Cgolf

Was just thinking about getting setup for the opener in May and what I want to fish with and it dawned on me why I am trying to limit myself a bit. I fish out of a 16 ft boat with a custom extended deck so I can lay out 3-4 rods on it. Here is the thing you bass boat guys can store more in one compartment than I can carry. I can get a 3600 bag, 3700 bag, terminal bag, and pedestal box from Lakewood if I max it out. Realistically that is too much and I can’t move around. Out of necessity I need to pack smart because I really have limited space. This isn’t a complaint, just reality.

For me it isn't limiting it to 1 or 2 presentations, but maybe 10 to 15 options instead of 30 to 40 to cover the changing conditions.

I used to do this too, but have tried to cut back. I once got a great deal on Rapala DT16s, and still have a bunch because it is really hard to lose a deep diver. Only lure I will keep a large backstock on and buy up what I find on sale is Bandit 100s. Great baits and the spots I fish them I lose a decent amount of baits each year.

Yes here. Shop only sales now, and have been trying to only purchase gear with gift cards received as gifts. Part of this is because of a kid in college, and over the years mid level rod and reel combos were my high end when she was growing up. When she gets out of school, when I could spend more, I will put more into retirement and getting the house paid off, so we can get a vacation/eventual retirement home on a lake somewhere. Long winded version lol. So I will continue to fish with what I have and shop smartly. Retailers probably hate me, because I apply this theory to pretty much everything I get other than food and some essentials.

I have plastics that have been in boxes for close to 20 years and they are as good as new and I still use some. I actually have rinsed the oil off of some baits (some companies put way too much in the bag) before I box them up and add my own scent when I fish. My issues with the bags is that I have had way to many baits get a kink in them from being in the package. I really like the Rage packaging, just refuse to pay the price unless they are on sale, then I stock up.

I am curious what Pradco is going to do with the Bandit line. The ran a Facebook thing a while back that they were going to try to reproduce the original molds. I know over the years all of my Bandits have caught fish, but some snag up a lot less than others. This could be a case where it could work out in our favor minus the price increase after the buyout.

BPS has free shipping no minimum. I picked up some 4" squirmin grubs I had wanted for a while but couldn't justify buying more from them. Also picked up that new KVD plano speed bag for plastics that the date on TW has now pushed out to the end of April for getting in.

Look at the storm big bass line of baits, I have a few of the DDs and they look identical to the crankin rap series.

For me I have 3 I trust and others yet to make it in the rotation. Xcalibur XCS 200 Bandit 100 KVD 1.0 The KVD 1.5 and 2.5 and SK series 1 have only caught a handful of fish for me despite me throwing them a lot. Was interesting when we were at a seminar Seth Feider mentioned this bait too and really liked it. I think it was doomed because nobody cold rap their head around Rapala making a great plastic crank.

I understand that, but the pinned Senko thread is locked too, so really talking about this style of bait is off limits?

There is a local guy down by you, might be your neighbor, that has started selling stick baits in all kinds of colors. Lucky 7 baits is the brand, I have heard good things from others but haven't tried them myself (can't buy from every small tackle vendor and own a home lol). Being local to you, they may be able to get you the colors you need.

You should make a trip to the St.Croix factory. I got a factory second Avid X for 100 bucks. The factory second rods I believe are at least half off when we were there.

Had a hunch Sunday and my wife and I made a trip to walmart and glad I did. I was in need of either 10 or 20 lb fireline (use both but prefer 10) and they had the 20lb test on clearance for 7 bucks a spool so I grabbed all 4 and will just use a leader with it. Really glad I found the line, because for some reason TW is super expensive for fireline. Also grabbed 2 3500 size planos for 2 bucks on clearance. They also are carrying 5 packs of 3.75" rage swimmers in 3 colors for 4 bucks. It works out to be a penny more a bait then TW. I snagged a clear water color and a dirty water color too.

