Primus

Another good one that hasn't been mentioned yet is the Excalibur Wake crank, great bait around shallow grass. As already been mentioned the RC Wake crank is another great choice. I just got the 3:16 wake baits and will be testing them out next year so I can't comment on those lures yet. I also have a Matt Lures floating HardBass that I'm looking forward to fishing.

My advice, save up or work a little extra OT and get a Matt Lures Hard Gill, excellent bait.

Go to their website, they have a lot of vids of their baits. I've heard good things about them.

Just ordered a few of their 68 swimbaits, which is the 6" size with an 8" tail for more kick.

I've tried the Reaction Strike, didn't care for it.

Excellent deal.

I use 1 pin a lot when roll casting a spinnerbait in cover or sometimes when pitching jigs or plastics.

I think it's made by Tsunami but I can't remember what they call it.

It's been my most productive soft plastic the past few years and is reasonably priced.

I agree that the Tru Tungsten & River to Sea baits are solid choices for the money. I would also look at the River to Sea Live Eye Bottom Walker, I like the 6" size.

Question for you Randall or Matt, how do you like to rig the ROF 5 which my understanding is that it doesn't come prerigged like the 12? Thanks

... and the meek shall inherit the earth( enter big power chords), 2112 is definetely my favorite Rush album. I've never tried flipping with most of the lakes I fish having clear water I've gotten by with pitching. That said I know a lake or 2 by me where flipping would be a good option. I just might have to put that on my to do list as a fisherman. Follow-up if you catch any big ones with the flipping technique and good luck.

Very good job on your review, I thought I was reading from a fishing magazine. I look forward to your future contributions.

I wish I wouldn't have had success on swimbaits, now I got swimbait virus and it's infected my wallet

I'll start with mine... Northstar Jigs- just got my first order and waiting for the ice to melt. Impressed with the quality. 3:16 Wake Jr & 3:16 Herring- topwater swimbaits Matt lures Tournament series soft swimbaits- He has one to match just about any baitfish a bass will eat. Matt lures Slow Sink Hard Perch, Fast, Slow & floating Gills- I've already have fished the slow Gills, awesome bait and by next spring I'll have a small school of Matt's Gills 8" 22nd Century Triple Trout- I have to see what the fuss is about, heard good things about this bait High Power Herring- just got my first one, can't wait to fish it heard these were bad*ss Various 6"-8" soft swimbaits- slow rolling for big fish Mega Bait Mega Bug- looks like a cool soft plastic Power Tackle Lateral Perch- innovative idea Overall 2011 will be the year of the swimbait for me, I'm going to spend a lot of time trying to learn these baits.

I used to be excited for the upcoming BPS catalogs but I'm just not that impressed anymore with BPS & Cabelas. I try to buy as much from local tackle shops as I can because I believe it's important to support local business when it's practical and also D&R sports in Kalamazoo,MI is a terrific tackle shop. That said when I need to order most of biz is going to Tackle Whse, Bass Tackle Depot & Ichiban Tackle. Also I'm ordering direct for some items from Northstar Jigs, Matt's lures etc. which doesn't leave much left for BPS & Cabela's. I do order a few house brand lures from BPS like the RC cranks for example but that's been about it the last couple of years, I'm also turned off by the fact that the more you spend the more they charge for shipping and frankly their selection is no longer that impressive.

I hope they are good I bought a few from Bass Tackle Depot & Tackle Whse when they had their Black Friday sales which made the price a little easier to take. I just ordered a school (7 FOR 100$) of Matt's new Tournament series baits, I've heard good things about the swimming action of this bait. My project next year is to compare soft 6" & 7" soft swimbaits from Realprey,3:16 Rising Son,Osprey, Matt's , Rago, River to Sea, Hudd & Baitsmith to see which ones ultimately work out as my go to baits. Some baits like the RTS & Rising son have a wide kick and then there are others like the Hudd that have minimal movement. Some have suggested that the wide kicking baits tend to excel in warmer water and the subtle baits will shine in clear water especially in cooler water temps. This will be part of my learning curve to see if this proves true in the waters I fish.

