Black Hawk Basser

It's happened to me. I once got a 3-4 lb channel cat on a hollow frog. To the OP: I'd bet it was a carp or catfish. Usually at some point a bass will surface. Catfish will often make an appearance with some thrashes at the surface. Carp really go on drag screaming runs. I caught a decent carp this spring on a paddle tail. They will eat an artificial bait, albeit rarely.

Heck yeah, a T-rigged Berkley Chigger Craw has saved many-a-outing for me when I'm skunking out around docks with my usual jig/craw combos.

Z-Man stuff. Dozens of fish on one bait? That's a bargain.

"New Missouri Craw" - Black with some brown and a few yellow/bright green strands

Haven't had a lot of luck on realistic bluegill cranks. Firetiger does as well as any other pattern I have.

My wife and I both had it around Thanksgiving. We both just had aches and extreme fatigue. We both lost our taste and smell for a while. For her, that lasted about a week or two. Seemed to last longer for me. Worst part of it was that my toe joints ached bad, it was really odd.

My wife pushes me to buy fishing things all the time, but I think it is so she can spend without me griping about it. I guess it's mutually beneficial, so I'm good with it!

Just go when you can go. If I can go and I don't, I have major FOMO. I'd rather go and skunk it up than not go and wonder. You can learn a lot even when you aren't catching. Always note the conditions each time out, whether it be in your noggin, on paper, or on your phone. After a while, you may start putting together the pieces regarding when and where you should fish depending on current conditions. Get yourself a pool thermometer to measure water temperature. The air temperature matters little to the fish. Just go, buddy!

Got my first on the 14th of April, second one will be on May 12. I only had minor arm soreness after the first. I got the Moderna after they paused the J & J.

I begrudgingly say #1 is a Texas rigged plastic, agreeing with Catt's reasoning. I much prefer a jig, but there is not one lake or pond around me I can efficiently cover with a jig through the summer months. It just gets too thick.

I'm fortunate enough to work in a town that has a river running through it, with multiple easy accesses for walleye, smallmouth and catfish. I get an hour break so I scarf down my food so I have max time to fish!

Lunch break fish! Caught 4 in the 15 minutes I had and had to leave them biting, which is always heartbreaking. This smallie is a really nice one for this glorified creek we call a river in Western Iowa.

On a roll with the specks lately. It's extremely rewarding to tie up a jig in the morning and clean house with it in the afternoon.

Least favorite for me is reaming grips, especially EVA. What a mess. I also don't like grinding guides but it's easier with a dremel. My favorite is wrapping guides. I've done more ice rods than long rods. After doing a handful of noodle ice rods, any open water rod is easy to wrap.

One of the few spinnerbaits I use is a Terminator single blade in black with red highlights. The blade is sort of a hybrid between Colorado and willow, but it is much more similar to a Colorado blade. This one does about 75% of my spinnerbait work. The other 25% is a black/red double Colorado from BPS and a white double willow from BPS. I usually go 'on the cheap' for spinnerbaits because they have always worked well enough to not splurge on something $7+.

Absolutely. If I want to catch a little bit of everything, I throw small jerks like a #6 X-Rap, or a 2.5" paddle tail plastic on a light jig. Some days you'll get walleye, bass and crappie all on the same bait, if you size it properly.

I killed 'em last year on docks with a Biffle Bug. Send it!

This, I know. I was in a metal band for 10 years and we played with a quite a few national acts. It's a feat in itself to keep a group together long enough to make one good album, let alone 3 or 4.

That's really cool. They went through quite the grind before they became well known. I love their first 3 albums. After that, eh, not so much.

Deep cranks. I bought a good bunch of them when I was younger and never really gave them a fair shake, probably since I was always on the bank. Now that I spend most of my time fishing out of a kayak or boat, they have proven to be really effective for me, especially right now with fish staying pretty deep with this unseasonably cold spring.

I do know Within Temptation. The other stuff you mentioned was right up my dad's alley. He liked a lot of what I guess I'd call 'progressive' type of rock from the 60's and early 70's. I dig it too, and definitely enjoy bands who now take some of that influence and incorporate it into their stuff. Another one I don't get tired of - Say Hello to Heaven - Temple of the Dog... everyone should like this one, what an epic and classic tune.

Baroness - Take My Bones Away, March to the Sea, Foolsong Mastodon - Crystal Skull, This Mortal Soil Maiden - Hallowed Be Thy Name, 22 Acacia Avenue @MN Fisher You sooo would have gotten along with my dad.

My wife is not pregnant. Does that mean that I should go buy a boat?!? ?

Ya gotta buy stuff in lots on eBay. Like 5 packs of assorted Zoom baits or whatever you are after. You may get a bag that you don't want, but they are generally pretty good deals. Also, I can't believe so many of you are complaining about not getting fishing tackle. OMG are you gonna die?

Rapala Husky Jerk is a suspender. They don't dive very deep, probably 3-4' or maybe 5' on a long cast. I also like the X Rap, but the Husky Jerk is a more consistent producer for me. X Raps also tend to dive a little deeper and have a more erratic action on the twitch. Good old silver has been the best color for me With Husky Jerks, and I really like Olive Green for the X Rap.