David D.

1. Spinnerbait 2. Stick bait / creature

I upgrade all treble hooked lures to Mustad Elite short shank hooks... As has been said, they are sharp and they certainly get the job done. But I always just make the front and rear the same size (both size 4s on my DT6s).

I generally will start a trip by throwing a topwater frog if it is the early morning and then graduate to a fluke, T-rigged worm or crankbait when the bite slows. If it is windy I'll pull out the spinnerbaits. I rarely fish every type of lure every time I go out, even if I'm out on the water for 8 hours. I'll try what I think will work based in the conditions, and go from there.

I'll take group 2 if I have to choose.

When spawning females are guarding their nests they are not actively feeding; they are protecting. In that time, they will not aggressively target crankbaits, spinnerbaits, or jerk baits. However, if you run a plastic over their bed or a jig, then you could get a strike. Just because fast isn't producing doesn't mean that slow also won't.

Cut-R worm: At my overfished local pond it will catch fish when nothing else will. Big confidence bait. Craw: T-rigged, jig trailer... Anything works with it. Toad: What's there to say?... It catches fish, and it does so very well. Keep more packs on hand than you think you will need.

I don't T-rig them with a bullet weight. If I need more weight then I will use a weighted hook.

Maybe it's broken in by now?.... More seriously, I had a friend whose M&P .45 was stolen and received a call from his local city PD about 2.5 years later that it had been recovered. He was shocked to say the least. And then he had to wait another amount of time before they could release it to him because of its evidentiary value.

Mix up your retrieve and let the fish tell you how they want it. Give it a straight retrieve back, walk it, pop it and let it pause. Try everything and see what (if anything) works.

I use both hollow body frogs (and popping frogs) and pop'r lures and like each; though I prefer the frogs. However, I recently starting using Soft plastic frogs like the Ribbit, Zoom Horny Toad, etc. and have really enjoyed fishing them along the top. A quick enough retrieve to keep the frogs on top of the water leads to bass just smashing them to avoid having dinner get away.

Give us an idea of what you are throwing (and how) and maybe we can suggest something else to try.

My Academy even had Strike King KVD frogs for $5.99 ($2 off).

I stocked up on Rage Tail baits, but the only Zoom baits on sale were Brush Hogs and I already have more than enough of those.

Just whatever works and gives you the most control of it. Most people just use the pad of their thumb, but some use the tip.

Will do. Those are a little harder to catch, but I did alert the authorities to a couple jaywalkers earlier today.

What is the power and action of the Powell? For around $120 you can look at the St. Croix Mojo Bass glass rods.

I Texas rig them with a 4/0 hook and 1/4oz weight. Just crawl it along the bottom and vary your retrieves to see what the fish want. Great plastics and a wonderful price!

Yep, GoPros are hard to beat for that.

I much prefer my current tackle bag with 3700 boxes to any previous tackle box. Don't think that I'll ever go back to using a tackle box.

If you are asking about my post, I know they don't have licenses because they say so. And they go on to tell others that you don't have to have a license because the license is for state and federal lakes and we are just fishing a small city pond... Too bad for them I contacted TPWD and confirmed that a license IS required and on top of that; that specific pond is catch and release only. Sounds like some people are gonna get in trouble soon.

My favorite local pond has a lot of people who fish it without a license and then keep every single fish that they catch.... It frustrates the heck out of me. Usually they are only catching small panfish, but occasionally catfish are caught and whenever a bass angler catches a fish the poachers will harass him (or her) trying to get the fish. The other day I was out there and caught a bass that weighed about 3 lbs off of her bed. For our small pond, that is a really good fish. The whole time that I was bringing the fish in and removing the hook I had 5 people yelling/begging/harassing me to give up the fish. I completely ignored them while I released the fish thinking it woul make them stop.... Nope. I continued to get an earful when I got back to my spot about how I waste a fish and how I was a stupid and selfish person. I told them why you are supposed to release bedding fish and that it was spawning season to try to educate them a little but I'm pretty sure it all went in one ear and out the other. They continued their rant and I finally snapped and told them that I would be reporting each of them to the TPWD office which is a 10 minute drive from the pond. Some people just have no respect and won't learn... Thankfully there are also some really good people out at that pond to keep me sane... For the most part

Sounds like a good choice to me.

My spinning combo usually has 6 or 8 lb mono or 20 lb braid with 6 lb mono or fluoro leader. My bait casting combos usually are spoiled with about 15 lb mono, 50 lb braid, or 50 lb braid with a 12 lb fluoro leader. It isn't about getting the strongest line for your money, it's about getting the right diameter line for the style fishing that you will be doing.

I actually prefer to use Mustad's KVD elite treble hooks to Gamakatsu's. I have never had a problem with Mustad hooks so I, personally, wouldn't change them.

It will have plenty of power to set the hook. The MH rods just won't be able to load any of the lighter lures that you want to throw which will cause you to have more backlashes than you will want to deal with. And anytime that you don't backlash your casting distance will be subpar.