Oklahoma Mike

I normally just carry a backpack that was made for a laptop. In the main compartment I will usually have a bass mafia deep coffin with all my hard lures. It will hold about what I can jam in 3-4 3700 boxes, so it is a space saver. I will also have a standard 3700 with all my terminal tackle. Then I jam all kinds of soft plastics in the secondary pocket (and sometimes more of the same in the main compartment). I use the smaller accessory compartments to hold things like pliers, digital scale, water, gloves, etc. I also have a fanny pack style pack that is made for shotgun shells (I think that's what it's made for - I use it for that when bird hunting anyway), and on days I want to go light or know that I will only be fishing a certain type of bait, I will load that up.

When all else fails, I tie on an inline spinner and let nature take its course.

Yes. If if you are just starting out, mono is probably your best bet. It is very manageable on any type of reel, you won't need to worry about tying leaders, and it will work fine for all the presentations you're going to throw. Once you have gotten a little experience and feel confident with the mono, then maybe try out a braid or copoly.

If you guys like the Whopper Plopper, you should give the Jackall Pompadour (and Pompadour Jr.) a try.

I am a big fan of those Hammer rods! I have one I use for spinnerbaits/chatterbaits and also their flipping stick. Love them. Curious to hear your thoughts on yours once you've had a chance to get it on the water.

Jig & pig, weightless senko, buzzbait, paddletail swimbait, spinnerbait In that order.

If you're only using mono, the improved clinch knot is fast, easy to tie, and works great. Same for the Palomar on single hook baits, but it does become problematic on treble hook lures. For FC and braid, I prefer either the Palomar or Sand Diego Jam knot. As mentioned above, if using the Palomar with FC it is critical that you do not let the line cross itself. I always use an Alberto knot for tying leaders. Here is a great site with animated instructions for knot tying that you may find helpful: http://www.animatedknots.com/indexfishing.php#ScrollPoint

I've found that the 130 runs much better than the 90. In fact I don't bother with the 90 anymore at all. It tends to dip and roll quite a bit, whereas I haven't had that problem with the bigger version.

I have not fished those, but since you mentioned it I might pick up a couple and try them out. I don't think I've ever used an Evergreen lure that didn't catch fish.

I use that same rod for wacky rigging, among many other presentations. Paired with a Lews team lite, it is the most versatile setup I have. EDIT: Hmm, meant to quote MIBassyaker above regarding the Avid X. Not sure why it quoted this one.

LC Pointer 110 MR Jackall Squad Minnow MB Vision 110

Nothing stings quite like losing a premium lure on your first outing with it, before you've even been able to land a fish on it.

Back in the hottest days of the summer, I was targeting big bass in some highly pressured bodies of water. Sometimes covering water right behind other anglers who'd power fished right through it without landing a thing, even though I knew they were there. I learned to find my patience again, and to really slow down - way, way down - pretty much "stitching" my bait back along the bottom excruciatingly slow. There were some tough days when this was the only way I could find success in some of these places. Not a new technique to me, but I think over the last couple of years I've often been too impatient and would cover an area too fast, then move on to another spot, etc., and at the end of the day I'd have little to show for it. This year I forced myself to slow down, and it was very rewarding.

It usually doesn't get cold enough to ice over here, but the colder weather does keep me from getting out as frequently. It also means that when I do get out on the water, I'll be hunting crappie for roughly half my fishing time.

Time to completely eradicate this type of scum.

LC Pointer 110 MR, Jackall Squad Minnow, Megabass Vision 110

I prefer the split grips and am a big time fan of microguides, so I am all in on the Avid X.

I throw them a lot and on two different rigs, both spinning and casting. Spinning: Loomis GL2 853S JWR with a Pflueger Supreme XT Casting: St. Croix AXC68MXF with a Lews Team Lite 7.5:1 Both will throw a weightless paddle tail a country mile, and both can still handle them just fine with a 1/4oz jig head. No problem getting good hook sets with either rig, even with the heavy wire hooks I typically use. These are also my senko rods, and I use the same hook for throwing those weightless, so the versatility in that plays a big part in my rod selection here

Agreed, I have the most success with senkos when I fish them weightless, which is probably 85-90% of the time. I use a 4/0 Owner twist lock on the 5" and that seems to get a good fall rate for me.

RIP my wallet.

I rig them 3 ways: Weightless on an Owner Twistlock hook On an Owner Beast keel weighted hook On an Owner Ultraround jig head

What is awesome is when they are finally old enough to take an interest in fishing. Not only does it provide for some great quality time together, but in teaching them from the basics up, you will find that you get a chance to go back and relearn things maybe a little better yourself, or maybe return to some great techniques that you for whatever reason left behind. Here's my youngest with his first catch of the day from last weekend (he outfished me on the whole day).

Slow down. When the bite is tough, go to baits like a senko or jig and fish them super slow. When you think you are fishing slow enough, slow down some more. Also, as stated above, you have to just accept that there will be days that don't produce. Don't let it discourage you.

If you bank fish and sometimes end up with lures in trees, or even for boat fishing banks with heavy tree lines, here's a handy retrieval tool I made: Go buy a telescoping pole that's made for changing light bulbs http://www.homedepot.com/p/Bayco-11-ft-Pole-Light-Bulb-Changer-Kit-with-Attachments-CE-600SDLB12/100354521 Toss the accessories and attach a loop of webbing to the top of it. I used a cut off piece of a webbed tactical belt. Now you have a tool that you can use to snag the hooks of your hanging lure and pull them out of the tree. As a bonus, the pole collapses to around 4-5' - holding it with the webbed loop at the top, it can now also double as a walking stick, which can be handy for pond fishing if you are hiking in and out.