iceintheveins

I like a crankbait style rod actually in a moderate fast, great for all topwaters except frogs.

They work good year round, but I use them in the spring and fall most often. Very versatile bait that you can use a variety of speeds and retrieves with.

Just a few colors, keep it simple. White, lemon shad, baby bass, arkansas shiner, watermelonseed, bluegill, shad, and pink.

Barbless only regulations are silly, as just about all studies in all species show no difference in mortality. So no, I don't use nor believe in barbless hooks.

A 6XD will scratch bottom in 20' of water on a long cast with 10 pound fluoro. I haven't used a crank that runs deeper than it, but for 15' to 20' feet the 6XD is my favorite. As WRB said, a lot of manufacturers will claim their lure runs deeper than it does. It's hard to get a 3" crank that will actually run 20'. I wonder how the Berkley Dredger will do myself.

Bluegill Ghost Minnow Shad Silver Gold

Yeah you can. But it's much better with casting gear. It didn't take me that long to learn with a baitcaster, so I'm sure you can too. The main thing with pitching is a smooth motion and a pendulum type swing.

I have always used the Pflueger Presidents and they are awesome, better than many $100 spinning reels. I just bought a Pflueger Supreme though to try it out, and since it's about an ounce lighter.

The Palomar knot with drop shotting is basically a must.

At that depth range, a 1/4 ounce arky or grass jig is your best bet IMO, but if you're using heavier line (17 pound test or heavier) or the wind is blowing, a 3/8 is better.

Cavitrons are by far the best IMO.

Look up the Dynamic Lures J spec and the Travado!

Probably a weightless texas rigged senko, but also I use the Ned Rig an awful lot, as well as centipedes and ring fry type baits on a carolina or mojo rig. The Fat Ika is great and since it doesn't get used as much as a senko, sometimes it works even better.

I fish mostly the Regular Pointer 100 and 78 sp, but deep runners in each size and also the Silent Pointer in the 95 are lethal in the right situations. The slender pointer has more of an erratic action, so it's also very good.

They both are killer. I've caught a staggering amount of bass on both, usually texas rigged with a pegged weight of 1/8 or 3/16 ounce.

Senko, period.

1. LC Pointer 2. Dynamic Lures J Spec 3. X Rap

Glass rods are truly flexible and keep the fish pinned better, along with allowing the bass to better take the lure. Composite rods of both glass and graphite are just about as good though. Pure graphite is a no no for fast moving baits IMO.

Live Target. Also really like the pad crasher and Ish's Phat Frog though.

Popped a pair of 6 pound pluses on a black blue pit boss!

The PQ was the best reel for under 100 bucks out there. I have four of them and have had them for years, and only two need maintenance for a screeching problem on the cast now. The wide variety of gear ratios was great, I'm not into this high speed craze. I am always nervous when "new and improved" comes out. I say if it ain't broke, DON'T FIX IT!

Original Stren or McCoy Mean Green.

For casting, a 7' M Veritas is great, and the same rod in the same length and power spinning rod for smaller jerkbaits (under 3/8 or an ounce).

Western Colorado too, and this started in the 90s. They tolerate largemouth bass but very little tolerance for smallmouth.

Exactly. Like I said, this is the water users and environmentalists teaming up against Sportsmen. These two groups are nasty and have very deep pockets. We should still do all we can to fight this, but it's a WAY uphill battle considering the money these tyrannical groups have.