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A snapping turtle with a shell the size of a manhole cover. I was maybe 10 y/o and fishing sunnies, and I was scared ****less of that thing. It was hissing!

Be patient. Waiting an hour or two for an answer on a winter morning isn't going to kill you. : Everyone around here uses the chartreuse/white laminate Senkos, probably more than any color, even watermelon. The stores can't keep them in stock.

I almost always spear chunks and thread everything else. When you spear plastics that you would ordinarily thread, if will increase the drag of your bait in the water, and your bait will fall much slower and create more turbulence on the retrieve. Anybody who's tried spearing a full sized Beaver on a jig has seen this.

This $29 package I sent was sold to a BR member in the South. It was actually some jerry rigged deal where I had to connect two tubes together with heavy staples and duct tape because I didn't have a tube that would fit a 7' 11" flippin stick. The UPS rep said I was still under the length limit by a few inches. This was about this time last winter. Maybe some things have changed, but it was $29, and I thought that was even a little steep.

Sluggos fall into the "fluke" category, to be fished on a weightless Texas rig, walk the dog style, with frequent pauses to let the bait glide down.

You're right, you don't see those very often, but they're out there. Check the Secret Weapon Lures site. The have red and blaze orange. I used to use the Terminator red skirts on spinnerbaits for river smallies. It's not much different than your a red craw/Rayburn red colored crank. I'd personally like to see more companies make efforts to make various panfish colored skirts; female bluegill, male gill, pumpkinseed, black crappie, white crappie, and perch for example.

Those are called boonie hats.

I like an Adidas golf visor. They're cool, comfortable, and durable.

I believe if you travel up to Park Falls, WI and you go in there in store shop there are some prettty cheap rods. Yep, St. Croix. Park falls, WI. In-store only. I don't know of any rod company that makes an effort to sell their "cosmetic defective" rods online.

There are a few different rod handle tapes that you can try. Some people like a few wraps of hockey tape around the reel seat. I personally like the feel of tacky, untreated cork.

Storing the plastics in their original bags is your best bet if you have your bait selection narrowed down and don't keep a very large collection of different plastics. But I like using the Plano boxes, separated into a half dozen types with a few baits tossed in from each bag of plastics. I can carry a larger selection without the hassle of carrying dozens of bags, and it's much easier to sort through the bunch. I can also move it in and out of the boat more easily, because the boats bilge is wet and lockers are too humid for storing soft plastics that are kept in boxes, even if you use desiccants like charcoal packets. You can tell because the salts will bleed from the baits if it's too humid. I've been doing this for years and I don't think it makes much of a difference regarding shelf-life whether the plastics are in the bag or in the box, just as long as you make an effort keep the humidity down. The scents may degrade a little and the colors may bleed occasionally, but you can take care of that with some JJ's or Megastrike.

Cattails.

What would you guess the water temp is?

The prices I've been charged by UPS and FedEx to ship in the US have ranged from $18-29. How heavy is your package? $90some bucks is a joke.

That's a great deal. Premiers are my favorite rod for $100 and under. That same 6' 6" MH/F was my very first baitcasting rod. I still have it. My Dad uses it to toss 1/2 oz spinnerbaits and buzzbaits.

The Rapala DT Fat-3 has it's place among the best.

Mid October 60 degree air temp and cloudy 50 degree water temp Run and gun spinnerbait fishing

Haven't the Tru Tungsten weights declined in quality over the last few years? The weights I bought recently will scuff the heck out of your line.

maybe one that was bleeding. wonder where they got tequila sunrise? I think tequila sunrise is a drink. If I remember correctly, it's yellow/orange. Close, orange/red. Tequila, OJ, with grenadine that sinks to the bottom. Not even close to what the bait colors are.

Whoa! Nice jig. 6" long!

Finesse tubes on light wire tube jigs.

Those catfish nuggets look really good. I really hate skinning them, but fresh Creole-style catfish is good eatin'.

Those are either cinnamon teal or blue-winged teal, which look almost identical except for their breeding plumage. Great pic. That's one creepy looking red eye!

Good pics. You gotta love watching raptors hunt for fish. Bald Eagles will sometimes pull their wings in and drop like a torpedo into the water, diving feet first and completely submerging themselves going after fish. I've seen it twice on the Mississippi, where the eagles and hawks are often going after carp and redhorse.

Nice vid, thx.