Marty

I read one of the pros a couple of years ago (can't remember, maybe KVD) saying that basic tandem will serve you well for the vast majority of your spinnerbait fishing. It's dizzying to think of the number of combinations when you consider willow, Colorado, Indiana, and others, silver, gold, painted, hammered or smooth finish, blade size, etc. It ain't worth it to this angler. Now, if I were selling spinnerbaits, I just might tell you that you need to carry about 150 or so, so you'll be ready with the exact bait you need for any condition you might encounter. As to who knows what the exact bait is for all the conditions, well, that's another story. ;D

If I had to pick one lure for pike it would be a spinnerbait by a tiny margin. But really, I've had pike readily take virtually any lure that exists, from topwaters to bottom crawlers and everything in-between.

While I'm not familiar with that line, I'm sure the fish can see it. But I tend to agree with Wayne that the fish don't care. That's why I confidently fish braid without a leader. But, as Curls said, you need to do what you feel confident with.

You'll want the biggest possible if you're going to be out in open water on windy days with lots of boat traffic. The smallest boat will do fine if you're in a protected area, regardless of lake size.

I don't know if a general statement can be made about whether canoes or kayaks are more stable. I've never been in a kayak but I own a canoe. Canoes can range from extremely tippy to extremely stable. My canoe is more in the latter category, made for fishing. It's short (14') and wide (39"), making for a relatively flat bottom. The big advantage for me is that the flat bottom allows me to have a lot of stuff on the bottom that is easily accessible. The price to pay for that width and stability is a reduction in paddling efficiency, which is fine by me because I don't have to go very far from the launch in the places I fish.

Replacement for what? I've used them for 5-6 years and I think they're great. They don't need to replace anything, they'll function very well as a primary stickbait.

Only you can decide that. If it were me the trailer would be my last choice. There's the electrical hookups, registration, parking, storage etc. If you can truck it or car-top it conveniently by yourself, why not?

I've had more pike and pickerel biteoffs than I care to think about and many of them have been instantaneous, with braid, with mono, by bigger fish and by hammer handles. However, I'd follow earlier advice and check your knot before drawing any conclusions.

Tuning is done by bending, not twisting, the line tie. If the bait is running to the left, bend the line tie to the right and vice versa. Just a little bend is needed, not a lot. You can do the tuning with a needle nose pliers, but this inexpensive tool from Bass Pro Shops is better. http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_52284____SearchResults

I don't know what is "best", but I've had good results and been satisfied with #6 for 3/8 oz. and #4 for 5/8 oz.

As far as I'm concerned, it's a crap shoot. My black Jitterbugs work well in sunny conditions as well as low light, and my chartreuse buzzbaits do the same.

I wouldn't rule out any time of day for lily pads. In addition to topwaters, try dragging a soft plastic across the pads, letting it sink into the holes and at the edges.

The Jitterbug is my favorite lure. I don't know about the old-vs.-new comparison, but I definitely think they're made with low-quality components. I'd stop using them if they weren't a unique lure. I get rid of the hook hangers and replace them with screw eyes and split rings, plus replace the hooks. I also remove the screws from the metal lip and put super glue in the holes. I'll also do the same with the screw eyes if I'm using the jointed version. With these modifications the lures hold up quite well. The company apparently has no incentive to retool and use more modern components. They presumably are satisfied with the sales and they're not feeling pressure from us. We need to complain more and not be so accepting of junk.

If I understand correctly, there's a $12.95 convenience fee for online rent payment, but no fee for paying by check? That doesn't make sense to me. Most organizations I deal with encourage online transactions--some even give a monetary incentive--because processing online transactions is much cheaper than processing paper documents.

Yes. We don't know. There is a range of opinions on this matter. I use 15# leaderless braid on spinning gear and much, if not most, of my fishing is done in clear water and I've caught plenty of fish and have confidence in what I use. Of course, nobody can possibly know what would have happened had I used different line or used a leader on the braid. I agree with this 100%. Unless someone has caught a lot of fish, over a long period of time, under controlled conditions, claims can't be made about one product, color, etc., being superior to another.

G-R-O-A-N ;D ;D ;D

No, a 40% catch-to-strike ratio is not what to expect. Even if you're like me--and it sounds like you're not--who has terrible hooksetting techniques, you should have a higher ratio than that. I'm not familiar with the hook you were using. You didn't say anything about line or rod. I assume they're both compatible with Ribbit type fishing, but if not, you might get some improvement there. In the meantime, don't draw too many conclusions from one outing and keep at it for a while. The Ribbit is an excellent fish attractor.

It certainly does. I just posted a link to it yesterday in another thread. http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_52284____SearchResults

Yep, you bend the line tie, not twist it. Bass Pro has an inexpensive tool that's easier to work with than pliers. http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_52284____SearchResults

I've never been a fan of hollow-bodied, double-hook baits, but I did just buy one, a Snagproof. I don't know how it compares to Spro, but it looked just as good in the box and was $2 cheaper. But what bothered me about your comments was that it shouldn't be necessary to have to modify a highly touted and expensive lure right out of the box. For $9, a lure shouldn't take on water.

I own a couple and I think they're good and have confidence in them.

I agree with BobP, if a fish takes out so much line that it's down to the end, it doesn't matter much what the attachment to the spool is, it's gonna break, period.

I also use 15# Power Pro. I've brought in large fish buried in dense, heavy weeds and had a helluva hard time breaking off when my lure has snagged. I don't know what the breaking strength is, but it's sure higher than 15#. I never felt the need to go heavier.

Once again I just received notification that I have a message that was sent months ago. The message was dated February 22 and I was just notified today (July 13), that is, at the top of the page it said I had one new message.

You can do a lot of things, but you can't go wrong with a weightless rig and fishing them with twitches and pauses around shallow cover.