texlwedge

There are several ways to approach this. 1st, I would be using braid for the strength to get the fish out depending on how thick this cover is. A weedless frog, T-rigged tube, T-rigged stick bait, T-rigged creature bait. You might also try a C-rig with a 1/4 oz weight as this is pretty shallow. If weight is needed to punch the grass, a 3/8 oz should work fairly well.

For frogs, I prefer a M/H to H action in the 7' or longer range w/ a fast tip. Braid of choice is 30 - 65 lb depending on the cover. getting the frog to walk may be nothing more than breaking your wrist a little nore than you would when walking a spook. My experience with the Spro, this is what I had to do to get the correct motion I wanted.

On an area like that I might toss a C-rig w/ a 1/4 oz weight, short leader, about 16". That combined with a good lizard, or creature should land you some fish. Buzz or frog early morning.

You are not alone. Especially if I have a tournament coming up or a day on the water with my spousling. After the winter months the "cabin fever" turns to "bass fever". lol

Just to drop this in. Check out Deep South Rods www.deepsouthfishingrods.com and I think you'll find a flippin and a swimbait rod that not only will suit your needs but your pocket book as well. The 7'11" telescopic is a great flippin rod and they also have a 7'2" H action for throwing the larger swimbaits. These rods are light, durable, andhave quality guides and reel seats. They are all that's on my boat now. Gave my Kistler's to my wife. lol

One question, Are you sure it's the lure that's making your line twist. I don't have a twist problem with these or any other spinners. It might be how you are spooling your reel. Spooling properly can eliminate about 80-90% of the wind knots. Another method would be to use a good line conditioner like KVD Line and Lure or Vicious Line Conditioner Are you throwing these with spinning gear or baitcasters?

To me there are several ways to appraoch this, but first is there any cover on this 13 ft drop? If there is heavy cover I would either use a weighted T-rigged plastic, or a spinner bait. For sparser cover I would toss a rattle trap, spinner or possibly even a C-rig. You could even slow bounce a jig down the drop. Starting a DD22 or DD14 at the shallow and letting it dive down the outside of the cover might be an effective presentation as well. Start at the shallow and work your way down the drop. Fish could be suspended, or even on the bottom only coming up at certian times to feed. You may still encounter fish in the shallows even during the colder months. I would position my boat well off the area of the drop, cast back toward the shallow and let the lure fall down the drop.

Put yourself together a top notch resume outlining your fishing experience and sales ecperience. Companies want to know what you can do for them and not so much as what they can do for you. A good starting point is to get on some field staffs, prove yourself and promote up to the Pro Staff level. Have a good mission statement and objective heading your resume. Also, include a brief bio and have a couple of good photos to send along with it. Having good product knowledge is a plus. Knowing the company's product that you applying for, and being able to tell them the good and/or bad points of the product can be a factor in landing a position. Not all companies are using marketing firms as some of the smaller companies I know of still utilize Field and Pro Staff to get the word out on their products. Never give up! Not every resume you send out will get you a position, so don't get discouraged. I would be more than happy to review your resume and assist you where I can, if you would be interested. Good luck and good fishing!

I picked up some of these at last years Classic. Have not fished them yet, but the idea behind it seems logical. I agree that they are pricey, but don't some of us pay 25.00 or more for custom cranks? lol

Check with Doug at Hawg Thrasher lures. He makes some excellent jigs and might be able to help you out. http://www.hawgthrasher.com/

Actually right before and during the front coming in is when the fish will be most active. The days leading up to the front will generally not be quite as productive. I'm sure that you are going to get a lot of different opinions on this, but from everything I've read and seen myself, this is when I caught the most fish, prior to a front moving in.

Well from what I've seen of the younger workforce, you are an exception to the rule. And good for you! In my profession we have a lot of oung officers that come in and 1. think they know it all, 2. Don't want to get off their butts to do anything, 3. feel like they should be working in positions where officers with 15 or more years are working, I could go on. I started fishing with a 6' throw down fiberglass rod and a Zebco 33. Now, it's Deep South Rods, Shimano Reels, 11 Sponsors, and I've worked hard to get where I am in my fishing career. I pay for most of my own tournaments, shirts, boat gas, truck gas, motel rooms, etc. I'm hoping my hard work will pay off for me about retirement time. My hat's off to you and you keep up the hard work. Like I told someone once....."the gimme bird died!"

I'm a Correctional Officer for the State of Texas. Been doing this since I had to medically retire from Police work. Got 5 more years until I retire and then I'm fishing for a living. lol

I would suggest talking with your local game wardens or extention agents from your county. They would probably be the best resource for knowing the ph values of the watersheds in your area. Unless there has been a lot of chemical treating in the area it probably will be fine.

Past experience that has been productive were Lizards and 7" Senkos.T-rigged weightless. Flip em in on the beds or just past and drag the lure in.

Secret Weapon Lures Spinners here. I get the kits that have the bodies, skirts, and a selection of different blades that can be mixed and matched to suit the conditions. That means I don't have to purchase all the different types of spinnerbaits just to get different blade or skirts. Not only that, but they catch fish!

My frog of choice is either the Vicious poly Wog or the El Grande Lures Sapo. Both are buzz type frogs and come in a variety of color patterns. I use a 4/0 frog hook w/ a medium hitch hiker.

I also use the Sahara 4000 on a Deep South 7'2" M/H all purpose rod, Vicious 50lb braid with no negatices. I've been using this set up for years and highly recomend it.

Guess they will be available at the usual places?

Sounds like the Mustad Power Hook. didn't see the show, but from what you are describing that would be it. They work pretty well with most soft bodied swimbaits. I use em on the El Grande Lures 5" swimbait.

Glad to hear somebody's getting on the water. Catch one for me.

I hope to be "grunting" a lot! ;D Been looking forward to this trip for a while now.

Check out american bass anglers and see if there is a charter near you. I know there is one in Houston, Dallas, Austin, but not sure where else. Just a thought.