The_Natural

I'm a Trilene 100% man....

There are situations the one-ten will excel at....and I've wanted to buy a few for some time. I just won't pay $50 for one. They have come down in recent years, but it's still hard to find the good colors at $20-$25. The one-ten is probably the exception to my general thoughts on megabass baits, which is that they look better than they actually are at catching bass.

Its going to hit the fan when RW sees that. I hear sirens in the distance.....

Even though it isn't very modest to come in and ask about your $950 combo (just say steez combo...we know how much they cost), I find that a lot of consumers purchase crap retail without knowing any better. Telling him he got ripped is going to make him defensive (naturally). When I go pond fishing, I lay my fish on the ground to snap a pic as well; I'm not sure how else to do it. I've tried extending my arm, but that doesn't work out. I just always lay them on the grass. Can't be much worse than flopping around on boat carpet or getting netted.

I just went in-store to my local BPS in Grapevine, TX and loaded up. After a sale like this (which they do twice a year), you will be shot if you post a 'are Lucky Crafts worth the money' thread. Go buy one and see for yourself....they're $9.94. I paid $10 parking downtown on Saturday night. Several Rapalas are in the $8+ range, and don't have near the finish of the Lucky Crafts. Ok...I think I'm done

While I agree on fishing deeper when it gets hot, I'm still going to fish the skinny water from first light until 9am or so. Just fish hard alternating a topwater, fat shallow crank, and a pitching bait of some sort. You'll find feeding bass in shallow water before the sun gets high.

I don't think so...I even love the smell of my steez handles .

Behind the rage tail and Redeye shads?! The Sweet Beaver is the most copied bait since the Senko, and like the Senko...created a whole new category of soft baits. The Rage Tail is a great product, but was made in response to and to compete with the explosively popular Paca Craw and Paca Chunk.

The new Tomato Shad is the deal....seriously.

I owned two alphas for a couple of years....great reels. The alphas' represents the most copied reel design since the old round Abu's. Nearly every low profile reel that has come out in the last 5 years is influenced by the alphas/sol.

Haagen Daaz is my favorite store-bought. However, fresh ice cream is better, and cold stone or marble slab will beat anything that has been packaged for grocers. An italian family has a gelato parlor here locally, and it is great as well.

You can improve your hookup ratio with an offset or straight shank hook. However, with thicker plastics....an EWG is your best bet.

That dude ran out in front of his car! If the driver is sober....no charges would be filed. However....since the driver was drinking, they look at it like maybe he could have swerved and avoided him if he wasn't drunk. Michael Vick is solely at fault in his deal.

The RC 1.5 knockoff is the best bait in the H20 line. The RC 2.5 knockoff has a similar body, but a larger diving lip and different line tie placement. Not the same. However, the .5 knockoff is spot on like the 1.5, and I recommend it as well. The bandit knockoffs are good, but bandits are cheap, so I'm not into them. So basically....buy up all the 1.5 and .5 knockoffs, as well as the traps...which are excellent. Haven't tried the poppers, but I've been buying Lucky Craft G-splashes on ebay for $6

He is helping pay for the site, so he has a pass.....plain and simple.

Hey Natural, My problem with Hot sauce is at both ends of the temp range. In cold temps (below 45), I found that it gummed up on me. On the other end of the thermometer (about 85+), it thins out and really caused the reel to scream on a cast (even the first time out after a cleaning). Any where between those 2 ranges I mentioned, I didn't have a problem with it. Fair enough, though I'm surprised to hear that Hot Sauce would gum up being as thin as it is. I definitely wouldn't recommend the Sauce or Yellow Rocket Fuel for folks that only break down their reels once a year; both are just too thin to keep your bearings protected that long. There is a reason the factory packs them so full of grease and oil; the average user doesn't flush as often as they should.

Word Muddy. Honestly, any of the oils available will probably work well if you just keep your bearings clean and lubed.

I love Hot Sauce....it has the lowest viscosity of any of the available reel oils. This doesn't mean it's better....just yields more RPM's. You do have to flush and relube more often with the thinner oil. I'd be curious as to what anyone has against it. It is the 'favorite' over on TT, with resident reel guru's favoring it. I always go with my own experience; I just pointed that out to illustrate how different forums have totally different opinions. I sometimes wonder if one elder says they don't like it, if everyone just follows.

Due to sand bass schooling near my normal largemouth haunts...I had Sand Bass three times last week. I think Sandies are tastier than largemouths, but I cook them the same way. Soak the fillets in milk overnight, roll in cornmeal, and then fry. If you prefer a slightly thicker breading...dip in egg before rolling them in cornmeal. I used to mix my own 'breading', but I've found the Louisianna fish fry brand is very tasty and seasoned just right. The only way to serve fried fish is with fried okra, and unless you are breading the okra yourself....buy Stillwell lightly breaded okra from your local grocery. I've been eating that okra since I could chew.

Use shallow runners, but hold your rod tip high. Holding your rod tip high with a quick retrieve puts upward pressure on your crank to keep it running shallow. However, if the weeds are only a foot under the surface....a 1ft crank like a minus-1 may be the only option. Moonsault cb-50 would be a go-to in this situation.

Dude! You forgot to hide your meth lab!

Muddy, that offset hook you posted was the next thing to come out after straight shank worm hooks (early '90s). It has a better hook point angle versus EWG's, and I use them as an 'in-between' hook. The only 'EWG' back in the day was the Eagle Claw Shaw Grigsby HP (high performance) hook. It was used for tubes only back then. Essentially, the higher a hook point is above the hook eye...the better the hook angle. That's an easy way to look at it.

For those that don't know, the tru-turn has a hook point that is slightly twisted, so it accelerates under load. If I remember correctly, an ex-military guy invented it. If the Tru-turn format was used by Gammy or Owner...I'd buy some once again.

I grew up fishing the Tru-Turn hook. When I learned to fish a Texas rig in the '80s...the Tru-Turn was THE hook. Your hookups are better because the Tru-turn is a straight-shank hook, which yields a better hook point angle. I got my butt kicked in the Oklahoma top-6 tournament back in '05 by a guy using a blue-fleck power worm, tru-turn hook, Stren clear blue fluorescent, and an old Berkley Lightning rod (I was his co-angler). Old school still works!

I'd bet a Steez combo it's the exact same line as the Trilene 100%. Both Pure Fishing products...both came out at the same time....both come from the same production facility. One marketed to Trilene users...one marketed to Stren users.