Marty

Don't lip-grip 'em!!

Good luck. Stick with it, you'll never regret it. I gave up smoking after 25 years and also lost 55 pounds after making permanent changes in my eating habits. However, your job is even tougher because mine didn't happen simultaneously.

Very nice Chris. I love shooting critters, but can't come close to those.

I don't know that there is a "best" size, but with spinning, all other things being equal, for a given line diameter, line performance will be better on a larger diameter spool. So if it boils down to two sizes, I might take the larger for this reason.

Always a jug of ice water and a camera. Food ranges from a simple snack to full lunch depending on how long I plan on fishing and what time of day.

I don't shore fish as much as I used to, but those requests always made me feel uncomfortable. That's just one of numerous reasons why I don't want any witnesses to what I catch, whether I'm on shore or on the water.

Really, nothing different than for a lake. I'll use any lure that seems right for the conditions. I don't know, it just seems to me that a 100-yard lily pad bed is the same in a 50-acre pond as a 5000-acre lake.

I use 15# Power Pro. I don't know what its breaking strength is, but it seems incredibly strong.

Good luck on your tour. If you run into the Emir, give him my regards.

Hooked and lost, no doubt about that. My number might be off, but hooking that fish is 90% of catching it. It means you were in the right place at the right time and using the right lure and presentation. You don't hook anything, you couldn't locate a fish and that's a bummer, to say the least. I despise:

I never owned Lucky Craft, so I can't speak about them, but I've been using crankbaits for 40+ years, many brands, all $8 or less. The only one that gave me consistent problems was the Norman Deep Baby N; it seems that I seldom needed to tune other lures. For those who do tune crankbaits, I highly recommend the Bass Pro Shops tuning key. It's a lot easier than pliers. http://www.basspro.com/Tuning-Tool-Key/product/52284/97249

I've been using 15# Power Pro.

To the best of my knowledge, Coontail is a native plant in the United States, although it may be invasive where you are if you're outside its native range. You can't easily rip your lure free from Coontail, because it's an unrooted, free-floating plant.

It goes without saying that location is critical, since you can only catch a fish within your casting range. Often when a fish has a willingness to take a lure, it would be willing to take a wide variety of lures, so finding fish is the #1 priority. As Edgy mentioned above, often casting parallel to shore rather than casting way out will be more productive, but casting away from the shore should not be ruled out, especially if you're not familiar with that particular body of water. I've posted often that I have used a wide variety of lures from the bank. Anything that is suitable for the conditions has the potential to work. I don't use a leader, but many anglers feel that one should be used. Use different speeds and cadences because you don't know in advance what will attract the fish on any given day. Also, try moving around and cover a lot of water until you get to know the characteristics of a given body of water.

I'm sure that those lures will continue to catch fish. They probably became overlooked because of poor marketing and/or the explosion of "hot" new lures, not because of any deficiencies in attracting bites.

I don't have tremors like Long Mike does, but I do use snaps on all my rods. Can't prove anything, but I don't see any evidence that they deter strikes due to visibility or change in action, which, by the way, I think is highly over-exaggerated. Whatever the case may be, I have 100% confidence while using them.

I don't know how carp interact with or affect bass, but I do know that there is good bass fishing in numerous waters around here that have a lot of carp, both common and grass carp.

One spinnerbait manufacturer explains why he thinks a closed loop is best, but it's hard to find any in stores. http://www.soblures.com/faq.shtml

I have to disagree somewhat with some previous comments. Before I started using braid I used some 12# Trilene XL on 2500 size Daiwas with no problems. I don't know how the two lines you mentioned compare to the Trilene. Were you using the same lines as you use on the Fuego? My bottom line is that using small diameter, limp lines should not cause any noticeable problems on a spool of 2500 size or larger.

Sorry. But please put a spare key in your wallet. Over the years I've used mine a few times.

In my years of shore fishing I've used every type of lure. No lure need be ruled out if it's suitable for the conditions you're facing. I think it's important to move around and cover a lot of water until and if you learn where the good spots are. My personal best came from shore fishing a small pond.

One more comment if I may. You don't say when you swing for the fences and get nothing, exactly what "nothing" means. If you literally are feeling nothing, then the odds increase that you're encountering small fish. On the other hand, if you set the hook and feel resistance and then lose the fish, that could be a problem with technique or equipment.

You don't say how long you've been frustrated by your inability to catch fish on these lures. But I have a hard time believing that if you are fishing these where the fish are that you wouldn't be catching some, even if you were using the "wrong" technique. If you Texas-rig a 4" or 5" lure and use a lift-and-drop retrieve I'm sure you'll start catching if you're fishing where the fish are. Good luck. Don't give up.

I fish almost exclusively with braid, therefore, all lures is my answer.

Agree with Ronnie. With the heavier lure just avoid the hard snap-cast and there should be no problem.