BassThumb

Bubbling Shaker is a terrific bait for drop shot, vertical jigging, or ice fishing. I get them on eBay

Tackle Supply Depot. 15% off, storewide. Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Code: EASTER15

There's no reason why you can't use braid for crankbaits, but if you use a line with a little more stretch (mono, flouro, copoly) and a rod with a bit slower action, you'll hook more of the fish that strike and fewer fish will throw the hook during the fight.

3/8-1/2 oz jigs with hooks on the lighter side. I've never straightened one, and the hook-up rates seem a little better.

2/0 VMC Neko hooks. The fish are stuck like glue, and they're terrific dropshot and Neko Rig hooks, as well.

I've never fished without having a current license on file, but I have fished before on many occasions without a license in my possession. I used to wade rivers for smallmouth in my teens and early-twenties, and in one case I had my license blow out of my tackle bag and float away. Not long after that, I was stopped by a warden as I was exiting the river. Using the electronics in his truck, he was able to see that I had purchased a license for the year. He wasn't upset and didn't make a big fuss about it, but he did say that it's the law that one must have a copy on them at all times while fishing. I went to a local retailer and had a replacement printed for like $2. Now I keep the original copy in my wallet, a photocopy in the boat, and have a picture taken of it on my phone. I haven't had to show it in quite a few years. Most of the wardens are more concerned with DWIs and life jackets nowadays.

The best advice I can leave here is to use fluorocarbon designed as leader material. It's a little stiffer than standard fluoro, but it's tough as nails and ties much, much better knots that rarely need to be retied. I typically get 4-6 trips before I feel the need. Since I started using this type of line, I have not once broken the braid-to-fluoro knot, and that used to happen regularly when I used standard fluorocarbon line. I use 10# Sufix 832 on all my spinning setups with a Double-Uni knot connecting braid to leader, and I've landed anything from 15 lb. pike wrapped in milfoil to a 7 lb. smallmouth in three-foot rolling waves. I prefer the Trilene leader material in 6# for bass and walleye, and 4# for panfish. It's $10 for 25 yards, but a 6-10' section will last you a dozen trips at least.

Columbia Men's Tamiami II are the best fishing shirts I've ever used and some of the most comfortable pieces of clothing in my closet. They'll run in the $25-30 range for some of the colors, and the prices often change. https://www.amazon.com/Columbia-Tamiami-Sleeve-Shirt-Large/dp/B004IYYMCQ/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1491870776&sr=8-4&keywords=columbia%2Bpfg&th=1&psc=1

I agree. I'm not a huge fan of the hooks. As for the second part, a tiny dab of gel super glue works better than any bait-keeper on the market, and the 30 seconds it takes to apply the glue and let it dry is minor compared to the time saved by not having to continually mess with the baits to keep them rigged properly.

Absolutely true; jerkbaits are pike magnets. For the waters I fish, with the exception of Mille Lacs, one out of every three fish that hit the bait are pike, and probably every third pike that hits bites the lure off. It's the biggest reason I don't fish them very often.

I'm really curious about the 704 and 705SF. I'll be getting one this spring, sight-unseen, to be used as a dock skipping rod.

The 6# will handle much better than 8#, which has the tendency to spring off the reel quite a bit.

Yamamoto Kut Tail

The 1/2oz bait will have a lot more thump and rattle, and it'll be much easier to cover water with long casts. A 1/4oz crankbait is also pretty ineffective to cast on baitcasting tackle and better suited to spinning tackle.

The wacky-rigged Senko has three advantages over the Texas Rig that I can think of: 1. When rigged with an O-ring, the wacky rig is far more durable and will hold up to dozens of fish. 2. The wacky rig is easier to skip. 3. Less time is spent making adjusting a wacky-rigged bait and making sure it's rigged straight.

Really good color selection on these, especially bluegill. I'm excited to give them a try.

Depends on how big the worm is. I tend to use light-wire Gammys in the 3/0 and 4/0 size for floating worms in the 6-7" range. I've never tried that. It looks great! It's like a Banjo Minnow!

2/0 EWG

r/whatcouldgowrong https://www.reddit.com/r/Whatcouldgowrong/

I really think this is the best way to learn and develop confidence in a technique.

I'd like to hear your result.

Jigworm

This company is located about 10 minutes away from me. They have some terrific deals on Yamamoto from time to time, among other things. Doesn't look too good right now for cheap GYCB Senkos.

I'm going to try Bubba Shotting this season.

Dobyns Fury