MIbassyaker

I understand "Green Pumpkin" to be a form of "pumpkin" that has some green in it. Thus, it is actually a sort of "greenish-brown". Watermelon, on the other hand seems to be just a muted, translucent green. While different companies colors vary, there are at least two generalizations present in most versions of these colors: -Green pumpkin is distinctly brownish whereas watermelon is not. -Watermelon is more translucent than green pumpkin. However, it's usually only possible to notice these distinctions when you have a side-by-side comparison.

Just requires some concentration and a little practice.

There is a distinct art to cranking weeds. As you crank, it will dive, and the bill will tend begin to catch first. If you pause when you start feeling it get heavy, it will float up a bit and then you can continue working it through, and give it a little rip as you get over the top. Changing speeds like that will also trigger strikes. Working it this way, if you're careful, you can get a crankbait to follow the tops of weeds (which is, itself, a sort of edge bass relate to) all the way back without getting bogged down. You'll bring a little vegetation in, but you'll also catch some.

I've been getting skunked all my life. Nowadays it happens only a few of times a year, often walking the river bank in spring. I find this to be kind of miraculous! When I was growing up, I would get skunked most of the time, everywhere! So often that I still expect to be skunked unless I'm actually on the water in a craft, somewhere I've caught fish before. And, of course, even then it still happens.

Berkely is Pumpkin Green flake, Big Bite baits is "Pumpkin-Green Pepper", Mr. Twister is "Pumpkin Pepper Green". Similar to Zoom, GYCB calls it "Rootbeer Black and Green", although they also have "pumpkin black and green" that is too red for my taste. Kalins and Chompers have a good version too, but forget what its called. Strike King Perfect Plastics has something similar in "Amistad Special", but you can only get it the Ocho and Game Hawg. In Rage Tail there's "Amber Green" which seems basically the same, but I've only seen it for the rage craw.

I fish with both effectively, but with Watermelon I like some colored flake, like red or "candy" (green and violet). Green Pumpkin I like plain, or with Candy or "Magic" flake. Any rhyme or reason behind these preferences? Probably not. I just like they way they look in the water. You know what my best color is, though? Not Green pumpkin, but Pumpkin with Green flake: I just wish more companies made a version of it.

Exactly what I do. Or when sitting in the kayak and I need to re-tie, fix a bait or something, hold up the rod, turn off AR, and backreel the bait down where I can grab it with enough line to work with. Much less awkward than opening the bail. it seems like such a small thing, but keeps minor annoyances from adding up. When a reel doesn't have an AR switch, I really notice it.

Yeah, not intended as a knock on zoom -- there is nothing wrong with their composition, just that it's sort of ordinary as a trade-off for affordability. They have many excellent designs, though, even the simple trick worm: length, width, taper, tail end, etc. were all well chosen.

There are so many. But I will pick eight by four brands that I think are excellent: Berkley Power Worm & Chigger Craw Yamamoto Senko & Hula Grub Rage Tail Menace & and Cut-r worm Zoom Super Fluke & Ultravibe speed worm My philosophy of plastics is that value is determined by three factors: Design, Composition, and Cost (per body). I like baits that give a high net value based on some combination among these three. Because the factors trade-off somewhat, brands that excel at one factor typically must sacrifice another. But this also means there is more than one way to arrive at high value. Berkley, in their powerbait and maxscent lines, has always been about unique composition for scent & taste effect at reasonable cost, but at the expense of some originality in design. Yamamoto and Rage Tail are champions of bait design, with composition that is carefully-tailored for weight, softness, suppleness, but with higher cost-per body. Zoom delivers great affordability for well-designed baits, but with nothing much special about composition.

If you've got pickerel, that may be a good reason to stay inexpensive. Other than that, and the likelihood that shallow-divers probably go as deep as you need a jerkbait to go, I don't see any reason why your situation requires a different recommendation than any other body of water. I tend to downsize a bit in small waters, under the assumption that bass are eating small forage, but that's not a universal. In addition to the Husky Jerk and X-rap, try: Smithwick Suspending Rogue Ima flit 100 and 120 KVD 200 and 300 Berkley Cutter & Skinny Cutter

For full credit, you have to show your work...

Good video.

I've gotten a lot of mileage fishing these on a Title Shot jig:

Indeed, that seems to be the case for organisms that can use transparency as camouflage (which tend to be only the very small, like zooplankton) From the abstract of this study: "The use of transparency as camouflage in the epipelagic realm is complicated by the presence of ultraviolet radiation, because the presence of UV-protective pigments decreases UV transparency and may reveal transparent zooplankton to predators and prey with UV vision." https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s002270000499

That's my understanding too. It's not out of the realm of possibility, but it's always worth asking why a species would have a particular ability. It's not clear what benefit UV vision would be to a shallow-water species like bass, except when very young. This kind of ability makes more sense for deep-water species, to support vision at depths beyond the point where parts of the visible range of light spectrum fail to penetrate.

If it's sunny mid-day, they may do it at those temps. For largemouth I don't bother until it's at about mid-high 50s, and even then subsurface stuff still seems to work better until it gets into the 60s.

Last night is supposed to have been the last single-digit overnight temp we'll have for a couple weeks. High of 40 coming mid-week next week... things moving slowly in the right direction.

Technically I've only lived in 5 counties, and the moves were all school- and career-related. You get really sick of moving after doing it just a few times, though.

I have lived in MN, ND, CA, NJ, and MI, and visited every state in the union at least once, except Hawaii (although some more than others). I don't really "enjoy" the winters here, but I don't mind it -- my part of MI has nothing on northern MN, at least. Having multiple other hobbies/interests goes a long way. I've never really been anywhere that I thought, "wow, living here would be better in every way". Every place I have been has advantages and disadvantages, and Michigan has negatives we're used to and can tolerate, all things considered. Maybe i'll change my mind in 15 years, but we're not planning on going anywhere.

The TW wish list is a godsend. Just make sure you are logged in whenever you make one or add to one. Free shipping for $50 and above is a great bargain, and if I need more than about $30 of stuff, I'm usually happy to add more to get over the mark. Everything I buy is something I'd get sooner or later. I rarely make single orders of tackle over $100 anyway, unless I'm getting a rod or reel or something like that.

I don't fish crankbaits nearly as often as topwaters, plastics, and single-hook moving baits. But I have a bunch of them and probably make the most use of Strike King and Lucky Craft 1.5 and 2.5 squarebills. I also like the 6th sense Crush 50x. And I still get quality use out of Bandit 100s and 200s. Bluegill, sunfish, perch, crappie and various craw patterns dominate my holdings. I was just checking the hooks on my crankbaits and discovered I have one of these I've never thrown! I believe it is supposed to hunt a little bit...does it? It reminded me a little of an up-sized cross between a rebel craw and a Mann's 1-minus.

Hmmm......

whoa, first post -- welcome! I'm having Blazing Saddles flashbacks...

hey @12poundbass, where's your fantasy team?

Heh, I remember that. Ish was a little like that too. Ike, on the other hand, I always thought was more reliable than his reputation.