basser89

Wayne, that's one of my favorite blades (especially in stained water). I've also heard it called a turtleback blade or a thunder willow.

Check out Picasso spinnerbaits. They have a similar profile and have been one of my top producing spinnerbaits over the last 4-5 years. Here's a link: www.picassooutdoors.com

From what I see on that post, the data was collected up to 2005. My fishing partner and I know a few people at DNR. We had asked late spring last year how the smallies were doing on the Potomac up here in our neck of the woods. The word was the smallies were making a pretty good rebound! I'll have to touch base with my contacts again and see if they have any updates.

Hey Ben, Haven't been on a whole bunch lately. I just read your report. As the others said, those cold fronts can put a real damper on things for sure! Great job in boating the bass you did! You should be proud! Sounds like you had a blast with the off hours activities too. Glad you had a great time! Don't catch 'em all at guntersville (jealous I am! LOL!)!!!

The Wally World nearest me, has just started selling chatterbaits. So I'd say mine is just a little behind the times! LOL! If they do start to ramp up, my guess is the store I shop at will be much later this year.

My favorite buzzbaits are Hart's Hartbeater. It's a doublebladed buzz that really creates alot of comotion! With the two blades, you can run it slower while not giving up the larger profile. They work get for me for both largemouths and smallies! Strike King's Double Take has shown some promise as well. In super-clear water the smaller single bladed buzzbaits would probably suit you better. Sorry, my success on the single bladed buzzers is very limited and really don't have a preference there.

Hey Ben, Best of luck to ya! I'm sure you'll do well with whoever you draw! As others have said, PICTURES!!!!!! ;D

Hey Troutfisher, Sent ya a PM on the details, didn't want to hi-jack the thread.

As JT said, if you do get a big ski, try to limit the amount of time its out of the water! Here's one I wasn't able to CPR last year. I was fishing for them at the time and was properly geared. The fight only lasted a couple of minutes but I still wasn't able to revive her. I big net will help out alot! That way you can keep the fish in the water until you're ready to pick it up for a pick. A long hook out tool will save your hands and fingers too! In '04, I was starting to get back into musky fishing and only had a small pair of pliers to remove hooks. My first decent musky for MD quickly changed my mind as it buried two of the hooks of the rear treble hook into my fingers (ummm, while the other hook was still attached to the fish). Wasn't fun! Another safety item would be Lindey's gloves. They will protect your hands when you pick the fish up! My fishing partner showed me his, had me put it on and handed me one of his bucktails and asked me to see if I could put the hook through the glove. Causiouly I tried over and over, adding a little more pressure each time and the hook would not go through. Convinced me right there they were worth it! Hope this helps!

My go to plastics are tubes and creature baits and both green pumpkin and watermelon are two of my go to colors. The majority of the time, I try to match the surroundings as closely as possible so I chose between these two colors depending on the conditions I'm given. Hope this helps!

As RW said, Ledgebusters work well but I had a lot of luck last year with smallies on Strike King's Rocket Shad.

That is the reason why I haven't picked one up. It would take too long to tune. I'd possibly consider one if it was titanium.

Tubes are my favorite in Roadkill, watermelon/chart tail and smoke/black flake. Rocket shad and Rattlin Rogues run a close second and third. These work the best for me on the two rivers I fish for smallies.

Bandit 100 and 200's as well as Rebel Wee R's. I just started throwing jerkbaits for smallies last year. Rogues brought me a lot of luck!

Avid, I t-rig mine almost exclusively. The one pond I started fishing this year is polluted with hydrilla. One of the techniques I had success with during the summer was t-rigging a brush hog with a 1oz bullet weight and SLOWLY crawling across the bottom straight through the thick stuff.

Because so many anglers use chart/white, I usually don't throw it. My exception would be on slightly stained water, that's the spinnerbait I'll start with. Time of year plays a factor in my color selection as well. Prespawn, one of my top producers over the past 4 years has been a red shad. Post spawn, I always have a baby bass colored spinnerbait on. Black has worked well for me during the late fall (obviously at night earlier in the year too). On gin clear water, my favorite is a clear skirt (like Randall mentioned) with blue flakes.

Just received my last issue, not planning on renewing. I've been a member since 95 but I just don't see any value in continueing. I learn more here!

This is the year I finally break 6# for largemouth! I'm shooting for a 4# smallie too.

I was shooting for 6# ended up with 5lb 14oz. So, so close!

I'll second that! Well written Munkin!

Merry Christmas one and all!!!

I have somewhere around 70 in my bag right now. Different weights, colors, blade combinations 'n such. What can I say, I like my little spinnerbugs (as Hank Parker calls them)!

"Take a piece of my heart" Faith Hill!!!!!!! ;D

One thing that appeals to me about this company is the customer focus! I heard about Heavycover from a friend I made on another board a while back. When the one company I use for one of the colors I have a ton of success with stopped making my color, I went on a search of the web and a few other avenues to find the color somewhere else but came up unsuccesful. I got in touch with my friend and he directed me to the owner. As I said before, after talking to the owner several times about a custom color, I came to realize the amount of customer focus they have. He wanted to be 100% sure of the exact color and the combination of the colors before starting so he could ensure he was able to offer me the exact bait I was looking for and not just offering me a "cookie cutter" bait. This means a lot to me since I am in a customer service roll in my area of work. I'm not pushing the bait on anyone, I just wanted to offer my experiences (which I feel are positive) with the company. As you stated fish-fighting-illini, there are other places to go get material to make your own (and I've used a few myself), but (IMHO) if you want to buy one made by someone else, they are a good company to deal with.

I've heard a lot of good things about these spinnerbaits. I haven't had the chance to try one yet but I have spoken with the owner a few times about making a couple custom colors for me. He is a class act from what I have experienced with him. I plan on adding a few of them to my arsenal this upcoming year!