tholmes

This^, plus having to take a break every couple of hours to rest my back. Tom

Medium/moderate-fast for treble hook baits, Medium-heavy/fast for single hook baits, Heavy/ex-fast for frogs. Tom

8" pole barn nail through the spool and clamped in my benchtop vise has worked for years. For spinning reels, just stand the spool on the floor, make sure the line is coming off of the spool in the proper direction and wind 'til it's full. No need to over-complicate things. Tom

Bomber Long A. Tom

I fish the way it's most comfortable for me. Rod in my left hand, reel with my right hand. Don't overthink this. Do what feels best to you. Tom

I have several rods that are 20+ years old. I still catch fish with them, so I don't see any reason to get rid of them. Tom

Around here, it's catfish bait! Tom

Same here. We've got about 1/2" and it's still coming down pretty good. I'm hoping it doesn't get bad enough that I get called in to work. Tom

Norman. Any of them. They make a crank for any depth from shallow to 20+ feet in a vast array of colors. Great quality and reasonably priced. Tom

Johnson's Silver Minnow spoons. I've caught a lot of bass on these in the past, but haven't tied one on for a long time. I don't really know why. I think I'll dig 'em out this spring and give 'em a try. Tom

With slip bobbers, I use a piece of a thin rubber band as a bobber stop, and put a small craft bead between the bobber and the stop. Leave the ends of the rubber band about 1/2" long and it will cast through the guides on a spinning rod. Tom

I've done well with in-line spinners (Panther Martin. Rooster Tail, Mepps), Kastmasters, and 1/8/oz. Tiny Traps in chrome. The biggest Rainbow that I ever caught was on a 1/4 oz. blade bait, Tom

I use an old BPS Micro-Lite 6'6" ultra light and an Okuma AV-15 reel spooled with 4# or 6# mono. Certainly not high-end or expensive, but it works for me. Tom

If you want finer hair, you might try squirrel tails. Mepps has used them for years. squirrel tails Tom

I've done pretty well with those 1/4 oz. Rebel squarebills that are $1.50 at WalMart. Tom

Same here. Both are 7' MH/F Abu Vedettas. Tom

Probably a couple dozen crankbaits, a few packs of worm hooks and weights and a few packs of soft plastics. Tom

Gerber multi-tool. Can't remember the model number, but it looks just like this. I've been carrying it ever since my wife gave it to me over 15 years ago. I had to replace the belt sheath, but the tool is still going strong.

Great post, Catt! Mods: Can this become a sticky? Tom

As long as "they" don't tell the fish, I think we'll be okay. Tom

I've been fishing "Ned rigs" for decades, I just never knew the name. Always called them a grub on a jighead. I've never fished an A-rig or any crankbait that costs over $10. Tom

~ 7" ribbon-tail, brand isn't important, in red shad, tequila sunrise, black, green pumpkin, and junebug. Whatever is working on the day I'm fishing. Tom

It's hard to pick one favorite. The ones that I use the most are: Chrome/blue back Gold/black back Red/orange craw Tom

I fish tiny jigs and flies on a float 'n' fly rig. It's easy to cast and deadly for sunnies and crappie. Tom

Play guitar, a lot. Clean, lube and repair (if needed) about 15 reels that I use regularly, clean and organize tackle boxes, replace hooks on the lures that need them and put new line on my reels. One of my casting rods has a broken guide that needs replaced. I have a big box of old reels that I've picked up at yard sales that I will go through to clean and repair. I'll spend some time making jigs and blade baits for next year. Tom