A-Jay

Hello James and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ Congrats on that Squarebill caught Fatty ! A-Jay

WestonFLBassFishing that's a Sunshine State Mutant for sure ~ Congrats A-Jay

Hello Mike and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ A-Jay

Hello Yawai and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ A-Jay

Congrats to you & your friends ~ Heck of a way to start the year . . Three Big FATTIES ! A-Jay

As the previous responses here have indicated, effectively fishing a crank down to & below 20 ft on a spinning rig might be kind of tough. One alternative to a crank that can easily be fished on spinning gear and will easily & very effectively fish down to 20 ft (and below if you want) is a 4-5 inch swim bait on a jig head. The bait offers plenty of thump and catches Bass. There are several great options ~ here's a couple A-Jay

Hello Collin and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ A-Jay

Could Be I guess - But they've looked pretty pathetic past few weeks ~ A-Jay

If New England wins a Single Playoff Game ~ I'll be Really Surprised A-Jay

Congrats on Starting the new Year Off Right ~ A-Jay

Thanks Chris I hear ya about the long - BATTERY DRAINING runs. The other aspect of this is it Always pays to fish INTO the Wind and Blow Home. Which is all well & good until the forecast is wrong (which hardly ever happens ) and the wind either changes direction or doesn't when its suppose to. Adding that second battery (which is only used to get home) was a game changer. A-Jay

Berkley's line of plastics both the older stuff & much of the newer baits have & do catch fish for me. From power worms, chigger craws and various creature style baits to hollow belly & flat back swim baits, they all produce. Always been a fan of power bait and now the Havoc line (very reasonably priced). And though it is scentless, a little Megastrike takes care of that. I will not mention the pounds of very effective but discontinued Berkley baits I've hoarded over the years. A-Jay

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ As for the OP - I'll say that since 95% of the waters I fish have at Least 10 ft of vis (and at times some have 20 ft +) my version of match the hatch revolves around a baits working / presentation depth, size, speed (or vibration) and lastly color. What has worked quite a bit for me is to use colors & patterns that actually camouflage the bait; sometimes only partially other times as much as possible. Shades that match the bottom color whether it's a weed, sand or even clay (not much rock here). When using a non-bottom contact moving bait in & around natural cover, often the same recipe is effective. And don't forget that totally or even partially clear bodied bait, works in a similar manner as well. A-Jay

Thanks - and you're right about trying to hold that Slouncher straight out - causes that weird looking smile that's more like a grunt / strain. A-Jay

Don't know if there was any fix needed. I had a very brief issue with that - added a couple of strips of black tape to the leading edges of reel seat And BAM - Locked in & good to go. A-Jay

Good. Most of the time ~ Life is good. A-Jay

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ A-Jay

I have a couple of these stick. I fish & like them a lot. Admittedly, the cork handle felt a little bulky at first but after only a very short time I really fell in love with the full size grip it provides. I never really bought into that exposed blank deal and have no problem with lack of sensitivity with the rods. A-Jay

I fish alone a good majority of the time so comparison opportunities are scarce. But since we're pumping ourselves up ~ I go with it. Fishing from a small craft limits my mobility so this has forced me to learn something I call Fishing Small. It means since I'm not going to be running & gunning all over the lake, to get the most out each trip I have to choose when & where I fish wisely. Sometimes that's as simple as when to fish & at what section of a lake. Other times it refers to what time of day or night, to be on certain spots. Learning to break a spot down. Looking at every possible environmental variable - it's challenging. There's the obvious ones of past, current and forecasted atmospheric conditions like air temperature, wind speed & direction, cloud cover, precipitation,and barometric pressure. Then there's the possible effects of any lunar activity, if you believe that there's any bearing there. Clearly the water itself, Depth, the turbidity, any current, temperature of course, is it rising or falling, what about the what level itself what's the story there? How about the presence of bait or what about food for the bait or other predators that even eat the bass ? Is all of this the same all over the lake ? Usually not. The presence of Cover, wood, weed, man made deals like docks & rafts. How about boating traffic & fishing pressure ? I want to take as much of this into account as I can IN ADVANCE of my arrival, because if something is "out of tune" - With 3.5 mph as a top speed (if you can call it that) there's no Moving to another area of the lake. At least not very far or very fast ~ timing is everything. Then there's the "what bait, technique or presentation" I do not use a "Search" lure - ever. By not beating the water to a froth with something simply to cover water looking for "a Bite", I've learned that by getting to the area, looking for the spot, finding the spot on the spot, and making a high percentage presentation to it, one can often fool the fish you're actually looking for before she realizes you're there. Big advantage. A little harder to do at night - darkness helps but so does practice. A Ton of trial and error comes into play and there have been more misses than hits, but sometimes it comes together and I get a few decent ones. Even still, the environment routinely lets me know that I still have a lot to learn. And that my friends is what keeps me going back. A-Jay

This is not the place to seek Real Help - if you believe you need it - Seek the consult of a Medical Professional right away. If you're just blowing off a little smoke then I'll tell you that Personal relationships are one part of every mans life; sometimes there are more challenges than other times. What if you had all the mental ability and capacity to do anything & everything you wanted to do but physically you were completely crippled ? That would be really tough. Fortunately that's not the case here - the only one stopping you from doing whatever it is that you want to do it's that knucklehead that's looking back at you in the mirror. Might be time to move on to whatever the next chapter in your life is - btw - this is the only one you get. Might want to do something with it before it over. Happens pretty fast. A-Jay

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ Panther Martin's been around for a long time. https://www.panthermartin.com/Lures/hammered A-Jay

I do not believe there is any real industry standard as far as length & weights go. That said, I generally feel the weight of cranks & topwaters is sort of close, spinnerbaits weights seem to vary wildly as do some jigs. As for over all length, again no standard, but I don't think most include the lip length to the published / packaged length. I don't have a problem with it. Seems to go hand in hand with the anglers who don't carry a scale or camera. A-Jay

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ congrats on the new pup. I'm a big fan of Northern Breeds, have a small kennel and work with dogs year round (ours as well as fosters) How about Suqi ~ means female in Inuit. Pronounced "Suu-key" or Arashi ~ (it's a lure name.) Good Luck A-Jay

Operator error is most often the basis for first time casting reel users, not the gear itself; it would be like blaming an inexpensive auto because the first few times one drove it was challenging. Learning to cast spinning gear is a little easier than getting the hang of revolving spool tackle. There is a different set of techniques involved that often do not translate from spinning to casting. One can snap cast spinning gear and that usually ends in disaster with a casting reel. There's no secret to it and everyone has their own "way". Most all of them work. It just takes practice. Learning how to set up the reel right will help but will not overcome incorrect technique. Take the time to be able to make a smooth presentation with the gear you have - then fish it. The experience gained will assist later during any upgrade process you may feel is needed. Good Luck A-Jay

If someone is a fan of Blue Smoke . . . . . . A-Jay