KenDammit28

To me Jay the things are easy, I would have unhooked it and released it immediately because the law says that 's what should be done. It 's like when I found a wallet right at my doorstep, it contained several credit cards, a driver 's license and 500 dollars in cash, I located the owner 's phone number, called him and told him to come and pick up his wallet with the 500 dollars still in it. That 's the kind of guy I am, it may sound stupid to you or to many, my sense of honesty forbids me any wrong doing. besides, who says the buddy with Mac couldn't have snapped a picture as Mac brought it to the surface and went to unhooking it. Woulda been the same and it wouldn't have been held up for a camera and a discussion and tied to a stringer.

I think its good to look into the low end products, though. I just have the idea that maybe someone who's a little strapped for cash may see a review of something in-expensive that is still quality and thus will be able to have a quality fishing experience that they can afford. I'm always looking for the cheapest QUALITY components that I can get as far as hooks and sinkers and that kinda thing goes. The word of the day is....Quality...haha. Eagle Claws aren't really that much more expensive..50 cents more per 25 pack..so I'll just stick with them and a couple packs of gammies.

not all swimbaits work that way, though. If you're throwing an 8-12 inch trout or something then yeah, you're not gonna catch many but there are a LOT of 4-6 inch swimbaits(the size of most every lure we use regularly) that will catch fish and are quality made. No need to go out and spend 30 dollars to get good swimbait action.

looks like I'll be sticking to my old faithfuls then, thanks guys...Eagle Claw and Gamakatsu it is.

what did you not like about them?

Anyone used em or seen em? Are they quality. I like the Z bend from Gammy hooks but I don't wanna pay 10.99 for 25 of em when the XPS hooks look essentially the same and are 6 dollars cheaper.

this won't help much, but last year at Wal-Mart I bought a 35 piece fluke kit and a 35 piece lizard kit on clearance for 10 dollars each. I am pretty sure Zoom still sells the kit so look around for it..I know the lizard one is still around and the fluke is a very known bait so I'd guess it still exists.

forgot..in the SUV..I lay the rods in the back, propped up onthe back seat in an x pattern. That works well, too.

lay down the back seat of my car, put the tip of the rod in the trunk and the handle diagonally in the back seat....harder to explain than to do, lol. I lay down the backseat on the drivers side...and the handles sit right next to the door on the passenger side. 6'6" rods do this with no problem. Surprisingly, they don't even move when I hit a bump...so its cheap and effective for me.

anyone ever seen the fishing pole inside the ink pen type thing? its about 8 inches long and looks almost like a doctors light when compacted. the reel has to be attached...like a mini spinning reel.

I'll tell you what...my Wal-Mart is 5 minutes away from my house and its awfully nice to be able to go there, pick up hooks, a good choice of soft plastics, pliers and line, hard baits, some good spinnerbaits...sure beats the heck out of ordering on-line or driving an hour to BPS. I can only speak personally, obviously, but the wal-mart here did not sell crappy stuff and have very little selection. They obviously didn't have everything I could get at a BPS but they had quality stuff that has filled a lot of my tackle box. The section now though does not exist...for however long. The whole store is being re-modeled and the two aisles that held fishing are currently not in place. I dunno if they are coming back..but I sure hope so because it really is nice to be at Wal-Mart..remember I need some hooks or yada yada yada...and be able to get it instantly.

my personal recommendation is the XPS 370 bag from Bass Pro. Its got PLENTY OF ROOM for anything you'll need. It Can essentially hold around 7 370(3700 Plano style) boxes if you need it to or two spinnerbait boxes and 4 370's, 4 360(3600 Plano), its got a spot on the back for things, 3 zipper compartments..one on the very front that expands, one inside the front thats clear plastic, and one underneath the top lid thats clear plastic. Theres also a space on top of the top thats a zippered compartment but not very tall..I slide extra tackle dividers and things like that in there. The bag might seem a little daunting at first but its very nice to know that all of my stuff is stored neatly and safely and all that. Its 75 dollars so it may be a bit pricey for you, but I personally think it'd be worth it(I did get mine on sale for 55 dollars, though).

