iceintheveins

T rigged grubs are an awesome bait and a good alternative to regular worms. In areas without weeds a grub on a jighead catches plenty of bigmouths as well as smallies. Fat Alberts and the bigger power grubs are my favorite. Also like Bass Pro Shop's 4" caterpillar grub.

That's a really good question. I think straight tails are better after cold fronts pass though and definately early in the year with cold water.

So far I have to say Shimano. Abu Garcia are decent as well, with Daiwa a distant third.

I would use 8-17 pound Stren Original Mono.

I would go with a 7', medium action fiberglass rod and a 5:0.1 baitcast reel like a curado.

A breeze that creates a little chop can make fishing better, but I have almost always found hard wind to make fishing more difficult, mostly because it makes a good presentation more difficult because it can reduce casting distance and make holding your boat in one area more difficult. It especially stinks for me because I'm a guy that likes to work an area quite throughouly with a couple different presentations.

Ugly stick lites make good cheap crank rods, but the best cheap crank rod in my mind is the Browning silaflex from BPS. It's only $40 but it has great flex and a nice slow action.

They blow.

I can get 10' - 12' on the deep wee with 10 pound test.

Sounds like I will be getting the red eye.

I love Rebel's deep wee r. Just wish they would bring some of the old colors back.

The thunderstick isn't even in the same ballpark as the pointer. Go with Rapala X - raps and husky jerks if pointers are too much for you. I only have a few pointers anyway.

How is the wiggle on the clackin' rap? The CC Super Spot is my favorite lipless crank btw.

I have not fished Rapala's Clackin' rap yet. Does it have a wider wiggler than the rattlin' rap? Also, I haven't fished Strike King's red eye shad either. Does it have as good of a wiggle as say a Cordell Super Spot or Rat L' Trap.

The procaster and the strikeforce are the best cheap baitcasters out there imo. The BPS bionic plus and the Abu Garcia Black Max are some other really good under $70 reels too. Shimano also has a new Caedus reel that's under $90 too that I'm sure is good.

I use spinning gear for just about all jerkbaits, hard and soft, except for very large or heavy ones. I use 6 - 10 pound test mono and a MH 7' spinning rod for most soft jerks and smaller senko type baits. With hard jerks I like 15 pound power pro, a 12 pound fluoro leader, and a 7' medium spinning rod with a fast action. With bigger hard jerks such as the bigger or saltwater x raps, I like casting gear with 40 pound power pro, the same fluoro leader, and a MH 7' graphite casting rod. I prefer to throw 5" and bigger senkos on casting gear as well, with 12 - 16 pound test mono, and a 7' medium heavy casting rod with a fast action. I like this set up for mag flukes and those type of soft jerks.

In stained I like a tandem or a double colorado spinnerbait with gold blades. Chartreuse, white, white/chartreuse, black blue, or any bright or black hue skirt will be key.

This is all good advice for sure. I usually slow down and downsize with finesse plastics.

Good lures for sure.

Heavy wind makes topwater use difficult but you can still catch them. Bigger buzzbaits with double blades, big propbaits like wounded spooks and Luhr Jensen Woodchoppers, and big dog walkers. Also I do well on bigger swimbaits just under the surface in these conditions, or even larger floating rapalas like the #13 and #17.

I think I need to give them a shot as well.

This would be a horrible regulation and violation of our freedoms. If I were president I would eliminate the EPA and the USFWS. No where in the constitution does it say government can come up with administrative bodies to force laws on us without a vote of congress.

I always use glass or a mix of glass/graphite for any fast moving lure or any with trebles, such as cranks, spinnerbaits, and just about all topwaters except frogs. Glass just has a slower action and more flex to help keep hard running fish hooked.

Some of the zoom plastics will be crooked or deformed, in a really bad pack sometimes it can be almost half. But the good ones are such good plastics that zoom is still pretty much my favorite or second favorite plastics manufacturer behind only GY.

The tandem is the best all around one, but when I need a slow, shallow retrieve, I like a double Colorado. Go with tandems or Colorados when you need more vibration or a slower retrieve, or double willow leaves in clear water when you need more flash.