To answer the OP, maybe, but I haven't ponied up for one yet. With giant musky in the waters I fish that have bit off or hit other jerkbaits, a 110 is not in my future. It is really difficult to spend a lot of cash on a lure that can't be fished on a leader. Funny thing is J Francho had me convinced I was getting a Popmax on my Christmas order and I am pretty sure another mod was the one that said go with the River 2 Sea bubble pop which was 10 bucks cheaper and a similar bait. Will see how the R2S bait works out this summer.

Picked this stuff up tonight for 13.08 at DSG, but my ten buck reward 3.08 out of pocket. The savage gear baits were 5 a piece.

I generally let them glide down, as the front of my boat doesn't really allow me to do a low skip cast. I generally pick at the edges and just a bit under the edges on the docks. If you can skip them under there it would work great. I just started doing it because I like to throw a style of lures in places others don't, thinking it will get me more bites. I have also fished them around other vertical cover like reeds by casting them, letting them sink, generally to the bottom, and then starting my retrieve. Here I use the gopher head, but may have to use a heavier head if the wind kicks up to keep the bait on target and not getting blown off the cover. I do start with a lighter head when I can. I love the traditional Ned rig on the river, it really shines there, I just never let it be on slack line after deep hooking a fish once fishing that way.

I have agreed with you a decent amount on the Midwest finesse Ned rig thing, but in this case I disagree. I jokingly call the slider spider head and 1/2 Zinkerz a sled rig combining the two since the retrieves share some similarities. While it is true there isn't as much bait behind the hook as when I use my gopher heads, this rig really works well. Sometimes bass are looking for a smaller bait, especially fishing high pressured weedy waters where the fish have probably seen most larger plastics pitched at them already.

Where do you find that slider heads are not lead? Looking at the unpainted versions, it definitely looks like lead? It would be great if they weren't, but I was under the impression that they are lead. I do actually like the small size of the standard ned rig bait, but have played around a bit with the big trds. I always find that I come back to the smaller version.

No I like the 3/0 hooks, but a Ned rig purist will say that the hook is to large to meet the definition of a Ned rig. I am very careful now When I discuss this rigging to not call it a Ned rig, or someone else will for me;)

While they have a 3/0 hook so I am no longer fishing a ned rig, I have had great success pairing a TRD or 1/2 Zinkerz with a slider spider head. Has worked really well especially fishing docks for me.

This sounds silly as I am writing it, but I still have 4 or 5 4" rattlesnake chartreuse silver ribbontail worms. They were my first go to River Smallie bait and I still can't find a replacement. Suppose I could trim down a 5" kalins char holo grub to give me the same profile but that is too much work for a bait that likely isn't as good as what I have found in recent years. Do have some Bandit 100s I retired after they caught me a bunch of River fish and managed to avoid snagging up on a rock. Most River cranks average catching 3 fish before they are lost, so when one gets 50 it is a big deal.

For a long time BPS got most of my fishing budget each year that is until I discovered TW. Now they haven't gotten an order from me in over 5 years. I have used Cabela's for their bargain cave online for mostly stuff other than fishing though (rod combo I picked up recently is the exception), and the local store will have random markdowns on some stuff if you are patient enough to walk through all the aisles. A couple of years ago when I priced out like baits between Cabela's, BPS, and TW the difference was eye popping. Cabela's and BPS overall were similar, but TW was much cheaper. These were the standard prices too. I do miss getting the BPS master catalog as it was nice to look through once in a while. I am starting to look at other online stores too, some can't be mentioned, and places like Sieberts for jigs.

Well that Pflueger President combo I ordered Monday from Cabela's was on my doorstep today with the standard shipping. The rod is a nice surprise, it has the feel that it will be nice for pitching plastics.

They look great and the hooks look solid, but won't get to fish them until the May opener. Might have an oppurtunity if it warms up enough early I may give them a toss before the season closes. Since my my replies will get merged anyways, Cabela's started 50 buck free shipping today, and I picked up a Pluegar President 7' Medium Fast combo for 50. Was surprised that the combo still was covered by free shipping. Also grabbed two bags of the Mister Twister helgrammites and the small Cabela's advanced angler bag for my shore fishing

Here is my current Zman Ned box. It is the 3500 size double Plano.