papajoe222

My advise to those inexperienced at fishing cranks is to only fish one or two baits until they become accustomed to how the bait feels when digging bottom, deflecting off cover, digging into weeds (or better yet when approaching them) and most importantly, exactly how deep they run. The more you fish with them, the better you get at interpreting the information they transmit up the line to you. You'll still set the hook into weeds, or wood. Just not on a regular basis.

In many of the waters I fish in Wisconsin, the water has a greenish tint and a red or orange colored crank is the first color I tie on. Dont get the idea that the water needs to be stained, or muddy in order for one to produce during the summer. You're imitating a craw and as long as you're working it slowly and banging it off cover or the bottom, it does a good job of doing just that. A great time to switch to a craw colored crank is on heavily pressured waters where the fish see a lot of shad or perch colored cranks. It's not only something natural looking, but it's different from what the fish are seeing regularly.

They work on poppers and chuggers, minnow style baits and just about any bait that you pause frequently, giving the feathers a chance to pulsate. They tend to inhibit the forward movement of walking topwater baits like Spooks, but when you want to keep them in a small zone, that is beneficial. I've seen guys use them on everything from cranks to 'stinger' hooks on spinnerbaits and spoons.

IMO, that's how the dead sticking technique came into being. Well, at least that's the way I discovered it. It takes a lot of self control to let a bait sit for up to a minute (longer than that and I start chewing on my fingernails and I only have ten). It's much easier on my nerves to just get a birds nest when I cast and then spend some time getting it out. Personally, I think we should coin a new term for the technique. 'Birding a Jig' or 'Nesting for Lunkers'

The spawn is over, the post spawners are starting to put the feed bag on and the bluegill are on their beds. At no other time of the year can I catch numbers of big fish up shallow like now. For the next week-10 days, outings of five to ten fish in the 4lb.-6lb. range are not only possible, but are fairly common. After that, they'll start their move to their summer haunts and days like these will be few. Is this scenario true on your home waters, or is there another period that produces quality fish in numbers up shallow? It could be time of year, or time of day, or a combination of those and other factors.

I would suggest using circle hooks for this presentation. You can keep your drag at the normal setting. If you suspect a bass has taken the bluegill, just raise your rod tip and reel up the slack. If its a bass, you'll feel the excess weight. Just keep reeling with the rod tip up and you'll hook 'em. If not, you haven't moved the bait vary much.

Simple answer for me. I'd get the expensive rod/reel combo and the cheap lures, sell the combo, toss the cheap stuff and use the money for decent all around gear.

I don't know about adding a trailer to a Mepps, but I have painted a few blades light grey and had fish inhale them when they would only nip at the stock one. If you're not against making a major modification, you could cut off the stock treble and add a split ring and a treble with a longer shank. The added split ring will add a little length by itself and that may be all it will take for solid hook-ups.

I won't offer suggestions for specific brands, but I will suggest four bait styles: Shallow, mid-depth, deep running (down to around 14ft. for you) and lipless cranks. I'd pick colors that imitate the local forage, but with shad or crawdad colored cranks you can't go wrong. Work the entire water column, by changing baits, until you catch a fish and then work that depth with either that bait, or a lipless crank. Change retrieve speeds during your casts and you should be on your way to catching some fish with cranks.

Fishing from shore, you are limited to whatever access areas are available to you. From a boat, you have more options, but there are spots that are good for both. Points, weeds (especially those with a defined edge), docks, rip-rap and lay-downs all offer good potential. Points offer the added advantage of offering access to deeper water for the fish. If you can find any of the other areas mentioned on a point, you've found a very good starting point. Not knowing if you're fishing from a boat with electronics, I can only offer visible clues to where you could begin.

Gander Mtn. has a set of mid/light weight bibs that I picked up on sale in April. They're light enough for 70-80 temps. and I've worn them comfortably over jeans with temps in the high 30's . With them going out of business, you may be able to get a pair for $50-$60

I must be missing out when it comes to fishing a bladed jig as I only use them as a vertical presentation. The majority of the time I have used them with either a lift-drop presentation, or stroking one down a drop-off. Fifty years of fishing for bass and I'm still learning stuff on this site.

The same lures you've been using to catch dinks will likely work on the big gals too. What you most likely need to do is target the prime pieces of cover in the areas you've been fishing. Big fish make claim to them and often times another quality fish will take up residence in a spot that you catch nice one from. What you may perceive as a small change in the size of the limbs or a one foot depression at a tree's base may be the 'best' cover in the area. You'll find that big fish won't be as quick to chase down a bait as the dinks are, so you need to put your offering as close to those prime areas as possible. Stair stepping a jig tight to the tree on the shady side has produced fish that regularly placed me in the top five on a lake where my local club held multiple tourneys each year. With jigs and fish suspended in the trees, it's all about the fall rate. Don't be hesitant to go heavy. Often times a 1/2oz. jig with a compact trailer will trigger them when a 3/8oz. with a bulky trailer won't.

