MIbassyaker

I tend to prefer sunfish and craw patterns over sexy shad, but it looks like a good deal provided you'll actually use most of the stuff in it. I got the KVD squarebill kit from BPS which i think was a decent buy (and on sale right now too, I see). You also get a reusable storage box, which I think for the sexy shad kit is comparable to a plano 3700 size.

Are all the UBL volumes collections of articles like this? If so, I didn't know that -- I have a few titles in the series I bought used (seasonal patterns, cover and structure, and advanced techniques). They're pretty nice, full-color, informative, look good on the shelf...that "small waters" volume is one I haven't seen before, but is definitely on my radar now, too -- thanks.

Sigh. Well, now you've done it, all of you. You made me get new subscriptions to In-Fisherman and Bassmaster. Made me. Forced my hand. Cabin fever had nothing to do with it, I tell you.

My #1 strength is jig-worming a weedline.

Yup. Always remember: whenever you get something for free, the actual product being sold is you.

I did an FLW and a Bassmaster last year for the first time. I sucked, but it was fun and it reminded me to tune in to tournament coverage and weigh-ins.

My own modest bass shelf: Always looking for more recommendations.

Yeah, the only lesson I take from sponsorship switcheroos like this is that, for most practical purposes, one company is about as good as another.

Evening seems to fish just slightly better than morning where I fish, but due to a flexible schedule in the summer, I fish weekday mornings almost exclusively to avoid other people. The benefits work both ways, as I see it -- I get my (generally small, public) waters mostly to myself at lot of the time, and the folks who only get to fish evenings and weekends have one less angler in their way as well.

I'm glad you said that, as I've been skeptical of this claim for a while now. Its one of these things that makes less sense the more you think about it -- it assumes a phantom pivot point that doesn't seem to have much physical reason to exist.

I got a Field and Stream year-long subscription as a gift a couple years ago and was mildly shocked at how useless it was.

I, on the other hand, am obsessed with In-fisherman back issues from the 70s and 80s, and I would wager that if you can get one for $6 on ebay --especially one of the first 24 issues, the "study reports" -- odds are even or better that it will have more useful information than an entire yearly subscription of the the current magazine.

Use whatever you want. As somebody who came to baitcasting much later in life, long after my hands had been well-trained on a left-handed retrieve in spinning, I spent time obsessing over this issue, looking into reasons for having right vs. left handed baitcasting reels. The only consistent principle I found was this: People tend to use whatever permits their non-dominant hand to do whatever it has already gotten used to with familiarity and practice. Maybe your non-dominant hand already knows how to hold a rod, work a bait, perform a hookset. Mine doesn't. it only knows how to turn a reel because it learned how to do that with spinning gear when I was 8. So, I use lefty baitcasters because it permits my left to do what it already knows how to do -- turn a reel. Some pros do this too -- Chris Zaldain and David Walker use left-handed retrieve baitcasters despite being right handed because they find it more intuitive and comfortable...and Denny Brauer is left handed, but uses a right-handed reel.

I'm sure the Big TRD will be great, but I'm probably going to stay with the Hula StickZ as my 4" Ned body.

That's what I do too:

Order from FFO with confidence. Their shipping charges are basically just the cost of shipping to you and the discounted pricing more than makes up for it, especially if you catch one of their better rotating sales (like 20% off, or buy one, get one 50% off). I have never had a problem with their packaging, and they throw in free gifts of powerbait and havoc plastics sometimes.

I really got into the Cut-r worm last summer. green pumpkin and I dip the tail in chartreuse dye. I put it on a 3/0 EWG hook, weightless, and fish it like a senko, a soft jerkbait, or a swimbait, sometimes all three in the same retrieve. absolutely one of the most versatile plastics I've ever seen.

American Legacy Fishing has 10% off gift cards through Christmas day.

Well I don't know if they're the "best", but the most satisfying to fish are the ones I've cobbled together myself, like this "baby bass" number: That's just a 3/8oz Arky head from Barlows, a split ring, and snap, blade and skirt material from fishingskirts.com. It's not Siebert or Bluebasser quality, but it works!

I had a lot of success with the 90 this summer fishing it more like a propbait, with pops, rips and pauses rather than a straight retrieve.

I have checked this against the largemouth I catch in lakes around our area, and I have found it overestimates the weight for the vast majority. for instance, the formula estimates 16" bass to be about 2.5 lb. The ones I catch are more like 2.25. 20" by the formula is a 5lber, but my 20" bass are closer to 4.5.

I don't know what the "best mono on the market" is. All I know is Big Game does everything I need it to at a more-than-reasonable cost.

I got an 6'8" MXF in the Avid X line for wacky worms (and other weightless plastics) last summer and it is the definition of perfect, as far as I'm concerned. At your pricepoint, I would think the mojo is a pretty close approximation. (and I also hate red on rods and reels! I hate it so much! I thought I was the only one...)

I guess I'm going to find out. I haven't used the digger but I had a lot of success last spring and summer with a pitbull in the bluegill color ("gilly").

Hmm. Don't mind if I do... .