Bluebasser86

6' 10" M/XF St. Croix LTB

Uni/Uni knot is a good knot that is simple to tie, but it's a little bigger when finished so it might be an issue if you have micro or nano guides. I use that as well as the Alberto knot, which I tied a majority of the time last year, mainly due to the fact that it is much more streamlined and goes through the guides easier.

I've been using the TRD, 1/2 Zinker, punch craw, and Hula Stick. This is a Hula Stick that was nearing 100 fish before I changed baits. Cool thing is, I took it off the hook and put it back in the package, still ready to catch more fish. The nice thing about pouring my own, I can choose what size/brand hooks I want to use.

T1000 and Sooner have been good for me but my dad does good on Monkey Butt.

I fish them on a 7' MH/F casting rod with 50lb braid and have no issues with casting them plenty far. I'm going to guess that's an approximate weight on them, because they're a pretty dense bait.

Recently bought one of the rigged ones. It's a great looking bait and I've already caught some fish with it. Can't wait for summer when the bugs get out, it should really shine then.

R2S Bubble Walker 80 has been really good for me the last couple years. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be a Zell Pop. This particular one has been through several sets of hooks, and is much more beat up than it was when this picture was taken 5 years ago.

I just started making my own awhile back and they've been working great.

Rage Craws, Yum Christie Craw and Craw Papi, Zman Turbo Crawz and Punch CrawZ.

Cool looking ducks!

I don't hunt the variety I use to, mainly deer and ducks for me anymore. Since we moved to our new place this last year I've been trying to thin out the crow and coyote populations too. Unfortunately I sold my .22-250 I used to use for coyotes several years ago and now I'm trying to use my 30.06 for them and it just doesn't work nearly as well. Not so much the gun, but the scope isn't nearly as powerful as I'd like. It isn't needed for deer I'd normally hunt with it, but a coyote is a lot smaller target. I don't do much gun hunting deer though, mostly archery. It's been over a decade since I've shot a deer with a gun.

Very nice looking truck. Since you live where snow and ice aren't an issue, the no 4WD probably isn't as big of an issue as it would be here. Take good care of it and it will be a good truck for you for many years.

I use a 1/80oz jighead with a piece of orange 2" grub. I catch hundreds of them a year to use for catfish bait.

Fished La Cygne Friday in the wind and cold. Water was cold, 38 at the ramp, 53 at the outlet, 44 at the point of the rock wall across from the outlet. Caught a few whites on a trap on the flats despite marking huge schools of fish. Fished for bass for a few hours, had 1 bite reeling in a shakyhead. Almost ripped my thumbnail off hooking up the boat in the morning, then I got finned by a little blue cat that I snagged at the outlet right before I left so my thumb was throbbing on one side and the other side of the same hand was burning from the fin, it was not a good day. I was off the water by noon.

I've been to the Classic twice and one Elite event. There's not a whole lot going on at the Elites. You can watch what you can see from the boat or shore, then you can watch the weigh in and possibly get to chat with some of the pros. I talked to several of them and got a few autographs when I went. The weigh in is pretty cool to watch. I would suggest going, but I wouldn't plan on making an entire day of it unless you find a popular fishing spot to watch from if you're shore bound.

Mine do not have Chirp. They're very good. The ones on mine are in 1' increments and are very accurate.

Those will catch fish, nice work.

I'm not sure exactly how many are in a tab but I order my skirt material from there so I can tell you I'll use 2-3 tabs per jig.

It's rare for a jig to last long enough for me to wear the paint off but it happens occasionally. I just keep fishing them instead of repainting in fear I'll ruin the baits mojo.

Welcome!

Welcome and thank you for your service!

Welcome!

Welcome!

This one was more deformed than the picture showed, but obviously doing just fine otherwise. This one was shaped more like a sunfish than a bass. This one was a very healthy fish, but it had the black spots all over it. Usually it's just a spot or two, but this one was very spotted.

I don't use a leader on casting gear, even in clear water. If the cover is heavy enough to warrant braid, I don't feel the fish are going to see the line. On spinning gear I'll use anywhere from about 2 to 6 feet of leader.