BassinCNY

I don't know about disappointment but Junebug is the color that works for others but not me. I tend to catch fewer and smaller fish with it. Maybe it's because the major forage for the bass near me has become gobies and other colors mimic them better.

I think the first thing I'd try would be a brownish orange lizard on a split shot rig.

These are my top 6 for this year in the most productive colors.

If we're talking soft plastics the it's black & blue or really just black for me. I'm sure some day junebug will prove it's worth to me but it hasn't yet.

I use mono more than anything and that's mostly an improved clinch. Palomar for braid and flouro. Braid to a leader is an Alberto.

Four 3600's, two 3700's and two big bait bags of soft plastics. I'd bring the kitchen sink if I had room.

For me it comes down to cover and whether I'm skipping or not. If I'm skipping I'm pegging for consistency.

Earlier this year I was launching my kayak on Oneida lake and there were two young woman wading and turning over rocks. I stopped to talk to them and they were doing a snail survey. They said the population was doing well and they were happy not to have found any invasives but just a little upset because the spread of invasives was what they were studying. So the native mussels on Oneida are getting their butts kicked but the snails are doing OK.

I think chain pickerel are the best tasting fish there are. They're also the toughest to fillet. This guy's a pro though

I use power tubes or tender tubes because I usually texas rig them and they're thin and soft so the hook up ratio is better. If I can get away with an exposed hook I go with a ned rig usually.

In the spring and summer for smallies it was: 1 walking bait 2 soft stick bait 3 compact jig

I think we live in the same area and you're describing the last two days. I can say that for me Sunday was one of those amazing days that you remember for a while and I went after work today and it was still good but not great. I was fishing a river.

I try different colors but the bass keep bringing me back to green pumpkin or black.

For walking baits my confidence color is bone.

A similar incident happened to me this spring except it involved a new pair of pants, a walking bait with trebles and a large angry pike. Unfortunately it was witnessed.

That's a Contact Baits CB Darter.

Ghost bluegill is my favorite.

I use paddle tails because they catch more fish than other trailers for me. Grass pigs have worked well for me but I have decided on the generic 3.5" swim minnows for 3 reasons. I was looking for a paddle tail with only paddle action and because they have a narrow tail connection they work great at that also they're inexpensive and most importantly they catch the most fish.

I fish a green pumpkin 5" stick worm more than anything else texas rigged so I'll go with that.

I took two young men who had never fished before out to a spot I knew was producing. I gave one my rod that had a 5" green pumpkin senko tied on and the other a 3.5" green pumpkin tube, both texas rigged. The tube out fished the senko about 5 to 1. It didn't take long before they were both fishing tubes and catching at the same rate. I was surprised that the tube out fished the senko and even more surprised that the result was so unequal. That taught me that the plastic matters at least sometimes.

There are kayak tournaments in central and western NY every weekend. I'm a member of Kayak Anglers and there's an Eastern PA chapter that should be pretty close to you. I'm sure there are others too.

I fish out of a canoe and currently use a deeper unit with an old phone as the display. I will be upgrading to something with sidescan. Does anyone have suggestions about what displays and palettes would be best for someone who can't distinguish between red and green? Also any warnings about what not to get. Thanks.

If it's weightless I'm almost exclusively soft stick baits. I always have one rigged up. 80% of the time it's texas rigged and 20% wacky.

My first choices would be a small floating minnow like an original Rapala and a frog colored popper. If it's too weedy for trebles then a compact hollow body frog.

I've been thinking about doing the same thing with smaller walking baits but haven't done it yet. In my next order I was planning on getting some Owner single replacement hooks in the X strength. I planned on 2/0 for a junior walking bait but for a 75 WP I think I'd go 1/0. I'll probably try some Mustads too and see which ones work best and some 1/0's for river smallies.