deep

Is your catch rate better in other lakes?

You want an aluminum reel. Trust me on this one. (I'm sure someone will come along and say how they punch with Black Maxes though.) Citicas, Pro qualifers, Lexas.

Tom how would your answer change if only demersal baitfish (plus crappies) are present?

No, yes, and no. (why?) I try to be not a dick, but you seem to be willing to learn.

I'm not a big color person, but I do have thoughts on this. I like 3 or 4 certain colors on my hardbaits, but I'm not particular about how they are arranged to form the paintjob. I'll absolutely not buy a bait that doesn't have at least a few of my preferred shades- the rest I add with sharpies or nailpolish. Jigs, I tie my own. 90% of them are in one specific color combination. Plastic colors admittedly are more varied, but still no more than 3 or 4 patterns. P.S. Every region has their own pet colors. You need to *find* your own. I've never had decent results with black and blue jigs. Switch to my preferred color, and I start catching fish again. I only fish 3 or 4 reservoirs, so my few standbys work well. Still like to try out new things to see if the fish respond better. P.P.S. In pursuit of giant bass- pgs 269-273, 184-196 (3rd ed). I don't know how ANYONE fishing structured reservoirs can afford to NOT have this book.

at least you posted in the right sub-forum. That should count for something.

30# Samurai with 10-12# leader (as and when needed).

If I caught only one fish for every 12 hours on the water, I'd be pretty sure I was fishing the wrong spots or at the wrong times, or both.

Might wanna try a spinbait. (just an idea)

Okay, so I know next to nothing about tournaments, so I can't help you there. With that disclaimer out of the way; if you're catching short fish, you're either in the wrong spot, or fishing at the wrong time, or both. Not all structure holds bass, most structures don't attract adult bass, and then there's the issue of timing (seasonal period -> time of month -> time of day).

Awesome!

If you're breaking off with 15# line, it's either your knot or a bad spool of line. Try SD Jam.

Hawg.

Big fish on big baits! Neat.

Yep!

Already bored with finding errors and inconsistencies in Tom's posts I see? Here's a forum you can post in: http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/forum/28-fishing-reports/

Jerkbaits, eh? Flashminnow, Slender Pointer, Pointer SP and Staysee in whatever sizes you'd feel comfortable fishing. Ghost minnow, chartreuse shad, chartreuse blue and pearl threadfin shad are my favorite colors.

That's a hog and a half!

Sure, why not? About 2.5 hours work with a Pointer 100SP resulted in this:

You need casting gear. Or inshore grade spinning gear, for the vegetation. No really you do. Return the rod, and buy a MH/F casting setup (~50# braid with or without leader) is my suggestion. Will work for heavier baits, and you can use the other M/F spinning setup for lighter ones. Return the line too. You don't need fluoro unless you're serious about fishing on the bottom in deeper water, and I don't think you are.

Pan-fried a few whole crappies last week, and they turned out great. The rib bones gave me a little trouble, but it was worth it (I think).

I can tell you about spool tension and centrifugal brakes on my reels (all of them are Shimanos) in case you're interested. My spool tension is set probably a little tighter than yours. Eliminate side to side play, and then some. But, it's still loose enough so that if I let the lure free fall, and actually hit the ground/ water, there'd be an overrun/ backlash. Brakes are almost always set at 2 out of 6 (VBS), and 2 out of 4 plus ~50% (SVS). Unless I'm casting into something like 25+ mph winds. I do have to thumb a little once in a while depending on how aerodynamic the bait is. I have tried with higher braking (eliminates thumbing 100%, but kills distance), and lower braking (more thumbing, and hardly any difference in casting distance). I think I like to catch fish more than I like to practice my thumbing skills.

Yes! We need an unboxing video for rage craws.

Pro cure for soft swimbaits, when I'm not too lazy. No scent of any kind on other baits- but my plastics have one sort of smell or the other cooked in.