Blue Streak

The hooks and paint on a $7 Rapala bait are every bit as good as any Lucky Craft and tuning is not usually a problem for me. I catch plenty of fish on Rapala baits.

I feel I can use the same equipment that I did in the 60's and catch as many bass as I do today with the expensive state of the are equipment that I use know. I think the exception to that are today's line and hooks, but even some of those are way over priced. Of course I did not buy the cheap combos because when it comes to dependability you truly get what you pay for to a certain point, and then it becomes just the prestige of owning a five hundred dollar reel. As far as baits go I think it is the popularity of a bait that drives the price so high and not the quality, GYCB and Lucky Craft baits are a good example of that. I buy them, but I have many less expensive baits that produce just as well. I think most of this is the hype, someone won a tourney with them so we all rush out to buy them. I'll admit that I am a collector also, I could stock a small bait shop.

Lesson: frogs are dumb

I will go to a four inch t rigged worm and fish it as slow as I can.

I don't think one rule, one way works for every place in this country. Things change from place to place and from day to day, even hour by hour. Fishing by the rules will surely get you skunked.

That is a long skinny bass.

Some day that jerk will be on the water asking someone what they caught them on and I bet he gets a kinder answer than he gave you. Maybe then he will figure it out.

Great idea, I'll be trying some

I think scents have more to do with taste than anything else. If they work at all they may cause bass to hold onto a bait longer allowing more time to detect the strike. Bass do not hunt or feed using their sense of smell.

I also like the steady retrieve. I fish them "by ear". I listen to that steady sound, you will learn it after a few bites. The bass just seem yo love it, and if they miss just keep it coming they will find it.

This has been my experience as well, and I might add the rage craw to the chigger craw Roger If you like craws and action you might want to try the Paca craw. It is a great bait with fantastic action.

The action is the glide when they fall, if you could watch them in clear water you could see how they move around, they also have a slight shimmy to them. I do real well with baits that glide like that, but it takes patience. I put one in a fish tank to see the "action" and didn't like it. I have more success with the Chigger Craw while casting and working it on the bottom. To each his own. I am sure that is why there are so many choices. If we all liked the same thing it would get pretty dull. I have not tried the Chigger craw, but I might.

The action is the glide when they fall, if you could watch them in clear water you could see how they move around, they also have a slight shimmy to them. I do real well with baits that glide like that, but it takes patience.

There is really no wrong way. Go with what you know best.

I fish them several ways, but the best would be weightless T rig hooked the way Raul said. Just fish them like you would a plastic worm, make them look like that crawdad on the bottom.

Treat each day like it is your last one. Enjoy every minute and don't carry your troubles to bed. Have fun, happiness is a choice.

If you look at the topic on the general forum about going back in time and giving up your modern equipment, You will see that a big choice is the knowledge each has gained. I caught as many fish on the old Fenwick graphite rods and round reels with mono line as I do now with more expensive, modern gear.

I carry 5 to 8 and usually have 4 soft baits tied on.

A young lady was on a local lake with her boy friend, while he fished for crappies she sunned herself because she hated to fish. He talked into throwing a bobber and minnow near a brush pile and she caught a 10 pound largemouth. It was her first and last fish, she handed him the rod and said "that's it I am done, I still don't like to fish". That bass is the record for that lake, the previous record was about 8 1/2 pounds. This lake has been pounded for years by many good anglers looking for a big bass. Nothing but dumb luck here.

I agree Rhino. The way those fish are handled has always been a pet peeve of mine. They hold them in such a way that their own weight could break their jaw and them some of those guys pet them. Jerry McKinnis was great for that. I respect the bass as I respect all living creatures. That dancing around and yelling is idiotic. Little girls don't act like that when they catch their first fish. Act like you have caught one before.

I would take my knowledge, all of the things I have learned about bass and bass fishing. That would make me a pretty good fisherman. And I guess I would ask the genie for my sonar, but I could get by without it. The old days were not so bad and we caught plenty of bass.

Expensive tackle will not make you a great fisherman. It takes time on the water and hard work. You can't buy experience.

Sorry I misunderstood, thought you were talking crankbaits. Pay attention.

That sounds expensive for H2O baits. Have they raised the price that much?

Sweet Beavers and Paca Craws. They catch bass when nothing else will. For cranks I am doing well on the Rapala DT series.