blckshirt98

I just use the shallowest diving squarebill crankbait I can find and I use it when I see baitfish swimming or jumping along the shoreline because something is trying to eat them. The KVD 1.0 in Sexy Shad has been my bait of choice, but these LuckyCraft CB-001 cranks I got at the Cabela's clearance looks pretty good and I'll give those a throw this season!

I'm scared to count how many bags I have. That being said if armageddon happened tomorrow and the only thing that survived were me, my plastics, and the fish, I wouldn't stress about running out of food for the rest of my life.

Zona is a great host on Bassmaster Live! This also explains why he brought up the subject of KVD winning another event/AOY at the St. Johns event, he must have read that one thread here

I've only done this when it was required by regulations to pinch down barbs. To be honest I didn't see a lower rate of landed fish because of the pinched barbs either but it was a small sample size.

Gross. lol

I actually like that idea in the picture. I have a BogaGrip and was looking at digital scales but most have the hook and I wasn't sure what the best way was to measure weight. I had heard the side of the gill, or piercing the lip or even putting the fish in a bag and putting the bag handles on the hook (but this sounded bad for the protective slime coating). This would let me use the Boga and use a hook weight.

I recently read about that "Mendota Rig" and it looks like something that would work well with tubes - http://www.slopfrogbaits.com/buymendotarighere/

One of the magazines had a preview that Gill was getting into the fishing game, some of their stuff looks pretty sharp though I think it's just their normal sailing stuff being sold as fishing gear - http://www.gillfishing.com/home_fishing.aspx

I haven't tried them but the main issue I see with those is what do you do with the extra rods once you start to fish. It looks like it's designed to stand upright, but I know very few bank spots where there's any flat surface where something like that will not tip over. The rod carrier that caught my eye, but I haven't used it yet either is the Rod Runner. They have a 3 and 5 rod model and it has legs so it will rest on any angle surface, but can also be stored upright at home. If I ever find one on sale or secondhand I might give it a go. https://rod-runner.com/

Are you using 25lb fluoro on a spinning reel? For spinning gear 8lb is just about the top limit before it becomes too thick and springy for a spinning spool...25lb will jump off like opening up a jack in the box. The BPS person working the reel department should have said something about using heavy fluoro on a spinning reel. On a casting reel 25lb shouldn't give you that many problems...I use 20lb on my crankbait setup and while it does have memory I don't have problems with managing it.

G.Loomis best place to buy is used on a fishing forum somewhere since the warranties transfer! But brand new, you won't see them on sale unless they're on closeout, just one of those brands that are always on exception lists. If you need one brand new the only way you'll really save money is going to one of the sites that re-sell gift cards (like Cardpool has BPS cards for 16.5% off). Go buy gift cards until you can cover the rod you're looking for (that they have in stock) and pay for it with the gift cards.

I think the important thing is to just find a rod/reel that you like and are happy with using trip after trip. For me my favorite rod is the Phenix M1 - if it melted down in a fire I would have no issues buying another one, even if they jacked the price up double, because I just use it THAT much.

With the bonnets, I'll keep one treble exposed and on the hook keeper, but will keep bonnets on the other 1 or 2 trebles.

Anything green in the 3.5-4" size on a dropshot. If there's fish, it will bite it.

The local Dick's here had combat frogs but they weren't in the normal LiveTarget section. They had them either in the "clearance" area, or, just in another area altogether because it seems like they're always rearranging the fishing aisles. Try checking all the aisles, maybe they were temporarily moved to another area.

I don't use wraps but I do use the Owner Safety Caps to cover my trebles. I buy them in bulk online for pretty cheap, and use them on pretty much every treble, it makes organizing so much easier/faster and you don't have to worry about the hooks ruining the finish on lures.

I've never fished them but I've always thought the River2Sea Standing Yabbies looked pretty realistic.

One of the guys at the local tackle shop says the Dry Creek tubes are his favorite baits to throw.

10" Yamamoto Kut Tail is your ticket!

They did this with Girl Scout Cookies too.

Investment doesn't always mean a monetary return in the future, it's a return on personal benefit/enjoyment. If you're trading $200 cash in return for a $200 rod, you're hoping the rod gives you better enjoyment than the $200 in cash did. Spending $200 on a rod you use for 10 years and get 2000 hours of fishing utility out of, vs, spending $200 on a rod you use once and never pick up again - the 10 year rod is a better investment of your money. You can even look at the rods or any piece of fishing gear as fixed assets that depreciate as soon as it's in your hands.

Use whichever one feels best to you that lets you throw it all day without fatigue. Remember there are no hard or fast rules, sometimes personal preference trumps what a manufacturer may specifically dictate a rod should be used for. I personally like a softer tip for chatterbaits because it lets me whip out of the water and back out easier, but if you like a stiffer tip and it gets the job done and you feel fine at the end of the day, by all means keep doing it.

Sierra Trading Post seems to have a ton of fly rods/reels at a discount pretty often. I don't think I could ever pay full price for what some of those fly rods/reels retail for.

I've never heard of this U-40 but now I'm definitely going to get a jar after reading the comments on this thread, thanks!

I've been getting about a fish every half hour at one of the local reservoirs, all on a drop shot, using pretty much any green plastic with some flake in the 4-5" size. They're not shallow, and, I had to let that bait just sit out there for a while before getting a bite. Very rarely did the bite come fast. I did grab one in the 5.5-5.75 lbs range (I use a BogaGrip so no digital scale).