Marty

The various dictionaries are not in agreement. Some say CRAP-pie and others say CROP-pie while others say one but give the other as an acceptable alternative. I've always said CRAP-pie.

Yep, me too, they can last for years.

The Jitterbug is my most-used lure. I'll fish it anywhere that the weeds will allow it and I'll fish it any time of day under any kind of sky as long as I think that the fish will come up for a topwater. I've caught and seen caught loads of fish caught on it and other topwaters under bluebird skies as well as the more conventional low light conditions.

I'm not much of a jig fisherman. But with crankbaits you can cover ground much more quickly and efficiently than with spinnerbaits (and presumably jigs as well). On those days when the fish are active you'll catch more because you can cover a lot more ground with cranks than the others in a given amount of time.

I've been on fishing forums for 13 years and have seen many posts similar to yours. You can have success on crankbaits if you want to. For my money, crankbaits are as good fish attractors as anything. A good friend was just like you. He saw me catch fish on cranks so he decided to dip his toe in the water and bought a Baby 1-Minus. He caught fish on that, then tried another crankbait. Long story short, today crankbaits are either his most-used lure or second most.

I've also caught many of them on virtually every type of lure there is. I've also had biteoffs on virtually every type of lure there is. If I were targeting them I might give spinnerbaits the nod by a small margin.

I use the full assortment of lures because my theory is that the fish doesn't know whether it's in a pond or a lake. I pick a lure based on depth, cover, weather and other conditions without considering the size of the water.

You didn't say what the size is of ponds you call small. That said, I use the same cranks in ponds as elsewhere. No downsizing for me because most of my biggest bass have come from ponds 30 acres or smaller.

I use cheap mono, the kind that you can buy 600 yards for $3. Whether I fish with mono (formerly) or braid (currently) I use enough backing such that there is room left for about 50-60 yards of the good line that I fish with.

I can't conceive of any reason other than "Rap" being the first three letters of the name.

I also use it because I use general-purpose rods and use it for everything. However, conventional wisdom says to use a line with some stretch which supposedly hooks more fish than braid.

As far as I'm concerned, you can use any lure type that the cover will let you get away with. Basically what Mlbassin said except I'd add the appropriate depth crankbaits if you can fish them without the weeds ruining every retrieve.

How about Trophy Series Popper? http://southernlure.goodbarry.com/tackle_box

For what it's worth, the best big fish water for me is a 30-acre pond no deeper than 10'. It has extensive filamentous algae mats over much of the pond in the warmer part of the season and loads of coontail below the surface.

Same here, tail down.

Over many years I have experienced a decline in fishing at many small ponds. Large bodies of water are another story, but with these small ponds it's impossible for me to believe that people keeping fish hasn't been a significant contributing factor.

I use Rattling Raps and haven't noticed any running problems. I just attach a duolock snap to the split ring.

I've always preferred a shoulder bag. While I'm holding a fish the shoulder bag offers one-hand access to whatever I need, be it pliers, scale, tape measure or whatever. I am a person who moves around a lot and never stays long in one spot (unless it's producing), so with a backpack it would be too much taking off and putting back on. On the other hand, if I were one to stay in each spot a long time, then I think a backpack would be much more suitable.

And if you go to a 3rd and 4th website you'll probably get a 3rd and 4th opinion. There are some rules of thumb and different people have different rules. It's a crapshoot, bass are not predictable and every outing becomes trial and error. If you do find a rule of thumb that seems to make sense to you, then the most that could be said for it is that the first color you try is according to the rule. But if the color doesn't work, then you start changing to find out what does work, if indeed, anything at all works on that day. So in the final analysis, there's little difference between using a rule of thumb and not using one. As I've said about other things here, don't over-think it. Get out there, start with your confidence color and you'll soon know what you have to do.

My opinion based on years of observation has led me to believe that it's rare for a bass to strike again after they made contact with the lure once. Hooks on crankbaits and all lures should be checked for sharpness. I have a KVD 1.5 and haven't had a problem with losing fish. But if you fish crankbaits, you'll lose fish, it goes with the territory. However, I wouldn't draw conclusions based on losing two fish on one outing. Everyone loses fish including the best pros in the world. Over the years I've had streaks where I'd lose the majority of fish I hooked over a given stretch of time and other streaks where I landed just about everything that struck and never was able to explain either phenomenon.

I don't see how others can help you justify it. It's probably safe to assume that it won't help you catch more or bigger fish, so it's a matter of your attitude toward and degree of satisfaction in owning a high-end reel. Chevy or Cadillac? No one else can help with the choice.

I use topwater more than any other technique and I use them in low light and in mid-afternoon under bluebird skies. I usually avoid them when the water is colder than about 55°. My Jitterbugs are black and buzzbaits chartreuse so I'm in no position to claim superiority of any particular color.

Agree, don't overthink it. All colors catch fish and you need to use what you have confidence in. There are some general guidelines that many people believe in, but bass break the rules so often that you need to think outside the box a lot. If you really want to know the science behind it, check out Knowing Bass, by Dr. Keith A. Jones.

Obviously the lake you're going to has restrictions, but the general answer to the question is "no" in my opinion. I'm familiar with bodies of water that size and there's no problem with motors.

I obviously don't know your experience, but I've never had a problem attributable to using backing.