MarkH024

Good suggestions here. I'd also add a Mann's Minus 1 too as a solid choice.

Needle nose pliers and good set of cutters. Not sure if that is obvious or not, but ever since being hooked in the fingers with trebles and 3-4 lbs hanging off my hand for dear life I will never again fish without them. Since I incorporated that rule, I have never had a hook incident again.

My guesstimate would be 2.5-3lbs on the topic. The bass in my avatar was 21" but only 4lbs 11oz. I honestly thought 5.5+ when I was hauling it in. Regardless, it's fun to catch fish no matter how big or small.

My evening bites have always been better than early morning for me.

Great fish. Way to go!

Throw a football head jig, tubes, slow roll a swim jig, shakey head with a worm or craw. Try a spook early in the am, later as the sun goes down. Pop-R would be another. Lots of options to go with.

Blue Gill colors for me as most waters I fish don't have a strong shad population. Even at that though, shad colors always produce. NorthStar flip n swim jig is nice in new Gill and Salsa. I'm awaiting my first Siebert Outdoors swim jigs in a blue gill pattern (unsure of the actual name). They look really good though.

I'm a much stronger person than that, so no worries. It just disgusts me that I pretty much have a second mortgage just to feed and take care of my family. It's not easy on 1 income. Things will be better when my student loans and car are both paid off. Now only if a meteor would crush my condo while we're away from the house........ I bought my condo in March of 2008 for $170k.......they now sell for right around $100k some even in the 90k and less. Had I waited another year I'd gotten my place for 20 grand cheaper. But you can't predict the economy. I'd really like to move out of Illinois but I don't want to take my kids away from either set of grandparents and both sides of our families are pretty much all here. Keep on...keepin' on..

I have one in my box. Its been a long time since I've thrown it. I just can't put a frog down it seems. As for the topic, punch rigs, frogs, and hollow belly swimbaits would be my top 3 choices.

I'm curious as to what crank bait you throw through lily pads? The only thing I can think of possibly working would be the Molix Supernato. Do you have some secret weapon? PM me if you don't want to share publicly.

You don't need to be vertical to punch. Just cast it up high and let it missile down so it will penetrate. Throw the frog in low light conditions, punch it in the middle of the day. You'll find a bite sooner or later. Dave Mercer has some good points in this short video.

x2 for me. I use braid on all my spinning set ups. Less head aches with line, more fishing, more fun. Plus the sensitivity is unmatched in my opinion.

Yea I agree. It does seem to be a bit rough on the baits, which is why I sometimes prefer a rounded hook over the trokar. Trokars are really sharp though, no questions there.

Trokar flipping hooks are good and so are the VMC flipping hooks. You'll probably want to get 3/o to 5/o depending on the size bait you're punching.

If it is a main course for you then yes. I don't drink very much anymore. But I do enjoy a nice scotch on the rocks.

Man I hate to hear things like that. I'm a huge dog lover. Sorry to hear Jeff. Hope the other two have a healthier and long life.

Well be glad you don't have to put diapers on those guys. Average set of twins will go through 6-7,000 diapers before they're potty trained. I have about 2 years to go........smh.

I think a lot of people blame missed hook ups to their gear/lures, where as I'd be willing to bet it has more to do with technique and timing. Also....the fish sometimes just miss...it happens especially in very thick pads/mats. I've never felt the need to bend my hooks on a frog to get better hooksets. If anything I want them to be a snug as possible to remain as snagfree as possible. The force of a 1lb bass bite is enough to collapse any hollow body frog on the market. Most of my misses on a frog are a credit to idiotic northern pike that I'd rather not catch anyway.

Cheap method to prevent rust : cut the tips off of cotton swabs (q-tips) and place one in each tray or every other. Has worked well, the small amount of moisture will adhere to the cotton before the metal. Also, when you're out fishing, try to let you lures air dry before you put them away or when you get home leave your boxes open over night if you can.

I use #10 832 on my drop shot set up. I use #15 Power Pro on two other spinning set ups and it works just great. I rarely use a fluoro leader either.

Yep, we always buy store brand and use coupons and sale items. But from you guys saying you're around $200 a week that puts us in the same ball park I guess.

Man looks painful. Just in case a T-Rex rolls by, you should be ok with that.

Wow. Are you on the runway model diets? Saltines and cigarettes? lol j/k But man $250 would be fantastic. Jhoffman...I live in the suburbs of Chicago which is not exactly cheap to live here but yea expenses are crazy. Gas prices here are $4.09 for regular right now. $4.54 for super.... It's crazy.

Highly recommend the Siebert Punch rigs. They're very affordable compared to major retailers similar products. Get some flipping hooks, beaver/creature style baits and go to work. The idea is not to get hung up on the way down........coming back up is a different story. You' have to expect a little salad coming back with your bait every now and then. The right gear will make the job much easier for you. Sometimes the skirted punch rig is just too much profile so in really thick gunk, just get some tungsten punch weights and a nice slim bait like a Sweet Beaver, SK Rage Craw, or the Havoc Pit Boss and punch through with a 1oz+ weight. You'll find the bites in time and you'll start to recognize the areas and layouts that hold more fish. Good luck!

I'd like to add that you shouldn't modify any frog out of the box until you throw it or have previously done modifying and are aware of the results. This is directed towards the guys who rarely or never have fished hollow body frogs. Once you start snipping, cutting, and poking holes into frogs it really can't be undone so think about that before you start modifications to frogs that are $10 or more. I fish frogs a lot...and I rarely feel the need to modify them out of the package. On a rare occasion it is "necessary" but most will fish just fine straight out of the package. This isn't a slam on the topic at all but new frog fisherman should be aware of it before they actually modify just by going off of what they read. My $.02