fishballer06

Yep, I've done this for years. In fact, in the 90's and early 00's, I can remember Bill Lewis selling them with a willow blade on the rear. To answer your questions, yes, it helps with hangups. Especially whenever you're burning them over the tops of grass. Downside is hook up ratio. One less treble is three less hooks to grab that fish when they bite. It's a gamble to take because at times, it can give you more bites as well because of the added flash. For future reference, you could build these yourself for much cheaper than $2.50 for a 3 pack. You could probably buy a multi-pack of ball bearing swivels and willow blades for around $5-6 total, and be able to build yourself 20+ of these.

Gerald Swindle and Andy Montgomery have some great videos on YouTube (and they're probably the 2 best in the world at this). Go check out what they have to say. With that, I'm no master at it, but I can get the job done in a very amature manner. To get the motion down, yes, practice with a spinning rod and a senko/fluke just to see the bait skip and see how the angle of release effects how the bait will skip. From there, practice with your baitcaster in your driveway or an empty parking lot. Then try it on the water. From there, keep practicing it on the water for a few years. It's certainly an art form that takes time to master.

Get the Heavy, trust me. You'll enjoy having the extra power for whenever you need it. I have the 7'2" H Expride and I absolutely love that rod. That rod handles a 1/4oz Baby 1-, as well as 3/4oz swimbait jigs with a 4.3" Keitech on them. If you like jig fishing, that 7'6" H will allow you to fish 3/8-3/4oz jigs with a trailer on them with no issues at all. I don't see why you would want another MH rod whenever you already have two MH rods that do the same thing.

My guess is the bluegill and walleye are cleaning house in terms of available food. I'd start keeping every walleye and bass in that 14-16" range. The bass must be stunted from over population and not enough food to help them grow any bigger. If possible, talk to whoever is in charge of that body of water about either stocking some sort of baitfish or allowing you to keep some 10-13" bass.

Outside of punching 1.25 weights through heavy mats, or frogging in heavy vegetation, nope.

I either bought mine from The Tackle Trap or eBay. There are plenty of online stores that have them in stock though.

I picked up a perch Sonicside a few weeks ago and it was exactly what I was hoping that it wouldn't be. An impressive bait that I would want to fill an entire plano box up with. Very impressed with them, and the perch color is versatile enough that it could be a craw imitator too.

Awesome video, Glenn! I'm glad to see Hank answer my question and go really into detail on the mindset that he had back when he was competing and where he's at now.

WD-40 is a popular attractant used by the walleye guys on Lake Erie. They spray it on their crankbaits, spinners, and even worms. I've seen it's magic work first hand.

I've found over the past few years that the hooks (and even split rings) that Rapala puts on their jerkbaits are absolute garbage. I've straightened out both on the first or second fish I've caught on them. It's got to be a Rapala issue because I use the exact same setup with LC and MB jerkbaits and I don't have this issue. Your best bet is to swap out the split rings and trebles for something a little more stout. As for the hooks on the crankbaits like the DT's, they have a little more flex than I like but they work alright. Like Dwight said, I usually replace them after the first day or two.

I didn't receive any emails about this code. What is it good for?

I have a buddy here in Pittsburgh that does custom painting for a living. He's currently in route to Knoxville as we speak for the Classic. He's got a booth and is selling custom painted baits at the event (including a few warts that a few pro's ordered from him). Check out his website or any of his social media pages "Fulks Custom Cranks". He specializes in wiggle warts. I've probably had him paint over three dozen pre-rap Warts for me over the past few years.

I really want to try this new head that Siebert has. https://www.siebertoutdoors.com/Mini-Swim-Jighead-1694.htm You also mentioned wanting a tungsten jig. This head design is very versatile. Great for pitching in and out of cover, or for swimming it over grass. https://www.siebertoutdoors.com/Tungsten-Pitchn-Jigs-1104.htm

I thought I remembered Big O hinting about this bait last year at some point. Glad to see it's coming to fruition.

A little while back, I was talking to Mike with Siebert Outdoors about a jig color that I wanted. I wanted something for my local waters that are usually a little dirty, that could perfectly mimic a craw, shad, or bluegill all in one skirt color. After working with him and making a few different versions, we finally got it figured out and I couldn't be happier. Mike even liked the pattern so much that he made it his color of the month. https://www.siebertoutdoors.com/Steel-Shad-1690.htm If you haven't already tried any jigs from Siebert Outdoors, what are you waiting for? These jigs are top quality and I highly recommend them.

TackleWarehouse has always ran their sales during the actual holidays/events. It doesn't make sense to me for TW to run a sale for an event 8 days before the event even starts.

That's a shame about your memory. I hope you didn't forget about that $50 you owe me. ??

Probably during the Classic... March 15-17th

PA has laxed up on alcohol in the last 2-3 years. Some gas stations and grocery stores are allowed to sell you two six packs per day now. Otherwise, you're having to go to a beer distributor. And then liquor is sold in state stores where you can only buy liquors. I'll talk to my buddy. I know his club has had a tournament up there the last two falls. I want to say they still have some Indian waters on the NY side of things there.

I've never even looked at the price of their rods, but I clicked that link and saw a $350 model. I wonder how many people are buying this stick over the likes of a Megabass, GLoomis, St. Croix, or Dobyns in that price range.

Pro's have been doing it for years. It's no secret. The most important part to try to take away from it is what style of bait were they using, what kind of water were they using it in, and why was that area the right area for that presentation. Randy Howell won the classic throwing a demon DT6 almost the entire tournament. On the final day he switched to a Livingston crankbait and he weighed in one fish off that bait. Yet that Livingston bait got all the credit for winning the tournament. Here's a little excerpt from his Bassmaster article whenever he won. Jacob Wheeler for years was sponsored by Okuma. However, if you watch any of his YouTube videos through all those years, he's clearly using Shimano Stradic ci4+ spinning reels anytime he has a fairy wand in his hand. Scott Martin put out a video the other week showing one of the largest bass he's ever caught. After the catch, he broke down all of his equipment calling out the hook, bait, line, and rod. I commented on his video "You're not going to give that Shimano Metanium any credit for winching that fish out for you?". Scott replied to my YT comment with a emoji. Clearly his words in his video were carefully made. My favorite line is whenever articles will say "KVD was using an un-named jerkbait". Basically meaning, hey this guy wasn't using his sponsors bait, and we know it but we're not going to get the guy in trouble over it.

A 4 or 5 power, in your desired length and price range, is what you're looking for. My Sierra 735 serves as my frogging rod primarily, but it's also great for other heavier topwaters, as well as 3/8oz swim jigs.

I haven't been to the Allegheny Res/Kinzua Dam since I was a teenager. We used to catch a fair amount of walleyes there too. From what I remember, be careful that you don't cross into the Indian Reservation waters and get caught. It's a hefty fine from my memory. I know in the past years, they've been drawing the lake down a fair bit at random times, so keep an eye on the water levels prior to your trip.