Team9nine

I pretty much agree with what Paul has stated. There is at least one study that has documented a probable connection between UV vision, YOY largemouth and feeding. As mentioned though, the bigger question is whether this ability carries into adulthood, and from the most recent research I've seen in largemouth bass, there is no indication/mention that it does. As such, I'd be hesitant to lay out that kind of money for a soft plastic bait based on what appears to be unproven science. -T9

Pork will work well in any water temp, just like plastic will work well in any water temp. The determinant for me is how much jig fishing I'm going to be doing. On some trips I know I'm going to have a jig rod in hand, flipping and pitching nearly the entire trip. On those days I'll typically use pork trailers because they are much more efficient. Hook one on and I'm good for the entire trip. No ripped off appendages, no sliding down on short strikes, no tearing and superglueing. 8-) -T9

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet that will work if you take the time. We will use an aluminum push pole or extendable lure retriever and move along the milfoil mat edge and create our own holes by reaching out and just hooking the surface mat and pulling it toward us. Just need a foot or two opening. Cruise along with the trolling motor and do this every 30'-50'. After making all your holes, give them a little time to "settle back down" while you rig up or try a diffrent section of the lake and then return later. Fish will gravitate to the opening pretty quickly if they're around. -T9

Daiwa's have always been my favorite baitcasters, but I'm to the point of having about an equal mix between them and Shimano's any more. Their (Shimano's) quality has improved quite a bit recently and the Castaic thumb bar is still my favorite baitcast feature. On spinning reels, it's almost all Daiwa's for me, though I have been known to occasionally fish with a Shimano on warm, sunny days without threat of rain 8-) -T9

As stated, different manufacturers have different "ratings". That said, if you find the right setup you'll be able to handle both techniques admirably with a single rod. I also agree with Matt's recommendation to bump up to a longer rod in this case. I use a 7' MH Daiwa L&T rod for all lightweight plastics and have never had a problem with it performing for either technique you mention or either line type (mono, hybrid or braid). -T9

x2, so cast another vote for the 4.7:1 -T9

Darn near anything will work, and so will nothing at all at times. That said, I tend to stick with Paca Craws, Zoom super chunks and some custom hand pours. On the 2nd ??, I prefer not to match. I like contrast more than color. -T9

x2 You'll frequently find these in with the walleye tackle as I believe that was their original design purpose (bottom bouncer/spinner combos). When you first unwind a new leader, a quick stretch of the the leader before tying on will usually take out most any of the curl that might have set in from being wrapped. -T9

What they said 8-) With a 7' rod, the larger size reel will probably balance the overall package better. Plus, you usually can't go wrong by using the widest spool diameter you can get away with, at least when it comes to line management, especially with fluorocarbon. -T9

Love 'em myself, to the point that I rarely even let friends know I have them "in the box". I've got a small collection of about 75 at the moment including DB-I, II, and III's, a majority of which are the lead in the bill/brass variety. DB-I's are my personal favorites. All have been hand tuned and used to only get pulled out on tourney days. Now that I'm in self-proclaimed semi- tourney retirement I've been fishing them more "just because". Pulled one out on a friend last year just to show him why they're so special - whooped up on him good ;D Now he's looking for 'em. Also have several Balsa B's in the mix. Here's some from my smaller sizes collection: -T9

x2 - Doesn't work everywhere, everytime, but works in enough instances to never discount it. -T9

Used it with real good success both shallow and deep on several local lakes up this way this past year. Going to play with it even more next year. I used the Maximus worm by Excite Baits with their custom 6/0 Shakey Heads. -T9

X2 - without going into a ton of detail (way too many examples to type), I know it makes a BIG difference at times on many of my waters, and not just for bass. -T9

Didn't matter one bit on my local reservoir. Used green (PP), smoke (FL), red (PP), yellow (PP) and flame green (FL) last year and they all worked. Caught more on the flame green than anything else. Got to the point where I even stopped screwing around with mono/fluoro leaders and just tied direct. Was still catching them good with 6' of visibility on the flame green line when the lake finally froze up on me. -T9

X2, but like most things in life, to each his own. -T9

Flake color matters Bass avoid sunlight Throw only Senko's Fluoro is invisible Red hooks rule Bright braid sucks Buy only Shimano Expensive is better Bass are smart Green mono's best fluoro's low stretch -T9

It would be an interesting thread. Not sure how well some postal scales resolve under an ounce though so you could have some variance in reports depending on the type and quality of the folks scales. I weigh on an (ammunition) handloading scale - reads to .01 gram (.01 gram = 0.0003527396 ounce). I have calibration weight sets so I can verify the calibration of the scale. Perhaps some of the folks are also handloaders and have access to similar scales. Haven't seen any new thread started for rod weights yet, but you know I keep that type info handy A mix of many 'old skool' rods thrown in: Avid 3S60MLF (custom) 3.04 ounces St. Croix AS66MHF 4.00 Loomis IMX MBR783C 4.32 St. Croix PS66MLF 4.32 St. Croix PS66MF 4.32 Loomis SBR812 6'9" 4.80 6'10" Allstar SJ2 5.12 Galyan's BGN 2212N 6'6" MH 5.28 Galyan's BGN 2212N 7'0" MH 5.44 G. Roach Lightning LPC610M 5.76 Brauer TD Flipping 7'6" 6.24 Galyan's 6'6" MH ("balanced") 6.56

Same stuff as the green. About as difficult to see in most applications, and the color wears off about the same or maybe slightly faster. If you want visibility go to yellow ;D -T9

Yeah, that one - no disrespect intended 8-) -T9

Thanks for the follow-up Wayne... 8-) -T9

You'll have to give a report after you test it. The one complaint I've heard is about damage to the line where it enters the jighead after a period of time. Seems like it should be no different than a worm weight though. Perhaps the older version had a sharper leading edge, or the fact that most worm weights can slide up the line a bit more to get out of the way and change the bend/angle when fighting a fish. That setup looks to be pretty unitized. -T9

Bagley Small Fry Crappie

Maybe you were, but Lonnie has stated in interviews that he didn't start building them in his garage until 1979 and Stanley Jigs, Inc wasn't formed until 1983.

Works real well here in Indiana... Shhhhhhh ! -T9

A small pair of diagonal wire snips is the best multi-purpose line cutter I've found yet. Small and very safe to use. -T9