Snakehead Whisperer

My go to as well. I drink mostly IPA's no matter the season. My other favs are 21st Amendment Brew Free or Die IPA, Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA, and the occasional Pork Slap. When I barbecue I'll usually switch over to Modelo or Miller High Life to prevent catastrophy.

Those colors would be killer here on the Potomac in summer. Bass just really seem to love the blue/fleck/junebug-ish colors. That stick bait looks top notch.

This is the method I employ for jerkbaits. Think of it as a subsurface popper. Crank it to the desired depth, then twitch and sweep it much like you would a popper. Sometimes the fish will want a slow cadence and other times they'll go for a more violent approach.

I'll fish an umbrella rig, but I won't cast one. Without going into specific brands the only baits I don't particularly care for are: -Pre-rigged soft plastic swimbaits/jerkbaits. I'd rather rig my own, and this goes for just about any pre-rigged soft plastic. -Multi-bladed buzzbaits. Just don't like the feel of them. Besides, fish can't really see the blades anyway. -X shaped worms -Anything that has a commercial with Kid Rock/Korn sounding music in it

One of my favorite topwater strategies is to burn a buzzbait sideways across heavy current in rivers for smallmouth. This presentation also works on striped bass here in the tidal portions of the river when fishing bottlenecks where the current is strong on outgoing tides.

Yeah it is.

I do a lot of backwater fishing in a canoe using inexpensive gear because I don't want to chance breaking/ruining it. Usually I will carry these combos... -BPS Pro Qualifier 7.1:1 reel ($99 retail) with a BPS Graphite Series 7' MH rod ($40 retail) - this is my power fishing/frogging/pitching/worm setup $140 total -Abu Garcia Ambassadeur C3 5.3:1 reel ($95 retail) and Berkeley Lightning Rod 7' M ($40-50 retail) - crankbait rod $135 total -Pflueger President 6900 spinning reel 5.2:1 ($50 retail) and BPS Graphite Series 6'6" M ($40 retail) - finesse/small lures rod $90 total Like said earlier, a specific price range would help to narrow it down. I've found that these are the cheapest combos that I can effectively fish with. You might also want to check the classifieds here or on craigslist for some deals. BTW I would try to acquire some inexpensive gear, not cheap gear. You may just be wasting your hard earned money. You don't always get what you pay for, but you always pay for what you get

Water reaches its maximum density at around 39°F. Taking that into account, baits will become more buoyant the closer you get to that temperature. In other words if you have a bait that suspends at 50°F, it's likely to float at 39°F (add weight to make it suspend again.) The water becomes less dense as it cools below 39°F before turning to ice, so it will likely be closer to suspending again at 33°F. On the flip side if you have a bait that suspends at 39°F it will likely sink at any other temperature.

Perhaps "jerk-bait" might be an appropriate name for that lure

4 fish going 11-4 on day 1. Not bad at all.

I definitely like the fishing in tidal waters too. Second would be fishing above the fall line, because I really love to fish fast current. I will fish anywhere, however.

It really depends on what you're trying to make with it. I am going to assume that you're planning to make wire forms for spinnerbaits and buzzbaits. A majority of spinnerbaits and buzzbaits are made with .035-.041" wire, so head C (.032-.040") would probably be the best choice for this application. The conversion heads aren't cheap though, so be sure that you get the one you want unless you're planning on getting 2. If you're making big baits, or musky baits, I'd get 1 size larger. If you're making through wires for crankbaits, etc... then get perhaps get a size smaller (depends.) If you don't plan on going bigger than .041" the Twistech is also a good choice. This one here is also great, and a decent step up from the Bogg's or the Twistech. http://lurepartsonline.com/Wire-Forming-Tool.html?partner=1001

Not even close. Fox is available from almost every Canadian cable provider. That urban myth can be debunked with a 10 second Google search. On a side note my wife brings up a good point. Perpetuating rumors like 'Fox News is banned in Canada' without doing the proper fact checking is the exact same dissemination of misinformation that Fox is so hated for (well, kind of.) Sorry for the ramble. And BTW, I don't support or like Fox News in any way.

