Bluebasser86

Huddleston 4" Weedless Shad catches me lots of keeper size and bigger fish. Swimming or stroking a Havoc Grass Pig on a football head along the bottom is a great big fish technique also, especially swimming over deep weeds.

Bam, question answered. I believe this thread can be closed now

P-line C21 for me. Cheap and great abrasion resistance and very strong. It stretches quite a bit but I think it helps me keep fish from pulling off also.

Bed fishing is about the only application I've found for a white craw, but they can excel at it and for that they worth carrying at least during the spring.

I'd like to try one of the minis. I had one of the original ones and like how easy it was to fish but it dove too deep to serve much purpose in most of our lakes. A series 5 is about the deepest I get before I switch to a football jig.

If nothing else it's a confidence thing for me.

Lucky Craft makes a few baits in a 3.5 and a 4.5 size. http://www.luckycraft.com/luckycrafthome/Products/crankbait/lc3-5.html My pick would have to be Lucky Craft 1.5. Haven't tried one of the new ones but all my old RC's still work great!

Brent Chapman would be my pick. I've met and talked to the guy several times, even done some archery target shooting with him as he's also an avid bow hunter. He's very down to earth and just a really cool, nice guy and he's very knowledgeable. Seems to be a very dedicated husband and father as I've seen him on the water fishing with his kids a few times or walking the aisles at Bass Pro or Cabela's carrying his kids and answering all their questions. He also fishes similar to how I fish but is much better than I am at certain kinds of fishing so I think it would be easier to learn from him since he may be able to explain things to me in a way that I could understand. KVD would be a blast too. Not sure I'd want to fish behind him but just to spend a day in the boat watching and listening to him would be awesome. Denny Brauer would be another top pick for me. I wish I had some of his swing for the fences way of thinking. Often my problem is fishing for bites instead of fishing for the right bites. Zona would be a good time. I'd love to get on some of that northern smallmouth bed fishing with him. Plus he seems like a rolling blooper reel in the boat.

I used to do it sitting down in my old 2 man. You can either go with a shorter rod or learn to be really accurate with a sidearm roll cast. I got really good at a roll cast and skipping with a baitcaster from fishing in that little boat. Eventually I learned to stand in the boat without falling out but I know that's not really an option in a canoe.

TW had them for a minute on 12/24 before they sold out. Lots of people wanting to try a proven fish catcher for a fraction of the price.

I've talked to Chapman several times, great guy and personable. He knows a lot about the local lakes also so maybe he can give you some info not just on fishing but specifics for a lake you might fish. You could always make that 2 hour drive to La Cygne for some winter bassing too!

I like either a single tail grub or a pork trailer for a bigger profile. A pork trailer on a slow rolled spinnerbait in early spring has caught some pigs for me.

Netbait T-mac, Havoc Pit boss, Zoom Baby Brush Hog, Rage craw, Rage anaconda, Zoom magnum finesse worm, BPS stick O.

SK Denny Brauer flipping tube and Pour Boy tubes for me. Cabin Creek are a good bait too.

Rocky areas that get direct sunlight during the afternoon and evening hours should have some of the warmest water early in the year. Creeks and protected coves will warm up quickly during warm fronts because there's less water to warm.

Get a cheap orange hunting vest and wear it to where you're fishing at then take it off when you get there. You could get in contact with the guys and exchange phone numbers so you can call to check if they're going to be hunting when you want to go out there. I'd either do that or avoid the area during hunting season but I'm not getting shot over a few fish.

Going back to La Cygne this Thursday and will have an empty seat if anyone is interested. 40 for a low, 52 for a high, cloudy with a chance of rain and 12mph winds from the SW is what weather.com has for the forecast right now. I'm sure it will change between now and then but there's a good warm front coming through starting today going through Friday so they may be really fired up by Thursday. Pm me or send me a text if you've got my number.

I hope you have better luck with your Rage rods than I had. I had the 7' 1" MH/F I used for pitching. After less than a year it broke 2/3 of the way up the rod while swinging in a 2 1/2lb fish. I also had a 6' 10" ML/F spinning rod that I used for drop shots and grubs. Had it less than a year when I was fighting a smallmouth the epoxy that holds the front reel seat in place broke loose and my reel came off the rod. Another member had the same problem with a casting Rage rod. I liked how the rods felt and looked just too many problems for me.

Spring and fall are my most productive times to use jerkbaits. Steep rock banks and points with steep drops off the sides or front are a couple of my favorite places to fish them.

I use a 15' telescoping lure retriever with wire rings on the end and rarely lose a bait.

I use 6 or 8 pound InvisX and have no problem feeling bites in 30-40 feet of water. If you're using Vanish that stuff has a ton of stretch and is probably why you can't feel anything.

Luck E Strike and Excaliber Erratic shad are my two favorite cheaper jerkbaits. The X rap is a good bait too but just doesn't seem to produce as well as other jerkbaits for me.

Those shallower running Husky Jerks and the shallower running Rogue will be much easier for you to fish and are all good colors.

Wipers are a white bass/striped bass hybrid. They're build more like a white bass but they can grow upwards of 20 pounds but they average 3-6 pounds in the lakes I fish.

If there's no schools of baitfish in your area the effectiveness of an A-rig goes way down.