Tucson

Absolutely. I'd change out the batman grips though.

Thanks RW - been looking for a place to buy these.

That's what you get for playing with sharp hooks! I always dull mine up really well so this doesn't happen.

I love using jitterbugs in the evening. Been doing that for 30 years. Still haven't caught a fish on one but hope springs eternal.

Thanks McNasty, that's a really great method. Sounds more complex than it is but here's a link to some illustrations of your technique. http://www.in-fisherman.com/print/3560

Rapala recommends that you tie directly onto the lure. That means not using a snap of any kind. I'm still playing with the retrieve myself so I'm no expert but you might try twitching it on a little bit of slack line. That seems to improve the walk-the-dog aspect.

My method too. I tie a figure 8 knot at the end of the line to keep it a little more secure.

The 360 series fits perfectly into a milk crate. I put a shelf in the middle to give a little separation halfway between.

The rear attachment was a piece of heavy angle, bolted to the trailer rail with a piece of square tubing welded to the angle iron. No welding of the trailer was necessary. On the front mount I welded a piece of square tubing onto a fairly heavy steel plate then bolted the plate onto the frame with square U-bolts. Attaching a couple of pics to clarify.

Took it back to the pool today and tried again. I found that several quick twitches followed by a slight pause to take up the slack, then several more twitches gave me a much better action. I was twitching it a little too hard initially but I think I've got it now. Really looking forward to springtime bustin' bass time.

Well I tried it out in the pool today and I wouldn't describe it as a "walk the dog" action. More like Drag the Dog. A steady retrieve doesn't do anything and it seems to need a pretty energetic twitch-twitch-twitch action. Anyway, I'm anxious to try it out on those early morning feeding times.

Anyone use these? I picked one up recently and won't have a chance to use it for a few weeks, maybe longer if I have to wait for Springtime conditions. Seems like it fills a niche, a walk-the-dog lure that runs just a foot or two under the surface. Even if it doesn't catch fish it's a cool looking lure. Can't wait until the bass are busting shad on the surface.

Fishing a cold front is difficult anywhere, seems especially bad if the bass are Florida strain. Here's my method: Idle slowly into the parking lot of Long John Silvers, slip quietly into the door trolling a $10 bill. You'll get your fish, no problem.

Funny timing on this post. I replaced those hangers with just a treble hook at each screw-eye. They do have a great slooooow wobble but those quad trebles are just too much. I'll see how it works out.

Got two in mind: A couple years ago I took my boat and cat to Florida for a month. My buddy from Tampa joined me, talked me into going way up into a shallow channel about 3 feet deep. First cast he got snagged (double tail hula grub) and the snag started running. He pulled out a 6-1/2 lb LM, he tossed out his hula grub to show me where he caught it and wham, immediate pickup and now he's got a 7-1/2 lber. I know I'll never live it down if he outfishes me so I cast out my HG and wound up with a fat sassy bass @ 8lbs 10oz. (PB) 2nd trip: Last Spring I was fishing my home lake (Roosevelt AZ) in some shallow (6') water in some heavy extensive brush and landed 49 bass that one day. Far and away my highest score.

Ooooh - Diamond Plate. Gotta get some.

Let's start a thread for things we've made for our boats. I'll start with a few items I have. Show 'em if you got 'em! Assuming I can figure out how to post multiple pics. OK, figured it out. 1st is a guide on I made for the trailer. Square steel tubing, a 2 x 4, and some entry runner carpet. 2nd is a lure holder made of 1/16" aluminum angle. 3rd is the milk crate I use to hold my Plano 360's. 4th is a rod support/holder stuck in an unused seat mount. 5th is a rod carrier I made out of some scrap lumber, masonite, thin rubber sheet and some varnish.

Most excellent. Thank you for your responses.

I've just started vertical spoon jigging and wondered what my fellow anglers prefer, a spoon that drops quick like the Hopkins or one that flutters on the drop. I fabbed up some spoons by using a pair of #5 willow leaf blades soldered together with a split ring on either end. Gives a nice slow flutter. Seems like the heavy Hopkins type jigs drop too fast or am I off base on this?

There are a couple of hook removal methods that I've learned and would like to pass on. The first is the Through-The-Gill method. This is particularly good when the bass has take the bait into his gullet and just the shank is sticking out. Essentially you determine where the barb end of the hook is, reach up through the gills (I use needle nose pliers) grab the line and pull a loop of line out through the gills. Then you pull the line down and the hook will rotate in the gullet, often popping right out or at least placing the hook in the right position for removal. This method is from In-Fisherman. I've found two tools that are needed for hook removal, a needle-nose pliers and a pair of moderately heavy side-cutters (dikes). If hook removal is difficult you can often reach the barb with the side-cutters and clip it off. Once the barb is gone of course, the hook will come right out. It's often quicker to snip the barb and tie a new hook on then to putz around trying to remove it. Also a lot better for the fish. Last method: In situations where the hook and barb have gone all the way through its mouth and is sticking out on the outside, just snip the line at the hook and pull the hook eye out the same way the barb went in. A lot easier and faster then trying to back the barb out in traditional manner.

Our local Walmart has pretty minimal fishing stuff, maybe because we live in the desert. Not enough selection to even bother looking. But I still do of course.

I picked up a couple of clips called Stafford Change-able from a cloth store. Tied one end of a short cord to my hat, the other end to one of these clips and just clip it on my shirt collar.

Certainly, a surcharge of $4.50 for custom colors.

Here's a simple trick to keep your worm or DS weight from flopping around when transporting or storing your rods. Ready for this? Twist-Ties from the grocery store. Such a simple idea it took a couple years to figure it out! I'm gonna market these as "Ultra Mega-Max Extreme pro-series worm keepers for $14.95 a package.

Interesting question, not much info on trolling for bass. You can tie a floating Rapala (or similar) a Carolina rig to get the depth you want. That way you're not dependent on the designed depth for that lure.