iceintheveins

I wouldn't say Rapalas are better than the others, but they have some great cranks in models others just don't have. The shad rap, taildancer, crankin' rap, fat rap, and DT are some great lures. I say carry them all, because they all catch fish and they all work better than others in certain conditions. The rapala colors are awesome as well. I really miss the rattlin' fat rap and wish they would bring it back.

1. Senko 2.Fluke Or Other Soft Jerkbait 3. GY 5" Hula Grub

For colors, ghost minnow or ghost gill for the pointers, and olive shad, shad, or yellow perch for the X - Raps. If you need to get deeper, go with the staysee.

X - Rap or pointer.

Buzzbaits work best for me before sunup or after sundown, or during cloudy weather. Never completely rule one out though for covering lots of shallow water, even during mid day. But 85% of my buzzbait fish come during typical topwater conditions. My favorite cavitron is the 1/4 ounce with a gold blade and a black skirt. Just a slow, steady retrieve and 12 pound mono on a fast ratio baitcaster.

That's a darn good one too. Can't wait to try the new X - rap popper too.

Rapala Skitterpop #7 Lime Frog. Followed closely by rage shad, 1/4 ounce cavitron buzzbait, and a frog colored spook jr.

Depth.

I will be learning this spring, hopefully.

Bitsy bug 1/8 oz. with tiny paca chunk, or a 5/16 oz. booyah baby boo jig with a rage chunk.

The pro qualifier is bar none the very best for under $100, and its better than many reels costing twice as much.

I will go with fluoro for jig and plastics. Braid just doesn't have enough give in it and they spit it out much faster. Only in very heavy cover do you need braid.

A 7' Medium heavy spinning rod/reel with 8 - 10 pound mono for finesse plastics 7' medium/medium heavy fiberglass/composite casting rod and reel with 12 pound mono.

The mojo and premier series crankin' rods are great buys. A lot of my friends also like the Wright and Mcgill Skeet Reese S glass ones too. But you can't go wrong with the BPS Crankin Sticks. Great for cranks AND spinnerbaits/topwaters. Very light and more feel than pure fiberglass. I like the heavier fiberglass sticks for the heavier lures though (1/2 ounce or higher).

Looks like a great reel, but I am even more excited for their spinning reel. The larger model will be great for finesse plastics.

Go with a Curado or a Pro Qualifier from Bass Pro Shops. The Curado is the best $150 baitcaster you can buy, and the PQ the best $100 model.

I keep mine in binder bags.

Chartreuse or black skirts, double gold colorado blades.

I use 1/4 ounce spinnerbaits a lot because most of my lakes are pretty shallow. They don't make much of an entry with any cast. When using heavier spinnerbaits I use side arm and roll casts and this year will try pitching them.

They trigger strikes for sure, and they are fairly weedless. The legs are pretty flimzy though. Only caught a couple on them though because I do so well on other frogs. Fish them with slow twitches and they make a nice noise.

1. Rage Tail Chunk 2. BPS Tripple Ripple Craw 3. Zoom Creepy Crawler 4. Paca Chunks 5. Mr. Twister Split Double Tail

I use nothing but EWG, my hookup rate is great and baits rig straighter on them.

1. Bandit 300 series 2. Excalibur Fat Free Shad Jr. 3. Luhr Jensen Hot Lips 4. Manns 15+

Heck I still prefer mono for just about all applications, it's just too versatile. With slop fishing, frog fishing, and hard jerkbaits though, I go with braid. Fluoro IMO is only good for a reel setup that you will only use for jigging or plastics.

I use a 5.0:1 curado with a BPS 7' Medium Action Crankin' Stick. It doesn't take much effort with that setup. Deep divers thrown for a few hours are still a bit of a workout, but it's jerkbaits that really kill my wrists, especially hard ones. I am a big believer in a low ratio reel for most all cranking and spinnerbait action because I believe the lure is in the strike zone longer. Sometimes with spinnerbaits or lipless cranks though a fast retrieve works better, but usually only when the bass are really amped up or you are fishing really shallow water (4 feet or under).