MIbassyaker

Other than big swimbaits, deep-diving crankbaits, and A-rigs, I can't think of any category of baits I don't ever use that lots of other people do. But I didn't use a dropshot at all last year, and it's been two years since I threw a lipless crankbait.

They all work. We all have favorites...black and blue, green pumpkin, PBJ are really popular. I like greens and browns, sometimes with orange, chartreuse or purple highlights. But I don't think anybody who doesn't fish where you are can answer what the most productive color would be for you. Waterbodies are different, forage species are different. ..even the same species crayfish can be differently-colored in different waters. Baitfish, crayfish and other critters often change color somewhat based on their surroundings, and different waters have different substrates, vegetation, cover elements, water clarity and stain, and so on. If you want to get more specific than "dark" or "light", you probably have to experiment a bit. Get the package deal from Siebert -- it has the 5 most popular colors, and you can try them all out; then get more of the colors that work better for you.

Just one little guy decided to attend my first kayak launch of the year this afternoon:

Zoom chunks are good. They are one of the only trailers that come in my favorite color: Pumpkin/rootbeer with green flake. But there are some other good trailers under $4 most places: -Big Bite Baits Chunk, Swimming Craw & Yo Mamma -Yum Craw Papi & Christie Craw -Netbait Paca Craw & Paca Chunk All good value at that price.

^^^^That link is recommended reading, folks -- an epic tale of ambition, struggle, failure, and ultimately, acceptance. One of my favorite threads on the whole site.

1. Green Pumpkin. 2. Green Pumpkin with Chartreuse tail.

C'mon, getcher controversy! Get it right here! Before the thread locks down!

I'm Gen Z. We just......eh. Never mind. Nothing matters.

Yup, me too. I wish we could enter them all at once, and keep each week open for editing until the event. Like me, you only have one overlapping angler (Walters) between the two teams. One obvious reason is no buckets. Also, I'm ignoring ownership % completely since it seems like more of a "long game". I don't have a sense of whether or not that's a mistake...we'll see!

Lake Fork Team: I balked at Zaldain's 64% (!) ownership, but he's going to blow up sooner or later and he's been consistently great at Fork. Also, fiddled around with Drain the Lake a little bit, and here's what I came up with -- Interestingly, other than Hudnall there's no overlap with my regular roster:

Threw the dog in the car and drove around to six small lakes/bayous to check WTs at the launch. All between 54 and 59 degrees F, which puts them about a month ahead of where the same spots were last year, maybe a little more. Last year I got the impression these places were about 2-weeks behind typical, which would put the current temps about 2 or 3 weeks ahead. Yeesh. At best I may be able to get the yak out Friday, and maybe 2-3 more times the next couple weeks. UPDATE: Looks like the big cool-down over the last week has stalled things -- we should be much closer to a typical schedule after this week.

Wowza! When did you catch that beast? It's reasonable to expect a lake that produced one would produce others. If you told me ten DD largemouth were caught in Michigan last year, I would be more likely to believe they came from the same 2 or 3 lakes than from 10 different lakes.

The classic is included in the regular fantasy series of events, so I assume it will be included in Drain the Lake too. There will just be a need to plan ahead and figure out who to save for which events, and keep close track of the upcoming schedule, starting with Event #5: 5. Fork, TX 6. Neely Henry, AL 7. Guntersville, AL 8. Ray Roberts, TX -- The Classic (smaller & different field of anglers) 9. Champlain, VT 10. St. Lawrence River, NY If the classic is included, that requires additional strategy since the classic has its own roster, and the field is smaller. I think my approach will be to first figure out which anglers I definitely want to use, and then distribute them to different weeks. And maybe keep in mind a couple back-ups for each event in case I change my mind on someone, or if someone has to miss an event or end their season.

I'm starting to worry the spawn is on track to be well ahead of schedule in the Grand Rapids area, and it's going happen before my work/life to-do list opens up enough to enjoy much of the pre-spawn.

Do you replace with singles, or just not fish crankbaits, jerkbaits, poppers, etc.?

I kinda like seeing pros get just as excited as I do about 1lb bass.

Yeah, what he's doing is a lot more familiar to me than the reservoir fishing we usually see. Up here the great lakes get national attention, but the vast majority of people here are fishing small- to medium-sized rivers and natural lakes. We have a few impoundments here and there, but nothing like the big reservoirs everybody else has.

Stand on the shore, mostly sit on the kayak.

Probably missed our last chance to get Christie in any bucket below A.

That was my logic too. We thought we were so clever...

I think of it this way: Both curly-tail and paddle-tail plastics have been catching fish for decades. In recent years, Keitech seems to have perfected the paddle-tail design, so they have produced tons of them, and they are available everywhere, and many companies are trying to keep up with their own version. But no company has found any way to improve upon the curly-tail grub design. So you don't see companies really pressing for advantage on this design. A curly-tail grub was the first artificial lure I ever learned how to use, and I still catch fish on them sometimes. I've been using paddletails more often than curly-tails recently, but if I were to switch back entirely, I bet I wouldn't see any drop in catches.

Those are really nice fish, congrats! I'm....not so sure they're 8 & 6 Lb. I recommend checking your scale. Divided by 2 and maybe add 0.5-1 seems more plausible, and would still be bigger than most smallies I catch.

All right, I want to hear more about this. The absence of difference is something I understand. But actual superiority of cheap blades over premium at catching fish is not.....come on, spill it.

Yeah, I think this is the actual correct answer. Be approximate about forage type, but save your deep worry about colors for other conditions.

Ok. My first bass of 2021 is not......ahh.....not exactly a giant, but I was happy when it bit my keitech on my 3rd cast of the year: 5 little guys all that size from the riverbank last Friday afternoon. It's probably going to be a couple weeks yet before I can get the kayak out actually on any water, but might sneak a couple more short bank excursions in until then.