BARON49_Northern NY

For the past few years since they were introduced Horny toads, Rage toads and Ribbit frogs are becoming my favorite topwater baits for BIG Smallmouths. If you look really close you will see a Rage toad hanging out of the mouth of the little smallmouth in my Avitar.

My momma said if you can't say something good about someone don't say anything at all. So as far as Ike and Charlie go .......... Zona is a TV personality and has a talent to get you to chuckle and keep your interest. His antics are what I think get people to watch the show. My wife hates fishing but will watch Zona. ;D

x2 :-/ X3 Thought they might make a great shallow water early Spring bait and zeroed on them. Tried them several other times and places and they are in the junk box now.

The record low temp for this area was set last Tues an -29 degrees. Record snow of over 180 inches so far this year have hit the area, but why am I smiling? 7 more days to the start of my fishing season. I leave the snow and ice of Northern NY for the Kissimmee/St. Cloud area of Florida next Saturday morning. Have one week left to get the boat and truck loaded and ready.

These money minnows have caught me a lot of fish the past year. Another thing I like is they slit the belly so when you place you hook it does not have to go through both the belly and the back plastic. I get a better hook up with these baits over others without the belly slit.

I totally agree, after using the King Shad for the past several years it does work and work well especially on pressured waters.

Sure rub it in....we just set a new record low temp of -29 this week! That was the bad news the good news is I am 8 days for leaveing for Florida and The Kissimmee chain.

I would just like to see the temps here get above 0...

I use my spare spools too. It is easier to switch spools then to carry a lot of spinning rods and reels on the boat. Spinning tackle seems to take up a lot more room in the rod locker then baitcasting. I keep the spare spools in my box for a quick change when needed.

As far as the hooks go, there's a little modification that all spro frogs needs and that is to take pliers and bend the 2 hooks up. Just lift it off the back of the frog, this will guarantee a higher percentage of landing a fish. The problem I have with this modification is when fishing heavy slop the hooks seem to grab everything along the way. The new poppers seem to have the hooks set just about right against the plastic of the body. How well they will work remains to be seen. I picked up three to use in Florida this month.

Never had any problems with Strike Kings lures until I broke several King Shads. Chris Brown took excellent care of me and replaced the broken ones. He also took the time to explain all the new King shads have a steel pin in the joint to help stop the problem of the hinge pin breaking.

I have a very simple way around the ice problem. Heading to Florida on the 14th to thaw out and get in some Bass fishing on the Kissimmee Chain...

I use a 7' Heavy with a fast tip from American Rodsmiths, Kicker stix line. Weights in at 4.5 oz, is super sensitive, and is priced around $179. Best Jig rod I have ever used. This will be the 4th season for the rod and it is still in perfect shape.

Not sure about the rods, but sent two Energy PT reels back for servicing after using them hard for several years. They fixed them and had them back to me within 10 days. The reels work like brand new. I have also ordered parts from them with the same quick service.

Good show and quite funny when Zona caught the little dink..... ;D

Watched the show last night, very well done.

I use crosslock snap for all my crankbaits. Never have had a problem with the way they run.

I have started using more of Gander Mountain brand plastics. Their finesse worms and beavers have proven to be very effective and you get more in the package then with other brands. I was told who made them, but don't remember right now....it is a ***** to get old! :

Tools for a boat? I have a small plastic tool box filled with; Spark plus wrench and spare spark plugs Socket key for lock on trailer wheels Socket for trailer lugs Socket for nut on big motor Prop Pliers Side cutters Socket set and ratchet Vise grips small can of WD-40 Phillips and regular slot screw drivers Multi-tool Wrenchs, open and box end Adjustable wrenchs Robo grips Meter/tester Black tape Duct Tape Cable ties Super glue Goop, this stuff will repair anything Spare bulbs Spare fuses Spare nut and pin for trolling motor Spare thrust washer, nut, and lock for big motor prop I am sure there is more stuff in that little box, but this is what I remember without going and looking....

I have a lot of the different colors for these baits, just did not want to over load the guy asking about them. The Morjarra is a great color too. I have not had much luck with the Baby bass, but last fall knocked their lights out with the Sexy Shad color. As far as that smaller King Shad goes........ Let's just keep that to ourselves.

Yes you can clean them with warm soapy water. Don't use something like 409 or some solvent cleaner as the smell stays in the EVA. I had EVA on a couple of my Musky and Striper rods, did not care for the extra care and cleanup. Went back to cork.

I almost hate to give this one away, but seeing how you asked here is a great way to fish a fluke deep. It is called a Petey Rig and was developed by Peter T. Use a long rod, 7'3'' MH with a fast tip or longer, fast retrieve reel spooled with 12 lb fluoro. Slid a 1/8 to 3/16 oz tungsten bullet weight up the line and then use a carolina keeper or some kind of bobber stopper so the weight will slide free and stays about 18 inches up the line. Tie on a 3/0 or 4/0 EWG hook and thread on a Super fluke like you normally do. Make long casts and allow to fall to the bottom. Hard to fish this rig incorrectly. You can hop the bait off the bottom, or sweep it with the rod to the side to keep it near the bottom. Pay very close attention to the line and fish the weight not the fluke.

What kind of baits are you buying that need assembling? As far as instructions on how to use any kind of bait you can think of? That is what these fishing sites are for......as well as Goggle.

EVA when wet is slippery, when you catch a slimy fish seems the grips get all slimy as well, hard to clean and start to stink if not cleaned. With cork you can wash it off easily, never gets slippery, easier to hang on to when cold outside, and from what I have seen holds up longer then EVA.

We use them to jig up herring when Striper fishing the Hudson and use all the size hooks you mention, just depends on what works best that day. I use a medium 6'6'' spinning rod with and x-fast tip, 10 lb fireline as the mainline to a small ball bearing snap swivel. The Sabiki rig is fastened to the snap and then a bell weight is attached to the other end. Depending on the depth and current, 1/2 oz should be enough. Then watch your depth sound for the depth the schools of bait fish are running at and drop the rig so the sinker is just at the bottom of the school of fish. Jig up and down and vary how fast until you start catching them. On a slow day catching bait is better then catching nothing at all.