Primus

I suggest that if you try Lucky Craft cranks go with the RC 1.5 Silent (Bass Pro Shops exclusive), fantastic bait. They sometimes have them on sale for about $10. Another japanese bait that has done very well for me is the Jackall Muscle Deep 15 Plus.

Mann's Baby 1 Minus, Jackall Cherry 56 Zero Foot, Xcalibur Wake, Strike King 1XS & Lucky Craft RC Wake.

I must of have used that 1st generation, I thought the line was horrible. I usually use BPS on my baitcasters. I like Trilene 100% for spinning rods, that said I tried Suffix Floro this year and I am very impressed. This line is comparable to most Mono in terms of manageability after I stretched it by pulling it behind the boat and applying KVD line conditioner and it's very strong and sensitive as well.

Cool stuff Stringjam and Skilletsized Bass I always look forward to your post, one of my projects this winter is to pick some of these handmade cranks that you've reccomended. Question guys, have you tried the C Flash cranks and what do you think of them ? I've been having success with the 44 Mag, popular crank in our part of the country despite the $22 pricetag.

BigBassChaser I forgot about the Yozuri Rattlin' Vibe, great bait and I like the Ghost color. The Bluegill DT6 is another great bait and color.

Bobby, I'm impressed that you care enough about your products that your asking for feedback whether positive or negative. I've always used Smelly Jelly because lIke a previous poster said it's all about getting them to hang on a little longer, when I run low on scent I'm going to give Megastrike a shot.

I have not used any of your products to date. Fish Attractant- I've always used Smelly Jelly prior to my becoming aware of your product, I've always been satisfied with it and never thought about trying anything else. I have seen it locally at tackle shops in our area. I actually do have 1 or 2 Cavitron buzzbaits that I've barely used due to the fact that I've gotten away from buzzbaits the last couple of years. This is likely due the fact that I fish mostly clear water and I'm more confident throwing lures like the Zoom Horney Toad or wake cranks. I will break out the buzzbaits on occasion if working muddy or stained water. That said I know buzzbaits will work on occasion in clear water I just got of the habit of using them as much as once did. Spinnerbaits- A few years ago I tried the S.O.B. Mini Me Spinnerbaits and that was it for me. It became my bread & butter spinnerbait because I could order the blades in any size that I want, I like the weight on the hook design and I'm a big fan of how they bend the wire making the spinnerbait more compact for the clearwater lakes that I fish. I have used the Rattlehead spinnerbaits for night fishing because I think that he extra noise is an asset at night. Also, Spinnerbaits have lost some of my on the water time due to baits like the R.I. Skinny Dipper, Pro Swimbaits hollow body, swimjigs and again to the skinny water cranks that I'm now so fond of. Crankbaits have become my go to the last couple of years and I try to use them in as many situations as I can. Regarding your spinnerbait I'm confident that your strike back system has merit but I rarely lose a fish on spinnerbits as it is so it wasn't a big selling point to me, also your bait has the full wire frame which I don't use very much anymore and it's likely that the blades are going to bigger than what I usually fish with so I would have to change them out to my liking. (My favorite combo is a tandem # 4 Willow/ # 2 Colorado) and sometimes a single # 4 or 4-1/2 Willow or single Colorado for Night fishing. Jigs - I saw the jigs at a tackle shop when they first came out, the design didn't look like it would come through weeds as cleanly as the designs I typically fish and I also wasn't impressed with the way the skirts were laid out. Soft Plastics- I used to try a lot of the different soft plastics that came out and would often buy different brands that offer a certain design and ultimately settle on one brand. As an example I use the Yamamoto Senko as my go to stickworm, occasionally using a Yum Dinger when I want a slower fall or using the 3" size on a small jighead. I'm sure there are other brands out there that will probably work but I've simplified to these 2 choices and would be reluctant to try another brand. I've also given away a lot of soft baits the last year or so because I've found the baits and brands, colors that I'm confident in and I'm trying to simplify that aspect of my fishing. That said I'm open to trying a new soft plastic shape design but not someone else's version of a Baby Brush Hog/ Senko etc unless I can be convinced that it's superior to what I'm using and not another " me too " bait. Regarding the Megastrike soft baits I'm not familiar with them, I see them listed on your webpage but couldn't find any descriptions and pictures.

I use Loomis/ Dobyns for my soft plastics/ jigs but have been real pleased with my BPS Crankin' Sticks (I carry 3 on the boat with me because I crank a lot) and think they are terrific rod for the money. I like that I can get 7'6" crankin' rod that's telescopic since my boat is 18' it fits in my rod locker better. I only use Shimano for my reels so I can't comment on BPS reels because I haven't used them.

