.ghoti.

Don't know about the first one, but a Deceiver will catch anything that swims. Good luck, GK

check these out, excellent wet grip and UV protection. Better than nothing for chilly days too. http://www.feather-craft.com/products.asp?id=19976&cat=%22SUN+CHECKERS%22&search=1 I too wish more rod companies would use Hypalon for grips instead of cork. The problem is, most fishermen have become convinced that cork is best, and will not buy anything else, so that's what makes it to the marketplace. I have two older Team Daiwa rods with EVA grips, and they are the most comfortable rod grips I own, by far. The good news is a lot of the high end JDM rods have EVA grips, so this is bound to eventually trickle down to the rest of the market sonner or later. Cheers, GK

I'd suggest checking regulations before you plant any tobacco. Production of tobaccoo is tightly controlled. An unlicensed tobacco plot will bring the ATF down on you with all four feet. Not trying to rain on your parade, just trying to keep you out of jail.

Big Brother was watching YOU. What were you up to, anyway?

I went to to the one in St Louis last year. That was my first, but not my last. It was great. I heard absolutely NO negative comments from anybody who attended. I was very disappointed to hear that the program had been canceled for this year. Leave it to ESPN to try to fix something that ain't broke.

After reading Ratlinrouge's response to the least favorite technique question, I got to thinking. He said the t-rig worm was his least favorite. I realized that I used a t-rigged worm very little this year. I had six baits tied on all the time. Senko, Ika, X-Rap, tube, finesse jig and spinnerbait. The tubes and spinnerbaits saw limited use. I fished almost exclusively with three, Senko, Ika and X-Rap. Hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. The finesse jig saw more use than the tubes, but less than the Big Three. I guess that would be a solid testimonial to the effectiveness of the Senko, Ika and X-Rap. So, for next year, I'm going to bring back the worm. During last winter I got my worm bag sorted, trimmed down and organized. I used it so little this year that it is still ready to go. I use BPS double sided binders for all my plastics, and have one devoted to worms. In my quest to reduce the amount of stuff I haul around, I reduced my worms to just a few varieties. Here's what I use. Ribbom tail 7" Power worms. These are either t-rigged or rigged on a jighead. The t-rig is a 1/0 or 2/0 offset worm hook, 1/16, 1/8 0r 1/4oz steel weight and a steel bead. I fish this is all the usual places. I use a jighead when I want to swim the worm. My favorite is a slider head, the one with the flattened leadhead. It has a larger hook than most ball head jigs and is sharp right out of the box. This is one of my go to rigs for the outside weedline. The flat head will not bury itself in the weeds when I manage to get too close. It will rest on the weeds and can be twitched in place. Sometimes this works very well. I use a larger mushroom head jig for deeper structure. Ribbon tail 10" Power worms, t-rigged, 5/0 EWG hook, 1/4oz steel weight and steel bead. I'll fish this thing anywhere. Straight tailed worms. Mostly Zoom trick worms and finesse worms. I'll use these on a jighead when I want to fish vertically, not for swimming. With an open hook, this is not for weeds and wood, but for open structure. I'll use a split shot rig with a #1 offset worm hook for cover. I also use a swivel rig, with the worm rigged crooked so it swims in a slow spiral, using split shot to get deeper. This is a good numbers bait sometimes, but not a big fish bait. At least it's not for me. Paddle tail worms, mostly Gambler and Assalt worms. These are mostly t-rigged. I'll use a little heavier weight than what I use for the Power worms, because I want to use a faster retrieve but still keep it near the bottom. Sort of a cross between swimming and hopping. I'll crank it slow and pump the rod gently. I fish these anywhere also. I stick to basic dark and natural colors. That's my bag of tricks for worms. What's yours? I'm absolutely going to put the worm back in play next year. Be nice to hear a few new ideas for this classic bait. Cheers, GK

There are many places in the world where to be "politically incorrect" is to rewarded with imprisonment, or worse. This ain't one of "em. Never has been. Never will be. MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY Have a joyous and thankful holiday with your family. GK

WOW To Glenn; congrats To Mr Hannon; welcome and thanks This is awesome Cheers, GK

