the reel ess

I've got one several years old, but probably not the real deal because I haven't caught a thing on it. I also don't fish rocks much so it doesn't get wet much. There is something completely different about Bomber A's. They just react differently. When they strike a rock or limb, they careen off of it rather than dig in and continue the same action against the object. I think it's more natural looking because shad don't run into rocks and bang their heads against them. Bandit 100 is similar, but less, if that makes sense. Rebel Deep Wee R. This was my fisrt crankbait. Silver with blue back. As deep cranks got deeper and deeper, this one became less attractive. You could buy one brand's line of cranks that went from 3' to 20' deep. I don't use cranks much anymore because I mostly fish weedy places so I've switched it to lipless cranks, which reminds me...Bayou Boogie. I wore fish out with that and a Mepps Mino Comet as a kid. They even caught crappie when they were around. Those really cheap inline spinners I used to see on cards of 20 in the local stores tackle section. My dad used to call them Shysters. They caught everything that swims, but really mopped up on white bass.

I bought one of each last summer to get back to basics. Caught one on the Hula Popper. Nothing on the J Bug yet.

Most likely, you'll catch fish the first day. I doubt a better bass bait has been invented.

Fish won't drop the Chigger Craw even when you let them know you're on the other end. Yeah, we tend to build our arsenal around what works at a particular place and ignore the rest. But everything works somewhere, sometime. I like to mix it up and learn new baits. I get a kick out of catching a fish for the first time on a bait.

A good spot is a good spot and if all or most conditions are constant they probably will return. But there are variables that can easily change or not even be known. Hey, for whatever reason, there may be an abundance of bait elsewhere next year. I like my den, but I have to leave it often to get food. Even so, don't give up on it. The variables may come together at a later time.

The more stuff you can hit with them the better they work.

In a place that's all shallow, it's hard to beat a spinnerbait. If visibility is an issue, make it a black one with Colorado blade. I have a kayak and i'd love to get on a body of water during spawn there.

I was kayak fishing this past summer and hooked a good one on a rod with BG line. The fish took some drag and went under the kayak and pinned me against a dock. The bass was jumping under the dock on the other side of my kayak and I was fighting it with the rod stuck in the water. I had to put my thumb on the spool and yank the fish back out. It was about 5.5 lbs. That's my best testimonial, but I've caught maybe 10 fish the last 4 years over 5 lbs, a few 6, on it with no break offs.

Big Game, Big Game and more Big Game. It's so cheap you can change it every few months and still cheaper and (in my opinion) stronger than the other 2 comparable brands.

Absolutely! I've caught more bass on one black buzzbaits than all others combined. I can't keep a skirt on it. Right now it has a soft plastic on it.

That's a long name for one reel. But I liked thee one I got last winter so much I just purchased another to replace my old worn cranks and topwaters reel.

You asked about Rat L Trap colors. By far, my best is metallic gold. A lot of people swear by the red craw, but it hasn't done it for me yet. My buddy does OK with a chartreuse/blue.

Get everything this guy mentions. he guides: https://www.facebook.com/broadriver.smallmouth?fref=ts Friend him and talk with him. If my box was empty, I'd go get a bag of Trick Worms in watermelon and one in bubble gum. And I'd get one shad, one chartreuse and one brown craw color Bomber Model A medium diver. I'd get a 1/2 oz white and one chartreuse tandem willow leaf spinnerbait. If I only had the money for one bait, it would be the Trick Worm. I always have one tied on weightless and usually have one T-rigged, 3/16 oz. It flat catches bass.

I just drag mine by the front handle if I'm alone, which I usually am. I can carry it by the two side handles, but only do that on pavement. If I used one of those carts that flips over onto the rear of the kayak, I'd lose the space I use for my milk crate. I have it rigged with 5 vertical rod holders and use it to hold a tackle box, soft plastics bags and used plastics, etc. (trash). I have even put a Playmate cooler in it and kept some fish.

That was about the only complaint I had. The food wasn't great. We stayed at the Polynesian and did the luau for our first dinner, which is supposed to be all-you-can-eat roasted pork and beer. Well, if you can get a waiter's attention, you can maybe get two servings and two beers before the show starts and they all disappear. We also ate at the Moroccan restaurant in Epcot that was pretty good. Other than that, we had a lot of bland meals.

Same here. We took our daughter when she was 5 or 6 and it was my first time. I was 41-ish. It was the best time I think I've ever had on vacation. We had it all paid for before we went. Spent maybe $100 of our own money for souvenirs. I don't think my legs have ever been so tired. My feet hurt to my knees.

Very nice. Sounds like a bluegill swimbait might have done the trick. I saw a BamaBass Youtube video where he and his wife caught them in one of the Disney lakes on live shiners.

Hey, I do two of those things.

When I was a kid, BD hawked Stren and I thought he spoke the Gospel, so I used it for 20 or so years and it was premium stuff for a long time. I also asked my parents for a Daiwa Magforce reel for Christmas because he used it on his show. I just retired that reel after 30 years of pretty regular use. Maybe Stren has improved their quality, but it won't give me the bang for the buck that Big Game does even is it's the best mono on the market. I have no issue with anything he endorses. He has to produce a show after all. Did you all notice he had his fish finder unit blurred out for a season? I guess maybe shows were in the can, so to speak, before he changed sponsors. Or could be that he just liked the old one better. He hawks Quantum and I don't care. My last two reels are Lew's.

Not in my humble opinion. But we all have different priorities. I have been known to fish for more than 5 hours and I've never said "Dang, this paddle is too heavy."

I noticed that about his last show too. I love BD. But the last Stren I used was inferior to Big Game. I threw the spool away. That's why I use Big Game.

I read that thread when it was new. Good ideas. i bought a headlight a few years ago in anticipation of going one night with a buddy and it stormed. I never did. I would probably be in my kayak, which worries me that a snake might swim up in it with me and I freak out and go swimming.

Right now it's middle of the day. But most of the year, and in SC, it's summer a good bit of the year, I prefer evening until sundown. Once the summer pattern sets in that seems to be my best bet for bigger bass. And I do so love the topwater action. Often times, when I don't have time off, I'll take a few hours in the morning and go to a local place. I'll make the time up by working more later in the week. Then I want to be on the water as early as possible. I want to try a few nights this year.

I've never wanted to fish for any reason other than my own recreation. It's either ads for something to treat ED or ads for the things that cause ED. That's quite a racket.

I use a weightless Trick Worm for the sole reason that I almost always have one tied on a spinning combo and sitting in my lap (on the kayak). It falls level and perfectly vertically so it looks like something a bass just stunned and is slowly dropping to the bottom.