Bluebasser86

Going to depend a lot one where you're planning on fishing and what kind/size fish you're most likely to encounter. In heavy current I'll use to to a pound of lead to hold my bait to the bottom and keep the leader very short to avoid line twist and hang ups. Usually in heavy current I'm fishing for big blues and will have a big piece of cutbait pinned to a 6/0 4X strong Mustad Beak hook and 80lb braid. If you're looking for smaller channel cats in a lake or pond I actually prefer to use 20lb braid with a 1/0 or 2/0 kahle hook and a piece of cutbait with no weight, I just let the weight of the bait carry it to the bottom and will often retrieve it similar to how you fish a plastic worm for bass. This is a great technique in shallow water, around docks, and over grass. Flatheads or blues in lakes get a similar set up as I use in rivers but I tend to prefer live bait because it increases my chances of not only catching a big blue or channel but also will get a big flatheads attention if there's any close by.

Also a fan of the Mightee worm. I bought a bunch when they went on sale for $2.47 a pack at the local BPS. I've actually had my best success fishing them weightless with a 7/0 hook on a spinning rod. They cast a mile on this set up and work a little like a giant Senko around docks and shoreline cover.

Yep, that's it.

I had a very old Daiwa baitcaster break on a hookset once. I've ripped the guts out of two Pfluegar Supreme XT's on the hooket on smallmouth with shakyheads. Just set the hook and heard a terrible grinding noise and then couldn't reel without the reel slipping badly. I'm sure it was something I'd done wrong but it happened twice with two brand new reels in less than a week. Went to the Supreme MGX after that and haven't had a problem since.

2/3 of a 5" stickbait or trick worm is what I use a majority of the time. Becoming a fan of the Havoc Beat Shad as a chatterbait trailer also.

That 6' 9" Mojo is a pretty soft rod to be fishing frogs on. You might want to check out something like the 7' MH if you're primarily fishing frogs with it otherwise I foresee a broken rod in your near future as well. I'd be getting back to that pond as soon as possible if fish like that are chasing with the vigor you're describing.

Great fish for the youngster! When I used to teach beginners fishing classes the wacky rig was one of my favorites to teach them. One of the classes I taught an 8 year old girl caught a 4 1/2 pounder on a wacky rig on her first cast she'd ever made. I'm sure he's hooked for sure now!

They aren't great in really muddy water. Even then they will catch fish on a weighted T-rig though. If the fish are really chasing there's usually better options too.

Yes, supposed to have some monsters but isn't easy to fish from what I've read. Maybe the fishing is easy, the catching sounds pretty tough at times. Pretty reasonably priced though and with it having produced fish up to 13 pounds I've really considered giving it a try. Maybe the location of the next get together?

Assuming you mean regular curl tail worms I usually go with a 5/0 or 7/0 hook and a 1/4 to 1/2 oz weight depending on wind and depth. I almost always Trig them but they can be great on a Crig too.

Right across the street from where our house is right where the best Mexican food I've ever had besides in Mexico. Ate there tonight in fact It's called La Caretta's and it has some of the best food, chips and salsa, and margaritas I've ever had. There's a few of them in the KCK metro area and they're all great. Used to have a tiny BBQ joint (sat about 15) that was the best BBQ I've had, and I've had a lot of BBQ having lived in KC for most of my life. Unfortunately the owner got tired of running the place and closed down

Dorsal, and pectoral are the bad ones. Not only will they stab you but they'll make you very sick too. If it's anything other than a flathead I don't suggest trying to grab them by the mouth either. Big channels or blues will crush your hand pretty bad if you grab them by the jaw.

Spring-jerkbait,spinnerbait,jig Summer-Jig, shakyhead, cranks Fall-cranks, traps, jig Winter-jerkbait, jigs, traps

Yeah I've fished with black lights before. I fish almost nothing but floro so they don't really help with me though. If I did nothing but night fish it wouldn't be a problem to change over. I'm dealing with pretty limited space in my little boat and the edges are higher than most bass boats so the light doesn't shine out over the edge like it would in other boats. We only fish 2 out of my boat so we've just been alternating between worms and jigs and doing pretty well.

That sucks man. I've had more than my share of hooks stuck in me, never a good time. At least it wasn't in a worse area.

I would have had 18-20 pretty easily by myself. If it was a team tournament it would have been in the low 20's for sure.

I fish mine on a 6' 6" MH/F LTB with a 6:4 Lew's with 14lb Mustad Ultra line. I can cast it a mile and have no problem sticking fish. Fish will miss a spook fairly often so I make sure to wind down and feel the fish before I swing. As long as you have good, sharp hooks they'll start to dig when you crank down on them and when you sweep after you feel the weight it will bury them. I use the same setup for full size or Super Spook Jr.

Yes, it works just the same. I just stick with black on black to keep it simple.

What line/hook/color bait are you using? This time of year gets tough to catch a fish on anything with bright sun and high water temps.

Boat

I run into Brent Chapman pretty often at the local Cabela's or BPS shopping with his family or on the water at his home lake. Great guy and you'd never know he was anything other than just another Joe out there from the way he acts.

I put them on a 1/4oz worm nose jig. Great bait to cover area in clear water.

This is why I fish a Cavitron. My first time out with my first 3/8oz black on black Cavitron. About 4 hours of some of the most explosive topwater strikes I've seen.

Super spook Jr or Sammy 85 are my favorites.

Smallmouth will hit big baits no doubt. I caught a 5 pounder a couple years ago that had a 9" crappie's tail sticking out of it's throat. This little guy was probably one 13 or 14 inches but produced one of the most explosive topwater strikes I've ever seen.