BaitMonkey1984

Interesting. I have been using GYCB a lot over the past 5 plus years. In fact, a 5" GYCB watermelon creme wacky rigged on a gamgatsku octopus or circle hook is always tied on and as much as I love power fishing, this is my go to bait. Hundreds of hours using all senkos. My experience is with the size difference is what anyone could expect. More bites for the 4 inch but much more dinks. I don't know how florida fishes, but up here when the bite is tough or in cold water I use the 4", spring and fall the 5", then dead of the summer use the 6". This gives me the opportunity to not only get the skunk off the boat- but also get a good size. If your only concerned with numbers than stay with the 4" year round. Just my 2 cents.

This is what gets me. Or maybe me not re-tying as much as I should. But I blame the line tangle. I agree with fishinfiend it seems to happen to me more on the expensive lures. I haven't gotten bitten by the swimbait craze yet so its not terrible but hate even losing $15-25 baits first cast. For that reason, some of these higher priced lures have sat in the tackle box for a few years without getting wet. Stupid, I know.

The most important skills you must possess are the ability to boat and navigate safely, find fish, and tackle prep/rigging. Your job is to put clients on fish and get those fish to the deck of the boat. However, most people are not die hard angels like those here on this forum. Therefore, you need to make sure your clients have a blast. Even if your catching fish, that may not in and of itself make the trip a success. Some may want to be educated. some may want to laugh. I mean a day on the water when the fish don't bite would be more than ok If I had G Man cracking jokes all day. You need to find fish and find out what your individual client wants. Be multi-faceted and you will be a success- best of luck. And o yea, one piece of advice- do exactly what your doing by posting this question- ASK. People usually tell you what they want when their money is on the line.

A 5" GYCB senko in watermelon creme. Versatile bait that can be t-rigged, rigged wacky, or shortened for a drop shot or ned rig application. Can also use with a high speed retrieve to mimic a soft jerk bait. It flat out catches fish for me rigged wacky, yet if push came to shove I could cover a significant portion of the water column.

I no longer buy lead as I fish in NH regularly. Here is my issue, as with many avid anglers when I find something that works I buy in bulk. That way I get a deep discount, and I don't need to place a tackle order every few weeks for more worm weights, jigs, etc. With the worm weights, they are pretty cheap so I could care less. But, with my jig collection- what am I supposed to do with these lead jigs. I know the legal answer- not use them in NH. Possibly sell them. That rubs me the wrong way. Anyone In NH have the game wardens check out whether you had lead or not- seems crazy.

Not interested in selling off anything. When it comes to lures I may be a bit of a hoarder. I figure, a friend, family member, or some kid on the bank when I am launching my boat will get them some day. Also, not interested in the hassle of selling plastics for say $4 a bag. Even with $4 per bag * 500 bags of "extras" = $2,000.00 not worth the hassle for me. If anyone here is interested in the entire lot sale let me know. Probably 30+ big gallon zip lock bags ready to burst, so yea a lot of plastics.

Lots of windows in my garage so it gets a decent amount of light. I am sure it would take quite a while for the sun to wreak havoc, but I am sure it will eventually do its magic. I just havent been a big fan of the pegboard- if anyone has some pics of pegboards that look decent, please post them up here.

Tried this. Kept the ziplock bags in my plano sportsman trunk .Took a while to locate the bag, and the ziplock bags when full would bend the baits for flukes etc. Didn't work for me.

Ok, so as my Bassfishing name and avatar evidence I have an issue with buying more lures then I could ever use in a lifetime. I was always a crank bait/jerkbait/spinner bait type guy until say 4 years ago. First got deadly with the senko, and that led to all soft plastics. Over the past 4 years, I have no idea how many soft plastics I have accumulated. I have 3 big tackle boxes full, roughly 15 plano 3700 boxes and lots more. The tackle boxes and the plants I can access quickly and move to and from the boat without issue. Great. My issue is, how does everyone here store the 100s of extra plastics that are eiter additional packs of favorites or those baits that you don't use very often. First. I had all the baits in ziplock freezer bags according to type (beavers, curly tail worm, grubs) in a huge Plano Sprotsman Trunk. That worked for a while, then I outgrew those sportsman trunks. Also, accessing those baits quickly was to effective. I recently purchased four 3-draw plastic filing cabinets from Walmart that are super deep. They can hold the majority of this extra plastic baits pretty well, but not super. I do not want to do the peg board system as I am afraid of light effecting the baits over time, and B everyone seeing how much lures I really have and having me committed. So any advice or pics of how you go about storing mass quantities of the soft plastics that you do not utilize regularly throughout the season would be appreciated.

Found an earlier thread on this very subject here: I would have to echo the sentiments of the comments made in the earlier thread. As long as you keep it within reason and stay away from high-sticking you should be fine. While I am not a slave to the recommendations, at least I am in the ballpark. This keeps my mind at ease when I crack the whip. Just watched a Pros vs Joes episode and Brent Chapman tore off all the guides on a hook-set. Saw Aaron Martens do the same thing. I think this is the likely outcome, not snapping the rod if you disregard the line recommendations.

