Upnorth

Thanks guys, I appreciate the info. Looks like I will be getting a band saw.

I recently got an airbrush and want to start making some crankbaits. I was wondering what type of saw you prefer for cutting out the bodies? Thanks.

I pour a reaper that I use on the dropshot that has a light watermellon green back poured with a light, almost baby blue body/tail. This has done real well for me in clear water.

I use a microwave and Pyrex measuring cups. The measuring cups are great because you can pour directly from them. Make sure you use Pyrex. I have heard that other brands such as Anchor House, can explode. Get yourself a cheap microwave (mine was about $40) and some Pyrex measuring cups of various sizes and you'll be ready to rock. Most of my molds are aluminum, but I have made several of my own out of fiberglass resin. There is a tutorial on how to make resin molds along with tons of other info on tackleunderground.com. Let us know how it goes. Good luck!

You can. They are not as soft as the original and you will lose some of the coloring. I would add some of your liquid hand pour plastic to the scrap plastic. This will help it not burn so easy and make your bait a little softer. Using scrap is good for pratice, but I would stick with hand pour plastic for my baits. A word of caution, pouring baits is highly addictive. Have fun.

Man, I thought this post was going to be about some cool gadgets people have on their boat to help them catch more fish. I was wrong! Guns in the boat? Bringing a gun on the boat has never crossed my mind.

For $1,000, you could set up a used jon boat pretty well. That is what I used all through college. Graduate, then worry about getting into a bass boat. I don't know anyone that would rent out their pride and joy.

Chris is right on. It is definately not easy to catch bedding bass, especially in a tournament. These fish have been hit with every bait during practice and get real skittish. I prefer to target prespawn fish if they are in various stages of the spawn. Not because I have a moral issue on bed fishing, but because prespawn fish are more consistant and hold up better in a multiple day tournament. Have I weighed in spawning fish? Yes. Will I again? I'm sure I will. But if given the choice I would rather catch them before they lock on to the beds. As far as I know, there in no evidence that targeting bedding bass has a detrimental effect on the fish population. Go fish, have fun, and put them all back.

Man, that is a happy day. I hope mine is on the way.

Throw the ultimate follow up bait, a wacky rigged senko. I would bet that 70% of the time, I get the fish that missed if I can get the senko out there fast enough.

I have found that fiberglass resin makes a mold that is better than plaster. It picks up even the smallest details, it can even pick up a fingerprint. All my molds are either resin or aluminum.

I actually got mine during the 2004 Northern Everstart tournament out of Buffalo, NY. It weighed 5-15. I weighed it thinking I had a shot at big bass, nope! I caught it dragging a dropshot with a hand poured 3.75" reaper in about 30 feet of water. It was so windy we stayed within a few miles from the launch. Monster swells that day. Had to use 2 drift socks and the trolling motor just to slow the boat down.

We catch smallmouth out on Erie in 40+ feet of water in the summer. Ask some of the West Coast guys, I'm sure more than a few of them have caught bass in the 80 foot range and beyond. If the food and cover is deep, the bass will be there too. 50-80 feet is only too deep if the fish are not there.

Man Fluke, those are the biggest gills I have ever seen! It appears one of those aggressive fish even ate one of the kid's socks.

Two tricks you might be doing already, but I'll mention them. First, always tie your palomar knot by inserting the line on the same side as the hook point, this way the hook with ride with the point facing up. Second, before attaching your weight, take the tag end of the line and insert it back through the eye of the hook from the top (hook point side), this will make the hook stand out nice and straight. I would recommend starting with a 1/4oz weight and adjusting from there based on depth, wind, etc. As billybass said, throwing into any depth water doesn't make sense unless there is some structure or cover that is going to hold fish.

I'll agree, you can't beat the ride of a Champion. I fish the great lakes from a 193. Length to length, you can not beat the ride.

I had a 2000 Javelin Renegade 18. Great boat. Reached 65mph with a Johnson 150 and actually had more storage than my current Champion 193. Stratos has discontinued the Javelin name, but you can see the similarities in the two. I sold my Javelin to a friend and it is still going strong. Also, I fish alot on the great lakes, and that little boat did quite well for its size.

I'd say: 1. Pitching Sweet Beaver and Jigs 2. Dropshot 3. Cranking DT10s and DT16s

I always take a trip to Guntersville in Alabama in late March or early April. Depending on the weather, water temps could be in the low 50s come March (although not last year, Brrrr) Oh, sorry to see the Hokies drop that last second game to Duke, I was pulling for them.

I have a Garmin 168. Although the Lowrance units have more pixels, the Garmin is self contained. You do not need to mount a receiver on your boat, it is built into the unit. You can purchase the Mapsource CD software to download your geographic area. Once you do this you will have the contours of some of the major lakes in your area.

I got a Garmin 168 gps/finder on the console and an Eagle 480 on the bow. I like them both, but the detail on the 480 is obviously better.

It's Kevin's brother, Randy, that owns D and R Sports. Don't know, maybe his dad used to.

1. Charlie Hartley 2. KVD 3. Kevin Vida

A few friends and I have a couple of pike spearing shacks. We bring the propane heater and a ton of beer. It sure isn't bass fishing, but it helps pass the winter.

I run the Cabela's XCR Guidewear. It is 4 years old now and with heavy use here in Michigan, still works/looks like brand new. Also, my North Face fleece jacket zips into the Cabela's jacket perfectly. This leads me to believe that they are being produced by the same company. My bibs look just like LBH's without that front pocket.