DBatey

i like the Tru-Tungsten pegs, and peg about 99% of the time anymore, I really like those because they slide up the line when you get a fish rather than staying put and giving them leverage.

that bug is very nice, love the design

That is the style now for punching/flipping by the Pros. I believe one of the first was the RI BMF and it was very popular so others have followed suit with the same round bend straight shank with a plastic keeper like that. They are actually tying a snell knot on them so the force is directly in line. It might not be for you, but its the norm for punching hooks now.

I have a friend who had a box of baits do this and many were lucky craft and megabass too, its not limited to the lower priced brands, this is just a result of the air inside the lure expanding when it gets too hot and the plastic body being softened by the heat creating a perfect storm. Kudos to strike king for taking care of you, but we all need to be aware this can happen and try to keep our boxes in the shade or cool by other means.

use a pencil to draw the fine lines on after stenciling the shape of the fin

The big thing is that we do have two major tours. That creates competition, just look at the prize money increases since the first FLW Cup (1996 $18,000.00) now the cup is $500,000.00+ (and was a cool million before the recession) A pro angler I know told me if you want to make money fish FLW if you want to be famous fish BASS. Obviously you can make money on both tours, but he has a point about the notoriety at BASS.

very nice as always man

did you give him some air holes in the clearcoat? lol, very nice

I like the Tru-Tungsten frog too, that hole in the back lets the water sling out on every cast. its just not a problem with them.

I asked a friend who touched one at ICAST and he said its very soft. I am excited to see one for myself

another thing thats good for Jitterbugs and Zara spooks is to add a split ring between that metal hanger that comes on them, and the new hook and it will give the fish less of a chance to get leverage to throw the hook. It will also make changing hooks easier the next time.

The spro poppin' frog is a really good bait. I would suggest a few different retrieves. You can walk it like you would a zara spook, which is the most common way I work a hollow bodied frog. You can also pop it in short pops, for example 4 or 5 small pops in a row followed by a pause and then repeat. Another is just to give the big bloop, an obnoxious pop or two, followed by a pause. This one sometimes draws them from distance because they come to check it out. Hope this helps