Primus

In my opinion they are the worst paddletail baits I've tried and I've tried several brands. Try the Pro Swimbaits brand, looks fantastic in the water and they catch a lot of fish. They are a lot softer and retrieve well at slow or high speeds.

X3 on the BPS Crankin' Stick, I just picked up a 7'6" telescopic MH version which replaces my old one. This years model is supposed to be 20% lighter than the previous version. What I like about this rod is that it can handle deep divers with ease, it's made out of graphite with a forgiving tip. The last couple of years I've done very well with deep divers and this stick has helped me put a lot of fish in the boat.

I've caught some big Bass & Pike on this lure, surprised that some are having no success on it.

Rico is definetely a nice popper, but I would reccomend the Yellow Magic or Excalibur Zell Pop which are more reasonably priced premium poppers and are as good or better than the Rico in my opinion.

Me too, I like to set the hook with my dominant right hand.

Don't tell that to my wife, I've told her there is a reason I carry several brands of baits, sizes colors etc. My opinion of the Excalibur line is it is a productive bait when ripping it through grass, the fish seem to really respond to the sound that this bait makes. That said I prefer the SK Red Eye Shad, Yozuri, Sebile & Spro for other applications and would probably rank the Excalibur just behind those other baits.

X2, X2 X3, I also use 5/16 oz in addition to the others mentioned. I tend to use the use the heaviest I can get away with in most situations especially in the summer, more cast per hour shows my bait to more fish.

You reminded me of another one where I threw money away along with their Bluegill bait.

I forgot about the Live Pointer, though I think Lucky Craft is one of the better tackle companies they sure released a dog with that bait.

I'm with you on the weightless Senko, highly effective but when fishing deep water I'd rather fish crankbaits or weighted T-rigs where I can make 3 cast to every one that I make with a Senko. That said I'll throw it if I have to.

I bought a few Matzuo cranks a few years back, worst crankbaits I ever bought.

Wow, you must know something that's being over looked on the Pro Tour because the majority of them rely on Florocarbon for many applications. I'm not a pro but in my opinion is that the Florocarbon haters have either bought inferior types of Floro like Vanish or Vicious or are not careful when tying knots etc when using the line. That said I don't want to come accross like you need to use Florocarbon to be a successful fisherman or that it's the right line for every application. To say that Florocarbon sucks seems to contradict the expierience of some of the best fisherman in the biz like KVD who have a lot of money riding on getting fish in the boat and wouldn't use it if it were the liability that you portray it to be. I also have my own expierience with this line that has helped me put 100's of fish in the boat every year with no more problems than any other type of line that I've used. Back on topic I reccomend Trilene 100% based on the lines that I've tried so far.

I saw some a few years back but I never bought any, I have a feeling you might be able to locate some on e-bay.

I've been fishing the King Shads for a couple of seasons now and they've boated a nice number of good size Pike & Bass for me, I've never had a joint brake on one of mine. I picked up a couple of Baby King Shad's late last season, other than a couple of cast to see what it looks like in the water I haven't had a chance to fish it yet. If my recollection of this bait is correct it looks like it might be more effective using a slower retrieve than the regular King Shad which is a bait I tend to fish fast with the occasional twitch.

Matzuo crankbaits, horrible action.

Question for North Star & jigs, does your finnesse and Grass jig have a trailer keeper on it? Thanks

I like both the Super Fluke & Super Fluke Jr. Baby Bass is a great color.

I'm with you on the Japanese shad color, very productive last fall, I also like the Mojarra color a lot.

Of the ones I've tried so far I like the Booyah version, I'll admit it's something I haven't used a lot though I did well on a couple of outings last year with the small 1/8 oz version with a Zoom Super Fluke junior as a trailer. I'm also curious as to your favorite size and trailer if you use one and what situations you like to throw it in. Thanks

I can't comment on Matzuo poppers because I haven't used them but I tried some of their cranks a few years back and these were some of the worst cranks I've thrown. The ones I sampled wouldn't run straight and no it wasn't a hunting action, couldn't even tune them. I'm glad to hear that not all their products are junk.

I appreciate the feedback, I agree with you about the SK KingShad & similiar baits, looks like the Catch 22 isn't going to find a place in my tackle arsenal.

They were featured in this months In Fisherman, curious to see if anyone's tried one and what's your opinion of this bait. The one thing that has me somewhat interested is that they offer it in a 4" size that can be thrown on conventional gear and they are supposed to be very durable.

I like it that you won't limit me to one, so here is my 5 Strike King Red Eye Shad Spro Aruka Shad Sebile Flatt Shad Yozuri Rattlin' Vibe Jackall TN series

Here's my list... Pointer 100 Megabass Trick Darter Ima Flit Rapala X Rap Jackall Squad Minnow Whatever colors you are confident, if I had to narrow down I'd probbly pick Ghost Minnow and a solid color like Chartreuse Shad or Baby Bass.

I've bought one already in the Ghost Minnow color, waiting for the ice to leave before I can use it. I plan on fishing it as a swimbait with an occasional pause or twitch, I am anxious to see what it's capable of.