Hook2Jaw

I'm with you all the way. Giving them the bone jarring hookset is my medicine.

I thought of that after I posted it, but it's good to hear the same idea echoed.

I use mostly lead all the way to ⅜, and then use tungsten in ½, ¾, 1, and 1½ ounces. I was wondering the other day why there aren't lead weights jacketed in steel to make a more affordable, harder weight while still offering a smaller profile.

It is my opinion that a paddled fishing kayak is at it's best with a power pole or at least a stake out pole and fished in areas where it can be anchored.

You're all sissy babies. I personally use the gear at the end of my right arm. I like to hang the plastic of the day off my clenched fish for attraction and punch the bass into submission. I figure out the plastic of the day by hooking the gut once and looking to see what the bass cough up. You fellows, or should I say ladies, don't know what a real fight is until you do it underwater with an animal between 1-27" inches long that doesn't have any arms.

I can say without a doubt that their CRS Crankbaits in rattling and non-rattling catch fish. They're my favorite squarebill because they get eaten and have decent hardware. The CRM reaches down another 3' and gets eaten as well, with, again, quality hardware. I have yet to try the NCRD for the 10-14' range, but beyond that the CRD deep diving plug also gets eaten. The NCRD is next on my list to try. I imagine it'll catch them. I have yet to catch any large fish on a lipless, but I haven't fished them all that much. I'll have to see how their Rattlin' T and LCR do for me. I can say without a doubt that the H2O Xpress Ultimate Jerk Shad catches big ones, small ones, and medium ones. I caught a 6 and a half the first time I threw it last February. I already crossed their frogs off my list, but I plan to try their spinnerbaits when I can find them on sale. Give the other lures I listed a try, and thanks for the heads up on the frog!

I haven't used their reels or rods, but awesome review! Their hardbaits are basically the hardbait of choice for me minus a few items they haven't decided to copy yet.

I had a fantastic day on spinnerbaits this past weekend, the first time in my life I can say the spinnerbait was the bait of the day. If that hadn't happened, a spinnerbait would be the first bait I would list. The cloudy sky and a slight breeze on the water turned the fish onto it in the middle of the day in 90 degree heat. I'm patiently waiting for another opportunity to fish them. With that said, I've caught a whopping two fish on the original chatterbait. Gross. All hype, no substance. Rage Tail plastics are another bait I feel are terribly overhyped. I've out produced every Rage Craw I've ever fished with a YUM Craw Chunk.

For some more budget oriented drop shotting, I opt for these terminal items and baits. Lunkerhunt Dropshot Hooks, size 1 and 1/0. I believe this is the only quality item this company makes. It turns out as long as your dropshot hook is a razor, as these are, and shaped correctly, as these are, you'll hook fish with them. They are very, very cheap! For my weights, I use Water Gremlin Dipsey Swivel Weights. I use ⅛ in less than 15 FOW and ³/¹⁶ in water deeper than that. For my first bait, I use YUM Sharpshooters in 4.5/6, depending on the size of fish I'm around. I use the size 1 hook on the 4.5 and the 1/0 on the 6. I wacky rig both sizes. Bold Bluegill, Ghost Shad, and Morning Dawn are the three colors I primarily carry. My second preferred dropshot bait is the YUM Killshot. It's a little thicker than dropshot worms, so I use the 1/0 hook for this little guy and nose hook it. My preferred colors for this guy are the same as the Sharpshooter. Just throwing out some cheaper options, and I wish you good luck on your trip!

Finesse is still such a large part of my overall skillset I don't leave home without one spinning rod.

Daiwa Tatula Bass 6'8" MF Daiwa Regal LT 2500 D-XH. I've been seriously impressed by these reels and it seems everyone else is as well.

Between the line guide of my casting reels and the first guide via FG knot. I put about three rod lengths on my spinning rods, as those are techniques where I want to be as finesse as possible. I've read countless instances where anglers say fish do not spook when confronted with braid, but then I've seen most every angler agree to downsize line when confronted with difficult conditions. Which is it? There are too many variables in bass fishing for me to not want to stack the odds in my favor. When I'm going as natural as possible with my spinning equipment, I don't want a bass seeing my line.

Those are some handsome heads, Mr. Siebert. If I had a head on me like those the old lady wouldn't have run off with my truck and dog.

Third on the Pflueger Trion. That little reel whipped so many bass for me and remained smooth with a great drag until a jet ski buzzed me and knocked it off the bow of my kayak. I'd like to add the Abu Garcia Black Max. I never put it through the paces of heavier techniques, but the two I've owned never let me down. My uncle still uses them to this day and they're nearly five years old.

