SoFlaBassAddict

I'm not a big Les Miles fan, but man are some of his calls at the end of a game fun to watch. I remember watching them play Auburn a few years ago. Time running out, a field goal wins it. He sends his offense back out and throws a TD instead. Guy has a set of brass ones for certain.

x2 Short of making a trip down to the Amazon, everybody should make a trip to South Florida to fish for some Peas. Just a ridiculously fun fish to catch.

Apparently they do come in a LH model. Somebody in a recent thread has one. I guess they're just coming out. You silly LH retrieve people....

I haven't found a typical store bought razor that doesn't give me razor burns. Most of the time I'll just use my clippers. The only thing that works good on me when I need a good close shave is an old school straight razor and a traditional wet shave.

Hard to beat a Spook if you're looking for a traditional walking lure. They've been around for a long time and have produced lots of good quality fish. I personally like the Spook Jr's more than the larger size. Fairly inexpensive, so you don't get overly concerned about losing one. Like Bilgerat mentioned, I don't worry that much about the paint on them either. I've got a couple in lighter shades and a couple in darker shades. You just want one that will show up in the proper light conditions. To me, the action is far more important than the color.

Nice Jon, Robert. Keep killin them flyin rats.

Thats a nice one right there, Sqhertz.

Thats the trick. I've seen some as high as 30% after the first 12 months. If you pay off the bill at the end of each month, it's not much of a problem. When you don't pay the bill is when you realize how much 30% interest really is.

That looks tailor made for a Stormtrooper. Enjoy it!

Unbelievable finish to a game. I bet the Vols head coach is seriously PO'd right now.

While I've love to agree with that, none of my other tackle shows any kind of rust. I store all of my gear indoors. Given the thought of it being outside though, even the rods and reels that I store on the patio in the backyard for guests to use don't have any rust.

Never knew that about the Sahara. I've been very happy with that reel. Let me know what size bearing you get to replace it with, Wayne. I'll probably end up doing the same to mine.

Only fresh. I've heard of a few other people having the same problem. It could well have just been a defect on an early run of them. Was a deal breaker for me though. I take very good care of my gear. Having a rusted hook keeper on both rods I had was a no go. The sideplate release pin on the reel was showing some corrosion as well.

I was cooking a ham for dinner. It took a while to get up to temp. That and I'm a fast typer. Btw, that ham was freakin delicious. I'm sitting here eating a sandwich with the leftovers. Nom nom nom 8-)

I won't recommend a specific rod and reel to you. If you really want to know what I use, shoot me a PM and I'll tell you. As far as line goes, I use 30lb braid on one rod and 40lb braid on a second. Unless I'm fishing in very thick cover I'll use a fluoro leader. Usually somewhere in the 12-14lb range. I like having the leader on all slower moving bottom contact baits. The other benefit of a fluoro leader is if you fish around rocks. Braid and rocks do not mix. With the leader, your line wont get chewed up as quickly. I'm a big fan of braid for jigs and other bottom contact lures. I personally like a 6'10" MH XFast for most of my jig work. If I'm in thicker cover, I'll switch to a 7'6" MH XFast Flippin Stick.

