Tokyo Tony

Wow, amazing work there. I have to admit, when I saw your first couple of pictures I wasn't too impressed :-? But now that baby is beautiful ;D I would have no idea where to start with a project like that :-/ And one more different smiley for good measure :-*

The Storm slab thing is a POS. I bought one (for 5 bucks, not 3 > ), tried it out for 10 casts. The action is terrible, doesn't track straight, jointed tail is worthless, sinks like a quarter sinks when you try those things in Taco Bell. On my ~11th cast my knot to my leader got caught in a guide and the slab flew about 40 yards into the pond. I'm not saying that was the lure's fault, but good riddens. I do like the rearview mirror idea though - the lure does look really cool.

You can work it like a crank, but I've found it's much more effective when twitched aggressively. I love these baits, and they're great for smallies when they don't wanna swim 15 feet to the surface to hit a regular X-Rap. And as for Rainbows, my brother and I caught some really nice ones last spring when we were shore-fishing rivers for smallies. I don't mind catching trout at all, as long as it's on bass gear

65 or 78 LC Pointer finesse jig and pork 4" senkos

If we're talking about the fish in your avatar, I'd probably refer to it as a "freak of nature" ;D Or a "freakishly gargantuan fish"

Football is a good one When I catch a big one and am telling someone about it, I usually just refer to it as a "huge fish". Still waiting for the day when I can (truthfully) talk about the "RIDICULOUSLY GIGANTIC FISH" I caught, while referring to a bass

I don't think people realize how freakin' money chatterbaits are. They look so stupid, and it took several beatings from my brother (fish wise - he can't touch my ninja skills when we throw down) to get me to use one. Now it's one of my go-to baits. That's a good idea jb_adams.

I like the Rattletrap/X-Rap lineup to cover water. If you run into a good holding area, you might wanna try a jig. And something else that may work is if the weeds are a couple feet under the surface, burn a single colorado blade spinnerbait over them, then let it flutter down the weed edge, and slow roll it back to the boat. That or slow roll it parallel to the edge. Good luck

Wow everyone - reading all these posts has totally freaked me out :-? Luckily I don't have any stories like this, but I'm definitely gonna be even MORE careful now.

Welcome, you'll love it here 8-)

Nice pictures I'd kill to catch a couple dinks, but my lures can't seem to penetrate the layer of ice :-/

So you're not allowed to fish a jerkbait with 3 trebles? I wouldn't doubt it. Mass has the most F'd up laws in the country. No offense at all to MA residents, but I absolutely hate the state as far as politics and laws go. Hate it. Other than that, I like MA.

Lol that's hilarious ;D

Scroll down to Brown Basilisk http://www.southalley.com/lizard_intro.html I hope this isn't the lizard you're talking about (I can't view the pictures), but when I was younger living in Miami, my friends and I would chase these lizards and catch them. They're so awesome - they literally run across the surface of the water, and it's one of the coolest things I've ever seen. Unfortunately, they bite, and the bigger ones bite hard.

Slimedarts Not a fan at all, but I'll definitely have to try them for supper sometime. I just always assumed they'd taste bad. My first topwater fish of 2007 was a slimedart, between 2 and 3 lbns, freakin' EXPLODED on a Yo-Zuri banana boat. That was fun, but I'd much rather catch a bass.

This past summer my brother caught a Tilapia on a 3 inch senko. It was during the spawn, and my brother got hung up on some rocks in a canal, and as he was trying to wiggle it free, a Tilapia came up and sucked it off the rock. It was pretty cool to watch. So, to catch Tilapia, get hung up with a senko and wiggle ;D

I'm not a big fan of Hula Poppers. I've caught fish on them, but much prefer a more subtle popper. It's tough to get a spitting action with the Hula Poppers - a little twitch and you wake up the whole neighborhood ;D

Lol, just don't go swimming while wearing MegaStrike

I heard the same thing about Roland in Tarpon tournaments in S Florida - pay guys to sit on his spots, they call him when the tarpon are passing through, then he goes and slams them. He was banned. I don't know this for a fact, but I heard it from a guide that fished the same tours who had no reason to lie about it.

If you get a big enough canoe with a flat/flattish bottom, they're a lot more stable than you would think. I have a 15' canoe and when my brother and I go out fishing we both stand up in it without a problem. The only stability problem is back and forth - if someone sits down or stands up abruptly, the other person will have to brace himself. Left to right is no problem at all though. Not sure about the canoe you're looking at, but if possible, take it out for a spin. I have been on a couple of canoes that are very unstable, so it really does make a difference. Actually, when I lived in Miami, I had a 15' canoe (Coleman Skanoe) w/ 5 hp Nissan that we fished out of around Biscayne Bay area, even took it on camping trips in the Everglades. It handled chop and wakes like a dream, and we could even get that baby up on plane ;D

Careful... this can easily bend the spool shaft. You need to wrap on an oar or cleat or something. And when the hook straightens or breaks, watch out, I had a windshield break from impact of a worm weight in that scenario, during my brief braid useage. Well personally, I haven't had that problem at all with my spool shaft after breaking off several heavy jigs with 50 lb Power Pro, but that thought never even entered my mind. I'll definitely be more careful from now on when breaking off - thanks for the info flechero 8-)

Sweet setup there and sweet fish 8-)

Good to know about the grooving - I guess I won't be getting those

I much prefer braid, especially for the situation you're talking about jwo. All the positives and negatives have been highlighted above, but I've never had a problem with braid digging into itself. That may be because I use Power Pro - the stuff is amazing. One thing though, if you're tying the braid directly to the lure, I'd pass the line through the eye twice (in the same direction) before tying the knot. I use a Uni Knot, and have never broken off at the knot. About damaging equipment, if you get hung up, hold the spool with your thumb (for baitcasters) or your hand (spinning) and pull straight back until the hook straightens or until the tree you're hung up on starts moving towards you (or the boat starts pulling towards shore) ;D. Make sure you don't bend the rod, and holding your thumb/hand on the spool will prevent stress on the reel. Definitely braid though.