf fishing saltwater - trailers would literally last for months - seemed the more beat up they got, the better they worked. I've completely abandoned their use in my bass fishing quite a while ago though opting instead become a SK Rage Tail using Freak. A-Jay

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ Sharpies are Not the answer for coloring soft plastics - they smudge, and schemer and turn your baits into a bit of a mess. As Smallieseeker mentioned above, Spike-it markers & dip are decent. But with the rather ridiculous number of colors & patterns GYBC offers in the Senko line - there has to be at least one color you'd get bit on . . . A-Jay

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ A-Jay

Nice car ~ Me too. A-Jay

Hello Alex and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ Good Luck with your "search" A-Jay

Please don't do that ~ I am certain that I'm not the only one who appreciates is very grateful for your willingness to share your expertise & experience. A-Jay

So Good ~ Thanks for sharing A-Jay

Contact Diawa - spool part number is J09-1501 see below http://www.daiwa.com/us/service/faq/index.html http://www.daiwaweb.com/us/service/manuals/image/baitcasting/TATULA-HD200HL_200HSL.pdf A-Jay

I went Quad Pro ~ It's a 36v system and while we're at it, lets throw some juice to the Cranking unit A-Jay

Added some essentials ~ A-Jay

Nice Upgrade ~ Congrats A-Jay