river-rat

Bacon's Tackle in Shreveport, LA - been in business since 1926. Huge selection with very knowledgeable staff. Also, Mike Bacon has what is most likely the largest collection of Smithwick Lures in existence. Bitter's Bait & Tackle in Longwood FL Tackle Addict in Brookeland, TX

The Larew Salt Craw in Camouflage was also very productive.

Bitter's Bait and Tackle 4" Craw is the closest I've found to the Guido Bug. I've used them in addition to the Gene Larew Salt Craw. And the price is only $3.99 per 10 count bag Bitter's 4" Craw

I also use a sapphire blue trailer on a black and blue jig. And a sapphire blue UV Speed Craw, Baby Brush Hog, and Rage Bug are consistent producers in the Atchafalaya Basin. I don't know that there are any particular "conditions" that sapphire blue works best in. I just know this color works.

I'll be 70 in March. I have been bass fishing for 58 years since I was 12. I was fortunate enough to have a grandfather and Dad that were both serious bass fisherman. They started me on panfish when I was 5 years old.

I'm still using pork frogs as trailers on jigs and spinnerbaits. Uncle Josh has apparently found a source to start producing pork frogs again. You can find them at Tackle Warehouse and Acme Tackle. I also recently found a site for Papaw E pork trailers. I haven't ordered any yet but probably will just to see the finished product. And as far as the Johnson Silver Minnow, there are a few of us on here that still use them quite a bit. I fish areas with a ton of vegetation and the Silver Minnow accounts for a fair number of largemouths every year for me.

The only way I use a tube is on a Texas rig. I use a 4/0 Mustad Big Mouth Tube Hook and insert a tube rattle. I don't normally peg the slip sinker but will do so in extremely heavy cover. I always have a rod rigged with a flipping tube in the boat. I have used tubes in Florida and have done well on them.

I don't throw a black-n-white skirt as much as I have in the past but I have used it successfully. I have a family member that uses this color combination quite a bit and swears by it. As a side note, I use the rubber spinnerbait skirts on the vast majority of my spinnerbaits. I've been using them since I started fishing as a kid and was using an H&H spinnerbait. It's not that I don't have any confidence in silicone skirts, it's probably more habit than anything else.

I have always rigged these type of skirts inside out.

Welp, looks like the secret is out. I've been using this skirt for years in the Atchafalaya Basin and the oxbow lakes I frequent during late winter and early spring on a spinnerbait with either an Uncle Josh white #800 spring lizard pup or a #11 pork frog trailer.

Absolutely. I still use black and brown jigs quite a bit. In fact this color combination with a Gene Larew 4" Salt Craw trailer in butterscotch color is one of my best producers in one of the Mississippi River oxbow lakes I fish quite often.

Arbogast Mudbug Still the best crankbait for cranking wood I've ever used. Thankfully I still have a good supply.

I'll turn 70 in March and have been serious about bass fishing since I was 12 and I never get tired of fishing or tinkering with tackle. Since I retired two years ago I try to go out at least 3 days a week.

I use a 3/8 or 1/2 jig for skipping. Although I'm a fanatic for Oldham's Jigs, I have found the Santone Lures Rattling Jig to be better for skipping - at least for me. I'll use either a Strike King Structure Bug or Gene Larew Salt Craw for a trailer. I skip under low hanging cypress tree limbs and docks/piers.

I've still got a decent supply of the #800 Spring Lizards. I use these during the winter and pre-spawn as a jig trailer. I will also use the #800 in white on a spinnerbait with a #7 Willow Leaf from now until the spawn. I don't catch many on this but the ones I do are generally over 3 pounds. I will also use this same spinnerbait with a white Jumbo pork frog from time to time.

6.2 lb. Largemouth on a 1/2 oz. black and brown jig with a Gene Larew Salt Craw trailer in butterscotch color. 5.77 lb. Smallmouth on a drop shot using a Strike King KVD Dream Shot in Prizm Shad.

Jig and Craw Spinnerbait Sweet Beaver in Coonasty color (or a Strike King Rodent in watermelon/red)

Give me a Zoom UV Speed Craw or a Gene Larew 4" Salt Craw and I'm good.

I agree with CATT. Stick with the tube until it quits producing. Never change a winner.

A flipping tube is one of my confidence baits. I always have one rigged in the boat. I use the 4" Right Bite Baits Salted Tube in Black/Red Glitter, Black/Blue Tail, and Green Pumpkin/Red and Green Glitter when I'm fishing around home in the Atchafalaya Basin and the marshes. I'll use these on a 7' Medium Heavy rod, with 17 pound test line. I'll upsize to the Strike King Denny Brauer 4 1/2" Flipping Tube in the same colors when I go to lakes like Toledo Bend or Sam Rayburn where the fish run larger. I'll use a 7' Heavy Action rod and 20 pound test on places like these. I'll usually start with a 1/4 ounce slip sinker and will adjust up or down as needed. I very seldom will peg the slip sinker when using a tube. I seem to get more strikes with the free sliding sinker. Also, I use a Mustad Big Mouth Tube hook in 4/0 or 5/0 and I always insert a glass rattle inside the tube.

Boogerman here.

Bass Assassin, Culprit Lures, and Bitters' Bait and Tackle make a black with blue tail worm in various sizes and I have used all three. Can't say one is any better than the other. They're all good. I have used the Gene Larew 4" Salt Craw in black/blue claws since they came out in the 1980's and it still produces.

I generally have black/blue tail worm and a black/blue claw craw worm to start the day. If these don't produce I'll change to a junebug worm or a junebug/blue claw craw worm.

I'm the same age and have been using a bait caster since I was 12 years old. I still practice casting everyday. My wife calls it my therapy.

So sorry for your loss. I lost my fishing/tournament partner of 40+ years a while back and I miss him terribly. Prayers for you and his family.