The_Natural

It is without a shadow of a doubt the whiz-bang version 5.7. This bad boy does it all! You can fish it as a topwater, as a crankbait, as a spinnerbait, as a jig...the possibilities are endless! I'll let you in on this bad boy for $29.95 + shipping and handling...just shoot me a PM.

Thanks a lot Catt! If I could think of one old stubborn SOB that predictably throws the same bait...it would be you (oh and RW).

Being a member of several message boards for quite a while (9+ years); I've noticed the "Do a Search" recommendation comes up quite often. Granted this can solve some issues...a lot of times things have changed quite a bit since the last thread was started. Lets take one of the dreaded Senko questions for example...i.e. favorite color. What was your favorite color last year? What about two years ago? A lot of times the search feature will resurrect a thread that is several years old. Opinions of baits and/or bait colors don't change as often as with rods and reels, but often enough to warrant a new thead every year or so. I can tell you my spinnerbait, worm, crankbait, beaver, jig, etc. choice has changed even since last year. My go-to's evolve with each season. I'm not saying to denounce the search feature...just that sometimes we need to revisit some topics.

+1 A lot of times that is forgotten. I LOVE tackle...and that will never change. However, I know that the angler is 90% of the game. Yep...90%. Fishing is my passion...I'm not looking to do it as cheaply as possible; I'm looking to enjoy it as much as possible. I love every aspect of bass fishing and the tackle related to it.

It's pretty amazing...there is nothing like that first high-end rod or reel.

I guess the same could be said for Ferrari's and really, really hot woman as well.

Whatever Burley, you motorboatin' SOB I was thinking how great it would be to turn the handle once and your bait already be back to the boat ;D. Seriously though, I think a reel with an IPT 32" could really help in your hooksetting power. I think we all crank the handle around the same amount of times before setting the hook, regardless of the reel we are using. No slack my friend...no slack. You don't think that the handle in the reel pictured is more than a little pedestrian?

Whatever Burley, you motorboatin' SOB

You mean the new 7.1:1 Steez... We've been fixated on Shimano's new Curado, but everything seems boring in comparison to what Daiwa throws on the table.

7.3:1 IPT 32" http://www.tackletour.com/reviewdaiwazillionhyperpreview.html

I've never been known for my etiquette, but if you are the older brother of the 8yr old and just happen to have identical typing skills and punctuation errors...you've got some work to do before heading off to college. As Dave Chappelle would say "I'm just keeping it real."

Heading to our cabin on Grand Lake late one night, we rounded a corner and saw a humongous Owl ****** a full grown rabbit and fly away with it. We couldn't believe it. Never seen anything like it...

When I lived in Oklahoma, I thought it was hot. Now I live in Fort Worth and while the digits don't read that much higher on the thermometer, living that much closer to the equator apparently haa an impact on how the sun sizzles your skin. It is just piercing. Oh it's hot too.

+1 Granted it doesn't get as good of gas mileage as it should, and the design takes some getting used to, but the Honda Ridgeline is the sweetest driving truck around. Rides and drives like a car, and is just as quiet.

I'm a banker as well. I got into the finance side of the car business, but the reputation it has precedes how horrible it really is. Now I'm back working in a banking center as an operations manager, but I am going back to school to get my ER/Firefighter certification. I have my degree, but being in the workforce for a few years makes you realize what kind of life you really want to live. I don't like sitting still, and I want to fish as much as possible. Firefighter it is. One day on...two days off with a starting pay of about 60k around here. Plus you get 1/2 of your salary for 20yrs after you retire. $60k for working 1/3 of the year (you get like 6 weeks of sick pay)?! What is the catch? Can you tell I'm sold?! The ridiculous amount of time off isn't the only reason I want to be a firefighter...I do enjoy helping people and I am a little kid when it comes to excitement. Plus, I don't know any firefighters that aren't doing something on the side, so I will start up the bait business I've always wanted to do. Alrighty....now you know more than you wanted to about me

I voted minnows. Not even the large 6-8in shiners, but just the large standard shiners about 2-3in long. Those will catch crappie, bass of all sizes, catfish, etc. Crawfish are the number 1 live bait for large Bass, but I've got to go with minnows for the number 1 all-time great. I went to a pond last weekend that I fish every now and again and took along my wife, her friend, and her friends son (whom is 5). I brought a bucket of minnows and never got to catch a fish myself...I was busy taking fish off the hook for them. The action was non-stop. :-/

Sweet! There is so much to discover with those units. I can't wait until I get one and go over the spots that I thought I knew and see everything I have missed. Too bad you don't live in Dallas.

rut roe...time to make a new user name.

It's not just the kids . Having pro-staff links in your signature equates to your posts being taking more seriously...like you are a tournament competitior. It is sad, but a lot of younger folks see it that way and therefore aspire to be a pro-staffer. If you don't fish tournaments...you can't be a pro-staffer, and if you fish tournaments you are automatically placed in a different segment of 'better' fisherman. I wanted to say I was sponsored when I was 16-18, and when I got a pro-staff deal through Quantum when I was 14...I dropped that fact every time I got a chance, and wore all the garb and barked about Quantum reels in every reel/rod conversation. The young ones will learn in a few years that unless you fish the elite series you aren't really sponsored. Sure you can get some free baits thrown your way in a few pro-staff deals and get 10 reels/rods a year at cost via your reel/rod pro-staff membership, but it matters more about your writing/resume creating skills than it does your angling ability. Most companies aren't really investing anything by giving a few anglers merchandise at cost. They are still buying it. I certainly am not trying to ruffle any feathers, but look at the 'tournament anglers' that hang around the sites you frequent. What trail do they fish? How are they doing amongst their peers? A lot of times (especially on the Texas Fishing Forum) the guy with the least amount of links in his signature is constantly placing in the money.

If you fish with someone running one of the 797si units from Hummingbird...it will put this bad boy at the top of your 'want list'. It is undoubtedly the greatest thing to happen to sonar in a looong time, and Hummingbird has the market cornered big time. These things are bad arse. I just need to scrounge up about $900 and I'm in! Anybody here running one?

Wow dude...that is a large turtle fo sho. It would be quite an event to try and remove a hook from his lip! The alligator snapping turtles will hiss at you like crazy which isn't a lot of help.

It's undoubtedly one of the best times to go. Hit every drain around the pond/lake that you see (drain as in where the runoff is flowing into the pond/lake). It usually clouds up the water right there where the runoff hits, and that is where those bass feed on all the critters that wash in the pond. Tie on a jig or creature bait and you will be ready to go...

Whether you are a fan of Quantum or not, the Tour Edition is the best deal going at the moment. There might be more clearance deals pop up closer to icast. Look for the remaining Curados to be knocked in the dirt.

I'm pretty sure it has been posted before. There have been similar rigs used for quite some time before the 'Tubo' rig was introduced, one of which used a large pyramid weight and a crankbait. Anyway...I only bed fish in tournaments when I have to do so to be competitive, and if I can't make a bass bite my plastic I flip on there, I'll just move on to the next bed.

I'll suggest you start throwing those cranks right away...first light is generally when the fish are most active, and can catch them on that crankbait and build confidence. Get yourself a Fat CB BDS in Rootbeer or Ghost Sunfish and you will be in business.