Marty

I'm not asking people to tell their secret waters, even though the rules say "mandatory" so I'd suggest changing the rules or ending the contest or telling people if they they don't want to reveal the water, then don't post an entry.

Fish a crankbait anywhere you think the fish are, assuming the cover will permit crankbait use. There are loads of good shallow-running cranks, such as Baby 1-Minus, Swim-N Image, Shallow Shad Rap, the aforementioned KVDs and others. If shallow for you extends to 5'+ then you have loads of additional choices.

New York didn't allow targeting out-of-season bass until six years ago (season starts 3rd Saturday in June). While the original poster's friend said the early ones don't count, I don't buy into that, but as much fun as the early season catching is, it's somewhat less satisfying for me because I have such difficulty in the summer. Thus, a good day in the summer is more satisfying because those days are much less common that those in the spring.

Never used them in many years of crankbait fishing and probably never will. I figure if I'm fishing an area that doesn't allow the use of trebles, I'd rather fish other lures that are weedless or semi-weedless, such as spinnerbaits, Texas rigged or topwaters.

It's a given that you need a good sharp hook with enough gap for the lure being used. Beyond that, it's the angler's hook-setting technique which can make a big difference (which is not to imply that my technique is good, because it isn't.)

Very nice indeed. You've got a lot of guys jealous who wish they had the opportunity to catch quality bass near home.

The tools I use the most are pliers, lip gripper, braid scissors and nail clippers. They're stored in a plastic box from some product that my wife uses. It's approximately 11"x5"x2" high. No problem in my canoe, but when I'm in the back of a bass boat I have to wedge it between a couple of things when we're running with the big motor or else it'll blow away.

Sounds like you want something removable and this looks permanent. http://oakorchardcanoe.com/search.php?search=seat&y=31

Personal preference. I've seen some guys who like 7:1 and others who like 5:1 or even less. A "good" or "ideal" ratio exists only for each individual angler.

Congratulations. Firsts are one of fishing's great pleasures.

I don't think there's a "best" anything. Use a sharp hook with enough gap for that particular lure. A hook with a keeper, such as the corkscrew type, will cost more but will get you more fish per individual bait and may prove cheaper in the long run.

I'm a dinosaur with an old flip phone and have been with Verizon since Day 1. I haven't had occasion to use customer service much in the last few years. Coverage is great; I get a signal at every place I fish, while the guy I fish with, who has T-Mobile, has no signal in many of the places and often hears his text alert 10-15 minutes after we've left the ramp. I've considered cheaper providers but a possible drop-off in coverage keeps me hooked.

There's supposedly a company "Popeye's Baits." Google it. I didn't notice anything on the PTFL.

I have a 14' tandem canoe which I only use solo. You obviously have to have something for both solo and with two kids along. A 16-17' should suffice. It'll be heavier and a little harder to handle, but depending on the width it may paddle more efficiently. Good luck.

Me too, except I've lived in western New York all my life.

Never heard of him but that's the name of the former baseball pitcher and manager whose granddaughter was killed in the Tucson shootings.

Congratulations and good luck. Scoring a job during tough times is no mean feat.

I'll be there on Tuesday. The guy I'm going with has been there a few times and caught fish both times, but nothing noteworthy. He's been using crankbaits exclusively. I don't know how much experience you have at that lake, but I think you'll have a lot of fun if you continue to go there for the next 30-45 days and maybe beyond. Once that water warms another 10° you can experience good topwater action if you're into that.

There are no sure things. I've caught hundreds of walleye, but not from conventional places; all but a few are from the murky waters of the Erie Canal. I do know that they can be difficult to catch during the day. I caught a number of them under bright skies, but that was because the water was so murky, but even there the fishing was better in the evening. The only lures I used were crankbaits and grubs on jigheads. They readily took both and weren't too fussy about what style of crankbait. Some people will tell you that a lure tipped with a worm is better, as it well may be, but I never tried it. Good luck, I hope you you get to add another notch to your rod.

All soft plastics catch fish and there's loads of overlap. You may think a certain style is good for, say, holes in the weeds, but you can use worms, grubs, tubes, creatures and other styles for that purpose. There's no one right answer. You have to make arbitrary decisions, use trial and error and fish with what you've built up confidence in. It's my personal opinion that if a bass is going to take a soft plastic, it would take many different types of plastic that would have been in the same place at the same time. As to search baits, that term is more associated with faster-moving horizontal lures like crankbaits, spinnerbaits and topwaters. If you're going to use a plastic for that purpose I'd use something with an action tail. Another thing you can do is put a plastic on a jighead, attach an overhead spinner and fish it like a spinnerbait. When I do this I use a simple curly tailed grub. This isn't very sexy or fashionable lure but it can be very effective.

I'll accept that, not knowing otherwise. But your statement reminds me of another characteristic, i.e., the straighter the bill comes out the deeper it dives.

I own a canoe, but it's similar to a kayak for purposes of this discussion. Being a kayak owner, you already know what a huge difference it makes between owning a very small boat and being shore-bound. You can get out on ponds, rivers and even large lakes in the right spots and/or right conditions. If you want a bass boat and can find a way to swing it, then by all means go for it and enjoy it. Until that happens, just think of all the great things you can do with what you already have. In my case I consider that to be a lot.

All other things being equal, a round body has a wider wobble than a flat-sided body. Again, all other things being equal, a line tie near the end of the lip will wobble wider than a line tie closer to the body. Bass Junkie told you the conventional wisdom on when to use which, but keep in mind that there are many exceptions, so don't hesitate to use the "wrong" one when the "right" one isn't working.

Certainly two great baits, but I don't think they're in the same category, with the Fluke being a jerkbait and the Senko a stickbait. My jerkbait fishing started with Mr. Twister Slimy Slugs (look the same as Slug-Go's), then I switched to the newer style, Bass Assassins and Super Flukes, probably for no other reason than they were more fashionable. All are good fish catchers, I can't tell the difference except that the Fluke/Assassin style cast further.

I shouldn't answer since I have no rods that cost that much, but I've caught and dragged some big ones through heavy slop while using rods and reels in the $40-60 range. Now consider that it's universally believed that that the biggest factor in fishing success is locating the fish and it stands to reason that the cost of the equipment isn't a huge factor. Maybe a lousy analogy, but compare a Chevy to a BMW. The former will get you to where you want to go just as quickly and safely as the latter, although the latter might be more comfortable and quieter to use. But the Chevy doesn't deter you from accomplishing your basic goal.