scaleface

When the owls are hooting the fish are biting . Being I can imitate an owl real well , i ought to be able to put the fish in a positive feeding mood . I'll try that this year .

A total beginner . I would start with a 6'6'' spinning rod and reel . The rod will have a rating . I would make sure 1\4 ounce is in the middle of that rating . 12 lb test trilene xl . This will be a combination that will handle a wide variety of bass catching baits in the best all around size .

worms Manns lizards Zoom craws Larew tubes Gizit

I have bad days under good conditions . I just chalk it up to me fishing poorly those days .

If I remember right that 1978 catalog is the first I had . My first order included a couple of black Blakemore C C spinners [Charlie Campbell } . I was just getting into baitcasters and needed some heavy lures for casting . LOL My second club tournament and first with baitcasting gear , I won with those big spinnerbaits . I wish I still had a new one for sentimental reasons . Heck I wouldnt be able to resist the urge to open her up and fish it . Best wake baits I ever used .

Zara Spook . I have caught fish with it but my hook up percentage is so low that I havent thrown one in years , Bad part is I can work it well . Walking the dog is simple . I can half step it around a stump . Just havent had much success with the things . I cant think of any popular lure that I gave a good go with and have been skunked on it .

Clear water for me is eight foot visibility . I use a lot of colors . Perch , bluegill , shad , baby bass ... Bluegill had been real effective shallow . Shad and chartreuses have been effective to around 15 foot deep . Usually its just a guess as too what color to use. More important is diving depth and water displacement .

II usually dont have multiples, more than two .. The only ones I have are a Bomber Prop A because theyare one of my favorites and were discontinued .Found a bunch in the clearance bin The other being a long lip Bomber Flat A in chartreuse because they are killer on the Mississippi. I just keep my extras in a plastic storage container .

I have a lot of soft craws but not a single one on that list . LOL .I have Larew , Guido bugs , Mr Twister , Riverside ...

I approach cloudy days differently than sunny days .Cloudy days will see more top waters and shallower baits and sunny days will see more deep structure fishing . High pressure after a storm can be tough , I'll often rely on the depth finder to find how deep the most fish are and start from there . No matter what the pressure I keep eliminating water and hopefully figure them out . All anglers have tough days , some will call it quits and chalk it up to the fish were not biting . Some anglers dont get discouraged and are determined to keep trying until they have success . Except in high , cold , muddy water I always think fish can be caught .

I pay no attention to the moon except I prefer to night fish on a full moon .

Now you have two more knots .I want to get down to one knot , the hook .

It is interesting . I'd like to see a lot of participation and waiting for the final results .

precisely .

Exactly . Sometimes there are more choices than needed . We forget great lures and techniques that are just as good now as then , trying to keep pace with everything new that comes along .

Those Bagleys cranks should be worth a pretty penny .

My neighborhood grocery store [ remember those ] had the prerigged red Creme worms with the propeller .. I collected soda bottles { 2 cents each } and paid for one . It killed the bass at a small pond . Thats the worm that introduced me into soft plastic baits .

I bought some prerigged , weedless Yum Sweetcheeks swimbaits . They had eyes that rattled and a hole for adding scents . I never did add any scents but they are very good fish catchers . Bass slam them hard . Dont remember the name of them . They didnt sell I guess because they look gimmicky but I would gladly buy more .

Coincidentally , I just got an email for a heck of a deal on chatterbaits and umbrella rigs and so I have some coming .

I have spent way to much on fishing but most of it is unnecessary . When I was a kid I used whatever dad had and he didnt have much . Catching fish with the bare essentials develops skills and I am lucky enough to have a lot of good fishing spots available .

Like I said Road warrior . I dont get to fish as often as I'd like. If I could fish weekly that would be a different story .

I guess . I carry dedicated tackle boxes just like everyone else . My most important one is the terminal tackle box . If I want a lure to do something , I make it happen . Thinking outside the box and solving problems when they arise bails me out more than offering what others are doing .

I still havent used Chatterbaits , Rage lures , Wacky rigs , Alabama rigs , giant swim baits , drop shots , senkos , cut worms, shakey heads , ned rigs ... No doubt in my mind that I could fish them all well , I just dont have time to master every lure and technique . I catch plenty of fish with my old stuff and dated techniques . I did buy some Ribbet Frogs to buzz because that looks like fun . Will try them next year . Still need to figure out which hook to use . On the other hand there are things I do that others dont , so I dont consider myself behind the times at all .

I like mono .

I use mono exclusively and the trilene knot 95 percent of the time . The one time i used floro and I may have had an inferior brand ,, a trilene knot could not be tied with it . It would not cinch up . The palomar is a great knot too . I just use the trilene by habit They are both 100 percent knots when tied correctly . I