Depends on time of year and I have a hard time narrowing it down to 3. My selections are not based on numbers of fish but importance in my arsenal... 6" River to Sea Live Eye Bottom Walker- I didn't start throwing this until August but I was blown away with the average size bass that this put in my boat along with a personal best Pike. This bait will literally change the way I view fishing as I have bought similiar baits by various companies and next season will be focusing a lot of time fishing various 6" plus swimbaits trying to learn the baits. There will still be a place in my boat for conventional tackle but once you get the swimbait bug it will be hard to go back. I've spent a lot of money these past couple of months gearing up for next year on this category of tackle. Zoom Speed Craw- ole reliable in my boat, consistent fish catcher Deep Diving Cranks- I have a few I like to throw. In addition to my favorites the Strike King Series 6XD & the C Flash 44 mag are newer baits that made a positive impression on me. Honorable mention.... Lipless cranks- great bait year round especially in the spring & fall. Key baits would include Sebile Flat Shad & SK Red Eye Shad. Lucky Craft RC 1.5 - awesome shallow water crank Jerkbaits- awesome in the spring Senko- what can you say that hasn't already been said. However it's associated with weightless presentations but is also very effective on jigheads, Texas rigged etc Jackall Flik Shake- I hate finnesse fishing but sometimes you've got to do what you have to do to put fish in the boat and this bait flat out works Jigs- all year every year, there is a reason that this is a bass fisherman's staple 1/2 oz Hornet/ 3.5 Lake Fork Shad- I love it, a power fishing bait that works under tough conditions Blade baits- my favorite is the Vibe E, essential for ealy spring/ late fall cold water fishing

Crankbaits are decent but not worth the money in my opinion. If I remember correctly you couldn't have the hooks touching together or the light would stay on and eventually diminish. I didn't think it was special enough to warrant that kind of storage consideration.

It's my favorite shallow water crank and I own about 4-5 dozen of the various RC baits with the 1.5 being my overall favorite. That said Strike King just came out with their square bill which sells in the 5-6$ range. I did throw the Strike King a little this fall and stuck a few fish on them giving me a good first impression, time will tell if it's the real deal like the RC baits.

If you want a low profile baitcaster try the Curado 300 series which is a great reel for this application. It has a larger spool to accomodate the heavier lines & lures that are often used with these baits.

Matt's just came out with a new tournament series baits that I've heard very good things about and look forward to trying next year. I have a few that I've purchased recently from 3:16, 22nd Century, Baitsmith, RealPrey, Huddleston & High Power that I'm looking forward to fishing when the dreaded ice goes away.

I have especially with regards to their hunting catalogs because I don't hunt. It doesn't matter it seems if you buy from them on occasion they will send you everything.

You guys are right about duplicate catologs that they send too many, when you no longer need them please recycle. I find myself buying less each year from the 2 big names as most of business goes to places like BassTackle Depot & Tackle Warehouse for things that my local tackle shops don't carry. I do use BPS for a few house brand items like the XPS Florocarbon & RC cranks.

I would get a few Crankbaits, here are some affordable cranks that will put fish in the boat... Mann's Baby 1 Minus-runs app 0'-1' fish over the tops of weeds or rip through shallow grass 1/2 oz Red Eye Shad- great bait all year, one of the best cranks in cold water. Effective with a Yo Yo retreive, slow roll or rip off the grass Strike King KVD Square Bill Crank- nice crank for the 2-5' range Storm Wiggle Wart- good crank for 6'-8' range Rapala DT6 & DT10-Good cranks for the 6' range( DT6) or 10' range(DT10) Rapala #5 & #7 Shad Rap- terriffic shallow finnesse cranks If you are interested in fishing deep try a few Norman DD22's & Strike King Series 6XD. There are lot of cranks available through the likes of Bandit & Bomber that are reasonably priced. You may not be able to get all these cranks at once but pick up a few when you can and before you know it you'll have enough to target fish at various depths.