Jim B, the new issue of In-Fisherman has a good article on the Float-N-Fly, with some alternatives. According to at least one of the contributors, you are right on the money with the idea that the fly rod could fill this niche. One of the fishermen quoted said that a lot of smallies taken on the float-n-fly actually come up from much deeper water to take the jig. To me, this means if you can get a woolie bugger, or bunny strip, down to the 10-15' range, you can draw the smallies up. At least that's the way I took it. Interesting article anyway. Cheers, GK

I'll play along by listing what I have the most of. Hardbaits: Rapala, by far Soft plastics: GYCB, with Berkley and Zoom running neck and neck for second place. Spinnerbaits/Buzzbaits: Terminator Jigs: don't have a favorite

Once again, Alpster has said what was in my mind. He just said it better than I would have. I'll just try to answer one of your questions. I consider myself an average fisherman. In looking at the rod/reel combos I use the most, my best guesstimate is 250-300 bucks each. At this point in time, that seems to be about the max I can justify to myself. I know there are high end rods and reels, with better specs and performance, costing much more that what I currently use. I can afford them, I just can't convince myself that I really need them. But, that's just me. I have some cheaper combos that do not see as much use. That, in itself, tells a story. As fas as successful goes, any day I'm not working and can get out of the house and go fishing, is a success. Cheers, GK

They couldn't hit a curveball ,so they had to join the swim team.

One thing I would like to see in a spinnerbait is head designed to give a little bit of side to side movement. Like the motion that a crankbait lip provides. I'd think that it should be a bit more subtle then most cranks so it wouldn't interfere with the blades. If you could add the wobble to the flash and vibration, I think you'd have a killer bait. A good trailer keeper would also be important. Cheers, GK

silstar doesnt own shakespeare. That doesn't mean they dont make the reels. Look at specs, its pretty clear who makes them. Sounds like a fifteen year old trying to convince his fellow "geniuses" that a Ferrari is better than a Lotus.

Are you the only one? Are you kidding? You are in fine company here. I'm sitting here. looking at my latest new reel. I got the last of the close-out Daiwa Millionaire's from my local shop. 70 bucks. I don't need it, I already have two of them. But I couldn't let it just sit there could I? The poor thing could have ended up strapped to an ugly stick, fishing for catfish. I couldn't allow that to happen. I saved it it. Yeah, that's what I did. I rescued it. Now I'm trying to decide what rod to get. I have my eye on a Daiwa Light & Tough topwater rod. But, I'm also looking at an Avid 6'8" medium ex-fast for lightly weighted tubes, super flukes and trick worms. Can't quite make up my mind. If I get both, I'm gonna have to get another reel. So, now what? This is how a bass fisherman's mind works when it's winter-logged. If you've only spent a couple of hundred, you are behind the curve. Better get caught up. Cheers, GK

Trilene XL is still the best handling line out there. It's all I use on spinning reels. I don't care how many ball-bearing, twist-busting, dingle-scheafers your spinning reel has, it still twists your line. XL will recover from twist the best and cast the easiest. On my baitcasters I use mostly flouro, but XL still gets the nod for topwaters, spinnerbaits and shallow cranks. For me, flouro sinks a bit too much for these applications. For all plastics and jigs, medium to deep cranks, jerkbaits and for deep spinnerbaiting, I like flouro better. This is what works for me. Your results may vary. Good luck, GK

The Lake Shelbyville tailwater area has the biggest muskie in Illinois. They are all I fish for at this time of the year. I've tried flouro as a leader. Doesn't work. I've tried braid. Doesn't work. I've tried 50lb test mono. Doesn't work. Wire does. End of story. Go to this site and scroll down. http://www.feather-craft.com/2006MAster/fcpage.asp?page=24 Coated wire leader than can be tied. Been using this for a couple of years. The titanium leaders are undoubtedly the best, but this stuff is a close second, and a whole lot cheaper. about a buck a foot. This doesn't seem to have as much damping on lure action as regular wire leaders. I've been using the 15lb test size. I couldn't seem to tie a decent knot using the 30lb test size. Just don't try to tie a Palomar knot. A two and a half turn clinch knot has worked the best for me. Good luck, GK

