Felix77

I use #1 VMC Spinshot hooks. Love them. My go to bait is a wacky Zoom Finesse worm.

Same here ... 10lb braid (PowerPro) with an 8lb FC leader as needed.

VMC Rugby Shakey Head Yum Flash Mob Jr. - Anxiously waiting

x2 ... You can put a whole list of athlete's who have "surprised" us in the past. I'm totally numb to it at this point. Seems like every week we are hearing about a superstar who has fallen from grace.

All, Wondering what you do to your jerkbaits to make them more effective in the water. Here's what I do ... 1 - Upsize the hooks. Generally up to #4's on the middle hook. Keep stock size on front and back (#2's usually) 2 - Red. Generally go red on all the hooks. At the very least the middle one. 3 - Feathered treble on back. For some reason I see these on poppers and rarely see this trick on jerkbaits. Killer on the pauses. Keeping balance and buoyancy in mind is always key when pimping it out. I look for the end result to be a jerkbait with a neutral bouyancy, maybe a slight fall in moderate temp water (50 - 60ish). Nose down as well. Thoughts?

My friend gave me his reel because he couldn't cast it. I upgraded the bearings in them and it's now way better than it's ever been. The casting alone was night and day difference from stock. Don't worry about finding the size. Boca will send you a size chart. It explains how to measure your bearings. Their customer service is phenomenal. Call them and they will get you what you need. You will not be disappointed. By the way ... you may not want to go all the way to ceramic bearings. I went one price point below and it was still an amazing upgrade.

I'm with you 110% here. Most productive under any conditions for me :-)

Senko ... Wacky or Texas Rigged weightless

x2 Same here.

I have less than 15 and my wife rolls her eyes. She also rolls her eyes when I get Tackle Warehouse orders in the middle of winter. I'm still 2-3 months away from the thaw. LOL

I have one and didn't use it enough to feel confident. Never got a bite with it for some reason. I have to give it an honest try again next spring!

Here's something I found online which helps my cause. Never heard of electric tape as an option. "One of the downfalls of rigging worms wacky style is they tear easily or will fling off the hook if you make an overexuberant cast. Brian Hensley says you can reduce the problem by slipping a plastic O-ring over the lure body, using it to help secure the worm to the hook. The black O-rings are available in plumbing departments of hardware stores and come in a variety of sizes. Another option is to use a large split ring, such as those used to secure treble hooks to crankbaits. In either case, choose a ring size that fits snugly around the worm. Or, if your lure is dark-colored, wrap electric tape around the worm's midsection in the area where you insert the hook." The full article is below http://www.bassmaster.com/tips/wacky-worms-natural-lakes Any other ideas?

This may be the most fundamental question I have posted on this forum but it has happened to me enough that I changed my technique to avoid it. I started off fishing wacky worms the traditional way. Hooking it through the center. From time to time I would go to cast the worm just to hear a plunk behind me because the worm had slid off. I tried O-rings but hated the time I wasted putting new rings on each time a worm broke. So I switched techniques. I still put the worm in the middle however I rig it from the side so I get the hook in twice. This puts the hook parallel to the bait. I was able to make this work but I feel like I lose some of the action that the original has. Thoughts?

There is no substitute for actually being on the water however one thing I can say about reading books is that it helps you recognize things much faster if you are truly paying attention. I can't count how many times last year I recognized a potential pattern, way to fish it etc. just from having the experience in my head from a book or video. Last year was my first full year tournament fishing. I spent my winter months (my fishingless months) reading and watching videos. I would not have been as effective had I not done my "studies". One other thing I will say about books/videos ... You have to be able to apply them to your fishing. That means #1 - As NitroFreak said ... get on the water and learn your body of water. If you fish in the northeast your situations will differ from those you see on fishing shows which are filmed in Florida, Tennessee or Georgia. You need to adjust what you see according to the conditions you fish. #2 - Keep an open mind. Every fisherman will tell you that there are exceptions to every rule. Be open minded to the fact that what you read is the complete opposite from what you observed on a given day.

Sold ... Just ordered it on Amazon

I don't prefer this to a traditional drop shot but used under certain conditions. There's a method called power shotting where you use heavier line (10# fc as opposed to 6 or 8) and heaver line and weight. In those cases I use an EWG hook and put a beefier lure like a senko or otherwise. I fish it in weedy waters. Not heavy punching type of stuff but submerged weeds, weed edges etc. You can use this like a carolina rig. Cast it and drag it along the bottom feeling for rocks, wood etc. When you use this technique and a EWG hook like this you need to be more aggressive with the hook set. Good luck.

Can non-boaters attend? Will I be paired up with someone if I am nice. :-)

I don't know if there is a right or wrong answer for this one ... I generally start out slow enough to get a good wobble (or spin the blades - Spinnerbait) and go from there. I vary my retrieve until I find what the fish want. By vary I mean speed, add a twitch or two, jerk it, stutter it ... whatever until I get a bite or 2. From there I try and repeat that for a while. Once it doesn't work anymore I change tactics and repeat the process all over again. Hope this helps.

I always used 4/0 EWG hooks. That's the way I was taught.

It depends on the quality of the bearings on your reel. My friend gave me a reel he didn't want anymore. An inexpensive reel (less than $70). I switched out to Boca's and it was like upgrading from a beater car to a Ferrari. :-) by the way ... I switched them out because I was bored this winter and used the reel to learn how to break down and clean my other reels. Upgraded in the meantime just because. I am glad I did though. Now I have a spare reel which works very well. :-)

Welcome!

Thanks to all. Great insight. In other words K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid!)

In order to be versatile from the back of the boat it's not uncommon for me to carry around more soft plastic than what I need. How much plastic, and what type, do you bring to cover all the different presentations that you may be asked to do on a given day in a tournament? For me ... Senko Crawdad of some sort (Rage Cray, UV Craw) Fluke Swimming Fluke Tubes Finesse Worm Trick Worm Roboworms Shakey Worm Beaver like bait I try to stay with 2 colors - Green Pumpkin and a Junebug(ish) color unless I know for sure that another color works well on a given lake. Thoughts?

Hook hasn't failed me yet. That was one of my concerns beginning to use this hook. As for the weight and a size smaller line. That's a good idea.

I also use the VMC spinshot. I have had awesome hooksets with that thing.