wdp

I fish a lot of wake baits & sub 1 ft crankbaits, and yes the hook tangling is a common issue. I started replacing trebles with short shanks & it helps a lot. There is still the occasional issue with it tangling on the front lip, but it happens far less often.

Use an unweighted spring lock hook and it won’t sink so much. The downside is, with it unweighted the frog will swim upside down sometimes. Or you could switch to a hook with a 1/16 oz weight & see if that’s better. There’s a number of brands out there but I’m partial to Gamakatsu & Owner. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Gamakatsu_Superline_Spring_Lock_Hook/descpage-GSSLH.html

I’ll reiterate what others have said, my best luck with spinnerbaits has been fishing around laydowns banging them over literally every branch I can see under the water. I like the Booyahs and still have a couple of old Terminators with the titanium wire. Actually lost a terminator fishing earlier this spring. Now I’m down to only 2. ☹️

@ol'crickety what you’re describing is my kind of fishing. I’ve fished outta a 12 ft jon boat for 30+ yrs. I prefer small waters around 20 - 50 acres & hope I have the lake all to myself when I go. 😁

There’s no way I’d pay $130 for this reel. But if they get decent reviews over next year & go on sale for $50-$60, I might give one a try. Reels like this I think of being disposable, kinda like the 2 Academy baitcasters I got for $40-$50 on sale. Once I get a few good years outta them, when they start malfunctioning they’re going into trash. Inexpensive reels like this are great for pond hopping & bank fishing, no worries if they get banged up a little. The bulk of my reel arsenal are Shimano & Daiwa, some are pushing 20 yrs old now.

Sad news & sorry for your loss.

I wasn’t aware that SPRO had gotten into the fishing reel business. Is this something brand new? This model the signature Jason Christie looks kinda cool & budget friendly too. Will be interesting to see some reviews about quality after it’s been out on the market for a bit. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/SPRO_Jason_Christie_Elite_Casting_Reels/descpage-JCECR.html?from=gshop&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADkexy6G7N4aROo5b_Rl1htRZsNdG&gclid=CjwKCAjw4ri0BhAvEiwA8oo6F_WGu8kiMCHBTV_yZjX8YaTBPo1dv3I0-VCi8ZH0WtET7ldTQ16GBxoCKp4QAvD_BwE

I love Shimano Sienna spinning reels. They’re inexpensive & work really well. If I can get 4-6 yrs of good use outta them, it’s a win! At the price point, I just toss em when they start acting up & go buy a new one at Wally World.

I’m a die hard MSU Bulldog myself. And I’m wearing my maroon apparel proudly every time I visit the va home there. 😂 @Smirak Almost forgot to thank you for your service! Thank you sir & wishing you good health.

Happy Independence Day! I spent the day at the VA Home in Oxford, MS where we recently moved my Dad on Tues July 2nd. He’s 84 yrs old & a Vietnam Veteran that served two tours over there in the Air Force. Full enlistment was 10 yrs Navy + 12 yrs Air Force. Then another 22 yrs working on the air base as a civilian. My Dad has been slowing declining with dementia over the last 6, 7, or 8 years, especially the last 2 yrs. And it had gotten to the point that my stepmom was overwhelmed and could no longer care for him. Long story short, the last 3 days have been an emotional roller coaster full of doubt, fear, sleepless nights and anxiety. Now the good news: I think I just had the most meaningful 4th of July of my entire life. Not only does my Dad seem to be doing great, but I think he’s happy. He continually walks up and down the halls talking to everyone: the resident veterans, the staff, security, even the janitorial staff. I think he’s truly brightening people’s day. Furthermore, I have made friends with a few of the resident veterans and I’m really enjoying getting to know them and talk to them. There are 3 or 4 that have really touched my heart. I find myself thinking of them often & being inspired. And I look forward to my next visit to see my Dad and my new friends. I feel truly blessed to know these people now, including the sweet wonderful staff, that obviously care about these veterans. Sorry for the long post. I wanna take a moment to thank these brave men and women that have served our country. You deserve the highest honor and admiration. I look forward to making more friends and getting to know my new friends even better at this VA home. THANK YOU VETERANS! And God Bless! (One of my new friends is a former Marine drill sgt and Vietnam Vet named David. We’ve talked during both visits. On my first visit he told me a Marine saying, “You can be an hour early, but don’t be a minute late”. I thought of him as I rushed to get to the VA home on time this morning so my Dad, sister & I could attend devotional. I saw him first thing and told him I remembered the saying. I started with……. you can be an hour early, and he smiled and finished with…. But don’t be a minute late. I looked up and his wife standing behind his wheelchair was grinning ear to ear with tears in her eyes. Yep, I think I’m falling in love with these fine, brave people. And yes, there’s a lump in my throat & tears in my eyes as I write this. And I’m not ashamed.)

You’re killing me with all these great pics! I love your locale and the scenery. If I lived close to that, I’d be worthless….. fishing all the time & getting nothing else done. 😂🤣 FWIW, I too am guilty of fishing history and trying to force feed the bass what they don’t want that particular day. I think every fisher person is guilty of it at some point.

You continue to slay ‘em and I continue to be jealous! 😁 Great job. Me and buddy only caught 11 on our last outing this past Saturday. Nothing over 2 and half pounds. But we did have fun.

Back in the day, 1989-1990, I worked at Scum Frog making the frog bodies while I was in college in a little town called Columbus, MS. The founder of the company was a bass fisherman & owned a printing company. He started messing around with making the frogs in a little room in back of his printing shop. He eventually got to where it worked & he could make some good frogs. Once he expanded, he sold the print shop and moved into a building next door to make the frogs full time. Me and couple other guys made the bodies and we had a group of gals we nicknamed “The Frogettes” that glued on the eyes, inserted the hooks and packaged products in bulk. At the time we had 3 main frogs: the original Scum Frog, the BassRat, and the Scum Frog Popper. At one point, the owner added a few new frogs to the lineup. One was a buzzbait frog with a propeller in front. I help name it….. The Thundertoad. He had another idea for 2 smaller frogs connected by a leader. I helped name it too…… Two Tiny Toads. Eventually I left for grad school but kept in touch with owner/founder some over the years. He was a great guy to work for & would even occasionally take us fishing to some of his honey holes on the Tombigbee River. Think he sold off the company about 10 yrs ago and retired. The new company/owner is the one responsible for the newer frogs like The Launch Series. Forgot to add. Original name of the company was Southern Lure Company.

I really wish you’d quite posting about all these awesome fishing trips. It’s making me jealous! 🤣 Great pics & fish! Sounds like one of those rare fishing days. I too am an all braid fan. My mortal enemy was lily pads. After numerous break offs and lost fish, I switched to braid about 20 yrs ago. I use mostly all braid on my spinning set ups too for topwaters, shakey heads, Ned rigs, etc.

Anybody have any recommendations for artists/taxidermists that make bass replicas and can also restore older bass mounts? I’m in need of both. I’ve already reached out to Dave Campbell based on a thread I read earlier. He’s backlogged 3 yrs on work & is reluctant to take on new projects. From his work I’ve seen, I can understand why he’s so busy. Any recommendations would be great, especially if they have a website with examples of their work. I live in Memphis, TN area so Southeast region would be more convenient I guess. But it’s not an absolute requirement. Thanks!!