Munkin

The 3.8" Fat Impact is my favorite swim jig trailer. Allen

So am I but without any luck but I have a plan. Working with a company that spincasts heads to make one based on my spinnerbait head (See avatar). Allen

Green Pumkin I don't know how they came up with the name but the actual color was made by mistake by Zoom. Allen

MinnKota makes a portable temp gauge that is about the size a playing card by 3/4" thick. Allen

That vise is a lot nicer than the $12 one I picked up at Gander Mountain to tie hair jigs on. Allen

I have some black bear hair to trade if you are interested? Allen

I am not sure where in MO you are fishing but for spinnerbaits I would recommend Booyah Pond Magic in white, SK midnight special with a black blade, War Eagle 3/8oz in Mouse, and any 3/8oz Chart/white with one gold and one silver blade. I spent 5 months in MO and the chart/white worked best in the Meramac but the solid white worked better in the Big Piney. As for fluke colors pearl would be my first choice followed by albino for clear water. This will change based on where you are fishing but it is a good start. What I noticed when I was there was the LM in the lakes and SM in the streams seamed to like natural colors. The spots however liked the wild colors and I just wrecked them on a tequila sunrise lizard for some reason? Allen

I do not personally but let the fish tell you what they want. Allen

I remember when Rick Clunn won on the James river using this bait! I must have bought and lost 20 of them as a teenager. Allen

Owner twist lock. Allen

As fast as a crankbait is moving I doubt that they get a good enough look at it to guess which way the color pattern is swimming? The Rebel craw along with the Luhr Jensen Klawdad have caught me a lot of fish but I would guess it has more to do with the color and general shape than the realistic appearance of the bait. Allen That crayfish pattern is great but I would go with solid black eyes and ditch the red hooks. Allen

Lead is good to start with. Allen

You have a good plan: Start with things you use a lot of. This is how I got started and if you stick with it you will save money. As for the confidence jighead look into the mold I posted below, Mustad 91768 2/0 hooks, and a Dremel. http://store.do-itmolds.com/SWM-JigbrSz-18-14-38brHk-2190BbrCollar-None_p_1022.html Allen

Try a finesse style jig that matches the color of your local crayfish. Below I have posted a link showing the crayfish species that are distributed throughout the US. I am a shallow river SM fisherman at heart myself and can tell you that my most effective jigs for river SM are 5/16oz ball head brown/green finesse style. If finding the jigs you need is overwhelming contact Siebert Outdoors and he can fix you up with whatever jigs you need. I have no affiliation with his business but have had contact with him for years and can say without a doubt he can help. As far as trailers you basically need 3; subtle = Super chunks, aggressive = chigger craw, rage, twin tailed grub= Zoom creepy crawler or whatever else you want to use. Trailers that work depend on the day and fish activity level so I suggest you carry all 3 in colors that correspond to your jigs. http://iz.carnegiemnh.org/crayfish/country_pages/species_by_state.htm Allen

P-Line Kick-R minnow RI Little Dipper Zoom Swimming fluke Keitech (Any) I like to fish these as a swim jig trailer or on a Owner light twist lock head http://www.ownerhooks.com/basshooks.htm#5167W 4/0 for smaller baits and 5/0 for larger. Allen

So I am pretty good with spinnerbaits as they are my favorite bait and I have been fishing with them since 1988. What I suggest is you buy one of the BPS KVD spinnerbait videos for $10. I have no affiliation with KVD or BPS but what took my 20+ years to figure out he goes over in the videos. Normally these videos you just watch someone fish without learning much be he goes into detail. The second one he pimps SK more than I would like but watching those videos will definitely help with your learning curve. Allen

Shad raps for a tight wiggle is the norm but I have caught fish on a RC 1.5 square bill in 39 degree water in February. Try different baits until you find what works as bass do not read advice posted in fishing forums. Allen

Finesse worm or a senko for most places. Allen

I never understood this? Whatever worked pre-fishing is what I start with on game day and adjust as needed. As for what lures cost when I was a broke 14 yr old I could only afford so much. Now that I am older I still look for deals but my fishing time is limited so I don't really care what a lure costs since I am no longer a broke teenager. Allen

I catch bigger fish on the 4" than 5 for some reason. GP is the standard go-to color but for stained water I will use black or junebug as well. Allen

All the ones I have do? Allen

Bottom one looks like a threadfin to me? I know they may not be native but I can buy dead threadfin shad here in Maryland for bait at Wal-Mart and Kmart so that maybe the source? Kind of like the alligators they found here in the Upper Potomac river, some idiot dumped them not thinking. Allen

The closest one to me is like 45 minutes away in VA? Allen

Some baits just work better for certain applications. The best example is the Yamamoto senko. Yes it costs more and you can buy similar baits but none work as well weightless. Now before someone says it no I haven't tried (Insert the name of the bait your 1st cousin or someone in your bass club makes using better ingredients like Papa Johns) or every bait out there but in 3 years of trying never found one. Allen

Here is what I use. Allen