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The Rapala digital scale is close to accurate, it's only a few oz off. You can calibrate your scale with water if you're curious. You probably cannot adjust it, but it'll give you an idea of where it's at. A gallon of water weighs 8.35 lbs, a pint 1 lb, and quart 2.1 lbs roughly, etc. It's not hard to pick up a quart or gallon milk jug handle with the scale. Or can hook it under the handle, and it that doesn't fit, loop a ziptie around the handle and use that.

Good work, fishing he jig until it got bit. At one point I had to do that to convince myself that jigs weren't worthless. Now I spend at least a little time with the jig on literally every trip.

WOW! Nice trophy. Would you take that over the bass in your avatar?

Nice way to start the season with that good looking, fat bass. I like that avatar, too. Gummo is a very memorable flick, but I like strange indy films like that. Same writer as "Kids."

Good rant, diver_sniper. Very true, how bass are an under appreciated species in MN. I have to admit though, I like seeing the parking lots and lakes full of walleye fisherman who will be ignoring the bass. Pretty disturbing that people would kill valuable gamefish to protect the walleyes.

Everyone is anxious now that the lakes are opening and it's warming up outside. Doesn't make it easier when I come on here and read about people getting their boats out and starting to get into some fish. Quite a few fisherman are out panfishing before the openers for walleye, northern, and muskie in mid-May, and May 29th bass opener. The crappies and sunnies get hit really hard in April and May.

Not crazy at all. I use Yum Money Minnows on a couple spinnerbaits and they work well, but I miss a few more hookups than I would like, even with a trailer hook.

Yes, it has more action than a small chunk, but still far less than a curly tail grub.

7" and 10" Berkley Powerbait Ribbontail worm - black, Tequila Sunrise, or green pumpkin/chartreuse.

This is a good point. These jigheads are going to get into some rocky snags and you're going to lose a few, no doubt about it, even with good de-snagging techniques. But considering all the other expenses with tackle, boats, gas, maintenance, insurance, etc, I'm not going to lose sleep over a couple of dollars for lost jigheads. That is, if they catch fish, which I think they will.

Tin, did you even look at the picture? Spot Removers and Shakedown heads especially have a very small base for standing compared to this jighead. The Shakedown is a pretty standard ball head jig. Why did you even throw that one in the mix and compare it to a specialty stand-up head that's 3/4" long and meant to roll like a football jig? I happen to like Spot Remover a lot, but comparing which will stand better, the SR and the E2? I think thats pretty clear.

Cold water cranks with a tight wobble, well known for having a durable diving bill that won't snap off when bounced off of wood and rock. I like em. They have their place.

Hell, I don't care if you keep fish, especially if they're farmed. I love eating fresh fish. But if you knock those fish over the head with a little club or screwdriver handle, and toss them on ice, they will taste better and the meat will be more firm. The worst thing you can do to a fish is let it suffocate in warm air or warm water. It makes the fish taste "fishy" because what the brain releases into the oxygen deprived muscles to sooth them will also taint the meat. Who hasn't eaten some panfish where some taste great and some were fishy? Those fishy fillets were from the suffocated fish that were floating in the basket or on the stringer. I always say, if you're going to harvest fish and game, then get the most out of it. That starts on the boat or in the field.

They say, "Any publicity is good publicity." But is it really? :

Well said. Same here. My system is first searching for bass with spinners, cranks, frogs and buzzers, and if and when I find them, I return and patiently try to clean up with jigs and plastics. Aside from spinnerbaits, I'm more comfortable with the finesse fishing game though.

WOW! Great info in this threat so far. There's not really much left to add. Dock fishing is my favorite method. Check out those links.

I'm going to toss 1/8 oz buzzbaits at the beds. Maybe deadstick some wacky rigs if the fish don't feel like chasing the buzzer. Too bad I have to wait until May 29th. :'(

I burn a Citronella candle on the boat to combat the bugs at night. It works pretty well and they come in sizes that you can fit snugly in a drink holder. Just don't let them overflow on your carpet if you go that route. I spend a lot of time tossing a 1/2 - 3/4 oz. black and red spinnerbait with an oversized deep cupped Colorado blade on it. Sometimes I also shrink-tube a jig rattle to the hook shank and I always use a trailer hook at night. I'm probably a little too reliant on this bait, but it always seems to work and it's fun bumping this thing at night. When I'm not tossing the spinnerbait, I'll use black Jitterbugs, large T Rigs, and buzzbaits. I typically cover a lot of water at night, running and gunning weedlines where the flats meet deep water. I know some people anchor on their favorite holes and silently soak T Rigs in them, but I've good luck with R 'n G. They say that anchoring and fishing slowly and silently is the way to go for size, but if you cover water you can rack up serious numbers and have a blast. Another thing, take care to protect your eyes at night, especially with treble hooked lures. I wear Native sunglasses with the clear lenses in, or else shop glasses.

Agreed. It all comes down to personal preference and the anglers ability to adjust. I use 6.4:1 on my cranking sticks, and 7:1 on every other baitcasting setup. It's not that I don't like slower reels, but I feel there is value in having a pretty consistent reel speed across the board. Thats my personal preference.

I fished with a Core and it was a sweet reel. I REALLY like them actually. But is it twice as good as the Curado? As a fisherman, will it benefit me twice as much as having 2 technique specific Curado combos? The answer, in my opinion, is no. This is the Law Of Diminishing Returns at work. At a certain spending point, you get less bang for your buck beyond that point. IMO, with casting reels, that point is in the $150-200 range(MSRP). "The law of diminishing returns is a classic economic concept that states that as more investment in an area is made, overall return on that investment increases at a declining rate."

Yep, there are green weeds that live throughout winter. I've snagged surprisingly healthy cabbage in February thru the ice before.

You're gonna hurt the fish by hooking the gill plate like that. :-/

I like painted blades for smallies, especially white painted willows, but I've never tried glowing blades. I have had very good luck with those glowing Cabela's brand beavers though. I think glowing lures may have their place in low light/shady conditions in clear water, like punching grass and night fishing spinnerbaits.

Good tip. I'm a HUGE fan of 1/8 oz buzzbaits. I bought a 50 pack of Strike King Mini King buzzers at $1.50 apiece about 6 years back when they were rumored to be going out of production....which they didn't. : So I'm good for a while in the 1/8 oz buzzbait dept. ;D #1 river smallie lure ever IMO. That's why I snagged them. Also, very good point about great tips getting swamped by long threads. Too often people read the first few replies and then makes their own, only to miss the constructive tips on page 2 and 3.

Very nice. My PBs are 5-9, 5-7, and 5-3, and I those fish were an unbelievable thrill to catch. I think I'd rather have those than a 8 or 9 lb green bass, although I've never caught one that big. Pure speculation. ;D