Ok, time to finally see what all the hype is about. If these things don't catch me a fish on every other cast, I'm not gonna lie, I might be a tad disappointed. 

 

Tho judging by the smell of these things, I may catch more cats and bullheads than bass!

 

6 hours ago, PotatoLake said:

Speaking of "Stone Cold" I finally got my hands on this color of Rk Crawler that has been extremely difficult to find. 

That is a beaut. I like the new Goby color as well. 

Took a chance on some Double Z worms a while back and had really good luck with them first time out so I decided to order a few more. Got a little carried away but hopefully these will last me a while.

 

 

Ran into F&S for one bag of Fat IKAs. One bag, I tell ya...

 

 

 

Just now, PhishLI said:

Ran into F&S for one bag of Fat IKAs. One bag, I tell ya...

That bait monkey is a sneaky fella...creeps up and bites you in the bum every time.

On 8/12/2021 at 10:35 PM, Bluebasser86 said:

I only picked up the 2 for now, give them a test run before I buy too many. I didn't see a clown color one but I'm pretty sure they have one. I know there's a couple unusual colors in the lineup. I'm going to fish the stock trebles most likely, starting out anyways. I really like the Fusion trebles, so I'll give these a shot. 

 

Really curious how these compare to the Provoke. My best jerks are the Provoke, Shadow Rap family with the 6th sense hyper jerk being really good the one time I used it and the Rerange has got some fish for me, just not at the levels of the others. I wish Jerks weren't so pricey I would try more, but I know you like the Provoke a lot so the comparison will help me decide how empty my wallet becomes in the buying/off season?

2 hours ago, MN Fisher said:

That bait monkey is a sneaky fella

Yeah, and give a fool a coupon...

Any time I shop in Japan, I always go through discount pages, lures and terminal tackle to throw in small things we can't get here.  

Here was my most recent snag.  The shrimpiest shrimp lure I've ever seen.  

The plastic is made with krill renderings, like Gulp lures.  

We had a way of rigging shrimp tail below a cigar cork back in the 80s and 90s when we could still get Stazo flex jig-heads (still have a few of these).

 

When you snap the line, the cigar cork clicks, and the shrimp tail doubles in half like an evading shrimp kicking with its tail.  It settles down head-first into the grass, like a shrimp swimming with its legs.  

Looking for a similar rig in lighter weight, found these in Japan, and why not add stinger jig/spoon hooks...

 

The single hook plants the shrimp head to provide structure.  It's tough to handle this lure without the stinger hooks stinging you.  

So I need some help on if I got a good deal or not. The books were a great deal 3 for hardcovers and 1 for paperbacks so I got 5 trout and 1 bass book for 10 bucks. 

Then we get to the reel. It is an older aluminum framed 3 bearing black max 3600 that is made in Sweden for 10 bucks. The spool spun very free and it turned over super smoothly, the paddles were just sticky when they rotated. The 3 bearing count doesn’t bother me because my Abu Musky round reels have the same and they are just awesome reels. Did I get a decent deal on the reel?

 

Caught alot of fish in Alabama on this bait, so  decided to see if they work up here, purchased 5" and 6". Also purchased two Wide Spool Superduties one for punching and froging heavy cover, and one for cranking deep divers.

 

 

 

On 8/21/2021 at 12:12 PM, cgolf said:

So I need some help on if I got a good deal or not. The books were a great deal 3 for hardcovers and 1 for paperbacks so I got 5 trout and 1 bass book for 10 bucks. 

Then we get to the reel. It is an older aluminum framed 3 bearing black max 3600 that is made in Sweden for 10 bucks. The spool spun very free and it turned over super smoothly, the paddles were just sticky when they rotated. The 3 bearing count doesn’t bother me because my Abu Musky round reels have the same and they are just awesome reels. Did I get a decent deal on the reel?

 

Any reel that will fish for $10 is a good deal - you'll find your Black Max much better made than new $10 reels coming out of China.  

Ebay sold listings are all right at $40.  

If you like tinkering, you could make it really neat with parts from AMO Store, also Ray's Studio and SDS Custom sold on ebay.  

 

Topwater fun

 

By the way I am buying cavitrons just for the blades. I am not joking. 

I have wanted one of these since they released them but they've been impossible to find. Finally stumbled on one on Ebay and lucked out, won a 2500 for $70. Going on my new St. Croix Bass X. 

