Stringjam

That isn't even a Megabass color - - it has been repainted by "Tater Hog" or whoever that is. Some of the 110's he's painted have gone over $100 which is absolutely ridiculous.......people must think this is the only guy who can use an airbrush. You can buy the "cheap" colors and have an expert (like Herman Oswald, Custom Lures Unlimited, etc...) repaint them for $10-$15 if you want.

Catching Concepts PC2 and KC1 D-Bait standard Lucky Craft RC 1.5 Bagley Killr B2 and 1, and Balsa B3 Bomber Flat A (shallow) Poe's RC3 (okay, not really a shallow crank....but it does it anyway) Sisson Slim Willie Zoom WEC Sweet Pea Norman's Crappie Crankbait (really.....I'm not kidding )

There are a lot of variables here.....it would be helpful to know 1. your budget 2. the type of waters you fish and the types of bass you'll spend most of your time going after 3. the techniques you prefer /specialize in

Whittler brought up some good points - and there are several theories on baits that "hunt." One theory involves irregularly tuned baits, and another involves baits that are tuned so perfectly that they are on the "edge." A guy on BFHP that has quite extensive crankbait experience claims he can get perfectly tuned cranks to hunt far easier than untuned ones. So who knows..... My favorite Wiggle Warts look like a fat lady chasing a twinkie........it's no wonder they catch fish like crazy when conditions are right. Tuning cranks isn't that hard - - I've had to tune some of my best cranks lots of times. If you catch a big or aggressive bass on a crank with a soft brass eyelet, it is probably going to bend a little bit......even baits with stainless eyelets will do that. Hang it up in a rock or a stump - - you may bend it a little bit.......if you fish cranks a lot, it's just going to happen - learn to fix it and be happy. I have some Japanese crankbaits from Megabass, Tiemco, Ever Green, Jackall, Lucky Craft, BeeZee - and if you treat them bad enough they have to be tuned too..

According to the experiments I've read, cranking speed does not effect how deep the lure goes. In my personal experience, the only exception I have found to this is when using really buoyant cranks (like Bagley DB3's and such).....they have so much buoyancy that a slow retrieve just doesn't get them as deep as a quicker one.

I never thought about sonar ping until my cousin (who dives frequently on my home lake.....how handy... ) told me how loud it is underwater.

Scientific studies have indeed shown that bass cannot locate prey by scent........so if scent works, I would assume they would have to be right up on the bait. I believe one scientist noted that bass are not repelled by human scent - if anything the addition of human scent to a piece of plastic makes it more natural....remember, bass aren't deer - they don't sniff the water to sense if any predators are nearby. I would love to see more scientific studies (or perhaps find some more) on bass.......I think there are a lot of myths in bass fishing and it would be interesting to do some experiments. I was fishing amateur in a pro-am tournament one time and guess what the pro was using for attractant - - WD40! :-? (yes...he actually caught fish that day, too) Personally - - some of my most productive plastics (Bobby Garland Hula Grubs, Gambler Hibdon series flipping tubes) have no odor, no salt, no impregnation of any kind.......they're just straight-up poured plastic. Another curious thing.......the popularity of rubber skirted jigs. Next time you have a rubber skirt - put it in your mouth (now you know what I do with my free time) - - they taste horribly bitter!! But you can reel a bass all the way back to the boat without setting the hook with em'. :-?

I use PowerPro braid and varying diameters of copolymer, low stretch leader. I want to feel precisely what my bait is doing and contacting at all times - especially deep cranking.

both....sometimes they smack it, sometimes you just feel the wobble stop or pressure on the rod

What size did you get? They are some pretty good baits......tight wiggle and steep diving, especially for their body size. I think you'll like them.

