Bluebasser86

Around here the smallies are much more likely to be out deep than the largemouth.

Last week it was a junebug Pit Boss on a 1/4oz candy purple homemade swing head. 2 weeks ago it was an 11" Redbug C Mac worm or solid black brush hog. My favorite is whatever the fish are eating that day.

VMC are quality hooks that are on a lot of different baits for their stock hooks (Rapala for example). I prefer to go to a #2 short shank EWG treble if possible on my 1.5 squarebills, but a #4 standard round bend is what comes stock on them so you should be fine. I change the hooks on all my SK baits right away. They're better than they used to be, but as you found out, they're still not that great.

Bored Google search on anything fishing related while I was working midnight shift.

Nothing too exciting this weekend, but at least I won't have to be out dealing with the crazies for the holiday.

It's something I've been meaning to do for awhile.

President leaves the rest in the dust for $60. If you go a little higher I'd look hard at the Okuma RTX 25. I have a few Presidents but bought the Okuma this winter for $75 to fish a drop shot and it has been very impressive. It's a much lighter and faster reel than the President, which is why I got it instead of just buying another President.

I bought mine when they came out but was so disappointed with the small size, even though I bought the bigger bait, that I have yet to take it out of the package.

Dark colored jig or bladed jig along with a dark colored 10" worm.

I actually just posted about this last week. They make a good Ned rig bait. Cut the head section off so the jighead sits flush. They have a very nice gliding action on the fall.

Welcome!

Welcome!

Google "Ned Rig". It's a terrific bass catcher and very easy to use and catch fish with. I use it a lot myself but it's also the main bait I set up beginners with and my wife's favorite bait to use when she goes with me.

Bulk order from China. It's super cheap per unit if you can afford to drop a few hundred on tungsten to meet the minimum order (or get a group of buddies to go in together like I did). The local shop has good prices too if I need something in a pinch.

Very nice. When I used to fly fish for bass on occasion, I always had very good luck with bonefish flies that imitated small crabs and shrimp. They usually come equipped with a small but stout hook to hold a big bass and the occasional catfish that I'd catch doing it.

I can buy about the same gear at Wal Mart as I can at most of the DSG in my area. I suppose that's a product of having 2 BPS, 3 Academy Sports, Cabela's, and 2 local tackle shops within an hour's drive of the KC metro.

Never fished it, but if I was looking for info on it, I'd start here. http://forums.ozarkanglers.com/forum/63-gasconade-river/

I had a full grown loon come shooting out from under the boat after my jerkbait on Table Rock once. Scared me pretty bad and I'm really glad the big guy didn't get ahold of the thing. I caught an owl on a musky jitterbug once while night fishing. One of the loudest explosions I've ever heard at night. I was really confused when my line kept going up and up. He crash landed in some briers after a brief tussle and the hooks tore out when they snagged in the bushes. I was done after that.

P line C21 and xtra strong.

There's lots of knockoffs of the Megabass 110 body style that work very well. The MB bait will trigger strikes at times others won't, but sometimes the other baits will work better than the MB too. Durability is my biggest issue with them. I've never had one last a season (most don't make it but a couple trips), before the bill falls off from hitting rocks during the retrieve. To me, that's unacceptable from a $25 jerkbait. I have some Trick Darters, but I won't be buying anymore 110's unless I find a steal.

The 2 tap that did a lot of work for me this winter. This was in February, it got even more beat up, and this winter was the start of it's tour of duty.

Agreed. Sometimes a heavy bait shooting past a fish will trigger a reaction, sometimes it will just shoot on past them.

My son is 2.5 as well. You just have to keep them around aggressive bluegills or sunfish. They usually don't have the coordination to start reeling until a couple seconds after the bobber hits the water. If there's active panfish around, they'll be on it by then.

It doesn't have to but the higher the dock, the sharper the angle you can get away with. Low clearance means you have to get low to the water and cast almost parallel. Ideally it hits the water close to the front of the dock or even back under it a ways.

Maybe they can't locate your frog or can't see it well enough. You might try a different color or adding some BB's for noise and weight.