jdw174

The most challenging is FINDING them. Catching them is the easy part. Most exciting thing is being out on the water.....................

I'm really partial to the SK Red Eye Shads. I also have a couple of Cordell Spots that are almost beat beyond recognition.......and they still haul 'em in.

I use the Owner Wacky Hooks with the weedguards. Sharp little buggers they are. Haven't lost a fish on them yet.

Other than my spinning rigs which use braid (co-poly leader), all my BC rigs use 17lb SilverThread (12lb on the CB rod). I've use nothing but ST line since it hit the market

When there's a good chop on the water, it's Devil's Horse time! I usually give it 2-3 sharp jerks, then pause. Those twin blades make a heck of a racket.

I guess I'm in the minority. I remove all the split rings and tie directly to a Duo-Lock snap.

Never did much with the Slug-Go SS. The original Slug-Go however was a different story.

I fish alone all the time. That way I can start when I like, quit when I want to, fish the way I want to, don't have to worry about maneuvering the boat a certain way, etc.

Just remember.....hooksets are FREE!.....i.e. if something feels different....HIT IT.

You didn't say what size boat you're wanting to pull. Check out the towing capacity of what you're looking at vs your rig's weight. The above post about brakes is right on. If you're going mid-size (or even if you're not), trailer brakes are always a good idea. As for the truck, have the wife try one with step boards. Makes things easier.

Fav: Shallow running cranks Least fav: I'd rather sit on my porch and watch grass grow before throwing deep running cranks!

Owner Wacky Hooks. Sharp little buggers they are.

I have 3 spinning rigs, all of them 2500 size and loaded with braid backed with cheap mono. Leader is co-poly.

I have to go along with the last 3 posters on this one. It's a nice looking boat, but I wouldn't even try to install a bow mount TM on that, let alone try and fish from the front.

If you have a newer RAM, take my advice and wrap the first couple of inches of the wire behind the trailer plug with tape (I used Gorilla Tape). That spring loaded cover on the socket on your bumper will probably chew through your wiring if you don't.

Last time out it was the Mann's Wakebait in TN Shad.

I once fished with a guy who used nothing but spinning tackle. His casting accuracy was fantastic, and he could make a lure land in the water with barely a ripple. It was fascinating to watch him fish.

30 years ago I fished a Pop-R for the first time on a trip to Ky Lake. It was mid-May and the surface temp at 5AM was in the high 70's. I was fishing buckbushes during the post-spawn by throwing past the bush, then absolutely BURNING it back to the bush and killing it. That's when they would absolutely unload on it. Best week of largemouth topwater fishing I've ever had in my life. They hit that popper from sunup to sundown for 5 days! Talk about giggle 'n laugh......

I normally have 3 spinning rigs with me. One for fishing Senkos (skipping), one for dropshotting, and the third for shakeyheads. Everything else is baitcasting. OP, if you haven't had a "professional overrun" yet, hang in there. It's coming. Happens to the best of 'em.

Both Costa and Wiley-X offer Rx sunglasses. I have Costas with readers built in and really like them.

My rig is a '98. It came with a DualPro 3-bank charger installed. That DualPro is still going strong this minute. As long as I've had it, it's only been unplugged when I've been fishing. For me it's a DualPro all the way.

I've used SilverThread ever since it hit the market. Never a problem.

If you're fair-skinned, even a couple of good sunburns as a youngster can cause skin cancer later in life. Thus far, I've had 2 actual basal-cell carcinomas removed, plus 4 pre-cancerous lesions.

The only engine I'll be starting today is the one on my lawn tractor. I refuse to even go near Ky Lake on holidays/weekends.

I have a very simple approach. I start fishing when it's just light enough to see using a topwater. As the day gets brighter, I switch to a shallow-running crank. Later on, I may switch to a jig or worm/craw. I remain in shaded areas as long as possible. If there's a slight chop on the water I may use a spinnerbait or a double-propped surface lure. When the sun hits the area I'm fishing and gets hot enough to strip your hide, I go home. Do I catch a lot of fish?.....sometimes I do. Do I get skunked?.....EVERYBODY does at one time or another. Do I get big fish?.....well, every blind hog finds an acorn occaisionally. I just like being out there trying.