KenDammit28

the BPS site works just fine for me...loads on a cable connection in about 4 seconds. However, their shipping did seem way slow. I ordered a package about two weeks ago now with standard shipping. It took about 12 days to arrive, which is pretty long. I was beginning to wonder if it had gotten lost but had no way of knowing since BPS doesn't give out tracking numbers for standard shipping.

you'd use painted blades the most in really choppy water, really windy days. The idea of a painted blade is to present a more solid appearance against more scattered background. you can also use painted blades on super spooky fish. The lack of flash while still maintaining a very visible color can get the spooks to bite. So if you follow that reasoning...using a painted blade in really clear/shallow water can also make a difference.

if you like grubs on your spinnerbait...then try a swimmin chunk sometimes. I will trim the "head" part down alittle so that it isn't so bulky there and doesn't catch water and change the bait very much...and the legs work awesome..just like when swimmin a jig. Thats all a spinnerbait is, anyway. a jig with an arm and blades.

I've taught mine how to roll over, how to play dead, how to lay down, and even taught it how to levitate. Just takes a little while of workin with em and they'll be doing tricks in no time.

I meant to reply with that. I've read about that more than a few times around the way...and i've seen it, myself. Its something to do with spawning..weird as it is.

also the best hook I've found for holding horny toads in place when retrieving. I don't like using screw hooks because the frog is bulky and I'd rather it slide up the line when hit..and the G-lock makes it possible for me to achieve this. It holds perfectly but as soon as the bait is nailed, its released up the line and the hook isn't impeded.

sounds good..doesn't seem like it'll be much of a test now but rather, a new tool.

why do they call it a jig?

You guys seen em? What do ya think about em? supposedly designed for drop shotting. Looks like it'd be a pretty cool idea if it worked...may buy some to test out unless someone tells me no!

haha, the jacket...and the mullet..classic! I love the fish, btw...beautiful big ones.

there is pro's soft bait glue, and then there is super glue(which won't work as well on lures, but is king on a knot and for keeping soft plastics from moving)

lakes do techinically turn over in the spring. Its just the physics of how ice and water work and how densities work. The cold water(ice) on the top in the winter is less dense than the warmer water underneath. As the ice melts and the water heats up and the temperature between top and bottom equalize, you will have a turn because the water will all be the same density. A strong wind that pushes up a current will cause the water to mix rapidly and then you get the results of a turnover.

the thing you have to keep in mind is that when most people think of swimbaits, they think of giant lures, 10" and such and they don't really know about the 5, 6, 7" baits that are out there.

you guys do know that lakes can turn over in the spring, right? Over the course of a winter, the surface layer of water(in places where lakes usually freeze) will be colder than the water below it. Ice is less dense than water that is 39 degrees farenheit. So, the water underneath the ice is actually warmer than the surface. Anyway, when spring comes, the colder surface water will definitely be turned over with the rest of the water to create an even temperatured water for a short time until the longer days of sunlight heat the water and create the stratification that occurs each summer.

the package it comes in, the colors, and the price...thats what makes it different. what makes a strike king spinnerbait any different than a booyah spinnerbait?

the slider worms are also good on a shakey head and wacky rigged. I use them a lot on a roundhead jig and just swim them back to me.

yes, they are supposed to sink. It has nothing to do with the line or anything else..thats just what they do. They are a solid bodied soft plastic and are no different than senko's or anything like that...they sink. I've fished frogs on Mono(big game 20lb test), Power Pro braid, and Yo-Zuri Hybrid(15lb test) and the frogs will sink on all lines. Less on the braided line than the others, but still sinks.

by just looking at the picture on stan sloans site that showed the male and female jacks, they appear to be phono jacks that you could probably find at any music store online or off. You would probably know better what to look for than I do since you have the light, but thats what they appear to be.

I am dealing with the same thing right now and the problem doesn't come from the hook, its the nose of the bait that will drop into the moss and start collecting. It happens, even weightless, so I think that the only way to get past it is to go above the moss. I've used super slow falling baits like horny toads or tiki sticks, or a suspending jerkbait(since the water is still relatively cold). Haven't had much luck with a shakey head because of the weight so I've had to avoid it for the time being.

gotta listen to classic rock on the way to the fishin hole. Some good old skynard, maybe a little steve miller or tom petty, some Jimi...and I'll be sure to catch fish that day..anything else and I won't have great luck!

There is no water temp to air temp relationship...its too variable. Theres no formula to figure it out and the only way to know the temp of water is have a thermometer in it. You can guess that "hey, its been pretty warm here for 2 weeks straight, I'd say the water is warmer than it was earlier in the year" but you'll never know for sure.

65 to 75 degree water is purt-durn near perfect, if you ask me. When water is extremely cold..from freezing to around 60, the bass range from being almost statuesque to pretty sluggish, then the water warms up and the whole spawn thing starts happening for all its reasons, and then the fish hit post spawn all in and around the water temps I listed up above. WHen its cold, bass don't necessarily stay on the bottom....but they will move deeper. You can find them moving up into shallows sometimes to catch the sun and find the warmer water..same kinda pattern you may find in the fall..feeding up after the long winter. As the water gets warm and summertime weather hits..a thermocline is formed and below that line, theres not enough oxygen to sustain the fish so they will always stay above it. Its relative to how deep the water is and I dunno at about what depth it forms, but I know that fish stay above it. Fishing right now, I'd search out cover and stuff thats close to drop offs, or I'd find ledges, things that would be transistioning from deep to shallow, in general terms. Fish will be moving up in most parts soon(don't know about Michigan, may have to wait a little while longer, there) and so thats MY feeling on where they are hanging right now.

hammered finishes diffuse the light so as not to be so reflective as a smooth finish. In say, an ultra-clear water situation where the intense flash of a willowleaf may turn fish off, you could try a hammered blade that will still be pretty visible but not have the flash that a normal willowleaf has. colored blades are about visibility. Say in some lightly stained water, you might want a white blade that can still be seen by the fish whereas the reflection of nickel won't be all that visible. White can also be used in clear water for super, super spooky fish that a hammered finish will even scare away. Little to no flash but plenty of visibility with white. The other common colored blade is chartreuse and its based on the same principles as white, just darker water.

don't be fooled into thinking theres not a good amount of flash that comes off a big colorado blade, though. A copper or brass colored blade does produce LESS flash but its still pretty flashy..a Nickel one will produce a very good amount of flash. When you think about it..whats producing the flash between the blades, the finish, is the same no matter what shape the blade is...its just a matter of how long a particular surface stays in the light to make the flash. Since the willowleaf rotates on a line, its constantly getting hit by the light. A colorado rotates on a cone shape, so it comes in and out of the flash.

I don't like Terminator spinnerbaits, Berkley soft plastics, culprit soft plastics, and I don't really buy many cranks so I can't talk about those. Theres no brand I've been TERRIBLY disappointed in (shakespeare makes red cast which is a GREAT monofilament line, IMO), Berkley makes good lines and good rods. I love strike king spinnerbaits..my biggest fish have all come on strike kings. Never had one break, and the skirts are easily replaceable and I agree that they are not the best skirts. I like Eagle Claw hooks..never had one that was dull, that failed, that just flat stunk. I think we often get caught up in the "new brand" and the "expensive brand" and dismiss a lot of cheaper stuff as junk.