Spankey

I've used Owner and Gammy for a long time. I've never been able to find an Owner in a real light wire straight worm hook though. 1/0 and 2/0. Good stuff though.

Check out the St. Croix Mojo and the St. Croix Premier Crankbait Rod versions. A bit softer tip. They don't break the bank and I think you'll like them for Crankbait fishing. Just a thought. Two rods I thought were good purchases.

I'll agree 100%. Way back I bought and used the same rods. Extremes and Bionic rods etc. Still have them. Others use them if someone wants to come along. I've been a St. Croix guy for a long while now. Are they far superior, I don't know. Just a turn I took. BPS to me way back when was a big deal. I thought they were a great place to do business with. For years now in my opinion they have a lot to be desired. Oh well. Don't know if you guys remember this Bass Pro Rod but I have 3 BPS Billy Westmoreland Rods still in the plastic never used. One I still use. Occasionally I throw the Grub version. Always in the boat. Great all around light soft plastic rig.

Don't own a casting version but love my finesse spinning. Drop Shot and Split Shotting version is a great Rod. Would not hesitate to buy another in his series. Quality rod that doesn't break the bank.

X3 Not to say I've never had a Shimano issue but am a satisfied user.

That's a nice rig you have created. Sharp.

My hours from the type of work I do can get crazy also. Can't predict breakdown regardless of how well you maintain things. I try not to stress over it. Getting out is therapy. Time to get in touch with my own head. I'm not the most religious guy but it lets me have some connection time with the man upstairs. Regardless of the type of day I come off the water feeling pretty good. And id like to think I feel pretty good being out, before I get the line wet.

Your fishing pliers will do the job most likely. Works on 25# King Salmon. You won't find me trying it on a bass. Id never eat one.

My home away from home is the local river. Have two others that I hit that are a short hike. They have been unfishable the majority of the season. I've switched over to a local lake, may just fish it to seasons end. Heart broken that I can't get on the river. Feel more at home there. I feel for ya.

I call my orders in. I find it easier and safer. Great place to deal with.

I jumped on that Whopper Plopper bandwagon the other year. All the chatter about them. Almost seemed if I didn't have something to try I wasn't in the game. I'm a river rat for the most part chasing smallies so I bought two 90's. Didn't want to go too big. They work, but I'm use to throwing others that they just become part of the mix. I prefer a skitter pop, pop r or chug bug over them. I throw the strike King buzz baits and do pretty well with them. In my opinion the draw back of the WP is they don't like floating pieces of grass.

I'd have to second the advise on the ML XF rod. I drop shot and split shot rig majority of the time. I tried it at first with light power rods years back. I found them to be slow and not having enough backbone for some of the deeper water I fish. I'm not trying to sell you another by any means. The ML XF in 6'9", 6'10" & 7' rods work well in my case. Thought about even stepping up to a similar Medium rod but have not done it. Probably never will. I'm convinced my set ups for drop shots will work any where. If you do go into another rod take your time and handle a few and get a feel you like. All XF rods are not created equal. I have a Garcia that is a fast but has the feel of St. Croix that are XF. My favorite DS rod. This is just an opinion and I certainly not trying to sell you anything. It's a shame we don't know each other or near each other because I'd have no issue with you trying mine to help you decide

I'm up here in the N.E. They are very productive. I fish a lot of RoboWorm. River Smallies tend to hit all the colors I throw. Both oxbloods are great, The versions that are like baitfish or shad are killer. Pro neon blue, Blue crawler, and Prism crawler are up at the top for me. Similar to Peoples Craw having a touch of blue to them.

Never gave that much thought with a bass but if you catch a Muskie or decent size Walleye or Pickerel they come in handy. I've been getting alot of freak catches like that the last few years.

No man. What they have out there to buy is this diamond stick that is flat on one side and grooved on the other. It's about 3 1/2" - 4" long and you can (file) touch up the hooks edges and point. I'm not BSing you. Touch up your trebles, worm hooks etc. They even have this one that is battery operated with a coned stone in it but I can't tell you squat about it. The diamond file works great. If you file, try to file into the hook, instead of filing away. The same as if you were touching up a lawn mower blade. They are cheap and fit in your tee shirt pocket.

Aboslutly. I have a Rapala plastic fish gripper that will hook to my Digital scale. Everything sort of looks similar to the set-up they use on MLF. No real reason to mishandle fish that you are going to put back. Things can happen but.......just try to pay attention to what you are doing. But things can accidentally happen.

Make sure your hooks are sharp. Touch them up on occasion. Insure that they are and then there is not much to question. An airborne bass throwing a lure is pretty common.

That top one might be a Crazy Crawler. Crazy something?

You are probably right about it may be worth something. But in reality the whole lot will not make you rich. I would keep them for the nostalgia if you're into fishing. Good shadowbox lures.

Jitterbugs for the most part. Neat old stuff.

I'm with you 100%. My experiences on the river have produced Largemouths in the same holes, current and structure as smallmouths. I like the unexpected catch of one. More then once I've caught a smallie on the outer edge of a laydown only to pick off a largemouth or a couple of largemouths as I work my way back to the bank side of the laydown. The river largemouths and smallies are generally leaner than their lake cousins but they deal with current their whole life.

At least the large population of baitfish is a good sign. Baitfish activity can set up where you're going to fish. I prefer to fish smallies on the river. Rains have messed the river up pretty much all season for me. I've been fishing the lake and enjoying my catches and the strategic change up. In my case the river should start to get better. Your favorite spot I can't help but think should be great during the fall when the smallies put on the feed bag. I have two spots I hit religiously on the river having that quick dropoff. Crankbaits and topwater seem to produce well there.

A-Jay has a great post. I'm a Smallie addict but on a river. I'll generally have two spots I have to hit and fish it inside out and will produce fish. After that it's putting on a slow drift of some type. When I pick off fish I keep moving on. Occasionally throw a marker, but I really don't like to do that. Most times I'll drift that a second time and go back through.

Don't overlook that place in the fall.

I'm basically set up the same way. Use a few more of the Rapala tools. The large side cutter and the small panfish needle nose plier come handy and these show no signs of rust after much use. What is nice about the Rapala fisherman plier along with the split ring built in as they have a crimper built in and wire cutter is made as well as any of my electrical tools. I would recommend a pair.