Bluebasser86

I have a bunch of both the originals and the newer ones. All the originals have "wiggle wart" printed on the underside of the bill, all the Rapala versions say "Storm"on the underside of the bill.

If they eat my secret trout bait like they normally do that could get ugly quick

I seem to remember a few little waves the first time at Melvern Good deal, I'll put your vote down for Melvern.

Ebay and lots of patience are about your only chance. That's one of those baits that guys just aren't willing to let go of very often, I know I wouldn't sell any of mine

I've caught lots of bass on my muskie jitterbug, never caught a muskie on it though. Caught about a 10lb channel cat on it night fishing one time, thought I had a new state record bass.

Opening day postponed until March 9th according to the sign at the boat ramp. My dad said the lake is almost completely thawed but still going to be another week until opening day.

Hudds are some of the cheapest swimbaits you can get compared to others, especially in the larger sizes. If you don't feel like jumping into throwing larger baits I'd highly suggest trying the 4" weedless shad. It isn't much bigger than a deep running crank, it has a realistic profile and movement, and it flat out catches fish. The 6" seems big if you haven't fished big baits before but I've seen plenty of 12" fish hit a 6" Hudd.

I tie a back to back uni knot with my leader on Nanofil. Make sure to give it a good pull when you tighten it down. Sometimes the knot will slip for some reason but when you get it tied good it holds great.

I don't fish them very often anymore except for white bass but they still catch plenty of bass. Main thing is to change out the hooks.

I fish quite a few strip pits and they can be hard to get the big fish to bite. I catch a lot of fish on wacky rigged stick baits and suspending jerkbaits in the spring. Most of my big fish from pits come on buzzbaits or spinnerbaits from weed lines or jigs just fished along the slope of the bottom. Natural looking swimbaits like a 6" Hudd move a lot of big fish but some days they eat it better than others.

Great picture man! You'll be able to show him that picture to him when he's actually out there chasing fish around with you.

In really cold water I rely on 3 baits if I'm fishing from the bank, finesse worm on a light shakyhead, jig, suspending jerkbait. If I'm in a boat I'd add a jigging spoon to that list. The biggest key with any of those baits is to fish slowly, you really can't fish slowly enough. I find if I can sit down it helps me slow down.

Wouldn't have guessed! My main thought is several guys have smaller boats that would be fine on most any lake but may be a little too small for Melvern or other big lakes. Obviously not an issue if enough guys with bigger boats sign up but just something to consider.

I fish a 3/8oz black on black Cavitron almost exclusively.

Pb&j, sometimes so beef jerky or trail mix. Usually have a 2 gallon jug of water or thermos of coffee depending on the time of year.

Squarebills do tend to bounce off of and roll over cover better than round billed baits but the baits with round bills tend to run deeper than squarebills.

It's a good lake, lots of standing timber and weeds. It gets lots of pressure though and lots of tournaments during the summer months but it still produces lots of fish and several in the 7-8 pound range every year during those tournaments. It's mainly been a cranking or flipping bite anytime I've been there but I've never been there early in the year, usually late spring through early fall. During the heat of the summer if you can find the offshore brushpiles and get a crankbait down into them you can really load the boat with some big fish. Flipping the grass along the shoreline is almost a sure thing to score a limit, just a matter of how big they will be.

I find dozens of Rattlin' Raps every year hanging in trees. Trap style baits are really popular in our lakes because of the high populations of white bass in most of them. I usually clean them up and give them away. I love trap style baits but I just can't buy a bait with the Rapalas.

So I'm guessing your vote goes for Melvern?

I'll take this trade. You guys saying Smith isn't a good QB must have forgotten who the Chiefs starting QB was, Matt Cassel, anyone is an upgrade at this point. They'll still get the top pick of a strong defensive class I imagine and then still have their first rounder next year where they could pick up a QB if Smith does turn out to be a bust. I finally feel like they might be headed in the right direction. They are a couple seasons away from being real competitors anyways.

Spend a few extra bucks and get 2 Avids. I fish almost all St.Croix rods but wasn't impressed by either Rage rods I owned. They felt pretty nice and I loved the handle but the pitching rod I bought broke swinging in a 2lb fish. The epoxy on the fore grip of the spinning rod I bought broke loose and the reel fell off the rod.

I'm curious about them but I'm not in any hurry to pick any up. Almost bought one at the Expo but I'm so skeptical about the durability of any Rapala bait that I decided to wait.

I usually start with 5-10 seconds with 45-48 degree water. A 5 count was the deal in 46 degree water last week.

They don't look that much different than the Meathead worm that they already make except with a little less taper. I really like the Meatheads and I'm sure I'll try a few bags.

Rapala Rattlin' Rap, just can not catch fish on them.