Crankenstein Crony

Couple watermelon colors, pumpkin, green pumpkin. I like to keep my colors simple and natural.

For a reel under $80 I really like the Okuma Trio

Should I put gel coat over the 3M or just leave it the way it is after I fill it with the 3M??

I mostly use Strike King crank baits. I use the KVD 1.0's, 1.5's, 2.5's Series 3's, 3xd's, Series 5's, 5xd's, 6xd's and Red Eyes. They are all fish catching machines!. I also use Xcalibur XCS 100's, several Bandits, couple Rapala's, and a few Lucky Crafts. I would stick with the brand you catch the most fish on though. I prefer SK cranks, Ive got boxes of SK's. Invest in the brand that you catch most of your fish on.

I was working on my rod locker this weekend and popped a small hole through the side of the boat. I would say the hole is 1/8 inch or less. The hole is below the water line on the boat, so I don't want to leave it and continue to use the boat the way it is. I am curious if any of you guys out there can give me some insight on how to fix this hole with out having to pay someone to do it. What products would you use to fill the hole? I have never worked with fiber glass before, what do I need to do in order to get this fixed and fixed right?

I throw KVD 1.5 square bills every where I fish in Michigan and they flat out get destroyed! They are my favorite square bills. I use them in every water clarity imaginable and they work great. I fish them in and through weeds, wood, rocks, around docks, shallow drop offs, sunken islands.... If you hook into a weed, rip the bait out and a lot of times you get a reaction strike! Just as Senkoman12 said, I have caught many fish cranking weeds! If you don't want to use Strike King square bills, Xcalibur makes a good square bill. The XCS 100 series is just a little bit bigger than the KVD 1.5 and they catch fish. Both Strike King and Xcalibur are priced very well. Another decent priced square bill is the Lucky-E-Strike Rick Clunn square bills. I don't like them near as much as the SK's and the Xcalibur's but they are another decent option that isn't to expensive.

I love fishing jigs, they always seem to produce a big bite when I need one. But I prefer to pitch and flip mats, wood, docks and other cover with beavers or creature baits. I break out a baby brush now when the bite is really tough. I don't know what it is about that bait, but it always comes through!

I drop shot from when I start fishing in the end of March beginning of April until I put my boat away. I have used it in water as shallow as 1ft and as deep as 30ft. I prefer to use the rig on a 6'9 to 7'2 medium light spinning rod with a extra fast tip. I throw it on 10 pound braid and use a 8 pound fluorocarbon leader. I like to use a 1/0 Gamakatsu drop shot hook and a 1/4 to 1/2 weight. I've never tried to drop shot with casting gear. Can't say whether it is good for it or not.

I was on one of our local rivers Friday afternoon and I was slamming the smallies on a KVD 1.5 in chartreuse black back.

The Revo Winch is a great reel for cranking. It comes in a left hand model.

I like a nickel finish on my hooks. I try and make sure my hooks and baits are dry before I put them away. I tend to leave baits out on the deck of my boat so they dry before I put them away. I also keep a small towel in my boat for lures that haven't dried before my fishing trip is over. I just quickly wipe them off before I put them away, and haven't had any issue with rusted hooks yet.

I had a can in my tackle storage compartment that blew up last summer. I didn't realize it was sitting on top of several of my plano boxes and when I shut the door, the locking mechanism pierced the can and... BANG! so everything in my boat smelled like BANG all summer. I tried the crawdad scent on my craws before it blew up. I have never used a scent additive like that before, but I thought it worked well. It gave off a strong scent that lasted quite a while. Just keep the wind in mind when you spray it, otherwise it will end up all over you, your boat, your gear, and other people in the boat. Its greasy so it has a tendency to stick around when gets on things that it shouldn't be on.

Being a Michigan boy, KVD is obviously my number one choice. I would have trouble choosing two guys, i like Ike, G Man, Evers, The Big Show, Casey Ashely, Kreit, Shaw Grigsby, Hackney, Hite, Chris and Bobby Lane, Kelly Jordan... But honestly getting to ride along with any of the top guys on the Elite Series would be awesome!

I have 5 or 6 of the XCS 100 series square bills and I like them a lot. They have strong bills, they deflect off wood and other structure really good, and they have good action. The Zell Pop is a great popper too!

Lew's Speed Spool is hard to beat!

I have a small river with dirty water in my local area. I throw a lot of square bills and rattle traps. When Im not cranking, I throw beavers and jigs around the docks, stumps, and other various structure I find along the way. Spinner baits often come in handy as well.

Im praying for temps and weather like you have down there in GA right now! Decent weather can't role in up here in Michigan fast enough! If I were you, I would start by getting out there and going fishing!! Get a line wet bro!! We just finally hit the low 40's here and I've been out twice this week! Couldn't wait any longer!!!

That is a great deal man! You have more than $40 just in Rapala's.

I snagged my brother in the earlobe when we were younger kids. He screamed like a little girl... oops! I snagged a seagull while fishing for crappies with a cane pole. I've caught a shopping cart and a lawn chair on the St. Joe river. Never know what you will catch out there. Weirdest thing I hooked into was a Nintendo 64 controller which also came out of the St. Joe river.

I have 7 Quantum bait casters and 2 spinning reels and absolutely love them! Never had any issues with a single one! The plan is to buy more before bass season opens up here in Michigan. A Smoke or Exo is next on the list!

I like 10 pound Vicious Fluoro for square bills.

1. Patience 2. Willingness to give up on spots/techniques that have produced so well in the past at a certain body of water 3. Learning new water

It drives me nuts when I fish with 1 of my buddies and he blames his back lash on his bait caster. Sometimes he will back last 3 or 4 reels a night so badly he has to respool them. He firmly believes he has his reels tuned in right and the reels are the problem.... Needless to say I take up stock in the line company he uses.

Won't catch any fish if there is a banana in the boat!

Thanks for the info guys I appreciate it! I'm thinking about giving some of their baits a shot but haven't used any and don't know anyone who does.