I use 2" Berkley's for crappie. Tried the 3" to see if I could get some bigger fish. Didn't work. Numbers went down and size did not go up. I tend to use bright colors for crappie. Yellow, chartreuse, orange, pink, white and black. The 3" Berkley's are a staple for walleye. Mainly chartreuse, yellow and orange on 1/16oz and 1/8oz ballhead jigs. 4" and 5" grubs are what I use for bass. GYCB and Kalin's. For bass I rig them on a jighead when I want to swim them, but T-rig them with a bullet weight most of the time. I haven't tried the larger GYCB's yet. That's in the plans for next season. GYCB makes some huge grubs. On a jighead, I rig them tail up or tail down. Sometimes one way works better than the other. On the T-rig I rig them tail up. I fish the t-rigged grub in and around cover, and with the tail down, it will wrap around limbs, sticks and stalks. Works much better with the tail up. I usually peg the weight. I tend to think of grubs as an option for clearer water when targeting bass, so I use natural colors. Smoke, salt&pepper, pumpkin, etc. White and black are good options for dingy water. If the water color is really bad, I don't use a grub. Agree with Infidel, the GYCB's are a bit one the delicate side. The Kalin's are pretty tough. The grub may well be the most under-used bait for bass. Good luck, GK

Every Cabela's store I've been in has had an awesome selection of fishing gear. A lot more than Dick's. The ads are seasonal. At this time of year you'll see mainly hunting ads. If you haven't been to one, you need to go. Absolutely worth an hour and a half drive. Don't forget your credit card. The bait monkey hangs out at Cabela's too. There will be one in my area soon. The nearest BPS is in St Charles. That's an hour and a half for me. The new Cabela's will be about ten minutes closer. So, naturally I'll have to hit both whenever I make the trip. This is going to get expensive. Cheers, GK

Fatboy, that's the way I sent "em back. No boxes. I did tape up the hooks so nobody got stuck when the box was opened. Cheers, GK

Medium or medium-heavy power is ok for cranks, What I think you're looking for is moderate, not fast, action. A moderate action rod bends farther down the shaft than a fast action rod under the same load. A lot of people prefer a softer action when using baits with treble hooks. If I had your rigs, I'd reverse usages. Good luck, GK

Fatboy, you're not doing anything wrong. Every manufacturer manages to make some baits that just don't work as designed. Some of these make it to the marketplace. Rapala's quality control seems to be pretty good, but not perfect. Just take "em back to where you got "em. Or, better yet, send them back to Rapala. I've done this, and received back more than what I sent in, on two occasions. Try it, they will take care of you. Rapala would much rather have a happy customer, and will go the extra mile to make you into one. I know they did me. Good luck, GK

Crazed, yes, a t-rigged tube with a bullet weight will work just fine. A t-rigged tube with the weight inside will work even better. The trick to this is keeping the weight at the front of the tube. I've used pieces of torn up worms, senkos, etc. My latest wrinkle is nylon rope. I melt the end with a lighter until it mushrooms, let cool and cut to length. I'll insert a piece of the rope after the weight, then run the hook through. The rope is lighter than senko pieces, so the tube falls in a spiral. The rope also holds scent. I keep about a dozen pieces in my rigging box, making more as needed. If you don't put anything in the tube, behind the weight, the weight will end up at the back of the tube, giving you a horizontal fall. This is good for twitching and dragging along the bottom. I like an EWG hook, rigged tex-posed. The hook point is on the outside of the tube, lying along the side. I'll skin hook if necessary. I use 1/0 - 4/0 hooks, depending on the size of the tube. I like the end of the hook as close to the end of the tube as I can get. I use as small a weight as I can. These are great baits. I regularly use Zoom, Berkley and GYCB. Good luck, GK ps, Jim, I totally agree with you on the bedding thing.

The regular size fluke is one of my favorite trailers for spinnerbaits. The superfluke has not been as good. I believe this is due to the size of the spinnerbait. I use a lot of 1/4oz and 3/8oz spinners. A super fluke might be a good choice on spinners 1/2oz and up. Good luck, GK

If you don't have a decent scale, you won't know what you caught. In that case use whichever formula makes you feel the best. It's just a guesstimate. Not accurate. Too many variables.