Oh, I notice it. On my daggum hooks! I've wanted to be a cranking man my whole life but here comes the spinabifidiaginoa salami to foul my hooks and make my cranks come through the water like a green and chartreuse blob. No action, hauling salads like a waitress at Olive Garden, the K-Mart of Italian food. I hate algae and I hate Olive Garden!

My hope was that the SV would pick up some of the broomstick's lack and assist the entire setup in getting lighter offerings out there while still skipping jigs. To everyone else, thanks for the help!

Fact about this stupid algae : I hate it. It has severely crippled my ability to effectively fish treble hook lures.

I'm looking to pull the trigger on a new setup, and I really want to be able to skip jigs effectively with it so I'm opting for a fast tip. I also lack a frog rod, but I don't frog often and the last time I tried was years ago. My casting technique was not up to snuff and I had a horrible time throwing a Booyah Pad Crasher Jr. on a Medium Heavy Daiwa Aird-X. That experience left a bad taste in my mouth for frogging, but I've got a lot of great frog water. Another problem I need to solve is my current Texas rig rod is a 13 Fate Chrome 7'3" Medium Heavy...it's a good stick for moving baits but it's not good at picking up subtle bites. So, I need a stick that can skip, frog, and toss and feel a Texas rig effectively. I plan to slap a Daiwa Tatula SV TWS 103 on it in the 8 gear ratio. The Daiwa Tatula 7'1" Heavy Fast seems to fit the bill, it's rated from ¼-1½. How well can it toss a ¼ bullet, 3-5/0 worm hook, and various plastics? Can it haul them out of the slop with a frog on the end instead of a fluorocarbon leader? Does it have enough tip to send a ½ ounce jig under docks and branches?

Green Pumpkin. If they won't eat that or my shallow reservoir of fishing knowledge decides the water is too muddy, I'll tie on Junebug.

20 worms for three dollars? I'm a big fan of catching bass, but an even bigger fan of catching bass reliably on cheap baits! I'll give them a go when I stock back up on worms!

I think it does, I use spinning reels that pick up a lot of line because a lot of the things I'm doing with a spinning reel and rod involve slack. I like to be able to catch up to the weight of the fish quickly and set the hook with those presentations. Alternatively, I'm thinking of a 2000 sized reel just to get my IPT down for Ned rigging. The Shake-Swim-Glide retrieve has shown me how effective and fun the technique can be and I want to dedicate more time and money to it now.

8 casting setups and 2 spinning setups for bass. Then I've got a surf setup and 5 inshore spinning setups. I'm done adding saltwater gear, but I still want to add a dedicated frog rod, Texas/skipping setup, and a long, light spinning setup for tossing a Ned rig.

I been practicin' my letters, and I'm gettin' good.

My stump. My pads. My domain. A soft splash occurs above my massive head, the same one I've used to engulf bluegill for as long as time itself. A flick of my powerful tail pushes me through the depths, and my keen eyes investigate. It is long. A snake? An eel? It quivers. KILL! I pull the little dying thing toward my massive crushers as my thick jaws close around it, and something between those doorways registers. It matters not, the food is mine. Everything is mine. I rule here. Pain. Fear? No! FURY! The insignificant thing between my jaws has tightened, and the tiny creature has somehow slipped past my crushers. The little demon has slipped a spine into the apex of my jaws. Somehow, it pulls me. I pull back towards deeper water. I pull and thrash, baring the rough inner edges of my jaws as I fight. This weak thing has lied to me! It is strong. I cannot pull away. I rush for the surface, breaching it with barely half of my massive length and girth. I am thrashing now, my world of naught but red filling me with the energy of anger. It pulls me across the surface, my tail can push me no longer and my eyes gaze upon a tall thing of many colors with a stick in it's grasp. You lied. Neither small nor insignificant... I hate you, trickster. The tall thing reaches for my jaw, five tentacles seeking to wrap around it and do Poseidon knows what. I must fight to the bitter end. The thing reaches as I gather the last spark of power inside me, one ignited by my fury and indomitable will to live. A final thrash, and the spine of the trickster leaves my maw. I will never forget the insignificant thing emulating my prey. I will never forget the day I battled to evade the grasp of the trickster. I will never forget that haunting moment when I was not the queen of the water. I returned to my home, free. My stump. My pads. MY DOMAIN! (Author's Note: I went after that fish several more times, but never got to fight her again. I think she may have been larger than my personal best I would catch a year or so later. I hope she's well and continued to evade capture. She deserves it.)