I personally want to thank everyone involved in this. As I told Kent, it makes me proud to be part of a group that goes beyond a simple 'Thank You' when it comes to recognizing the efforts of those that have served by honoring them with a special gift. If you plan on doing this on a regular basis, please count me in for whatever you may need. All you have to do is ask.

I don't hold them out the window, I tie them to the front guard of a fan and turn it on high speed. That's after I've crimped down and scored the face of the rivet. I've even put a big notch on one side of the blade to make it run off balance. Talk about a commotion, my wife hates when I throw one of those.

Although the baits you mention do cover more water in less time than most soft plastic presentations, I don't consider what they do as searching out fish, or eliminating water. Their use will help you become a more versatile angler as you will learn to fish the entire water column (top to bottom) with the best tool. I'm sure you've had occasion to hook fish as your T-rig was falling, or as you were reeling it in to make another cast. Those were times when the most productive presentation was not on the bottom and although you were able to pick off a fish here and there, a crank or spinnerbait may have been a better option. Then, too, there are occasions where a hard bait will outproduce a T-rig when fished on the bottom, just as there will be times when a soft plastic worked through the upper or middle part of the water column will out produce a 'hard bait.' These baits can be fished slow or fast. A deep diving crank can be worked slowly on bottom, or somewhere above it. Switch to one that runs a little shallower, or to heavier line and you can burn it just off the bottom. The same can be said of spinnerbaits. A change in weight, blade size/shape, or line can yield the desired speed/depth control that you desire. If there is one tip I could pass along; avoid a steady retrieve with these baits. A stop and go, or a twitch of the rod tip will outproduce, a methodical 'chuck and wind' retrieve, especially if you're not bumping them into cover or off the bottom.

Deep cranking is a great presentation for catching fish that you have already located, either with a presentation like a C-rig or football jig, or with your electronics. It will wear you out if you use it to probe structure in search of fish. Just be sure that the area you're targeting is around half the distance of your cast from you. If the bite slows, go back to whatever you used to locate them and you can usually pick up a couple extra fish.

A buzz toad is a much better choice for fishing vegetation and a buzzbait will, IMO, out produce the toad in most other situations. The reason I say that is because of the noise factor. A toad disturbs the surface in a similar way, but the buzzer can be tuned to squeak or click. You can even adjust the blade to catch more water for more commotion. The only other time I consider a toad over the buzzer is when the bite is tough. It offers a smaller profile and more subtle surface disturbance

Hello again. This is a question you'll get a bunch of opinions on based on the responder's personal preference. 'Knot Wars' crowned the 'Fishin-Fool' knot as the strongest for these lines, but I am partial to the SanDiego Jam for Fluorocarbon and the Palomar for mono and braid.

Welcome to the site. The 'Jimmy Houston Knot' is a Pitzen Knot tied with the line doubled. You can find illustrated instructions at http://www.***.com/fishing_knots/pitzen-knot

Conditions, other than rain, will help you narrow down your starting bait selections. If it's spring and the water temp. is rising you can assume that the fish will be active as the rain will continue to warm up the surface temp. If it's fall and the water temp is dropping, the rain will have the opposite affect and the fish will likely be in a neutral or negative mood. Now consider the water itself. Is it rising, did it go from clear to stained? Either situation will position the fish tighter to cover. Now that you've narrowed down you choices, occasionally switch presentations until you find the most productive one.

Welocme If the hooks aren't rusted on your old baits, why not just add new skirts to them? You said you had some success with them. I'm a fan of Stanley's VibraShaft, although Hart and Hidlebrant are also found in my box.

I assume you are fishing from the bank, so my first response (working a crank parallel to the drop) is not really an option. I, also, would recommend a tube bait with an internal jig. Let it fall on slack line and count it down increasing longer on each cast. When you catch that first fish, you'll have the depth figured out.

My passion is getting folks hooked on fishing, especially little ones. Using a bobber is a great way of not only holding their attention, it give you a visual indication when something is going on down under. For now, you can set the hook for them, but it won't take much until they learn what to do when it goes under or takes off to the side. I'm a big fan of small jigs with a split tail grub, or a Beetle Spin suspended under a bobber. You can dip the plastic in JJ's or SpikeIt for added scent. If they get antsy because there isn't any action, having them slowly reel the rig back will often result in 'fish on' Either of these will catch a number of other species, too.The other bait I'd recommend is a 4in. straight tailed plastic worm. Hook it through the middle ad don't add weight. It will fall slowly beneath the bobber and often times the bobber will go under before the worm settles under it.

Try an internal weight to get that spiral drop. I use bell sinkers with a big eyelet. Insert eye first and T-rig allowing the hook point to go through the weight's eye before exiting the nose. You could also 'Stupid Rig' it with a tube jig. Either method will result in a weedless presentation that adds action to the tube when falling, or popping it on a steady retrieve.