JoePhish

I'll try it. I drink Sugar Free Red Bull right now in lieu of coffee for a number of reasons. From a fishing standpoint, though, I don't like to get all hopped up on caffeine. Drink too many Red Bulls and I end up fishing too fast.

I'll resist answering with the obligatory Hendrix, Page, Clapton or Duane Allman. If I want to listen to some modern day guitar virtuosos I'll slip in something by Buckethead or Derek Trucks.

A buddy of mine and myself each bought a new President at the BPS reel trade in. Both of us had problems similar to what you described. Both of us returned them. I lost a decent size fish because of it. No room for that in my game.

The guy used quite a few 'French' words in the uncut version.

Whitwolf! JJ Grey! Can't believe so many people I know haven't heard of him. So mad that I missed all of his shows the last time he was in the area. Outdoorsman110, I've been on a Faces - Long Player kick lately, especially the song, 'Bad n Ruin'. I think that's Rod Stewart at his best. If you like the Black Crowes then you should check out The Vegabonds. They're a bunch of college kids out of Auburn who have recently released their 2nd LP. I wished they played shows around me. Couldn't say if I have a favorite band anymore. I like so many bands across so many genres. To me there's just 2 kinds of music; Good and Bad.

I'm a fan of Belgian Ales. Typically for me Chimay Tripel is the standard but I recently fell in love with La Chouffe the last few times I hung at the Yardhouse.

Jerk Baits...again. I catch the heck out of fish with these when inshore fishing but never a Bass. Though it's not a specific lure or a technique, I want to focus more on using my drag properly, especially on my baitcasters.. I have a tendency to horse fish in.

I add Carolina Lunker Sauce in the Crawlic scent, which I call the Stank, to most of my baits. New bags of Powerbaits don't get hit usually. However, if it's a batch I've had for awhile I don't hesitate to stink them up some more. ...and you know, those coffee scented baits work best in the morning

Do any of you change out the hooks your Rattlin Vibes?

Gold is a money color in a lot of the waters I fish. If I'm not getting hits on that I switch to something Silver or Chrome.

Caught fish on both. The Shad does seem a bit louder but the tail rips more easily than those on the Toad.

There was a point last year where every Skinny Dipper I threw got hit with an orange Spike-It marker.

My 2.5 seems to run just a little deeper than my 1.5. I catch fish on both sizes. Been killing it on a silent 1.5 in Bluegill for the last month or so. Got about half of the fish on the surface after killing my retrieve.

Sexy Shad colored lures. I'm staring at 4 of them right now that have never attached themselves to fish.

Nice name. Welcome.

Back in the Fifties while my father was courting my mother, he went on a fishing trip with my maternal grandfather who was an old salt Navy vet from WWI. My father, having not fished much and thus having no gear, rushed out to the store and purchased the latest and greatest; whatever that was back then. He really wanted to impress his future father-in-law. When they met at the boat my grandfather was armed with no more than a hand line. Sure enough he outfished my father silly. As a result of this family story I grew up with the attitude that it's not the gear that makes a good fisherman good. ....but over the years I have realized that high quality gear can make a good fisherman better. While I don't own any top of the line combos, as time passes I find myself upgrading the quality of my gear with every next purchase. I've noticed a big difference between what I had and what I fish now in all aspects. I'm pretty much a bang for your buck kind of guy, so I don't really see myself ever spending top dollar for gear. However, I won't fish crappy rods and reels anymore.

Disappear.

I'm pretty open minded when it comes to fishing, so this evening I'll leave the Trophy Scum Frogs at home and pack the Spros. I've been fishing some sort of frog for more than half my life. My technique is sound. There just is a big difference between these two frogs. Softness/Collapsibility aside, the biggest difference is the weight on the back of the TSF. Like I said, the back end sits down in the water. When a fish breaks the surface it already has half of the bait in it's mouth (the half with the hooks). With lighter and/or more evenly balanced frogs that sit flatter on the surface you'll get more "flying frogs" and misses. It's just what I've noticed after all these years. Personal experiences vary.

I hardly ever miss a hook up on the Trophy Scum Frog. It's soft ad the back end sits down in the water. Couldn't tell you how many fish I missed on Spros.

Got my free decal and pack of 2/0 EWGs last week. Though I usually use a larger size hook, I needed some 2/0s.

'The lake giveth and the lake taketh away' is what I always say.

This year I've been having success using Rage Toads (Okeechobee Craw) and when I want to downsize a little bit, Gambler Cane Toads (Black or Green Pumpkin Pearl Swirl Red).

Blue Tilapia Spotted Tilapia Oscar Red Belly Pacu King Mackerel African Pompano (albeit a small one)

Swimsenkos are my favorite swim jig trailers. I'll use the back half or so. Great way to recycle ripped baits.

Black, Black and Blue, Black and Brown, Green Pumpkin, Bluegill. I'm not fancy when it comes to jigs. I just use Booya Boo Jigs mostly but my swim jigs are Strike King. Trailers I use mostly are Producto 8in Tournament Worms, Swimsenkos and Rage Craws. Weights vary depending on depth of water and wind.