basscrusher

I've been successful with many, but if limited to one choice...Zoom finesse worm, junebug in stained water, watermelon/red in clear water.

PM sent, Alex.

I also have the rod in question. Its great, just as much backbone as my St Croix LTB rods, but lighter. I've gone as light as 3/16 oz on my T-rigs, and thrown swimbaits that were close to an ounce. No problems. My preferred rod for heavy cover situations.

UPC bar codes are universal...neither store would be able to tell where it was bought as long as they both carry it. One of the UPC's is for a foreign market, one is US. W/O a receipt, you are likely looking at a store credit worth whatever the current retail is, which should be $179.99. Just call ahead and make sure they'll do the exchange. Tell them it was a gift with no receipt.

I was out on Monday and Tuesday. I know I saw you guys one of those days. To put it mildly, we did really well, too. And I'll leave it at that.

When the Senko first came out, I thought it looked like the worst lure ever, because it had no appendages or seemingly any built-in action. Then the stories started to trickle in that they worked. I remember someone saying back then that they used them in the Keys (4" pearl) for bonefish and said they slayed 'em. That made me give them a shot, and well...here I am, thousands of fish later. But no bonefish. I've never fished anywhere with bones.

If you are fishing with an exposed hook, tail down will decrease the tendency for the tail to get impaled on the hook and run with no action (because the tail would be snagged up). If fished texas style, doesn't seem to matter.

If you haven't noticed , we all have to play the hands we're dealt by the powers that control us in our great society and one thing is very evident. "LIFE IS NOT FAIR." Believe me, I'm one of the last people who needs to be told that.

There would be only one way to make a BASS postseason that produced a true champion, and here it is: It would somewhat follow the match fishing format, but not exactly. BASS would take the top 4, 8, or 16 points leaders, and make a bracket playoff elimination system. Skeet would have been the 1 seed, Evers, 2 seed, and so on. They would NOT fish out of the same boat like on the UMF show. It would be totally head-to-head, but otherwise just like a tournament fishing day. Here's the catch: the higher seed fisherman in EACH match would get to pick his lake (to mimic home-field advantage) and his opponent would fish against him on that same day, same conditions, etc. Just those 2 on that lake. The second seed would play the second-lowest seed, and in that match, again, the higher seeds chooses lake/river. THAT would make a head-to-head contest! The higher seed would have a big advantage (like higher seeds are supposed to) and if there was an upset, woe to the conquered. The winner moves on, taking on another winner from the first round, with the higher seed choosing site. This, of course, would never work, because theoretically if you took, say, the top 16 points leaders, that's 8 fishing matches going on at possibly 8 different lakes at the same time. BASS couldn't cover it all, and would not have enough turnaround time to set up the weigh-in, TV coverage, etc for the next round. But that's the only way to make it fair. So if you can't do that, then just have ONE SET OF RULES AND SCORING SYSTEM AND CROWN THE CHAMPION BASED ON THAT!!!!!!!

This reason right here is why you need a post season in every sport. Yeah the Cleveland Calaviers may have had the best record in basketball this year but they didn't win the NBA Championship. Kevin Van Dam know how to step it up when he needs to. Certain people have it and certain people don't KVD has it. You completely missed the point of what I was saying. The Cleveland Cavs did not have to play against 11 other teams at once, so comparing the postseasons is not logically sound. Following that line of thought, there is no need for a postseason at all in BASS, or in NASCAR for that matter. Let the accumulated points determine the winner. team sports need a postseason. For example, the San Diego Padres could end up with the most wins in baseball this year. If so, they might do so because they were able to beat up teams in a weak division, or for that matter, possibly by beating up the weaker NL, some would say. Yankees fans would cry foul, deservedly so, pointing to the fact that Ny played in a division with Tampa and Boston, so they beat each other up. That's why we have a postseason in team sports -- to account for any statistical outliers, irregularities, anomolies, etc that could provide a false champion. The game is predicated on head-to-head competition, so that is how it is settled. Fishing is NOT predicated on head-to-head competition. Therefore, in the absence of a head-to-head playoff system, the best way to determine a champion is to measure accumulated points. Skeet Reese had the most points. He should have been champion. At that point, BASS REFORMATTED the system to give the other 11 postseason qualifiers an ADVANTAGE! In what other sport does it become easier to catch the leader??? And that's what happened. BASS, by narrowing the field to 12 anglers and changing the points system, made it easier to catch up with Reese. In other sports, the top-seed enjoys an advantage, from home-field to playing a much weaker opponent. Skeet's only advantage going into the postseason was the points lead he had already built, BUT the value of that lead was diminished when BASS changed the scoring system AND narrowed the field. With a smaller field, it's easier to catch the leader, because no matter how poorly you fare, you can't finish more than 11 spots behing the leader! So BASS managed to take a lead, virtually insurmountable under real fishing conditions, and render it completely meaningless.