Color Selection, not so simplified There are such a gross myriad of lure colors available to the angler today that it's no wonder why people are constantly confused as to what color to pick in any given circumstance. There are literally hundreds of companies each manufacturing their own specific colors in God only knows how many different combinations. How are you supposed to actually pick an appropriate color to fish with? Does the color actually matter? First, let's start off by talking about the jig skirt. The skirt, sans trailer, is the only portion of the jig that directly affects the overall color presentation of the lure. Have you ever seen a living creature in the water that is only a single color? I personally have never seen a solid green fish. This is why I believe that in jigs, you do not need a ton of colors in your box. You need a few very complex colors. What this means is that in a single jig, I like to see several different complementary colors in the skirt. The overall effect may be a brown or a green jig, but within that single jig there will be multiple shades and colors of green and or brown. The overall effect that this gives is something on the bottom that looks much more lifelike than just a solid blob of green sitting there. You'll hear a lot of people saying to match the hatch. I'm not necessarily a firm believer in this. The lake I primarily fish has crawfish, but there is a very small population of them. A jig is meant to mimic a crawfish. I've had a single opportunity to actually handle one and examine it. Honestly, I couldn't tell you what color they are at what times of the year. It was dead summer and this thing was pitch black. Does that mean I should be throwing a black jig all the time during that part of the year? My water for the most part is green tinged and fairly clear to semi-stained. Common thought would say that black would be one of the worst colors to throw in that situation. I tend to agree. I think it is far more important to match the surroundings that you're fishing in. Instead of strictly matching the hatch, try matching the cover. If I'm fishing in vegetation, I'm going to throw a jig that is in the green family. My second choice would be a lighter shade of brown. The only time I'll throw a black jig is in very dirty cover, extremely thick vegetation, or at night. Chromatowhat? Oh, chromatophores. What the heck is that? Chromatophores are these tiny, light sensitive cells in the body of a crawfish that enable them to change skin color to match the surroundings that they spend most of their time in. Most crustaceans, if not all of them have chromatophores. The crawfish will still maintain its secondary colors such as blues, reds, oranges, etc. These secondary colors are also found in the skirts of most jigs. To me, this is mostly a crapshoot. If you know the primary colors of the crawdads in your lake, you can really dial into a solid color pattern to use. Take the old standby saying of darker water, darker lure color to heart. In most cases this holds true. Make sure you know the area you're fishing though. If you're in rocks, pick a shade of lure that will match with the rocky bottom. If you find yourself fishing in and around submerged vegetation, chose a complementary color to the environment. You want your jig to stand out a little. You don't want it to sit there waving a giant flashing neon sign around announcing its presence. Most aquatic animals tend to blend in with their surroundings somewhat. Your jig should as well. Remember, both color shade and contrasts are the main considerations when picking a jig color. Don't be afraid to experiment though. Using a product such as JJ's Magic to tip your jig trailer a different color can make all the difference in the world. Picking the proper color is only part of the equation though. Having proper jig action is equally as important, if not more important.

100% Unicorn tears.

Loved mine until the rod and reel both started to corrode. Returned them.

I haven't heard that in a long time. Great song.

In that situation the best answer I could probably give you is: You need to use the jig more often. The feel of the jig will never change. Play with them in shallower water so you can watch the jig. Learn how it feels. If you're coming over the limbs of a tree, it will never feel like something alive. If you're in doubt, which I am frequently, just hold the rod perfectly still. If it's a fish it should give you some feeling of life. There are times when the fish will just sit there and hold the jig. Those are the times when you need to have almost a sixth sense about what your jig is doing. Experience is the key here. You'll never learn what the bite feels like if you don't spend enough time using them.

Nice lookin rig. Hope you get it out to catch some fish. I've heard nothing but good things about Bass Cat boats.

Mike, you weren't kidding about it being a beautiful day today. It was freakin gorgeous. Thats the one good thing about those tropical systems. The next day or two after them is usually fantastic to be outside.

I use a Shimano Crucial 7'2" MXF drop shot/shaky head rod when I wacky rig. That rod has a fantastic tip on it. Plenty of backbone also. I think they retail around 150 bucks. Toss on your favorite 2500 spinning reel and you're good to go.

I'll just reiterate whats already been said before: Use what you're comfortable with. All of my casting reels are RH retrieve. I tried a LH and just could not get comfortable with it. I'm sure if I spent some more time using one I'd get the hang of it. I crank my spinning reels with the left hand with no problems. I must just be strange or something.

You don't need the drag off at all. You just need to learn how to play a fish. I'm not sure I would use 2lb test on Bass, but I know plenty of guys who chase line class records in saltwater that regularly catch big fish on stupidly light line.