Bankbeater

I don't have a favorite. I fish with War Eagle, Booyah, SK, Terminator, BPS, and others that I can't remember the name of.

Winter is the one time I will bring 8 or 9 rigs with me. I rotate them in and out of the car as the reels freeze up. Sometimes it's the levelwind that freezes, and sometimes it is the handle.

Adaptable Junk Fishing. I usually start with 4 or 5 different baits tied on. I'll change baits and presentations until I something that works. If I'm lucky I'll hit on 1 or 2 baits that will start producing bass.

I still fish from the bank most of the time from smaller sized ponds. There are a few lakes over 30 acres that I like to fish from the boat. Most of these lakes have areas along the shore that you just can't reach by walking around the lake.

Sounds like a sweet trip! I'd take a bunch of extra memory cards.

I keep the trebles in the same packaging that they came in. That way I don't need to remember what size they are. I put the split rings in an empty pill bottle from the pharmacy. I write down the ring size with a sharpie across the label.

I used to use rattles in some of the jigs, but I started noticing that I was catching about the same amount of bass without the rattles, so I quit using them.

I have a small collection of Johnson, Zebco, Ambassadeur, Shimano, Mitchell, and Shakespeare reels that still work, but I don't use them for fishing any longer. I've also got a bunch of old lures from the early to mid 70s when the alphabet lures came out. Those baits haven't been in the water in years.

Jig and craw is what I like to fish with. I will be using a 1/8 or 1/4 ounce depending on the depth and wind.

I haven't had that much luck with double willows. My catch rate goes up with tandem Colorado or Indiana blades or a combination of the two. The only time it seems like I have luck with a willow blade is when it's in tandem with a Colorado blade, but the willow needs to be on the wider side.

I didn't realize they were making screens that large. My first TV was only a 19".

I'm not sure about the crankbait. It sort of resembles an old Big-O. It has the correct coloring but the eyes look off. It may be an old Norman crankbait. If I remember right those eyes were up front closer to the line tie. The prop bait is bugging me. I thought I recognized it, so I looked in the old tackle box and I have one exactly like it. No idea what it is called.

Most of the time I have been fishing with a 1/4 Strike King KVD swim jig. The only time I fish with a heavier jig is when the wind picks up and then I'll use a 1/2 Hack Attack Heavy Cover swim jig.

You will have to find where the panfish are holding. When the bass bite gets tough I fish with a Texas-rigged 3" Stik-O on a split shot rig. The green sunfish, bluegill, and warmouth love that thing.

Green Pumpkin, Watermelon Candy, and Black Grape. These three will pretty much cover any water clarity that I run across.

I need more hooks. Other than that I don't really need anything, but I haven't been on any tackle websites in a few weeks either so I may need something I haven't thought of.

With the drought we are having most of the water is down 3 to 4 feet. It has wiped out the vegetation and you can really see the humps, holes and brush piles.

Most of the time I will use Google Maps or Google Earth. These small lakes don't have any topo information so I usually drive out to take a look at them before going fishing.

If I can find the time I'd like to try fishing some of the reservoirs over in southern Illinois. If not then I will stick to the small lakes and ponds that are around my area.

Don't feel too bad @ol'crickety. This dink was from back on Dec. 21.

When I'm fishing a lipless out of a boat I just make sure I have the lure retriever on board. When fishing from the bank I will try and cast out a Texas rig to try and get a feel for what is around on the bottom. It won't be 100% accurate, but you'll get an idea of where to cast.

Congratulations!

The jerk baits bite was slow this year, only catching a couple in the springtime. I finally caught a bass fishing with a lipless crankbait and bladed jig in November.

I had some problems with the retailers, but not shipping. We received everything when they said we would.

I fished a lot of swim jigs this year. More than bottom contact jigs. The only time I didn't fish them was when the vegetation got thick in the summer, and the bass didn't want to come out from the mats.