RB 77

Soft plastics. Worm, Lizard, Creature, etc. I love them all.

Nadine...

Its funny, my father used to do this a all the time. Every fish practically, all the while using a fairy wand and 5 lb test. Of course they're all gonna feel like giants. Haha. It go so bad, that I even stopped paying attention anymore until one day last season he DID hook a giant. I had just fired out a bomber cast and didn't bother to look back as this was the 20th "giant" of the morning. By the time I heard the drag start screaming I was already 40-50 yards out on a cast. Too late to grab the net. He managed to get the fish to boat and lip it. After a congrats and some photos we had a talk about the "giants" and the importance of the net on big fish. He has gotten better about it since then. Haha. Man, I love fishing with ol' Pops.

That feeling the night before a big trip really does never get old. My Dad and I fish and we both concur that sometimes its hard to sleep the night before a big trip, particularly if we are fishing together. I work in the sportfishing industry and I have been telling people for years that sometimes it feels like being a kid on Christmas eve. I think a lot of it has to do with getting up so early just like when we were wee tykes on the 25th of December.

Anise oil is the ticket.

More points of failure. Consistent knot tying is one the most crucial elements of fishing. It should be able to be done like second nature smoothly and seamlessly and not seen as a determent in any way. Practice makes perfect.

I also recommend backing as well. No need for a full spool of flouro. Just make sure you have enough of a topshot that after several reties you still wont hit the backing knot after a long cast.

Copoly

I use Mono/ Copoly for reaction baits (topwater, cranks, spinnerbaits, etc). Bottom stuff (worms, jigs, etc.) get flouro. Frogs get straight braid.

Boxes by type of plastic (worm, lizard, etc.)

Bubblegum? No. Now, a translucent light pink (think Morning Dawn) is one of my all time confidence colors and a go-to in gin clear waters.

Both are alright. Stren seems more supple and manageable, while Big Game seems more abrasion resistant and durable. Choose accordingly to what your preference is.

Yup. My go-to as well. Standard day would always start with a decent breakfast with a sando along for the ride. Water and Gatorade for hydration, cliff bars and jerky for snacks. Good grief! You drank FOUR of those things? You're lucky to be alive. Haha. Pops and I will SPLIT one if we want a little pick me up. He loves them and brings them on every trip, but neither of us like finishing even a single one of those things by ourselves. Those drinks are crazy.

Less expensive ones will work fine. The high end ones are for enthusiast more than any thing else. Buy what you can comfortably afford. If I were you I would try and round out my selection with at least something from each general category: Soft body (Hudd, etc), multi joint (BBZ, etc) and top water (Punker).

Preach it brother! A worm is my go-to as well, but there is just something about all soft plastics in general. The endless profiles and color combinations are mind boggling. I have been fascinated by them since I was a youth. So much so, that I now manufacture them as an adult and that's my OTHER job in the fishing industry!

Yes. This.

I have used them with and without. Same for trailer hooks as well. Conditions dictate what type of trailer or use of a trailer hook or not. For stained water I like a boot tail type for more thump for them to hone in on. For clear water I like a "fluke" style trailer. I like the trailer hook for open water. No hook for heavier cover.

I put them in each section of the box. Has worked great for me throughout the years.

IMO, there is Shimano and Daiwa and then everything else. I currently own all Shimanos, but have fished almost all the other big brands Quantum, Abu, Lews, etc and feel Daiwa is the only other reel on the same level as Shimano. I sure the Megabass reels are incredible, but they are probably not on most peoples radar. I know the old Swedish Abu are tanks as well, but in regards to modern day baitcasters and spinners, I feel Shimano and Daiwa are the leaders of the pack.

Are the cheaper baits really inferior? No. The Cotton Cordell Super Spot is a proven fish catcher at $1.99. My favorite Lipless just happens to be the $15.99 LC LV 500, but that doesn't mean a $1.99 bait wont catch a fish or two. My buddy swears by those Super Spots.

In their case by your description they were probably "bait n' wait" fishing (cast some type or live or dead bait and drop it in a rod holder) for what ever would bite (including Bass). When Bass anglers (and other species as well) cast a lure and let it sit for extended periods of time without any lure movement (rod usually in hand the entire time), its referred to as "dead sticking". A boring, but often deadly (pun intended) method of fishing when the bite is slower than normal.

Yes. I have been hoarding the "E" series for years now. They just have that "mojo" that no other Curado has had since. I recently took a brand new K down to El Salto to give it a proper go and judge from there. While it performed as well if not a MAYBE a smidgen better than the E under load (X Ship/ Micro Gear), the difference was so little it was essentially a moot point. The E blew doors on it casting wise, like it does so many other reels. The B earned a solid rep, but that tech is outdated. The D was a tank, but felt like one too. The G was a joke and the noisy brakes on the I were too. It was just one of those cases were a product lived up to to and exceeded the rep that made it famous in the first place.

This one involves me and my cousin and his skiff in one of our bays. Bear with me, this is a long one, but the comedy that ensues is worth it. So, he had been working on his outboard and wanted to take his skiff out to "test" it. Had it fired up at the house on the hose and was feeling good about things, so he rings me up and asks if i want to cruise with him. I ask him if we can fish a little bit and he says sure he’s already got all the gear in the boat. I'm all in. We met up at his house and off we go. He backs me down the ramp and yells at me to fire her up. I yell back at him to toss me the keys... Oh crap #1. They're at the house. So we launch the boat any way and pull it over to the dock with a rope. Off he goes to grab the keys... So as I'm sitting there and I notice the boat is taking on water... Oh crap #2. He forgot to put the plug in at the house. I scramble around looking for it in every compartment in the boat. It's nowhere to be found. For some reason he had it in his truck. Finally he gets back and jumps in the boat and sees what has happened. Off he sprints to go grab the truck and trailer. He yells to fire the boat up to trailer the boat... Oh crap #3. The engine won’t turn over. Out comes the carb cleaner/ starting fluid... So we get the boat started and back on the trailer to drain her and he jokes about how he’s been meaning to "clean the bilge" anyway. We have a good laugh and put the plug in and off we go. We cruise around the bay and the boat is running great. We find a nice flat to drift and kill the engine and go to rig up... Oh crap #4. He left his tackle at home. Loaded the rods, forgot the tackle box. I had just what I had tied on and so we scrounge around find an old spark plug to use for a drop shot weight and a rusty hook lying in a storage compartment. If memory serves me correct we caught a short Halibut and maybe a Sculpin? Anyway, we finish our first drift and go to start the engine... Oh crap #5. Of course the engine won’t turn over. Only this time we can’t get it started. We have to flag another skiff down and get towed in to the launch ramp. Thankfully it wasn't too far. I've had many fishing related bloopers over the years, but that was the classic "when it rains, it pours" trip of all time. We still have a laugh about from time to time to this day.

That's exactly when I like to use them, when they are gorging on Shad. I like to use them at some of the steeper rocky canyon style lakes (Barrett, El Cap, etc) as opposed to the wider/ lower more tule lined lakes (Otay, Murray, etc). We have had some epic days when the Bass are crashing shad against the bank and up into the stick ups and brush. We fire the Spinnerbait a few inches up onto the bank and the roll that thing into the water and its usually game on with in a few cranks of the handle.

3/8ths the majority of the time followed by 1/2oz. I very rarely go up or down from these sizes because Ive found these work best for me in most of my Spinnerbait applications. 3/8ths for general use, up top or open water and 1/2oz for bottom dwelling, deeper water or stronger current.