Fishin Dad

Zman chatterbait green pumpkin or black/blue $4.99 yum dingers $3.99 3/0 hooks $3 Booyah Boo Jig $2.99 Berkley Havoc Pit Boss $3.99 pack of sunflower seeds $1

Those are what I wash with soap and a brush a few times per summer. I would suspect that lake and river water would make anything a little stanky!!

Keen is. It says it right on the footbed. A little time in the sun activates it and kills the bacteria. I also usually take a light brush and scrub with dish soap a couple times during summer then time in the sun.

I love my Keen sandals! You do have to put them in the sun from time to time (without your feet in them) to activate the odor control. That is recommended from the factory. They have worked for me for over 10 years. All I wear in the summer. I get really funky tiger stripe tan lines on my feet from them. Best I have found for comfort and protection of my toes.

It sounds to me by your last post that you have some unfounded intimidation of braid. Braid is very user friendly. I use straight braid and catch plenty of fish on spinning gear. Put 20 yards of cheap mono on your spinning reel, tie on some Suffix 832 10 lb. braid to the mono, use a Palomar knot to your lure, and go find the joy if braid!! It is so much more sensitive you won't believe it.

Glad I just saw this now. Saved me a bunch of money. You guys got some great deals!! Nice work

Around 80% for me. I used to order a bunch from the Cabelas bargain Cave, but lately, that gas been a mess. Probably spend less money this way. I tend to shop around for deals. Tackle Warehouse, Dicks, etc. I usually only buy on sale items. The other 20% is giving the business to a storefront like Cabelas, Fleet Farm, or Bass Pro, or local tackle shop. It's fun to be able to look around and handle some stuff. I figure I owe them some business to offer me that opportunity.

Booyah!! Soft, durable, good hookups, nice color selection, and affordable. The others like Spro, River2sea, Live Target are great as well. I have just found I can use and catch a bunch of bass on the Booyah and it just keeps on going. I believe your picture is a solid body frog, most of the answers you get here will be hollow body frogs for reference.

I have tried probably 6 different stick worms. I really like the BPS Stik-O as well. No Doubt GYB started this thing and makes a great product. I still use some, but for everyday use, I use Stik-O, yum, Ocho, etc. Some days fish seem to like one over the other. I don't like messing with torn up baits, so I try to replace them once they become a pain. I Texas rig them first, then wacky them once the ends get tore up. I do get a lot of use out them this way.

If you check, you can see some are legitimate retailers as well and may even gave a store front too. I am not going to name any, but look at seller name and check. I Have had great luck and so have my buddies.

I have never tried a fluke. A-Rig can't be fished where I am. I am going to throw the fluke this year. So many techniques, so little time!!

For we poor saps living in Minnesota, we buy our lures in the frozen tundra time of year and just drool over them until the middle of May when we can fish again. Taking 6 months off during the winter is horrible. Count your blessings in South Carolina!! I am jealous!!

That was awesome!!

I have been completely sold on fiberglass rods for cranks and chatterbaits. i like the way they load up on the cast and how they allow you to fight the fish. i am personally convinced they help me land more fish. It takes some getting used to in regards to feel. I have graphite cranking rods as well, but really prefer the glass rods for these 2 techniques. Vandam is pretty good at cranking and he uses glass rods, although he could probably crank with a cane pole and out fish me.

i agree it is subjective and technique specific. i might be in the minority, but i hate the noise of power pro. Hate it. i have found i really like Suffix 832, again subjective, but it has just really worked for me. Smooth, quiet, easy to tie knots, lasts forever. i have tried Daiwa J x 8 and some others, but really just like 832. The Bass Pro sale made me like it even more! Good luck with your search!

Dens, i have done this as well just out of convenience or had to rig up quickly and found it works well. i also like to texas rig until the end gets tore up, then wacky it to get more use out of my worms.

Chatterbait, senko, Booyah padcasher frog, Strikeking Rage Bug with 3/8 oz. tungsten and 4/0 EWG. Covers your water column and pretty easy to fish to start out.

I also have not been blown away by the whopper plopper. I bought 2 in the 130 size (loon, bluegill) and have only caught a couple small bass on them. I am not going to say they are a bad bait, I probably haven't really figured them out completely yet. I will keep trying. It is fun to fish, just waiting for the "magic".

I also avoid using my built in boat cooler. I have the 20 size RTIC cooler and use freezer packs I bought on Amazon. They stay COLD and no water to deal with. Throw my drinks and food in there for 2 people. Can beat the heck out of that cooler and no worries. Should have it for a lifetime.

Weber time, I couldn't find anything about a free cooler with purchase? Where did you see that? Thanks

I don't work in the summer (teacher), so I do get to fish 15-16 times per month. I also have two girls who I love to spend time with. This limits my desire to fish even more. I started fishing some local tournaments, this motivates me to fish more lakes, pre-fishing for those tourneys.

Gundog, If that is a picture out your window, you are a lucky man!! That is unreal pretty!

We have over 24" of ice here. Trade ya. Just talked to my tournament partner for 45 minutes this morning. All that did was fuel the fire more!! Come on May!! I agree with 12poundbass. All this Internet and TV fishing is a double edge sword. Takes the edge off but fuels the fire.

Just saw this post finally. Favorite show on tv for me. Love watching the pros talk out the decision making process. Makes me feel better about my frustration at times. It's a great format with only a handful of pros. You get to know them better and watch how they fish over the time period. Looking forward to Saturday already!!! My family thinks I am nuts.

Golf is an interesting analogy. I am a golf coach and club maker. I agree that graphite shafts dampen vibration in the golf swing. I will also say that with graphite being lighter weight (like a quality rod), it enhances the "feel" and awareness of where the club head is in the swing. In essence, the club head (we call it swingweight in golf) feels heavier because the shaft is lighter. I feel the same way in fishing. I FEEL the bite more with a lighter weight rod.