The_Natural

I agree totally. I look at the bottom first. Clear, yellow, chrome and white are all I really consider, whether the white bottom be baby bass, tennessee shad, or other. That yellow bottom 'bullfrog' chug-bug is dynamite though...you obviously know or you wouldn't own one!

That rides pretty heavily with me, considering I'm a pyro. I am a total firework junkie. My father in-law runs a firework stand every year, so I get the 'good' fireworks at cost (the repeaters...or multi-action as they are sometimes called). He is also a pyro, and spends the bulk of his budget on the 'good' fireworks. I spent $500 last year and our display lasted 2.5hrs. This did include beer drinking though...

BTW...what kind of HP are you getting out of the 4.6? Mods?

Well, I can only guess the race weight, but stock they are about 3200lbs (AWD isnt light). Shepherd is running all steel, i.e. no carbon fiber hood or anything, but he is running a gutted interior and lexan windows...as Im sure the Mustang is at that level. No doubt under 3klbs. Pretty big supercharger on the Stang...love those boosted vehicles! I just have always been a turbo fan. People dont realize how much talent it takes to get a car to run that fast. When I started modding my Talon...I thought it was just money. "If I had the money for parts...Id be that fast" I thought. Not so. Build, tuning, and driving are about as important as the fisherman versus the equipment.

That sucks when a 7.86 beats a 7.70.... he got mowed down on the tree....then again, I'm sure you know who I was pulling for. d**n...somebody actually noticed that! Yeah...a seasoned guy like shephard shouldn't have gotten schooled like that on the tree. Worst launch I've seen in a while. Anyhoo...my point was that DSM's aren't in the same category as the Hondoo-doo's. Any more...people associate all imports with the body kit and wing...something DSM guys hate. We are all performance generally. DSM's get respect...no?

That is a seriously botched top 50. Come on...you won't find a bigger Lucky Craft fan than me, but any Lucky Craft before a Bagley Original Balsa B in the top 50 lures of all time is just ridiculous. Not to mention the Storm Wildeye . What is it with all these unheard of baits...the pimple?! My advice for Field and Stream...pick a spinner and stick to it! There is no need for 10 inline spinners to be in the top 20! (I'm not sure if there is 10, but there is a bunch!).

Well, I had another hobby in-between fishing I would say. Going to the racetrack was the thing to do in Tulsa, OK when I was 15-16. The 'midnight drags' went from 12am-3am. This was street drags aka 'run what ya brung' king of races. Sure you get the occasional drag car, but for the most part you have guys pulling up in their street cars. A guy caught my eye (and a lot of others) in '93 driving a Mistubishi Eclipse turbo/AWD. There weren't any modified import cars around this time...no Hondas with crazy wings or body kits and graphics. Just camaros and supercharged mustangs. This dude in his Eclipse could hang with these modded V8's, and my fascination ensued. I became a DSM junkie, and purchased a Talon in '94 (DSM meaning Diamond Star Motors '90-'99...a joint venture between Mistubishi and Chrysler). There was a turbo and non-turbo version of the Eclipse and Talon, with the turbo being made by mistu and available with AWD (all wheel drive). Just had to give a little background on the DSM...not a ricer vehicle at all...even the domestic V8 guys respect a modified AWD DSM on the street. Most DSM's don't use any nitrous...just massive turbos. My money went into modifying my car before I got back into bass fishing, but no, I didn't run that fast! Here is a video of John shepherd...him and Brent Raul have the fastest DSM's known. No nitrous...street legal. He is racing a blown 'Stang with a 300shot of nitrous. Yep...street legal

Sweet Beaver 5.20 in Big Texan is my go-to!

I looked at and handled all the Cumara's at Cabelas, and I agree with your choice. How can you have the same length of handle on the 6'8" and 7'+ rods? It drives me crazy when manufacturers do that! The 6'8" feels and balances better (of couse) than the 7'ers, and the XF action felt nice and crisp. Good luck with it!

Sean Connery said my bag weighed eleventy-billion pounds. If you have to ask, never mind

If you are serious, the Stradic 6000's are on clearance at my local Cabelas for $110. Normally close to $200. Holds 165yds of 12lb mono, or the same amount of 40lb braid.

My twin who is 5 lbs lighter ;D I'm hoping to be 195lbs by summer. It doesn't sound like a lot, but it is very hard for me to put on weight. I finally started working out again (it's been two years), and drinking whey protein again as well as creatine. Being 'big' is out of the question, but I just want to get cut like I was when I was 24.

Ok...what the hell is going on?! This is the second person to reply with a jig/brush hog combo. That is my bait! No one is supposed to do this! I spanked 5 keepers yesterday in 45 degree water with a 3/16oz baby boo jig in black/red flash and a black neon baby brush hog...it has always been my cold water jig combo. I modify mine by cutting off the swim tails to look like whiskers, and shortening the bait by cutting it off right above the legs. I also cut off the legs and make slits at the base of the 'gliders' or flaps to make them flair open when my jig is sitting on the bottom. It flat works...

Haha...you said 'hella'.

I'm not a fan of either team, but it would be hard to root for Bill Belicheat and Shady Brady.

Muddy it's supposed to be how tall you are, not how long your crack is!

Come on guys...the dude catches hogs and apparently has a nice idea that will spruce up your rods!

6'3"/185lbs So I guess I'm 6'5" with my boots on?! ;D

I disagree (X gets a square!). Just kidding. Seriously though, open water and I'm down with the spinning gear, but cruising down a cover laden bank with laydowns, brush, stickups, etc. and pitching with casting gear is the easy choice.

How can you pitch to a target (such as a laydown) with a spinning reel without making a splash? I'm pretty accurate with my spinning setups, but once you fling your bait out there, you can't slow your bait's descent. Anything 1/4oz and over is not going to make a very stealthy entry. I didn't mention the baitcasting accuracy advantage, because there might be some miracle workers out there that can consistently place their bait in a coffee cup from 40ft with their spinning setups. I can't, but I can by pitching with a casting setup. I like working hard and soft jerkbaits, all finesse techniques, etc. with my spinning setups, but for jig and worm fishing...got to go with the casting setup.

You really need a weighted hook like one of these... http://www.***.com/catpage-TTWHK.html

I love cranks to death...so it is hard for me to say, but I would go with a jig. It's just too versatile and works too often. Winter, Prespawn, Summer, fall...the jig is always a go.

Walking Spooks/Sammies, hard jerkbaits, Slug-gos...any bait I have to really 'work'.

I like Cabelas customer service better than Bass Pro's, but Cabelas Catalog sucks. They list about 20% of the tackle they carry. The master fishing catalog I received from Cabelas doesn't even have Pline CXX listed as a line they carry!

XF action is my preference. A Loomis BCR jig and worm rod would be the ultimate, but if you can't afford a BCR; for $100 I'd get a Compre', for $150 I'd get a Crucial, and for $200 I'd get an IMX. Just for those that don't know, you can check the action of a rod in the store by using a quick slap against your palm right above the foregrip. Look for the taper...after a couple of strikes against your palm you will clearly see the taper.