The postseason format is complete BS. A guy finishes top 5 in 6 of 8 events, including 2 wins, and isn't top for the year? The format is flawed. Just like in NASCAR when Kyle Busch won 13 races and didn't win the points title. It detracts from the credibility of the title. Someone said KVD can't be beat? Check his finishes prior to Kentucky Lake. I'd say he can be beat. Right now KVD should have 4 AOY titles and Skeet 3. Yes, KVD might be the best right now. But anyone who says he dominates is out of their mind. If anything, Skeet dominates more than KVD according to this year's finishes. And the gap between KVD and Reese is too narrow to call it "domination." Another thought: you cannot compare fishing's "postseason" to, say, basketball's postseason. In team sports, it is a head-to-head competion with elimination. That does not exist in fishing except on UMF. So the analogy of "you have to be playing/fishing your best at the end of the season" is only topically analogous.

I'll assume you mean bass-catching lures (otherwise a 2" grub would top the list) so here goes: 1. 5" senko 2. Zoom Shaky head worm 3. Zoom Trick worm 4. Zoom Old Monster 5. 3/8 oz terminator spinnerbait (white & chart.) with 4" curly tail grub trailer 6. Manns' baby 1-minus, chart/blue back 7. Zoom Horny toad 8. 6" zoom lizard 9. 4" berkley bungee worm 10. Zoom G-tail ringer my best plastic color is junebug all around, although it doesn't really matter with the toad. If I could have put a #11 on here, it would be a Snag-proof black frog (Spro would work too) and #12 would have been a crank like a series 4 that gets down 8-10 feet.

there are some big musky in there too.

Can I get an AMEN?!?!?!?! In spinnerbaits, go chart. or black. Big colorado thumpin' blade!

in reference to the original post, I'm assuming you meant the 8" jelly worm, but believe it or not, I've toyed with the idea of wacky rigging the 12 inch jelly worm in one of my local lakes that has a good population of 5+ lb bass (muskies too). If I ever get crazy enough to try it, I'll let you know how it works. I see no reason why the 8 inch jelly worm wouldn't be deadly on a wacky rig. Do it and post results!

Not much that hasn't been said already, but for a nasty WINTER bait...2.5 inch curly-tail panfish assassin, chartreuse pepper color, 1/8 oz jighead. On many days the bass kill it before the perch can even sniff it.

I used to fish in West point back when my grandfather and uncle used to work at the paper mill. For bass, those golf course ponds are about your only option, unless you know some farmers around there and can access cow ponds. If you're up for something different, fish the saltwater creeks for croaker using bass tackle and live/cut bait. I've seen croaker up to 5 lbs caught in west point. They fight just like bass, and taste good.

I love semantic arguments.

It was highly productive for me when I was a kid/teen, as was their Augertail worm. Wish they still made them.

10 inch Zoom Old Monster, or 8 inch lizard. Both in junebug. Because they catch big fish.

Mechanically the D series is exceptional. The reason they weren't around long is because the Revos came out and made the 200D (which was bulky to say the least) completely obsolete. So Shimano had to bring out the E series to compete with the smaller and stronger Revo line. The 100s are nice though. If you can find a good price, I highly recommend one. I have 2 of the Citica 100 Ds, and they are nice. I have a Curado 200D, just wish it was less bulky. But it makes a nice cranking reel (5:1 ratio).

The King's English? I kinda figured we would be using U.S. English. Bollocks, I shall switch to the King's forthwith. ;D Well then, cheerio! I'm off to the pub for me fish and chips!

Burke can be tough from shore. All the good spots are offshore this time of year. Huntsman can be OK, there's another lake around there called Barton (check a Nova atlas) that was incredible when I fished it with friends. Just watch out for poison ivy. Worst case of my life. Actually, there are several small lakes in about a 5 mile radius of Hunstman that hold decent bass, but I can't remember the names. Check out a map and hit them up. Sorry I can't remember some names, maybe I'll research if I have time. Also, hit up community ponds. As long as you're not noisy/littering, nobody tends to say anything.

Definitely Zoom for me. They are relatively cheap, they offer almost every style I'd use other than beavers and senkos, they have every color known to man, they're probably the softest plastic of any non-custom brand, and the appendages move better than most other brands (like the tails on Powerbait lizards, which don't move in the water.)

I have amber lenses in my Maui Jim's. Phenomenal quality. Inexpensive polarized shades will get the done done in sight fishing, so get them if that's all you can afford, but upgrade if you ever get the chance. When I let friends try on my shades, they are literally speechless at how colors jump out while glare decreases. And the clarity...for all the fellow shooters out there, its like the first time you looked through someone's $700 Swaravski scope.