SPEEDBEAD.

Just bought a buff the other day. I look like the Bass Bandit.

Trash fish or not, any 22lb fish is fun to catch!

You'll still see guys fishing the old Greenie Shimanos and what not. At the end of the day, it's all about being comfortable as that leads to wins.

If you are serious about the Gander Mountain thing, shoot me a message. It's not union work for sure, but the discount is nice and affords you the opportunity to make some good hunting/fishing connections.

Great story man. Keep at it. Frustration and reward both in your future.

Agreed. Don't necessarily look at the length of the worm but the head diameter. As long as you have enough clearance for the plastic to collapse in the gap of the hook and expose it, it's big enough. Now, if you want to use the hook to adjust rate of fall and bait behavior then we open up a WHOLE new chapter. 5/0 is typically big enough for most worms. They'll have no problem getting the worm all the way in their mouth.

How deep? In that situation (we don't have spots, sorry), I'm throwing a swimbait, fluke or a jig.

You're good in my book Deep. Judging from the size of the fish you are on, I dont think the bluegills getting at one bed will do anything. Look at it this way, those fish that were on the bed now have a fighting chance to make it to next year.

Little bit older, little bit wiser.....

Nice Deep! We need to figure out a time to get together and fish.

He always seemed like a good dude.

Favorite jig. 5/16th in Green pumpkin 3D and Black/Blue

Are you catching fish on other baits in the same locations? Cant catch something that isnt there...

I'm pretty sure the Hudd would do just fine. They are different tools for different situations. Different tail, different water displacement, different tail kick. Different.

Glad I could help brotha VERY nice fish Dwight.

I'm sure a lot later than a bunch of guys wish it was. I can only imagine having today's stuff way back when it all began...

As cliche as it sounds and as much as I hate even typing this color, that dang Sexy Shad just flat out catches fish. I prefer the 5XD over just about anything else for deep cranking.

Yep, best way to get bit is pick one and stick with it. Spend the money up front, don't go necessarily "cheap" as it will save you money and headaches in the long run.

Posted in the Outing section but forgot to post here with the math. This fish was 7.47 or 119.52 oz State record for PA is 179oz 119.52 / 179 = 66.77% of the state record for PA. Gettin' there

Thanks fellas, I appreciate the kind words. For the record, I went out the next day and blanked. LOL

Oh, I've known ol' Deep for a while now. We share the same affliction.

Banging it out in PA. Get at me bro! LOL

Hey, you wanted to learn the ins and outs of fishing swimbaits right? Overcoming and accepting that right there will put you on the right path for sure. I like this, keep it up. We're watching......

Why worry about keeping it up in the water column? Fish will eat a fluke if you can't see it. If they are really shallow and you NEED to keep it up, try mono or the lighter hook. I'll venture a guess that keeping it up top has more to do with you being able to see the hit (it's exciting, I'm the same way) and having more confidence in setting the hook than actually getting more bites.

I prefer finesse type skirts for smallmouth and full skirts for largemouth.