Marty

This is a post I made on another forum yesterday: "I've been fishing crankbaits for 39 years, but I claim no expertise. However, there are countless brands, sizes, styles, shapes, colors, etc. that are productive. I'd choose a few from brands whose names you know (you're off to a good start with the BPS) and make sure they run at the depths you want to fish. I don't place a high priority on color. Get a muted color like shad or bluegill and a loud one like firetiger and they will serve you well. Don't buy too many. Use a few to get a better feel for using them and after awhile you'll know what else you want in your crankbait box. Good luck. I generally throw cranks wherever the cover will permit and I think these lures have few equals in their ability to attract strikes." I've seldom had conditions when I could actually bump the baits off bottom, but that's not necessary to catch fish. One of the things that bumping does is cause the lure to change speed and direction and that can be done with your arms, hands, rod and reel. I believe everybody can benefit by having cranks in their arsenal.

Any lure that the cover will allow use of will work. Weedless topwaters, a variety of soft plastics, such as jerkbaits, Senkos, creatures and the like. Spinnerbaits and/or crankbaits and topwaters at the edges if you can get away with using them. Let those plastics drop into holes and at the edges. I often start with topwaters to locate fish that either boil or show movement under the water, then follow up with a plastic. I'd advise braid because of its strength and incredible abrasion resistance to vegetation.

No, I'm not talking Fords, Chevy's and Dodges, I'm talking the 0-13 Detroit Lions. On the brink of disaster, only a massive federal infusion of talent on both sides of the line can stave off the bankruptcy of a 0-16 record. Estimated cost would be $100 million, mere chump change by federal standards, only about 30¢ per U.S. resident. We need to act forcefully and immediately to prevent the toxic effects from rippling through the Upper Midwest and then the entire nation. Some will say this is a slippery slope--- if we do it for Detroit, then Cincinnati and Kansas City will be next, looking for similar handouts. Perhaps so, but we'll have to cross that bridge when we get to it. In the meantime, we cannot afford further delay. Congress and the President must put aside their partisan differences and implement a plan that takes effect before Sunday's expected slide to 0-14. Please e-mail your representatives in Washington and demand their immediate attention to this urgency.

I certainly have no knowledge. But he did technically resign and I wonder if he had a non-compete clause which would disallow him from coaching in the SEC for a year or two.

I agree that the conventional wisdom is tight wobble in cold water and wide wobble in warm, but the bass don't know that. I've seen too many exceptions, particularly with tight wobblers like Shad Raps being very effective in warm water. Imitating forage is not high on my priority list, again, because I've seen too many exceptions with regard to colors and sizes and shapes doing well without resembling anything, at least based on what I would consider resemblance.

For the last two days, the right part of the window is cut off and I have to use the horizontal scroll bar, which I don't like to do. And I don't want to change the settings on my monitor to view more but with smaller size. I'm currently using 1024x768 which is fine for almost all other sites that I visit. But my point is that something changed for the worse.

Obviously, small ponds have different depths and other characteristics. My ponds are shallow and weedy and the vast majority of my fish come on topwaters. Other than that, in no particular order, are shallow cranks, Chatterbait-style lures and soft plastics.

I don't know the answers, but it's decided in advance which conferences play in which bowls. Beyond that, I'm fuzzy on the details. http://www.sportsline.com/collegefootball/bowls/predictions

No argument there. Somebody always gets left out unless there are exactly two major unbeatens.

Sure. But you might want to take a small knife and scrape off any gobs of dried glue that remain on the jighead collar.

I keep my braid on as long as there's still enough line left. No problems.

Even more so when you consider the "love story" between Shanahan and Davis. ;D

It's rated for up to 8' and I know from my fishing that I get reasonably close to that depth, at least 6'.

Become a Gonzaga fan, they'll have a winning record.

I have both the 1/8 and 1/4 oz, but rarely use the smaller one. I don't use the larger one all that often, but it's a good lure. Last time I used it I caught a couple of smallies.

I don't fish mine that way, but they're designed to be fished in multiple ways. That method sounds like it should work well if you're in the right place at the right time. Go for it and see what happens.

Might as well make this a "sticky" and keep it on top. :'(

Why not post a question with San Diego in the subject line on the Western Bass Fishing sub-forum? Maybe you can get a feel for whether your experience is typical or not for lakes in that area and receive some advice on how to kick-start your (relatively) cold-water fishing.

Without getting into specific brands, I think a 6.5-7' medium power with fast action makes for a good general-purpose rod.

I'm in Time-Warner territory so we don't have it. I'm really surprised because three or four years ago I was sure that TW and NFL would reach an agreement within a year. It'll be interesting to see who blinks first, if someone does.

Almost all of the time. However, there have been times when I added a rubber core sinker with the rubber removed to the hook shank when I wanted some additional weight. If you don't add too much weight, the erratic action is still there.

Flukes, Slug-Gos, Bass Assassins and other baits are in a category called Soft Jerkbaits. They will dart erratically after a twitch. I fish Super Flukes/Bass Assassins with a 4/0 extra-wide-gap hook with a twitch-and-pause retrieve, letting them sink into holes in the weeds or at the edges if fishing vegetation.

Sorry you didn't get a direct answer. I've never seen a reference to those Discussion Threads.

I agree with the bobber idea for what you want, even with lures, such as soft plastics. You could also try a relatively heavy, floating-diving crankbait or jerkbait that you can get out there far with and reel in slowly.

I'd think on any given day anything can happen, but in the long run I'd say you'd get similar results with most, if not all, of the leading brands.