tholmes

Abu Ambassadeur 5500 C3. A close second would be a 4600C. They've both been going strong for over 20 years. Tom

I have a couple of 5'6" casting rods that I use for close quarters casting.I fish almost exclusively from the shore, and often run into situations where there are overhanging trees that make a long rod impractical. I also carry one of them in my truck for lunch hour fishing excursions. a 5'6"rod will fit in the cab of my Dakota without bending. Tom

THanks, guys! It's definitely a Norman. I guess I should have included something in the picture to give some indication as to size. It's definitely larger than a Baby N. From the links provided above, I'm pretty sure that it's a Big N in Mean Green Gelcote. This lure: in this color: Thanks again! Tom

Any of you experts here know what this crankbait is? I got it in a lot of baits that I bought from another forum member and I've been murdering the local bass population with it. I'd like to get a few more, but I don't know what it is. THANKS! Tom

I disagree. I have no clue as to why split grips became so popular, but, IMHO, they're uglier than a mud fence. Sleek? More like lumpy, like they didn't quite finish building the rod. But then, I'm an old codger who still uses round reels. Tom

Improved clinch 95% of the time. I can tie it easily, quickly and in the dark. The other 5% of the time, it's a Palomar. Tom

My "oh crap" moments are usually followed by a big splash as my fat butt hits the water. Tom

Tom

I wash my jeans when they start getting me dirty. Tom

In addition to the great advice above, one of my favorite methods for big 'gills is a small crankbait such as SK Bitsy Pond Minnow, Rebel Wee Craw (the smallest size) and similar sized cranks. Another favorite lure of mine is a Mepp's Black Fury spinner in size 0 or 1. Tom

I once caught a 10 lb. striper on 6# mono and my BPS Micro-Lite ultra light rod using a 1/8 oz. jig with a 2" black twister tail grub. Her first run took nearly half of the line off of my reel. Fortunately, there wasn't any brush of timber around, just open water along a rock bank. Tom

You really can't go wrong with either. Both are top-notch reels that will provide a long life of quality fishing. If possible, handle them both and choose the one that fits YOU the best. After all, you're the one who will be using it. Tom

Another free online image re-sizer here Tom

Link to BPS tool: Lure tuning tool It works great! Tom

A good day, for sure! Those are some FAT bass! Tom

No foolin'! After a gorgeous weekend,it's cold today and the wind's about 30 mph straight out of the north. Gotta love springtime in Kansas! Tom

Got away for a couple of hours on Saturday afternoon for some fishing at my favorite local puddle. It was warm and breezy, with a slight overcast. I was casting a shallow crank along a rip-rap bank that had some timber laying in it and hooked up with this gal. 5 lbs. 8 oz. She made my day!

Chrome/blue, chrome/black, shad, and craw colors work best in the waters that I fish. Tom

I like the new format a lot, once they let me log in Perhaps some constructive criticism would be received better than just whizzing in the soup. Tom

I snuck away from work on my lunch break today and went fishing at a local community lake that's just a few minutes from my office. I tied on a 200 series Bandit in a shad pattern, and on my second cast, hooked into a solid fish. I hoisted her out and weighed her at 3.6 lbs. on my digital scale. The best (by a very small margin) smallmouth I'd ever caught there. I kept casting in the same area (duh!) and about 10 minutes later, my lure just stopped. I figures I'd hung up in the rip-rap along the shore until my rod bent over. I set the hook with a vengence, and the fish came straight up! She cleared the water by a couple of feet while I scrambled to get her under control. I finally landed her and after I stopped shaking, weighed her in at 4.4 lbs.! I forgot to grab my camera when I left the office, naturally Pretty good lunch break! Tom

I've probably caught more fish and more different species on a white twister tail grub than any other lure, maybe more than all the others combined. For soft plastics that imitate shad or silver shiners, white is a great color. I don't know about white worms or craws, I've never used 'em. Tom

This^ would be my first guess. Big bass have pretty tough mouths, you need a VERY sharp hook (especially on single hook lures) to penetrate. Your Carbonlite rod should be up to the task. Tom

Congratulations on your first largemouth! Tom

Cadbury Creme Eggs??? GAAAAAKKK!!! It's j8ust as well that I don't like 'em, one of those bad boys would probably put me in a diabetic coma.

Those three letters in that order have been used to reflect a very negative toward The World. Tom