Bluebasser86

Flukes are a very visual bait so they're not going to be a very good option in muddy water.

I think I'd rather just have a 3 fish format and forget keeping those fish under 18".

It's a terrific bed fishing bait. Not only do they seen to hate it on their bed, but it's nearly impossible for them to short strike. I've fished it in as much wind as my Stratos could handle. My biggest Ned rig smallmouth to date was caught on a day it was gusting over 30. Never felt the bite, just reeled into her and realized it was a fish and not a rock, but that's about perfect with a Ned rig.

This smallmouth had an 8-9 inch crappie in it's gut with a few inches of it's tail still sticking out of it's gullet when I caught her. Smallmouth can and do eat large baits, it's just a matter of getting a hook in one when it happens.

I agree with you there, but that's up to the judge. I'm all for strict punishment for those that intended to violate the laws, but the guy who just made an honest mistake doesn't deserve to lose everything for making a human error. What I hate is how minimal F&G violation penalties are. Usually works out to about $10 a fish when someone is busted over the limit here it seems like.

No. I hooked a bass in a smaller lake in NE MO several years ago that was clearly bigger than the 10 I caught in Mexico. Fishing a deep tree lined point when I hooked her. She swung the entire 16' johnboat 180* and kept chugging towards deeper water. I was so sure it wasn't a bass that I never panicked. Once I finally worked her close enough that I saw that huge side flash and realized what I had, she dove back towards the trees and I put too much pressure on her and straightened a 5/0 EWG worm hook enough for her to pull off. I lost some big ones I never saw in Mexico, but those fish pull so hard it's really hard to guess size without seeing them. I remember one of them shaking the tree I hooked her in like a big flathead catfish on a setline.

I'm a big fan of pink, especially for smallmouth. I make a bladed jig in a color I call Funky Chicken that they really hammer at times.

You can replace the pawl pretty easily. I've done them by myself but you can get them done pretty reasonably.

Sounds like the pawl went out. Wouldn't happen to be an Abu would it? I've had several go out in them.

The Berkley Wild Thang would be another one to check out.

7' MH/F, 6.3:1 baitcaster, 15lb Big Game.

That's interesting to hear. I haven't fished it but looking at the wider body and bill, I assumed it probably had a bit wider wobble. Waiting for the moss to die off the rocks a bit before I break mine out but I'll be interested to get to see it in action.

Academy makes a good one. http://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/h2o-xpress-4-crankbait#repChildCatid=22345

Major flooding usually scatters our fish and makes it extremely difficult. Our lakes don't have the populations of fish that lakes like T-bend have though so when they spread out they can get spread really thin.

I wear Magellan sun shirts from Academy. I find them for $10 pretty regularly.

Okuma TCS is where I'd be looking. Those rods are built with braid and flipping in mind.

I'd take a President XT over any of them listed.

I haven't fished mine yet but I've liked all of the new baits from Berkley that I've tried (which is all of them except the Dredger). Seems to be a slightly larger bait than the 3XD, but pretty close. I'm going to bet it has a wider wobble though, which might be a factor if your fish are liking the tighter wobble of the 3XD.

That SubWart was a fish catching machine. Too bad they won't bring that one back.

I fish mine with a slow, steady retrieve, even bumping bottom at times.

That range is a deep diver around here, but I fish those baits from the bank. A bait grinding into the rocks is a great way to get a reaction strike. You just have to pay attention to what you bait is doing to work it through snags before they happen. I keep it cheap with baits like Bomber's and Bandits so if I lose one it doesn't hurt so bad.

A Netbait C mac or Zoom Ol' Monster are still standbys for in the summer months. I've had good luck with them on swinging football heads the last couple years.

I'll second the suggestion on the round bends. I like round bend for anything that they fish tend to slap at like jerkbaits. EWG's seem to work better with baits like traps and squarebills. I like Owner ST36's or round bend Gamakatsu.

Big gator, but I believe that picture is akin to long-arming a bass.

I was a "Big", for a year or two and got volunteer of the year for the program. It was a very easy process and I really enjoyed it. I used to pick up my "Little" Ernest once a week and go do whatever we felt like doing. These kids really just need something positive to do in their lives and are generally happy doing most anything. We went fishing a lot since we both loved fishing, played disc golf a few times, went hiking, played basketball, just really basic stuff. I would have liked to stay in the program but once we moved away from the city it was too far for me to carry up my end of the bargain so I had to stop. If it's something that interest you I would highly suggest setting up an appointment to talk with a case manager about it.