Avalonjohn44

The big O's pictured are decent lures, but they are mass produced reproductions. The back of the package states: "This Rendition of Fred Young's Original Big O is just as much of a fish catcher as those early models. The colors and designs of these lures are ones originated by Fred Young himself..." This line came out in 2004 (also stated on the back of the package), the original Big O's carved by Fred Young came out in 1967. I bought a bunch from the bargain cave at Cabellas a couple of years ago. They work, and I have not had any durability problems. You can still find them on Ebay, but shop around for a good price.

Just looked at BPS, the current version of the stalker seems to have dropped the little cooler and the wheel/handle system. The current bag still holds a ton of junk.

I'm a big fan of the BPS Stalker bag. It holds a ton of stuff, has a rigid case for your sunglasses, has a tiny cooler on the bottom (I just throw some extra baits in there) and has a nifty built in rain shield that wraps around the bag keeping your stuff dry if it is raining out while you fish. It has wheels and a collapseable handle to drag it behind you. The wheels are OK, but undersized, IMO, but that is the only negative I've found so far.

Ah, sorry, I was thinking the Realistix Sinking Minnow which is a cross btwn a senko and a trickworm...

I have three that I always throw because of their productivity for me. Hard to choose ahead of time because conditions always vary, but these three baits will be with me on every fishing trip because of the numbers of bass they've caught me: Zoom Baby Brush Hog - Blackberry Most colors work well, but in my home waters the blackberry color is excellent. I try to keep five bags in reserve. Terminator Green/White Spinnerbait - Anyone can catch a fish with a green and white spinnerbait used properly. Wal-Mart had these on clearance one year and I bought about a dozen. Lucky Craft RC 1.5 - Blue Bream color - Best crankbait of all time. Down to my last one. They are getting hard to find. In a year, I suspect that this will be replaced by the KVD 1.5...

I would try them in a variety of ways - shaky head, weightless t-rig and wacky come right to mind. I would start weightless t-rig, then as small a bullet weight (pegged or not depending on cover) and then move to a shaky head if it didn't produce. It's a good worm to experiment with.

Here is a good post on the subject from a couple of months back. For my money, if I see some in a bargain bin, I might grab a pack or two. I don't have time to mess with the next 'red-hook-chatterbait-flyinglure-helicopter-banjominnow' type hype-bait of the month. http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/108780-uv-dip/

That Bagley small fry in LMB Chartreuse is one of my favorite cranks Bagley produced. I still have two and they work great in rivers around here.

There was a recent post here saying that a bass's ability to see the ultraviolet spectrum is lost very early on in its life. Worth considering before you drop you hard earned $$$. http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/108780-uv-dip/

Not only for floating, but for how durable they are. Multiple fish one one bait saves money.

Experiment with them. Cut them open and see what's inside. Scrape the paint off and practice painting your own patterns. Use them for decorations: In your 'Man Cave', hang em off you rear view mirror, tie them to a cat's tail - the sky is the limit.

Awesome, I have been on the fence about them. I just got a ton of Terminator spinnerbaits on clearance, but will give these a try... Incidentally, I just did that Nitro fishing excursion back in October and had a blast. Something special about getting to fish that lake, seeing the folks stream into the park, getting to see the abandoned parks, etc. Glad to hear you had a good time.

Black back/Chartreuse Black Splatterback on White Blue back/Chartreuse

Tought one. It looks like it is used to have a Jitterbug Style lip that has been detached...

This is the year I try out Megastrike. I've been on the fence regarding the efficacy of scents. I catch far more more fish on unscented lures (Havok, GYCB, Sweet Beavers and Zoom) than I do on the ones that are scented (Yum, Powerbait, Bass Assassin etc). I'm eager to see if Megastrike knocks me off the ol' fence.... For under ten bucks, and given the amount of other crazy fishing junk I spend my money on, it seems foolish not to give it a try.

I finally bought my first Smithwick lure the other day - Devil's Horse in black and yellow. If my lakes weren't frozen I'd throw one tomorrow! Welcome aboard.

Last I saw one was on the clearance rack at Walmart... Even on clearance they were too expensive... Never got to try one.

Lucky Craft RC1.5 in Blue/Chartruese. (Far Superior to the Lucky Strike verision...)

I always thought I tied the clinch or improved clinch until I downloaded that app... FInally discovered that the knot I have been relying on for years is the San Diego Jam... Pretty Bad-*** Name for a knot. I have never had that knot let go. Also use the palomar knot now and again, but not as confident in it.

