OkobojiEagle

nail weights offer a great deal of control over how the fluke glides and falls... shank weighted wide-gap swim bait hooks also work well. oe

$45.00

Servus chore boots work for me when I'm wandering around mucky lake shore. oe

I'm going to fill some between ring cracks in an older cork handle with oil-based wood putty... any words of wisdom or warning? oe

Must be a good place to fish... drop anchor between a couple of them and see what's biting. (not) oe

As light as possible WHILE STILL BALANCING THE ROD SLIGHTLY TIP UP and I wouldn't accept a spinning reel without a backreel switch... especially for drop shotting. oe

... So the marketing gurus at Pure Fishing found a way to move those Skeet reels getting dusty in the back-room! Purple should cover over yellow pretty easily... oe

$125... I'd be determining what I want the reel to do and research ~$200 reels of the last couple years to narrow the field then watch the swap/sell boards of a couple popular sites. This is the time of year I'm seeing lots of reel purging by tournament guys and you should be able to find a nice $200 class reel in your budget. After procuring your reel, send it to DVT for a thorough cleaning. There's a significant jump in quality/benefits in a $200 class reel over a $125 class reel... oe

Good point Tom. I don't want to open my reels... somebody know if most current bait casting reels have uniform sized drag spring washers? oe

daily... no between seasons... yes oe

If you're not enjoying it, don't go. I prefer waiting until the water temp rises a few days in a row. BULL... LOL!!!

My success with a tube over a skirted jig is a direct correlation to carrying no skirted jigs in my tackle bag... I catch more smallmouth with a jighead/curly tail grub than a tube if that matters to you. oe

... a sorcerer of the black arts!

...or throwing walking top water baits and hard jerkbaits to prevent walking over the line with the trebles. oe

It's hard for me to understand why some of these lesser manufacturers will scrimp with features and quality to save a few pennies... oe

...but the OP's question was: Do you like to back-reel? oe

I don't know why you are limiting your choices? Ball head, worm nose, darter head, minnow head all make fine hair jigs. While not typical, I use Charlie Brewer's Slider head. Choose your head by how you want to fish it, then find that head style with an appropriate hook for your quarry. oe

As Bluebasser has proclaimed, the skinny Cutter is the real deal! Note to Keith O. (Berkley hard bait engineer): Don't mess with this bait!! oe

Jig worm fishing (shakey head) is a technique that is best accomplished with tackle that provides the most sensitive feel of the bait. For me that's accomplished with a spinning outfit. oe

...yes. Perhaps it isn't well known outside of the circle of believers, but a spinning reel's drag still engages when the reel handle is held still while back-reeling. Back-reeling provides a level of line release lighter than that at which the drag is set. oe

bears repeating... oe

Upon more reflection of this question, I suppose there are more named bass techniques/rigs that I haven't fished than those I have fished. I covet the village idiot's life for its simplicity. oe

Carolina rigging, flipping into cover oe

unless you troll it behind your boat oe

I certainly will... just engaging with the board. oe