Probably due to the fact that I fish a lot of clear water and the bait seems to send out the right pressure waves to call out bass. I've also done well with the larger sizes (2.5 & 3.5) using it at night. If you haven't tried these yet BPS usually has them on sale a couple of times a year for about $10 which is when I usually pick up a few.

I'm very impressed ! Yesterday threw the 150 size (5-7/8"/ 2 oz.) Chartreuse Shad with weedguard which I thinned out, threw out it out in deep water and slow rolled uphill on a deep point. This accounted for my 3 biggest fish (2 about 4-1/2 lbs & 1 3lber) and another 4-5 lber came unbuttoned, I used it about 2 of the 7 hours that I fished, the fun part is that a couple absolutely crushed it. What I like about this bait is because it's so heavy it really stays on the bottom well in deep water and lands upright. This is a very nice swimbait for the money, the shame is I bought it app 2 years ago and yesterday was the first time I really fished it, safe to say it will now be a key part of my summer fishing arsenal.

Impossible for me to have one favorite because cranks are my go to bait and you need many to cover different depth ranges... 0-1' Baby 1 Minus 2'-4' Lucky Craft RC 1.5 (Silent)- I love this bait, okay this is my favorite 6' Rapala DT 6 7'-9' Storm Wiggle Wart 10' Rapala DT 10/ Lucky Craft RC 2.5DD 10'-13' C Flash 44 Mag 12'-15' Bandit 700 Series 14'-16' Jackall Muscle Deep 15 Plus 15'-19' Strike Series 6XD Lipless- Strike King Red Eye Shad Spro Aruka Shad Sebile Flat Shad

Try the BPS rod (it's sometimes on sale for $ 50), it's rated for baits up to 1-1/2 oz. Also, get a 7'6" rod it will probably add 10-15 yds to your cast which is critical for these types of baits in most situations and this rod will be more moderate than the lightening rod but it's not a noodle stick either so you can rip the bait off the weeds which will often trigger a strike. There are also cranking rods from other manufacturers that will do a great job but I like the BPS which also comes in a telescopic version for easy storage in your rod locker. Good luck and while your at it pick up a few of the Strike King Series 6XD I've been doing very well with it this season.

Airboure Angler what kind of rod/reel combo are you using? I throw my deep cranks on a 7'6" BPS MH Crankin' Stick with a 5:1 Shimano Curado and this combo does a great job of winding in these cranks and hauling in the fish. If your not using equipment made for this type of fishing it will be a chore to fish these type of baits.

Roadwarrior I have to disagree with you about Zoom not being innovatve, the Brush Hog & Baby Brush Hog have been imitated by almost every soft bait manufacturer out there simply because this design flat out catches fish. The Zoom Super Fluke is another innovative bait style though I will give props to the Sluggo as well, the Super Fluke was not another " me too" bait. The Zoom Horney toad is another trendsetter and a very productive bait that I overlooked earlier. I'm not saying Zoom is the only game in town but there is a valid reason for their success and Zoom products have also been utilized by national touring pro's who have cashed a lot of checks using their products. I respect your opinions and contributions to this forum but I respectfully disagree with your take on Zoom baits.

"With so many other options, it surprises me that Zoom plastics remain so popular. I don't own any and haven't fished one in more than a decade." I'm not, they are very productive, readily available, have great action, reasonably priced soft plastics that are offered in a wide variety of colors. I also use some soft baits from Yamamoto, Strike King, Reaction Innovations, Roboworm to name a few but there will always be a place on my boat for Zoom. Some of my favorite Zoom baits... Super Fluke Ultravibe Speed Craw U tail Worm Trick Worm Centipede Finnesse Worm Baby Brush Hog

While there are no absolutes or always in fishing I tend to go with slow falling baits in the spring and medium to fast falling baits in the summer. I routinely cast Texas rigged Zoom Speed Craws with 1/2 to 3/4 sinkers and fish have no problem slurping 'em up. I usually fish 10" Power Worms with 3/8 to 1/2 oz sinkers. I tend to think based on my expierience of having other fisherman in the boat that a lot of fisherman miss out on a lot of fish by not fishing aggresively and trying to get the fish to react. There is a place for finnesse fishing but I try to fish aggresively as possible and then slow down if I need to.

I've caught a few fish on them but I didn't think were anything special and certainly not a premium bait.

