RHuff

Just ordered the Rapala BX Xtreme Minnow 4" in Silver Shad and the BX Waking Minnow in smelt. Read and seen great things about these two lures. Going to fish a week in southern GA in April and I have access to about 4 different 6-12 acre private ponds that are loaded in bass. Can't wait to take these with me. Anyone else have any success with these two lures?

The Little John MDs are deadly

Excellent rig. I'm jealous.

Winter is in full effect for some across the nation. When it happens to me here in WV while fishing is slow I research and try to gain as much knowledge as I can. I also make a tackle list that I try to add to each year. I currently have four lures I'm about to either grab at Cabela's or order online. My short list is this: Rapala BX Waking Minnow (Shad or Blue Herring) Storm Wiggle Wart (Shad or Crawfish) Koppers Live Target Golden Shiner Lipless Crankbait Spro Little John MD or Baby in Shad or Crawfish What is on your short list? Anyone fish any of these with success?

Google AC Shiner

Lots of rivers in southern WV that hold Smallmouth Bass. Any type of Floating Minnow, Jerkbait, or small spinner will work well. Believe it or not I've also caught some good sized fish on small buzzbaits and topwater in the summer.

I'm looking hard at a 2015 Tracker Pro 160. Can't decide on a 20 or 40 HP. Do these come with Power tilt? What about Power trim? Is power trim and tilt worth it on a small bass boat like this?

I always thought all outboards except tillers had power tilt and trim. Shows how much I know.

Would you guys recommend it on a Tracker Pro 160 with 20 or 40 HP??

New to the Boat Market here. I saw where some boats have Mercury outboards such as the 20HP EL and the 20HP ELPT. I've learned that the PT stands for power trim. That means you can trim the motor up and down on the throttle, right? What happens if there is no PT option? Do you have to raise the motor by hand or is it mounted in a permanent position? Sorry for the dumb question. Love to fish but just don't have any experience with bass boats. Trying to learn as much as possible before buying one.

Thanks for the warm welcome. Looking forward to discussing about fishing for a long time to come.

Great learning experience for you! Kick butt and take names during your HS season.

I got one at the end of the fall last year and fished it for a couple of months but didn't have any luck. I casted and retrieved it like a typical spinnerbait. I saw a thing online saying that a good method is to let it fall and make it rise, let it fall and make it rise. My question is how do you fish a chatterbait and what seems to produce the most strikes with it for you? What conditions do you fish it?

With either a 20HP or 40HP outboard. Will be mostly just two people fishing out of it and sometimes just one. I want something easy to pull and easy to maintain as a first bass boat. I want aluminum because all of the mountain lakes are relatively small with lots of stumps and rock (In Southern WV). For around $10,000, it doesn't seem like there is much of a better bargain out there. Money is tight as well so I don't have 20 or 30K to throw out there on a big rig. Anyone have this boat? Any thoughts?

To answer the OP through, I would bank a all-terrain jig off the rocks and let it fall slowly to the bottom and dance that puppy around in a nice slow retrieve. Another option is maybe a whacky rigged sinko to let that thing squirm and dance as it drops. Most of the bluff's in my area are steep rock with hardwoods above them. Why not imitated a worm or caterpillar that may have fallen from a tree, or a bug that fell from the rocks. I've also had luck throwing a dark colored spinnerbait at an angle and running it sorta parallel for a while to the rock. If the fish are loaded up around this bluff, they are gonna be active.

You can cast, flip, or pitch with a spinning, baitcast, or zebco. All it takes is a little practice.

Just go with what lure has worked best in the past for the right conditions. For example, I seem to catch more fish throughout most of the year on Spinnerbaits and Topwater. Look at the water conditions to chose the color. If no hits on a spinner after trying several different lure/retrieval combinations I'll go to a jerkbait or a crankbait, etc. Try to match the lure to what you think the fish are feeding on. Is it shad? Is it crawfish? Try to match up lures that may imitate the primary food source.