blckshirt98

The profile of the bait leads me to believe that slow sinking is correct. For a floating bait that thing looks way too tall/narrow...it looks to me like an LV with a prop.

I only fished spinning reels growing up and fairly new to baitcasters. I've stuck with left-hand retrieve baitcasters because it feels natural to me, and, I like fighting the fish on the rod with my dominant (right) hand/arm. I'm just glad there are so many left-hand retrieve reel options nowadays.

Gamakatsu Weighted Spring Lock 5/0 (Little Creeper recommends the 5/0 size). The sunfish has a top cavity for the hook to sit in perfectly! Also the Little Creepers take well to being completely slimed up in Pro Cure gel or a similar type of scent!

Is it breaking at a knot connection or random places along the line? Are you using say, a double-uni to connect the fluoro to the mono?

I've read in several places that BPS/Cabela's goes to the big brand rod/reel manufacturers for their in-house brand items. No they don't just take an existing big brand model and pay a fee to slap their name and it and call it their own, but they are made in the same facilities with the same manufacturing processes/quality assurance/etc. They probably share some of the same molds and tooling, which is why they have similarities.

Try the Little Creeper bluegill baits as well.

I bring one or two depending on where I'm fishing and what I'm planning on using. The backpack I use is able to accomodate a rod in one of the two water bottle holders on the side so I lash one down there while I fish one rod. Anything more than that and I've found it's too much of a hassle juggling rods around, where it actually impacts my fishing. One product I saw announced this past iCast was the Rod Runner in a 3-rod configuration (previously only available in a 5-rod configuration) but haven't seen any reviews on it yet.

Keep plastics in original bags if you can...certain colors from certain brands tend to bleed heavily and can stain both other plastics and plastic containers you store them in (Yamamoto in anything purple or red comes to mind in particular).

I have a couple of shallow ones that seem to work best for jigs/jig trailers.

I use the "Basic Clears" Sterilite (http://www.sterilite.com/ProductCategory.html?ProductCategory=17&section=1) containers that I just pick up at Target on the cheap. Soft plastics stay in original packaging that I stick into Gallon Freezer Ziploc bags. You can use separate totes for line/reels/misc gear, hooks/terminal tackle, swimbaits, hardbaits, scents, trout gear, etc. Opened hardbaits I store in Planos - the small/medium/large crankbait planos are fantastic, and I have a few others based on needs. Just be warned - once you start storing tackle in containers you only end up buying more and larger containers lol

I use straight braid for all my reaction stuff, but use a fluoro leader when fishing finesse (drop shot in particular). Might not make a difference to the fish but it's definitely a confidence thing for me.

Boomerang Snip Tool...can't go fishing without it.

I use the Norman Speed Clips and attach to the split ring.

Can't say enough good things about hte Crosstail Shad for drop shotting. The Giron also has a nice action in the water. Quality wise I'd put them in the mid-upper tier, on par with LC.

20-25 mono or fluoro, Big Game or FC Sniper, direct with no leader.

I actually like to throw the smaller 1.0/1.5 size squarebills on spinning gear...once I get to the 2.5 size and heavier is when I prefer baitcasters.

The Picasso Shock Blade I think has the best action of a slow-retrieved chatterbait. If you retrieve it fast it actually starts to roll on me so you're forced to not burn it in. It has a nice flutter/vibration as you slow roll it/bounce it back too.

Large swimbaits, large swimbaits, large swimbaits, glidebaits, large swimbaits. Been buying a bunch of swimbaits either used or on sale this past year, hoping to try them out starting in the spring. This past summer was chatterbaits and squarebills which I now feel very confident in.

I'm lazy too and the backpack helps with that. I use the backpack all season long and keep it loaded with all the bass gear (license, first aid stuff, pliers, bogagrip, leader line, sunscreen, scents, etc), I only mess with it to restock terminal tackle/plastics/snacks, or to swap out any baits as the season changes or if I'm trying a different spot. Most of the time when I wake up in the morning I just grab the bag, fill up a water bottle, and I'm out the door. Just don't unpack the bag after each trip.

Saltwater can ruin an expensive magnesium reel in one outing, I personally wouldn't use a reel containing magnesium in the salt, even if it was treated/rated for the salt. A nick in the reel from dropping it or scraping it against something could compromise the reel. Are you going to stick with left hand reel for baitcasters? If you're using them for the first time, you might consider just sticking to LH retrieve. Look at the Curado E series for sure. Like a 301E - spool it up with 20-25lb fluoro and you could use it for crankbaits, swimbaits, and it's sturdy enough for some inshore/surf fishing.

Black Dog puts some up for sale every few weeks on their website, follow them on Facebook for notifications because they usually sell out within 10-20 minutes of posting. The G2 Shellcrackers are $30 now, when buying direct from Black Dog.

I just grabbed some off eBay too...I may never catch anything but they look fun to fish!

I fish 100% from shore and it's backpack all the way. Fishing from shore you don't have electronics to rely on so you're usually doing a lot of walking to cover water/find structure so being mobile while being able to fish is key. Schlepping around a bag or box from shore while using your two hands to fish would drive me insane. As long as you're fishing a familiar body of water, you should be able to fit what you know works into a daypack.

I fish almost all Shimano for spinning reels. The 2500 size Sedona is on sale at Cabela's for $45 right now, which is a great deal.

I've caught a ton of trout on a 4'6" one-piece and 5'0" two-piece UL Shimano Sojourn rods I got at a Sports Authority clearance at half off. No need to spend a ton of money on a UL rod to catch fish, the Stimula should work fine. On the other end of the spectrum though I also have an 8' Phenix Elixir FX802-1X that I use for bass fishing and that's hands down my favorite finesse setup for bass. Every fish is a fun fight, and then when you hook up to a big one, the UL gear just takes it to the next level.