I prefer a 7'6" MH BPS Crankin' Stick with 12 lb Floro for my deep cranks. I used to use a 7' rod for these baits and the longer rod adds at least 10 -15 yards to the length of the cast which has greatly increased my success with these baits, this is because the bait is going to spend more time in the strike zone and run deeper. Airborne think of the Fat Free Guppy as a smaller crank and the BD7 & DD22 as standard cranks. Once you load the boat with the better grade of bass that these baits typically attract you just might end up with dozens of them like I've accumulated. Besides the baits already mentioned get a few of the Bandit 700 series ( esp. the Bluegill color)and the Strike King 6XD which is a bait that has really impresed me this season. If your willing to drop 15$ on a bait I highly reccomend the Jackall Muscle Deep 15 Plus which cast like a rocket, has a smaller profile and hits app 17' on a long cast with small diameter line. Good Luck.

I prefer the Zoom Horney Toad & Stanley Ribbit. I've also done well on a Tike Snake when a more subtle presentation is called for.

Nice looking bait, I'm interested.

I 've said it before and I 'll say it again, forget about the "match the hatch" nonsense once and for all, your bait doesn 't have to look like __________________ ( place here the name of whatever species you desire ) in order to catch fish, what catches the fish is the action of the bait, not what to your eyes the bait looks like. Realistic and ultrarealistic fisnishes are meant to catch you and not the fish, A good bait design in the hands of a skilled fisherman will catch fish regardless how it 's painted. Why I say it ? because of experience, bass in my neck of the woods have never seen and will never see these fish: shad, walleye, brown trout, perch, pike, pickerel. Only in very few places like up in the Sierra ( and you can count those places with your fisngers ) bass and rainbow trout can be found in the same body of water, but that 's an exception not the rule, so add rainbow trout to that list of species, however baits painted in those patterns work as well as baits painted to resemble fish that bass can "identify" as food such as tilapia, minnows, shiners, carp & bluegills. I somewhat disagree, I have a lake where I've done very well on the Bandit 700 Chrome Bluegill color, put a different color of this same bait little to no fish. That said your comment applies in most situations. Anyways here are a few 5-8$ cranks that I've done well with... Rapala Shad Rap Rapala DT 6 & 10 Storm Wiggle Wart Strike Series 3 & 6XD Strike King Red Eye Shad Bandit 700 series Norman DD 22 Mann's Baby 1 Minus

Lot's of good suggestions so far, I'm going to add Rapala Shad Raps & Mann's Baby 1 minus as affodable crankbaits that should be in everyone's tacklebox.

I highly reccomend a Yellow Magic or Excalibur Zell Pop for this type of retrieve.

I start with my local tackle shops because I believe it's important to support local/ small business plus if I need a bag of Senko's for the next day they'll have them. I've also picked up nice tackle from Tackle Whse & Bass Tackle Depot. I use Bass Pro Shops mainly for the exclusive items like their RC cranks. I also place about 1 order a year with Ichiban tackle for certain hard to get japanese plugs.

I agree with those who talked about fishing a popper slowly in calm water, it will certainly catch some fish. That said I've had some of my best days with a popper with a slight ripple on the water to a slight chop working it more aggressively. My favorite retrieve is to take a Yellow Magic or Excalibur Zell Pop and give it a quick splash with a 1/2 to 1 second pause followed up by 5-6 quick movements where it walks followed up by a brief pause then I repeat the same retrieve. Some times a slow to medium walk the dog retrieve with no pauses will be effective as well. To walk these baits keep twitching the slack on semi slack line., it takes a little practice and certain poppers work better for this retrieve like the ones I mentioned but you'll get it down. I also like using the Lucky Craft G Splash 80 when there is some chop on the water. With this bait I favor a 1-2 cadence (that is pop, pause, doublepop and then start over) trying to spray a lot of water. Another great option is the Lucky Craft Gunfish which is hybrid slender popper walking stickbait. This bait does a little bit of everything. It sits tail down in the water, you can give it gentle pops in calm water when you want a subtle presentation, it can be walked very nicely or combine it with a more aggressive popping in the retrieve. Also, with a little practice you can make it jump out of the water. I favor 6'6" graphite medium action casting rod (not overly stiff on the tip) with a LH Shimano Citica casting reel spooled with 12 lb. mono to fish these baits. I reccomend 3 color patterns though there are others that will work as well. I like a bone or Chartreuse shad for overcast days. I like Ghost minnow when fishing clear water with sunny skies and also like a chrome body like Lucky Craft's American shad when fishing algea green or slightly stained water on a sunny to slightly overcast day. Though poppers will definetetly work at times on clear sunny days but they tend to work better during low light conditions such as early morning/ evening or overcast days. Good luck, keep fishing these baits and one of these days the fish will cooperate and your going to enjoy a fun day of topwater fishing.