Shadcranker

Try TN Federation site: www.tnbass.com Looks like there are two in your area- 1 in Mt Juliet and 1 in Hendersonville. Good luck. SC

Buzz type frog- Stanley Ribbit and Bull Ribbit Hollow body frog- I like the original Scum Frog best. I change the hooks, and add silicone skirt material.

I use two craws for most applications: 1. Zoom Speed Craw (the original model with smaller claws) 2. Zoom Little Critter Craw I use the Speed craw as a jig trailer on my Football jigs for structure fishing and TX rigged for swimming in and over grass. I use the Little Critter Craw as a trailer for my finesse jigs (Eakins 5/16 an 7/16). I have some Baby Paca Craws that I use occassionally on a shaky head when night fishing, but I really like the Zoom craws best. The Chigger is probably most similar to the Paca b/c of the claw design.

Depending on when you go in the Spring, a small boat is great b/c most of the fish will be up shallow in the creeks and bays when the water is 56 degrees through the end of spawn (around the end of April). The biggest problem with a small boat is running when the wind is 15 MPH +. The lake gets really rough in high wind, and sometimes you can't even cross the channel. I would find some protected water near the take off ramp in case it gets rough. In Eary March, the water could be 62 or 48 degrees, depending on the weather. If it's high 40's to mid 50's, the fish will be moving up but staging in 4-10ft (grass edges). If it's warm, and the water is high 50's to 60's, the fish should be dirt shallow (1-4 ft around stumps, on hard bottom, and on inside grass lines). Barge traffic is sporadic on Big G, and you can see them coming for miles. Wind is the bigger issue. Just watch the weather forecast, and plan your day accordingly. FYI- I whacked em good down there on a SK Series 5 and Rapala DT 10 in early March last year on outside grass edges in about 6-10 ft. The water temp was around 48-52 degr. The little lady in my hand in the pic to your left was one of them. Let us know how you do down there. Good luck.

Duely noted- GYCB added.

I'm a Bandit and Norman guy myself, although I've been fishing a lot of the Strike King bait lately (Ser 5 & 6).

Zoom here. best selection of styles, colors, and a good value.

Carolina rig here.

P-Line here.

Allstar, American Rodsmith, Diawa, "custom" wraps, etc left off.

Seems like more Shimano fans on here, but just curious how it falls.

I have my Cronarch MG on a Powell 703C. It's a great stick for $170! If I were you, to really take advantage of the best feature of the reel, I would get a super light rod, maybe a Powell, Kistler, or Carrot Stick. If you put that super light reel on a heavy rod, you're missing the good part. My set up is my go-to rod for light jig and worm fishing, and I can throw it all day with no problem b/c it's so light. SC

Looking for what type of rod make-up to use with smaller swimbaits (i.e. 5" Basstrix, Huddleston Shad 4", King Shad by SK, Tiny E by California Swimbabes, etc.). None of these baits weigh over an ounce. I'm figuring the Basstrix and Huddleston will work fine on a regular worm or jig rod (7ft MH, Fast Action). I guess more curious on what to throw the King Shad and trebeled soft Swims on? With trebles on The King Shad, I'm assuming a softer action rod like a MH Cranking stick would work best. Has anyone fished the King Shad? What type of stick works best? Thanks, SC

Jig colors: My favorite down there is a green pumpkin with a few blue strands with a gr pumpkin and blue trailer (Okechobee craw or similar color). It covers the color spectrum pretty well. A bit of green and the blue in one.

Mike: we should have a lot of fish up shallow around the beds on inside grass lines and around stumps and docks (1-5 ft). You can catch those fish on senkos, soft plastic lizards, tubes, finessee worms. Also, I caught a bunch of nice ones up shallow last year on the Chatterbait in white. Rattle baits in red and shad colors are a mainstay at Guntersville in Feb- April period too, but I prefer it out a bit deeper over the grass in 4-8 ft. Depending on the weather, we are likely to have a lot of fish in pre-spawn mode too. These fish will be staged on points and in the deeper grass beds in the bays and creeks. Most of these fish are found in 6-10 ft of water, and my favorite baits for them are rattle baits, deep diving CB's (SK series 5 or DT 10's), and tandem spinnerbaits in 3/8 or 1/2 oz. Only other baits you should need is topwater in case that's happening yet.

try www.tnbass.com for a federation affiliated club.

Rattle trap, spinnerbait, jerkbait (clear water).

John Miles is a great guy and an excellent rod builder. I have three of his rods.

I have a Crucial 7' Med Action CB series (TC4 blank) rod, and I absolutely love it for traps. I have an old Chronarch 6:1 reel on it. For the $, it's a great choice. I fish grass a lot, and you need a rod responsive enough to jerk free of the grass, but soft enough to keep the trap in her mouth. I've tried fiberglass rods, but they're just to heavy for my liking. I learned the hard way when I lost a $25K fish (6lbr that would have won it) at Eufaula in a Regional two yers ago that you have to be pretty particular when choosing a rattle bait rod. Fish just seem to be able to throw these baits easily.

Mike- You might check into flying into Nashville (2 1/2 hrs) or Chattanooga Tn (1 hr) too. Good luck SC

Where are they fishing? I watch the show mostly b/c they've been on my two favorite area lakes, and I like seeing what they're doing, plus I've been able to pick up a few new places by spying the shoreline.

I vote Ribbit and Bull Ribbit (around larger fish). two favorite colors are white and catapilla. the Ribbits seem to have more action that the Horny Toads due to larger "feet".

Much of the high end stuff, IMHO is intended to catch fishermen. Make a list of what you really need, and stick with it. Some value based manufacturers: Crankbaits- Bandit, Norman, and Bill Lewis Rrattle Traps- you could crank every depth b/w these brands and do just as well as guys throwing the high end stuff. keep colors simple- chart, shad, and craw colors. They are all well made and catch tons of fish. Plastics- buy Zoom and /or find deals in bulk. I.e. Prowler sells bags of 100 tubes for $26. Zoom makes every possible size and shape of plastics. Stick with basic colors- one blackish and one green shade and stick with pearl for flukes. Also, look for sale items on plastics. Gambler has incredible closeout deals on their site. Just pick the styles that you really need (i.e Lizard, tube, grub, 7" worm, 10" worm, senko type, finesse worm, fluke and trick worm). Don't buy every new creature bait shape that comes out (they are flippin baits, and you can flip a tube, craw, or lizard and do just as well). Spinnerbaits- shop for deals. You won't lose many, so you should only need a few. Buzzbaits- same here- you only three or four, as it's hard to lose a Buzzbait. I like cavitron, but you can get a quality one for less. Topwater- Stay away from the high end stuff. Go with Smithwick Rattlin Rogues, Pop-R's, and Spittin Image or Spook. Jigs- if you like finesse jigs, the SK Bitsy Bug is awesome ($1.79 each), and for regular jigs, shop around, and again just buy two primary colors- i.e Black and Blue, and Green. Just make a list of what you really need to cover the water column effectively where you fish. It can be done on a budget.

The CXX is very stiff with lots of memory, but the CX is limp and handles great on spinning tackle for me. Only thing close IMHO is McCoy Mean green.

Powell 703 C! Sweet stick for only $169. It's my go-to worm and jig rod for the lighter stuff.