When trimming a weed guard I thought rather than shortening it (which ends up making it significantly stiffer) one was supposed to trim the number of overall bristles not sacrificing any of the length... I thought there was a video, possibly by glenn about this...Can't find it just right now...

To add further emphasis to what I said in my earlier post about the Walmart bottom shelf lure selection... I was in my local walmart today, found that the Yum Box and the Pradco Treasure Chest Box had been restocked to overflowing (I would guess most walmarts have done the same). The Yum Box had Beaver Style baits, about 6 different colors, each bag $1.96 (as well as tons of soft jerkbaits, sluggo style baits, some ribbon tail worms and tubes). The Pradco CO Treasure Chest had tons of $2.96 baits, good ones too: Rebel Pop Rs, Bomber diving baits as well as square bills, some Cordell ShadRap-Type baits, Jitterbugs, Hula Poppers and best find all, Excalibur Chrome/Blue Rattle Traps and Excalibur Crawdad pattern Square Bills. For $25 I came out with five cranks and 5 bags of soft plastics - and best of all, Quality stuff.

Love Cultiva lures, they are hard to find though. My favorite is the Tango Dancer 115 (I think the one in your first picture is the slightly smaller TD 95). As far as I'm concerned it's the best walk-the-dog bait out there. It's sturdy, has a good sound and the stickiest hooks I've ever seen on a bait... The Rip'N Minnows (those in the 2nd pic) are very good in the streams and rivers near me, great smallie lures. I never got to try the poppers or the trap-style baits.

Cheap effective lures: Havoc Baits by Berkley. I like most of them, can't beat the $3 bag of swimbaits. I found some at bass pro in Richmond VA for $.99 a bag. Limited selection but I got about 15 bags. That's a lot of plastic for not much cash. Inline Spinners - you can pick up Rooster Tail (or Mepps even) inline spinners for good price anywhere that sells tackle. Inline spinners still catch a ton for me. Johnson Spoons - About 3 bucks a lure, and it will catch bass all year long. Other species too. Small bag of 3" Grubs - I can fish shallow creeks and ponds with a jighead and a grub and always catch bass, bream and crappie. A little bag of grubs should run you about 2 or 3 bucks for 20. Good deal. Tubes and Craws - Same as above. A bag or two of tubes and or small craws on a jighead will not set you back much dough and will keep getting you bites all day long. Bandit Cranks - Bandit 100 and 200 series lures outfish every other crankbait I have from RC1.5s to Rapalas to Megabass Griffons. They run from about $4.95 to $6 and walmart has a good selection. Walmart Brand Spinner Baits and Buzzbaits - A dollar a pop and just as effective as the others. Just get used to carrying plyers to bend the wire back into shape now and again. Walmart Yum value packs - on the bottom shelf for $1.96 a pack you can sort through the Yum Value baits box. It's full of bags of Yum baits that have been discontinued or were flawed or something. I find some good stuff in there often - Money Minnows, Money Craws, as well as Dingers, Ribbon tail worms and a ton of other stuff. Open the pack before buying. I have some bags that have oddly stiff worms as though the plasitc 'mix' was off... Aside from that, you can always check the stores for Bargain Bins, Discontinued Endcaps, etc. Most Cabella's have a 'Bargain Cave', Most BPS's have a four sided display full of red ticketed reduced items. You have to keep a sharp eye out, some of these are quickly picked over, or set out of the way. Also, while Cheap is nice, there are some brands I avoid no matter the price: Matzuo America. $2-3 cranks that flat out suck. They rarely run true and some are flat out 'un-tuneable'. Spend the extra couple of bucks on a Bandit. Beetle Spins - I have never caught a fish on one. While only 99 cents or so for a rig and two 'beetles', I can't justify the cost. I know they work for some folks, just not me or my wife and kids. Maybe NW Virginia is the one place they don't work. Mann's Cranks - Every single one I have owned has broken. On one, the chrome paint flaked off just by handling. Flimsy, cheap and thin - buy a bandit or rapala instead. Renegade Cranks - Walmart sells these, I bought a few but they all split in my tacklebox from the heat. Never had that problem with any other bait before.

I have neoprene waders that came with a little patch kit. All it entails is a patch and some glue. I would bet that any larger retailer like a Super Walmart, Basspro or Cabellas (or, as flyfisher mentioned, a dive shop if you are lucky enough to be near one) would have a neoprene repair kit. Amazon has several selections if you prefer online shopping...

I managed to grab eight in various sizes/colors for $4 apiece plus an additional 25% off. They only had the various craw patterns on sale there, none of the pumpkin seed or minnow patterns. They have an additional 25% off everything clearance priced, so will be heading back when the paycheck comes out...