I'm a deep crank nut! Norman DD22's are a standard - - great value and they flat work. There are others, many of which I prefer for many situations: Competition Cedars 4500 Long Reach: will easily dive 5' deeper than a DD22....you CAN get this bait to 20' and it has a killer action. If you like DD22's but want something that goes deeper......here it is....it even looks like a DD22, but with a noticeably longer bill, and less buoyancy. Competition Cedars 4400: this is an improved Poe's 400 Plus - - my absolute favorite go-to deep crank (10-15') Lee Sisson P-20 (balsa): another crank that will break into the upper teens - - really cool hard kicking, snapping action and possibly the best deep heavy cover crank I've ever thrown. Rapala Deep Down Fat Rap (discontinued): works into the low-mid teens, and does some really cool things. When you quickly slow down the retrieve, the lure sways out into a few really wide wobbles.....really cool! I've never seen another deep crank with the same behavior as this bait. Bomber 3/4 Fat Free Shad: underrated.....it's good at finding kickers for me Luhr-Jensen 3/4 Hot Lips Express: another crank that will hit 20', but it feels like reeling in an anchor. I've got about 4 more that I'm going to run through the paces this summer (a few lesser knowns and Japanese deep divers), so reports to follow.

A big Amen to the whittler.....

For lines up to 14 lb test or so, whether mono or floro - - try tying a clinch knot with a DOUBLED line (no need to go back through the loop). This is an easy knot to tie consistently and it is stronger than Mr. T.

The Bitsy Bugs are great little jigs. I bought a mold for Eakins style jigs and starting pouring heavy finesse jigs myself....the heaviest being nearly 3/4 oz, but still the size of a finesse jig - - that thing falls like a rock.

My experience is like a few others in this post.....I've had numerous unsnappings - - too many to keep confidence in them. It seems to be worse on walking topwaters like Spooks and Chug Bugs.

Agreed......Sprint, Crayola, LEXUS? Fish has something interesting going on. I dig Fishburne - - he's a way better angler than most people think he is. Guido Hibdon said that he was the best sight fisherman he'd ever fished with....and Guido is sort of a decent sight fisherman himself.

Big Game is good stuff - - very tough and yes, lasts well. It stretches like a rubber band, though......that's the only thing I don't like about it.

There was a pretty extensive post on the subject a bit ago.....here: http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1172116557 If you're talking about using them for crankbaits - - don't use snap/swivels.....just snaps. The best snap I've ever used is the Berkley CrossLock.....if you can't find them or don't want to buy them online, Duolocks work fine as well.

I wouldn't be surprised. I'm a big crankbait fan.....I've got $20 baits from Ever Green, Megabass, LuckyCraft, Tiemco, so on and so on. I also have baits that only cost a fraction of that from Bandit, Storm (Wiggle Wart), Bomber Flat A (fantastic design). One thing in common - - they work - and that's what counts. I think one of the biggest sleeper cranks is the Lee Sisson Slim Willie (lower crank)......it's about $5 and has an action like a fat lady chasing a Twinkie. Great crank for digging through cover.

Home-made buzzbait and a Storm Chug Bug.

Ah the dance of the Wiggle Wart - - over-erratic is a good definition. BTW....use a snap (not a snap swivel) on these - - the line tie on the lip is very small, and split rings (unless they are fairly fine wire/appropriate sized) can foul up in it.

The reason I use snaps has nothing to do with making lure changes easier - - and I can retie and check my line anytime I want whether I have a snap or not.......I use them because they improve the lure action - more than split rings or loop knots. I have to agree with Whittler - - guys like him, Brian's Bees, Tom Seward, spend hundreds of hours watching baits in swimming pools to figure out what works best, so when they talk, I listen. In my feeble little mind, it would seem that a good quality snap would provide the least restrictive point of contact for the line-tie to swing against.

Life's too short - - stick with the Pointer.

Yup......Fat Raps are fetching some coin on ebay.

A big +1......Chug Bugs are a completely different animal than a Pop-R - you can almost walk them like a Spook. One of the best top-waters in life. 8-)