My soft plastics arsenal ( and I mean arsenal bc it takes up a good portion of my garage) has many many brands. But the two major brands are GYCB and Berkley. I use both the Havoc and the Powerboat lines and they both have great baits. The crazy legs chigger craw is by leaps and bounds the best t rigged bait for my area. But the Havoc Line works extremely well too. As many people have said already the Pit Boss has somewhat of a cult following. The berkley havoc back slide is one of the most innovative french style baits I have seen as it has dual weight zones allowing the bait to fall back under docks. Then the smash tubes come in great colors and because of their shape allow you to get more hook ups, because you have less plastic to go through. All this, and you can usually get them on sale for $1.50 a pack-great lures.

Surprised not a single soft jerk bait recommendation yet. Use hard jerk baits in the colder water, but a fluke has definitely got its place in these discussions. Especially that Arkansas shiner color.

If I had to choose- SK. But I use sebile liplese cranks since getting my first in MTB, and am catching more fish.

The oldest reel I use is next years model. That is the curse of being the bait money. Great avatar- just watched The Outlaw Josey Wales last night.

x2. I never used the keithechs until this spring. I rigged the larger ez shiner, I believe they are the 4" version on a yum money minnow keel weighted swimsuit hook. The hook was almost too big reaching way back into the thing portion of the tail. Make sure you get the strong squid scent- it makes a difference. The action on these baits are great. And with that big yum money minnow hook, my hookup ratio was likely 95%+. It was fun. The only downside is the are about as durable as a senko. So one or two fish on average. I could care less, but know some people squad about the whole durability aspect.

Good luck, the fish have lock jaw this time of year. I have tried everything in the tackle box and still not getting results. I fish small ponds/lakes near the MA/NH border so we are fishing similar conditions. I would recommend using deep water, slow presentations. A jig dragged (not hopped), a slow rolled fish head spin with a fluke trailer, and a drop shotted worm come to mind. Pretty standard winter techniques right there. I also am of the thought that some of these big girls are more willing to travel for a bigger presentation then s a smaller, finesse presentation. So, if the above baits and techniques prove unsuccessful, I would add bulk to your presentation. Still maintain a slow, deep presentation but give the fish something worthwhile to chase down. Big Texas rigged worms, big swimsuits with a tight wobble just ticking the bottom of the lake. Due to the warm weather the trap bite may still be wort trying as well.

Definitely agree with this. My Ranger has three batteries and if I had to charge each one individually it could be done- although it would be a hassle. I will never not have an on board charger moving forward. In regards to your portable charger, I have tried many brands. The best one I found was at Walmart for cheap (http://www.walmart.com/ip/Schumacher-Electric-15-Amp-Battery-Charger/46167057). I have tried many more expensive ones but they just don't last. This model is nice because you have several different charge options too.

Global warming, I thought the republican scientists put that issue to rest as nothing short of tall tale. It is 46 here in MA now, and I am at a loss what to do. I fish till October, then bow hunt, then rifle hunt in Nov, then Ski and ice fish till April. No snow and ice. Nothing left to hunt besides coyote. The ranger is all winterized and wrapped for the winter in storage. But my aluminum is simply flipped over in the back yard. Can throw the seats and the motor on it, and be on the lake in 2 hours. Strong possibility I will be there this Sunday before the Pats game dragging a jig.

A second option is to keep your eyes on the flea market section of this site. A lot of guys here take great care of their stuff and sell their old gear when they upgrade. You might be able to find what you want, albeit second hand, in good condition and for a fair price.

I use this at every fill up- n exceptions. It is part of a concoction I have spoken about it many times before. Seafoam and Enzyme treatment with every fill up. Then use marvel mystery oil in gas and in the oil on occasion. This keeps everything clean and lubed, as well as keeps the water out of the gas. I have not cleaned the carbon off with the motor running only boat. But have done it in my vehicles. Makes a big difference in my opinion, so much so that I do it twice a year. You would be amazed at what gets blown out the exhaust. You can usually find deals at car stores or walmart in the winter for buy 1 get 1 free, so I always stock up on those occasions as it is something I am always going to use. Get into the habit yourself and your motor will thank you.

Sebile Lipless cranks are flat out loud, fish catching machines.

I don't have a lot, maybe 10 or so. But the shallow diving cranks (less than 5 ft) all seem to work well. Ike's Custom Ink Crawfish outproduced the livingston lure howler last spring.

1. How am I going to buy all this fishing equipment and still pay my other bills. 2. Catching a fish on a new technique.

Call the school district, not the individual schools. You are most likely going to need to speak to the superintendent of schools for your district.

Welcome. Great Site for beginners and pros alike. Enjoy.