mhamlin

Personally, I own both Oakley and Costa's and have been more then happy with both. Granted I haven't been able to test the durability of the Costa's (have only had for one year.), the lens quality is second to none. Also if you do decide on Costa's consider definitely take into consideration what type of material the lenses are made of. Glass is a bit heavier, but I have found it to be very resistant to scratches. Well worth the money in my opinion.

I've used the above scale for approximately one year and have been plenty happy with it. During tournaments, I weigh every fish and my totals have never seemed to have been off by more then an ounce or two that I can recall. For the price, I say go for it.

I pour my own, but the closest that it resembles is a chigger craw with a little less flap on the appendages...if that makes any sense... Other then that its a zoom speed craw.

I use a 6 foot 8 inch,Medium, Extra Fast, legend tournament and with a 4/0 Gamakatsu EWG, I've never had any issues on hook sets. Granted, I don't know if its the softer nature of Yamamoto Plastics or the fast tip, but it seems to me every fish is hooked picture perfect.

Oops...probably need a link to the picture... http://s946.photobucket.com/albums/ad310/HAMLINSCUSTOMTACKL/?action=view&current=DSCF0229.jpg&newest=1

Fortunately living rubber really doesn't dry out much anymore...at least I haven't found it to yet. Personally, I throw a jig with living rubber because of the bulky profile it creates. The only time I will throw a silicon jig is if i'm really trying to put an emphasis on a more natural presentation. (Clear water, or maybe post frontal.) Really though, it would be in your best interest to have a few of each and learn what works in each situation on your body of water. Here is an example of the living rubber jig I throw... I've standardized mostly on an arky style head because I feel it comes through 80 percent of cover just find. (Ignore the beat up paint job, shes dinged a few boat docks : )

From about November to April 25 I LIVE walleyes. It's about the only thing to do around here. I mostly fish the bay though, to many dinks in the river....

I certainly do to an extent; the bad thing is though that in my store alone there are six of us total that tournament fish, so it becomes a race against them as well.

I've got some half jackets with a copper colored polarized lens and to be honest im not to impressed for the price. I'd look at some Coastal Del Mar or Wiley X and then make a decision.

Sadly it's not much, heck, there are times when I can get a majority of the things cheaper just ordering off tackle warehouse. Every once in a while though they do surprise ya....

I'll never stop using them based specifically on clarity, because think about it, a snap style retrieve moves a heck of a lot of water; as much as any crankbait I would imagine, and bass can use their lateral lines to pick up on that movement. If anything I may switch to a more contrasting color but that is it. Think Chartreuse, black, or even white based.

Yeah...I'll be honest if it was the Flint, Saginaw, or Traverse City store, the bluegill models never hit the floor... I guess it pays to be an employee there.

These are about all I use come prespawn, well that and also yo zuri's lipless crank. Phenomenal baits at a phenomenal price as far as i'm concerned. Make sure you get the bluegill color...

Finesse Cranking and skippin tubes/ikas under docks is about it.

I'm a Seagur guy as well, personally I can't feel the difference in sensitivity much. ( I also can hardly feel my finger tips from exposure during ice fishing :.) So take that with a grain of salt, but the abrasion resistance is downright phenomenal when it comes to most flurocarbons.

Pre Spawn, Post Frontal in any newly emerging vegetation I can find, other then that I just chuck and wind the things, which works pretty good to...

The Flying Lure!!! I hate to admit it, but when I was younger, I did very well with those pond fishing... Anyways... probably the most disappointing lure i've purchased recently is the Rage Craws. I know people swear by them on this board, and it's probably just a confidence thing with me, but I just can't seem to get bit enough to justify switching from say a Chigger Craw, or Speed Craw.

From a soft plastic standpoint, try a Gary Yammamoto Fat Ika, it has the action you are looking for, and when rigged weightless a tantalizingly slow fall.

I have VERY good luck with this lure actually during the spawn on bedding bass. You just have to use it in the right circumstances. For example, many of the lakes I fish have a high bluegill population and the bass here really have to chase them away from there beds. So if i find a bedding bass and there are bluegill within five to ten feet of the bed, and the bass is positioned towards those bluegill, chances are if you run the crankbait through his bed it's going to cause a reaction strike. You just need to kind of catch them off guard. I hope that sort of made sense its hard to explain.

If it has any sort of living rubber, i will not trim it. On the other hand if it is silicon, depending on the strand count and how the strands are secured; I will generally leave about 1/2 inch past the hook bend, all the way to the actual bend. I've also been known to cut the skirts into an actual point, just to give it a slightly different profile.

At the risk of going against all wisdom, if fishing a reservoir that is drawing current like most of the lakes i fish during that time. I actually throw a lot of 6 to 8 foot diving crankbaits. Reason being is that the current positions the fish to face the outside edge of the weed line and towards the source of the current. (Think like a 45-60 degree angle in regards to the weed line.) As a result I can target specific areas of water and do so quite quickly with the crankbait. Which will allow me to then cover more water and so on. If it's just a natural lake, I treat a jig like it's my bread and butter with a little frogging mixed in for good effect. Hope that helps!

I think given the circumstances (prespawn), most serious anglers are already aware of the success this lure brings and as a result have a chosen lipless bait in their arsenal. Now I don't think the publicity will hurt one bit, but personally, i'm not seeing another sexy shad phase headed in our direction.

Color wouldn't necessarily matter to me. My preference though, is for a monofilament with very good abrasion resistance, be it P Line CXX or even Trilene BigGame.

Personally, I use an X tool scale, and for the money, feel it performs very well. On close fish though, I would ALWAYS recommend using a balance beam just to be safe. When testing accuracy, I have found my personal scale to always be within two ounces of the correct weight. So, if your goal is to see if that fish looks like hes four pounds, truly is, and a tournament isn't on the line, I would say go for it!