Craw

Great deal Catt! You now own one of the best reels ever. The bait monkey wants to know which rod you are going to pair it with.

ST Croix has excellent rods. The "Premier" model is right there in your price range.

I'd switch colors. You might also follow up with another bait, like a senko, when you see a bass follow your primary lure. Just toss that senko wherever you saw the bass and let it fall slowly.

Welcome! This place has tons of information to get you through the winter.

Welcome! Great to have you.

Hello, and welcome aboard.

Awesome day on the water, and nice double.

WELCOME!! Great to have you aboard.

That's one loooooooooooong bass! Great photo.

SWEET!! What a day. Congratulations.

Great weekend! That shakey head rig will catch you a TON of bass in the upcoming year. The pointer is another incredible bait. You'll be amazed at how the fish hit those things sometimes. Get ready to be happy!

I have to believe that 2 guys who know what they're doing could put some serious pressure on a body of water that size. Just one skilled angler will be thoroughly working over all the choice spots with a variety of presentations. If everyone is practicing selective harvest or strictly catch and release, things should be fine. The bass just aren't likely to be as reckless.

When all else fails, I usually stay with a pig-n-jig.

Very cool, GMAN. Catch those on one of the beautiful jigs you make?

I believe the trailer completes the jig but fishing a (skirted) jig w/o a trailer is one more little trick or variation that can produce extra bites over the course of the day. It's a good little method to use when going back over an area that already produced bites with the standard jig and trailer. A (skirted)jig can also be another option to spoons and such when fishing vertical in deep water.

You guys were going fishing, no matter what!

My hat's off to you guys. AWESOME!!!

Wow! 8 bass in an hour and a half, fishing from shore, in December? You are the MAN! Great photos also.

Welcome!!! Lots of great people here to learn from. I look forward to reading your posts.

Welcome to the boards. You will absolutely love this place! Lots of great information to soak up.

jerkbaits-Lucky Craft Pointer 78 & 100 Rapala X-Rap 8 & 10 Topwaters-Argobast Jitterbug 5/8oz w/clicker Lucky Craft Sammy 100 Crankbaits-Bomber 6A & 7A Rapala Shad Rap #5 & #7 Mann's Baby 1-Minus Lipless Crankbaits-Bill Lewis RattleTrap 1/2oz Yozuri RatlnVibe This is just a quick list of certain "must have" lures I think you should consider.

Pete s brings up an excellent point. The strikes on this lure at night can be very unnerving. Many a night I've been out by myself during a good jitterbug bite, actually dreading the next strike. Those vicious hits right next to the boat can make you weak in the knees!

Reading has always been the first ingredient in my own recipe for learning. I love to read! Some people like to just jump right in and actually do but I feel more comfortable if I can grasp a basic understanding of an activity before I jump in. As much as I've learned from reading over the years, I still can't help but feel like I'd be much more knowledgeable about fishing if I'd spent more time fishing with others. Don't get me wrong, I've fished with lots of different folks in my life but not as many as I could have. I've got this kind of "loner" type of personality that makes me want to just go off by myself a lot. Do any of you folks ever feel like you could be a much better fisherman if you would have done things differently? What's been the biggest influence in making you the fisherman you are now?

Favorite 3(no particular order)- 1-Hartbeater buzzbait 3/8oz 2-Jitterbug 5/8oz 3-Super Fluke Have caught plenty of fish on other topwater baits but the 3 I listed are my favorite to use. It's been my experience that these baits in particular have a knack for producing numbers of fish and big fish.

The "Arbogast" jitterbug is a favorite of mine. They absolutely work and I think it's one of the "must have" topwater baits, particularly for you river fisherman and those who like to fish at night. The 5/8oz model with the clicker has been exceptional for me during summer months.