SissySticks

True. Which begs the question, are pros misleading the writer or is the writing staff over there at MLF just so careless they've unintentionally made pros look like liars? If so, I would be major league mad at the writing staff if I was Walker or any of the others.

You're right, could be the writer, but having done some of that kind of writing myself, usually the pro asks you to make sure to mention "x" sponsor in the article/caption/etc. Not always, and again, not in any way an indictment of Walker specifically, his photo is just where I happened to notice it this time around. As was said earlier, could very well be he ran out, too.

That is a good point, though again, if I were Zman, I'd be ticked off about this particular instance of "grabbing the wrong one." I also think that swimbait trailer might be a Reaction Innovations, not a Diesel minnow, but it's harder to tell. I hear you, I'm not picking on David so much as a general trend I've noticed. David seems like a good enough guy. In other news, how does one run out of Zman plastics? I suspect you could be on a pretty good jig bite and still only use 1 trailer the whole week.

Honestly, I think it bugs me more not even because of the dishonesty, really, since you're all right that they have to make a living. Weirdly I think it's more because it just seems so silly. Walker could easily have threaded a Zman Batwingz on there before the pic, and no one would be the wiser. If I was Zman, I'd be mad he didn't.

LOL. Aren't we all?

I'd be into this. I make various jigs, shaky heads, ned heads, underspin weighted swimbait hooks (like the flashy swimmer), and chatterbaits.

I make that same jig with a slightly different head/keeper, and I really like the Owner Deep Throat hooks, especially for those who use "chunk" style trailers. They skip great (but with the right trailer, you can say that about almost any jig).

The grass jig mold (used to be called the "casting jig") makes my favorite all around bass jig. I make them with a wire weedguard, a 5/0 medium wire mustad 32724 or a 4/0 heavy wire 32886, and an extra wire trailer keeper molded in, and then I file a flat spot on the bottom of the head to stabilize them a bit for bottom fishing. Wire tie with living rubber and you've basically got an improved booza bug. Anyway, it's a great mold (makes great spinnerbaits too with a little modification).

Like probably most of us, I enjoy the "top ten baits of ______ tournament" posts from FLW, MLF, and BASS tourneys. Helps me get a sense of what pros use in certain conditions. But, one thing that comes out pretty shamelessly in some cases is the captions will mention a pro's sponsors' products when the picture makes it pretty clear the pro wasn't actually using his sponsor's product. Case in point: on the Conroe MLF "top 10 baits" post, the caption states David Walker was using the Zman Batwingz trailer on his jig, when the picture makes it plainly obvious he's using a Zoom Super Chunk (the dimples are a dead giveaway). Obviously, this happens all the time though, not just Walker. Does this bug anyone else? Are the writers screwing this up or are the anglers being misleading?

This is a fascinating observation.

Just played with the 2018 lightning rod at my local academy next to a dobyns fury and a daiqa tatula xt. All 7' mhf casting rods. Noticeably lighter than the fury and just as light as the daiwa, nice crisp action on par with both, power rating seemed accurate. Nice composite full grip with a double locking reel seat that was pretty comfy. Still the same old $40 they've always been. I know this rod has always been though of as a good value, back in the day I through plastics on one and always caught a bunch, but seems they've really upped their game in 2018. Anyone actually fished with one of these new ones yet?

These were discontinued years ago, that I know, but aim curious if anyone can identify this jig. It had a weed guard and skirt at one time.

As a finesse fishing affectionado, I don't get skunked often, couple times a year at most, because if I'm chucking the 12" worm for 2 hours without a bite I'll pick up the drop shot or grub or ned rig and eke out a few. But the fact that I do that at all instead of keeping going with the big worm suggests I don't like getting skunked very much I guess...

I bought and refurbished my boat this year, which cost $3000 with anothe $1000 on th horizon. However I don't buy a boat every year (or every 5 even). In a normal non-new-boat year I spend about $1000-1500 for fuel/oil for my boat and tow vehicle and between 200-500 on gear/tackle. So, call it 1200-2000 a year. Still way cheaper than a country club membership. He'll, about the cos of a municipal golf membership. This doesn't count if I go to Canada or somewhere really far away.

Tiny brush hog in black neon has worked well for me in dirty water.

Ok fork guys and others. There are a couple lakes near my home with huge stands of timber, that are known for producing large bass. However I have little experience fishing such conditions. How do you dissect the fields? Where do you start fishing? What lures do you like to use in stands of timber?

You're talking my language in this budget combo business. Since you've gotten quite a few suggestions of reels in the $120 range, I'll suggest a whole combo. For the money, I don't think you can beat the Academy Ethos rods. I'm partial to micros for use with fluorocarbon, so I'd get an Ethos Micro 6'10" MHXF and either a H2O metal reel or a used Bantam curado/citica (the old ones) on ebay. I would have to go the shimano ebay route because Academy doesn't see fit to make their baitcasting reels in LH versions. That combo will put you right in your wheel house and will be a great rod for everything from worms/light jigs to spinnerbaits/soft swimbaits to weightless senkos, depending on what line you put on it. Don't believe the hype that you need expensive tackle to catch lots of bass. I have exactly one combo that cost more than $150, and while its nice, I will never again spend more than $150 on a combo, and I catch more than my fair share of bass. IMHO, the line you put on your combo has more to do with sensitivity than the rod or the reel, once you get into a certain range of what I would call medium-to-high end tackle (anything over $50-60 for rod or reel)

832 and Tuf Line Supercast in 6, 8, 10lb. Great lines. PP is good too, and thinner, but I find it less abrasion resistant and doesn't seem to last me as long.

The worst of it missed Tulsa completely. We got a lot of rain and straight line winds, but no twisters, thank God.

Rage or carbonlite. I've fished with both, and they're great rods with crisp actions and high sensitivity. Never have liked the feel of any of your other options in my hands. I'd probably go rage for fluoro/mono (micro guides), and carbonlite for braid with leader (bigger guides).

Get a custom builder to build you a Batson 802.75 blank any way you want it. It is a lot like the St. Croix 6'8" mxf rods but a little lighter in the tip and a little more power in the midsection. I know a builder who will do it for $125 + shipping if you're interested, PM me and I"ll give you the number.

What is the best way to mount a TM transducer puck to the transom of a boat? Anyone done this and have a method that worked well for them?

Things like fish photos, though they seem insignificant, give me a lot of insight into my own hangups, and I like to think that when I can be honest about my hangups, maybe I'll be able to be more gracious to others about theirs. I don't think we can really begin to live life authentically together until we can admit that we are small and frail and therefore, we owe others the grace to be small and frail in their own ways too.

2" Yum Wooly Beavertail. I caught a ton of fish on those with a 1/16 oz jighead and on a dropshot. I would give a huge amount of money for a lifetime supply of them in green pumpkin, black/blue, and smoke/purple. I also second the vote for the Keitech Little Spider. Those were really cool.

I do this. Look at my profile picture (which is in fact a 6 lber, I weighed it on a Rapala scale). I think I do it (maybe not everybody) because for some stupid reason, I need other people's approval and appreciation to feel better about myself, and because I grew up watching TV fishings shows and spent the early part of my adult life fishing in tournaments where I came to believe that I was measured as a fisherman by how big my fish were. The parenthetical comment in the first sentence of this post is further evidence that I want you all to approve of me, which again, makes no sense. I acknowledge that this neurosis and behavior is dumb and senseless, but like many (most?) people who live in an achievement-driven society, I am insecure and apparently I desperately want other people to think I'm good at whatever (bass fishing in this case). But, I think lots of us are like this about lots of things, so while its something I should probably work on, I'm not going to lose sleep over it.