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Okuma_ITX_Carbon_Spinning_Reel/descpage-OITX.html

Well we have small bait monkey and reel monkey ? to thank for this one lol. I have been looking for a reel to go on my zodias ml bfs casting rod and stopped by the local tackle shop last Friday and couldn’t hold off any longer. I was tempted by the new zillion but at this time I didn’t have the money so this is what I got. This shall be interesting ?. 

A couple of blade baits for fall fishing and the popper frog was under 4 bucks so I figured why not. 

On 8/21/2021 at 12:12 PM, cgolf said:

So I need some help on if I got a good deal or not. The books were a great deal 3 for hardcovers and 1 for paperbacks so I got 5 trout and 1 bass book for 10 bucks. 

Then we get to the reel. It is an older aluminum framed 3 bearing black max 3600 that is made in Sweden for 10 bucks. The spool spun very free and it turned over super smoothly, the paddles were just sticky when they rotated. The 3 bearing count doesn’t bother me because my Abu Musky round reels have the same and they are just awesome reels. Did I get a decent deal on the reel?

 

 

 

I finally pulled the line off the reel today and I am looking to spool it with 10lb big game backing line and 50 or 60 yards of 30lb 832, it holds a ton of line. Well not only was the reel super clean, the person that previously owned it was on top of his reel care. The drag was fully loose so the washers weren't compressed. This is something I do with all my reels over the winter, but not a thing more casual anglers do. A little oil on the paddles and can't wait to get this reel on the water.

Needed a new cash back credit card with rewards to my benefit since my old one recently changed its cash back reward categories.  Since I'm getting a $200 cash back bonus with it decided to splurge on a new rod for shaky heads and light Texas rigs.  Also picked up a new Pflueger Patriarch XT 35 off eBay for $100 off retail to go on it. 

A assortment of plastics and terminal tackle.

  About two months ago I high stick a spinnerbait fish and break a little over 4 inches off of my Crucial “B” 7’2”HA. I decided to give Shimano a call and ask about a replacement. Using their Express Service (50% off) I was able to get a Zodias 7’2”HA for a small cost increase to upgrade over a Curado rod. Granted, I’d have to wait until this December to get it. So imagine my surprise when the Zodias arrived way ahead of schedule.

  I was able to find a mint JDM Curado 201I for an obscene eBay auction win, and some Carbontex drag washers will be installed at a later date.

  And then my Minister of Scheduling and Finance gave me a green light for a new ride to replace the ‘04 520VX.  I feel very blessed and promised Mrs B I’d cut back on my Tackle Warehouse purchases. Right now my personal bait and boat monkey is fat…

Recent success with the Tokyo rig has got me wanting to make my own. BPS has the wires with needed loop so I picked those up along with swivels and split rings. The monkey wasn’t satisfied so added some slider heads, couple packs of different worms, and couldn’t resist the Plano Edge jig box. 
Academy got me with $20 off on a Tatula 100 7.3:1. Didn’t really “need” another reel, but I sure enjoy the one I have and it wanted company… 
 

Couple things from @Bluebasser86...

Got some baits trickling in from a few different places. Bunch of Rage and Zman baits from Siebert (Bugs, Menace, TRDs, and Hella Craws). 2 small packages from different places, TW and another discount store. 2 50 packs of Mister Twister Poc It Phenoms, 2 War Eagle Screaming Eagles, a FishLab 6" Wake Shad, and a BOYO Spook. 

 

For anyone interested, this is the BOYO between a regular Super Spook Jr and a Zara Puppy.

Re-reading the jig thread and was inspired to place an order with Siebert. Now I need my kayak to arrive so I can put these to good use…

A Tackle Warehouse box arrived on my porch today to solve my 5’ long trailer motor toter situation with the new boat. Gonna protect a Pro XS. Thanks to @A-Jay for posting about the DD26 on this thread and confirming with steering locks it’s a sound investment.

had to hunt for the monkey - it's all the way to page 2 - ok, fixed that  

 

Recent parts hunting for my 1500C led me to Haneda Craft to purchase this alloy handle through my broker Masamichi at noppin.com

 

 

While I was there, I threw these two lures into my cart.  

The handmade and airbrushed swimming surface plug is Smith Hatley's Special Mercury

 

 

The frog is Haneda Craft Muscle Frog #26, 1/2 oz.