x2 If you're looking for an all around setup I'd go for a 6'6" rod in a Medium or Medium/Heavy and line it up with 8 or 10lb. test monofilament. I'd really go medium/heavy on the rod if you're going to use it for a worm rod. On the worms, I'd agree with the above suggestions and also recommend blue w/metal fleck and motor oil or black/smoke colors. And like Jig Meister recommends read the articles he linked to. They will answer many of your questions.

They all look great, but I have to agree that the darker one would be my first pick. Healthy looking worm in your first pic.

Paddle tails are my big fish bait in the early spring, rigged just like Crestliner2008 described. Snakeheads absolutely annihilate the 4" BPS Squirmin' Shads here on the Potomac. Caught a 15lb'er on the 'bluegill' pattern last year in March. I fish them much like you would a spinnerbait, slow steady retrieve just fast enough to keep them off the bottom and let 'em bump as much timber/rocks as you can. I also usually rig them with a worm rattle, but in the tail section so it rattles as the tail thumps. For bass the larger offerings will slow your fishing down some, but the results are usually worth the wait. I don't usually go larger than 4", however.

I'll be rooting for Shaw Grigsby. One of the greatest BASS anglers yet to have won a classic IMHO.

For those interested in the science behind this, here is an article written by Maryland fisheries biologist Joseph Love, Ph.D. It goes into great detail. Link is to a pdf file. http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/bass/docs/Movement%20and%20Home%20Range%20of%20Largemouth%20Bass.pdf

I've used them for walleye, and they work pretty well. I usually fish them with a grub and jig them. Never fished them for bass though.

Most crankbaits use a 4101 stainless split ring in size 3 (25lb.) 4 (30lb.) or 5(40lb.) There are many exceptions of course, but these are very commonly used and strong. Size 2 (20lb.) are common on smaller lures. 4111 is another option, although unnecessary IMHO for LMB (but it's cheap insurance.) I'm sure Owner and Spro manufacture (??) fine split rings, but 30¢ to $1 a piece sounds crazy to me. I'm assuming that they use 4111 stainless which widely available for far less than what they charge. The 4101 stainless is Moly steel... you could probably land a 50lb. fish on a 10lb. ring as long as you have your drag set properly. If it were me, I would order them in bulk from Lure Parts Online or Jann's (about 5-13¢ ea., depending on whether you go with 4101 or 4111.) You will get far more bang for your buck, and you won't be disappointed with the quality of these rings. Or you could buy them at BPS or a tackle shop and get them for 8x the price. One last thing... if anybody tells you that you need something stronger than 4111 stainless for a bass split ring, they're lying.

Well, I can think of only one way to find out for certain.

Too many baits to even start listing them. I typically have success during the pre-spawn with yellow perch patterns, but this is a regional thing. Not going to know until the day comes, and I will junk fish if I have to in order to find out what's working. First bait I will throw when it warms up will be a 3" jointed shad rap in yellow perch, it's usually pretty good when the water reaches low 50's out here. That bite turns off as fast as it came though when the water hits mid 50's. If it's not catching fish I'll abandon it with the quickness. And like Crestliner2008 said, location will be more crucial than anything. Find fish and they'll be hungry, so anything that looks halfway edible to them will be fair game.

For $10 it's hard to beat Evan Williams. It's not as good as it once was, but still the best bottle on the bottom shelf IMHO. I've yet to try it, but I keep hearing good feedback about the Kirkland bourbon at Costco.

Buffalo Trace $25 Elijah Craig 12 year $30-35 Those are only 2. There are so many quality bourbons that are out there, I could never list them all.

http://www.ct.gov/deep/cwp/view.asp?a=2696&q=322706&deepNav_GID=1630 The only thing that I could find.