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I prefer YZ Hybrid, 12# for spinnerbaits and 10# for crankbaits. With a MH-power rod, you should have no difficulty ripping lures through the grass with this line.

Hybrid really is the most useful line on the market, and it's much stronger than what it's rated for. I use 4-6# on spinning reels and 10-12# on casting reels, and wet it down with KVD conditioner.

If I had my way, Shimano would simply re-issue the E series Curados in gunmetal gray at the same price. I still regret missing out on the $80-100 E-series Curados that flooded the market for a week or two. On that note, the G-series isn't all that bad, especially at bargain hunter prices. Had I never owned the D- or E-series, I would be quite happy with the G-series Curados.

Abu Garcia Revo STX or Shimano Curado E7.

The high catch rates of bass often come at dawn and dusk -- that's no mystery -- but the big ones seem randomly spread out over the day. For me, the best fish of the year is often caught on days where I'm catching very few bass. It seems very random to me.

I agree with this 100%.

I've buried a barb in myself a half-dozen times with small hooks: #6 trebles and the like. It's really not that bad with these little hooks. I lucked out.

He raises some interesting points in his blog. I understand that Nick worked really hard to get where he's at and wants his "fair" share. I mean no offense, but he has to realize that he's a low-middle-tier competitor in an emerging niche sport with a cult following, fighting on free UFC preliminary cards and cards that are shown exclusively on Facebook.

Craw trailers. I have about 30 pounds worth of them.

Junebug, green pumpkin/red, and black/blue.

It's a good question. They both have pros and cons. I've noticed that Beavers make it through emergent cover better than crawfish baits. I often fish them when I'm flipping/pitching shoreline cover, where flappy claws often get hung up. The Beavers are also more streamlined, so they have a faster fall. I wish they were more durable; they can get expensive where you start tearing them up.

I have better hook-up rates when I use 5/0 EWG-style hooks with big plastics.

Its sounds to me like you gave up way too soon.

Very nice! I would love to have that rod storage.

Quality sunglasses are always impressive the first time you give them a shot. They're a worthwhile investment for an angler, no doubt. Apart from protecting your priceless eyes from flying projectiles, they also reduced eye-strain and help you to relax.

Pink is for crappies. I've never had much luck bass fishing with it.

For me, it's a 5" kinda-whitish-colored soft-jerkbait on a 3/0-4/0 EWG hook, or a 4-5" whitish grub on a 1/16-3/16 oz. ballhead jig. Simple, yet effective. Last year, I threw the ballhead jig around all summer and hammered the fish during those heat waves.

I prefer the Dobyns DX744 with football jigs in that weight range, though it sometimes feels slightly underpowered with 3/4 oz football jigs, around rocks. The Champion 735C shouldn't be overlooked either. It's a terrific, underrated "general" jigging rod. As close to flawless as you're gonna get, as far as I've seen.

I wasted quite a bit of money trying to figure out which crankbait line I preferred. I ended up settling on 10-12lb copolymer, specifically YZ Hybrid.

This is a personal preference situation. Try it out for yourself. Personally, I find braid/leader to be the lesser of two evils.

I'm a fan of switching lures quite often. If I were on a 2-fish-per-3-hour pace, I would be switching it up about every 10-20 minutes until I found something that worked well, or until my time on the water ran out. Another thing, at that rate, maybe it's not a matter of choosing lure color, but instead choosing a completely different lure.

Half cinder blocks and light chains work just fine for making stuff like this. You can connect the chain links with zipties.

Any of the major online retailers that offer occasional 10-20% off sales and free shipping on orders over $50-75 will see my business.

• People having sex on their pontoon. • A snapping turtle with a shell that had a 3.5' diameter. • Goose hunters firing buckshot into the air over a lake with boaters on it. One if the geese landed in the water with a giant splash; the other crashed into the trees. Perfectly legal, BTW. • A jetskier lose control of his machine and almost hit a dock at about 30 mph. • A Golden Retriever willingly swimming in the middle of the lake for no less than 2 straight hours, with the exception of two minutes when it went and stood in the shallows, panting. 95 degrees, mid-day. • Deer swimming across the Mississippi River, including tiny spotted fawns. • An abandoned, emaciated, and poorly-socialized Rottweiler that was living down by the river, not far from some busy walking trails. I used to wade down there and fish, and it surprised the hell out of me one day by sneaking up and me and growling. I actually wading out into the deep part of the river and let the current take me a few hundred yards downstream so I could get out of there. I heard that the dogcatchers went hunting for him. I presume he ending up feeling the business end of a needle. • Some teenage girls absolutely freaking out while swimming because one of them pooped in the water and it floated up next to them. I was about 100 yards away, flipping jigs along a weedline. (My personal favorite)

The variety of tubes mentioned so far in this thread demonstrates how many effective brands are on the market. I personally have always had the best luck with the finesse-style tubes, like the Powerbait or Venom ones.