SPEEDBEAD.

If it looks injured, confused or simply out of place and easy to eat a bass will likely take a poke at it. It's rare for me to find that a bass will solely eat ONLY one thing (bluegills over craws, etc).

Nothing wrong with the Okuma. I'm actually getting one of the EVX rods to throw the giant stuff around. I've used the Crucial and owned most of the Guide Series Big Bait rods. The Okumas are a better stick at a lower price point.

Yeah, wasn't too bad. Like I said though, so far. Always shooting for bigger and better from my home waters.

Probably this day, so far....

Biggest largemouth was 7-9 Biggest smallmouth was this one. Had an off year on the smallies.

If you have a Gander Mountain in the area, I can see about getting a small group discount on fishing items if you like.

You just let me know when.

Personal preference and style.

Just fish it. It will get bit as is.

Just be careful on the rebates, sometimes there is a "per household" limit. I'd hate to see someone buy a crap ton of baits and only get the rebate honored on a portion of them.

I did and it looks very good. I ran into that thing we call "hunting season" and "winter" here in PA I'll get some pics for you guys. I'll even try and make them "artsy" for ya.

LOL, admittedly I'm not a Hudd guy. I am generalizing with the shape/profile of a bait I tend to favor in certain temperatures. If I can get away with fishing a hardbait over a soft bait, I'll do that 100% of the time. From there you can get into speed, location, color, etc. The list goes on and on.

I actually agree, to a point. Everyone, regardless of age, gets my cordial respect from the get-go. That first impression when meeting or interacting with a person goes a LOOOOOONG way in determining how long they hold that respect and to what level it evolves. If they seem like a person worth knowing past that initial encounter, that is when you get into TRUE respect for that individual. Honest, true respect is most certainly earned.

All day man, all day. Probably my favorite bite to get on. It's vicious.

Age alone doesn't garner respect. That's like having a job longer than anyone else merely by not getting fired.

I wear my hunting stuff.

Megastrike works well. The goo is for you!

Any time is a good time to throw a swimbait, you just have to know what they are eating. Under 50 degree water, 8 inch trout bait. Upper 50 - lower 60 degree water, bluegill bait Upper 70 - low 80 degree water, topwater rat bait

If I were in Wisconsin, I would fish with a leader. You have so much greater chance of hooking up with a big toother that you almost have to. I occasionally fish with a leader when I'm specifically targeting musky but if it kills the action, it gets taken off. No point in protecting a bait from a bite off if you can't get bit on it.

I liked when the kid answered "Donkey Punch" on Jeopardy. Freaking hilarious if you've never seen it.

Dude, bring the swimbaits if you can. Oh, I got a package today too. Got the "jacked up" and the "dark trout" along with some extras Matt threw in. Class act and top notch customer service.

4-6lb fish might be hard to catch because maybe you are not fishing for them. Learn about the fish you are looking for; learn the lakes you are fishing and apply widely accepted information on big fish to the lakes you are visiting. Fine tune from there. Swimbaits are a tool, they are not a magic bullet. Taking a crayon from a 2 year old and giving him a paint brush doesn't make him Picasso. It usually makes a mess.

If I get down there, I want to try and find stripers with someone maybe. I've talked to you before about it, but I'm fairly certain those fish in the TVA lakes haven't seen many of the things I got.

I'll have to see. Haven't worked out the specifics on gear just quite yet. I'm in talks with the Okuma boys currently to see what I can get in my hands.

Mark it down that a guy from Florida, in winter, is calling a PA guy "lucky" LOL