the reel ess

5 to 6' visibility (to the human eye) would be clear water here. But nearby Lake Murray has water clarity more like 10 or 12'.

The liver, you say? What do you expect? He's been drinking his whole life.

The Trick Worm and Cordell Super Spot are the closest things I have to a sure thing. The GYCB Hula Grub is close as well. For a while it was the Zoom Craw and the Berkley Chigger Craw. And then there's the Rooster Tail.

I think the consensus is clear. Tackle warehouse is a good choice. I would also throw out ones I've used. Academy Sports, Cabela's and BPS. Academy has free shipping on most orders over $20. I also order a good bit of stuff off Amazon. They don't yet have EVERYTHING fishing related, but I can usually find something I need and if he has Prime, shipping is free for 2-day delivery. If you really want to be thoughtful you can ask his significant other what he really wants and buy it.

Well, the lipless crank and Trick Worm are the most consistent producers on this little lake. But as my dad would say, "Sho' you right!"

I went yesterday to a local reservoir and caught 11 on the black/blue jig, Trap, Trick Worm and Rooster Tail in that order. But I caught 5 on the jig and didn't miss any jig bites. They were choking it, swimming off with it and even chasing when I was reeling up for another cast. I'm trying to keep a jig tied on every trip now.

I've been on a few days after tropical storms. Normally it's typical bluebird skies after any front. Not the best and it takes a while for the fish to adjust. Add to that high, muddy conditions and debris and it can be downright tough. However, ahead of a tropical storm or any storm can be awesome.

I caught my first bass on a Hula Popper ever last summer. I was just giving it short jerks between long pauses.

I'm in the market for another. What reel do you recommend in that price range? ($130)

Bubble gum is my favorite color in the Trick Worm. It way out produces the natural colors in the waters around here. Go to Walmart, Dicks or Academy in the spring and they'll invariably be out of them. When you see them buy 3 packs. I have the bubble gum, limetreuse, pumpkin and watermelon. The naturals have their times too.

I try to fish once a week but life and weather happen. I often fail. During winter that trails way off because I mostly kayak fish. When it's cold I go with a buddy in his boat. When I was a kid my family had a lake house where we spent most of our vacations. I would fish every day, several times a day when we were there. Even catfishing at night.

I kayak fish. But if I go to a pond I can walk, I'll walk it all. Less trouble and effort. Even if I have the kayak, if I can walk some of the edge before I launch I will. I'm more likely to use topwaters and middle zone lures while walking so I don't get hung up. I save the bottom bumpers and lipless cranks for when I'm in the kayak. There are those ponds with a ring of lilies all around them. That calls for something totally weedless like a frog or weightless worm. Fewer options. If I go to a bigger body of water, I take the kitchen sink, bottom to top. High wind plays a role in choosing. On those days I'll go walk a pond or paddle one that's either protected or out of the wind. Trying to kayak fish in a strong breeze is for the birds.

I had that exact reel for a year and liked it so much I bought another. You can't go wrong with it at that price point.

My wife and daughter don't really love fish, so I stopped bringing any home to cook. I will maybe one out of 10 times. My wife also worries. I give her my location and let her know if I'm going to be with anybody else so if, God forbid, I didn't come home she would know where to send people to look.

My friend only uses a weightless Trick Worm in bubble gum color. I turned him on to it. And he does pretty well year round. My dad only wanted to use T rigged worms until I showed him I could do well with a crank at different times.

A lot of times, I'll use the same 6 or 7 lures, but they're all tied on a combo. If they're working, there's no need to change. I'll adjust the lipless crank to a topwater as the light fades or I'll change up the T rig to a jig or something else to get bites. When I was a teen I would only use a T rigged worm and a crankbait. If they weren't biting one of those, I was done fishing or I was going after another species. I'd say 95% of my fish this year came on: Worm of some kind, Lipless crank Spinnerbait A topwater of some kind, mostly Spook A Rooster Tail (don't judge me) And last, but not least, the frog. This is by far my favorite lure of all time.

I used to just say "Dark, unless they aren't biting" but now I fish even if they don't bite. I'm crazy like that. I used to go to the big lake and compete with bass boats, other boaters and jet skiers and come home with a few small fish. Since I bought the kayak and started fishing smaller, less-pressured waters, my wife thinks I'm an awesome fisherman.

"What time should I expect you home?"

I'll add to this: Soft plastics...7'0 MH, fast tip. You can use a 6'6" if you like. This will do for jigs except for special situations like punching. I like a M, somewhat moderate 6'6" for topwaters with trebles I like a MH, mod/fast for single hook baits like spinnerbaits. I see swimjigs as about the same thing.

Even an earthworm learns from negative reinforcement. But often, if you'll show the fish something they haven't seen before, you can still do well after they've been pressured. I have a couple ponds I go to where the fish only see maybe a Beetle Spin, Rooster tail and T-rigged worm. Anything "new" to them seems to work well. It does seem that some fish are inherently better at spotting a fake and that improves with age. You'd be amazed how many fish you drag a bait by that don't bite. Then when they get into a frenzy as a school, they can't help themselves. It's all instinct and they really aren't in control of it.

At my age I'm getting tired of chunking and winding all day. Spinnerbaits and lipless cranks still work for me, but I'm in favor of techniques that don't feel like labor when they'll work.

I know this is the wrong answer, but I use either Big Game 15# fluorescent white (clear) or Trilene 10# XL lo-vis green for the finesse situations. I have used fluoro but just haven't bought any and I have a lot of these 2 monos left. You just have to check and retie sometimes.

NO! LOL. I don't even use less than 20# on my spinning combos. You'll most likely be around heavy cover because that' where the frog excels. That 15# will dig into your spool. I have 50# on my frog rod and 30# on a different BC combo. I wouldn't go lower than 30 for frogs.

Where do you buy the weedless jigheads and skirts? I like the Arky style and I'd like to buy several and try my hand at may own jigs. Every time I lose the skirt off a jig, I just thread on a Hula Grub and it gets good quality bites. I'd like to hae some extra heads for that too.

I like the Pop R and Chug Bug. The latter can be walked or popped and has a deeper pop sound. That said, I don't fish the Pop R enough.