M R Fish cetchin lures.

she looks like she's about to go Bear Grylls on that fish and eat it, lol.

I have two just dying to be fished. One is white and the other is Watermelon/Red. Randall helped me out and told me about them being an imitation of the imakatsu swimmer. If you wanna have a look at it in action(sort of) go to http://www.imakatsu.co.jp/products/pro_a018e.html theres a link to a windows media file..just watch it and it'll make you die to go out and throw one of these.

most of the "signature" stuff is products released for the "casual" fisherman....something that will catch some people. However, I think Rick Clunn does use his signature reel...seems like I saw him using it, anyway.

sunny days, silver blades cloudy days, copper blades clear water, silver willow leaf dirty water, copper or brass colorado thats the general guideline for me. actual results may vary. another way to look at it or think of it is...the more visibility the bass has, the more you want to play to its sight and not its lateral line. The dirty or darker the water or conditions, the more you want to play to its lateral line and less to its sight.

Horny toads have always been amazing for me. I use Black, White, Green Pumpkin, and Watermelon/red. As far as rigging goes, I use anywhere from 3/0 to 5/0 EWG hooks, and a dab of superglue at the nose. For equipment...a good 6'6" medium or med/hvy rod will work perfectly for the way I fish horny toads. I also use 15# Yo-Zuri Hybrid line. You don't NEED to go overboard with a heavy rod and the like with a horny toad...the fish WILL eat it...I've seen bass in clear water eat the BLACK horny toad two or three times before I set the hook. The way I fish the horny toad is sub-surface. I think that a lot of people miss a LOT of fish because they only use it on the surface. To fish it sub-surface, you have a myriad of retrieve techniques but the two I most often use is hopping it and swimming it slowly. Swim too fast and the frog will come to the top..you want it to stay under the water. You can modify the swimming retrieve to make it more like a jerkbait by using jerks to move the lure instead of just reeling. To "jig" it...cast it, let it sink to the bottom(it falls in a spiral and this is deadly in and of itself), then just ittermitently hop it back to you. Sometimes two quick jerks, sometimes one slow jerk, sometimes a drag. I think that if you give the horny toad a chance as a sub-surface lure around the weeds and stumps and stuff like that, you'll come away VERY happy. Anyway, thats the way I fish them and with what. Have fun with them....and my most successful color has been black.

I always say "thanks little buddy" every time I catch a fish. Dunno why, its just something I've always done. No kissing and hugging and all that stuff, but I guess I like to let mother nature know that I treasure the gifts she gives us.

what do you guys know about em? I'm lookin hard at em because I can basically get two for the price of one Spro Frog. Seems like a good deal to me so long as they are quality made. I know manns has some other good stuff, but ya just gotta ask.

and in all reality, its not a super-hard technique, so don't psyche yourself out. Take your time, go with the rhythm and let the lure fly. If you're casting well but without distance..then its one of the three things mentioned here. your settings aren't right, your lure is too light for your rod/a baitcaster in general, or your line is too heavy possibly.

You left out chartreuse and silver, otherwise I agree! I'd consider them to be aember of the green and white family

i'm still trying to wrap my head around why someone would think that bass are a better bait for crappie than say...minnows..or that a bass is a better bait for catfish than say...bluegill? It wouldn't be so much a legal issue for me as it would be an issue of logic. The most predominant and easily catchable FOOD source(not competitor) would be my choice for live bait.

well, its a little bit of a crimson color with gold sparkles in it and the skirt has a "scale" pattern on some of the strands and some are also that shiny plastic type(forget the name of the material at the moment).

simply put, they aren't a miracle bait..but are effective when their time comes just like most any other lure we use. I think that they had so much hype surrounding them that it misled a lot of people. Don't give up on em and especially give them a shot around grassbeds and the like.