Fishes in trees

I'd agree with J Franco in that I think that the Sammy is the easiest topwater to walk. I throw mine on a fairly whippy 6' bait casting rod and mono, anywhere from 12 to 20 lb. I think I'm using 17 right now.

Joining a local club is one way to get started in tournaments. I would suggest that a better way would to be to join a regional circuit like the Walmart BFL. Since you don't have a boat, you will go as a co-angler to start either way. Aside from a slightly higher entry fee, your expenses for a club tournament versus a BFL tournament are roughly the same. The potential payouts from fishing a BFL are much higher than fishing a club tournament. Some people will say, just to get your feet wet, you should start with a local club. I say, if you think you got skills, go ahead and get into a league that has a steeper learning curve, but a far greater potential payout. From where you live in NW Arkansas, you'd have a choice of Arkie, Okie or the Ozark divisions. I think that you would learn more quicker fishing BFL or some similar circuit rather than starting at the club level. JMO

When I was doing the co-angler thing, I found that 2 small to medium bags beat 1 large bag. Total weight would be roughly the same. As a co-angler, there is the stuff that you "might" need versus the stuff that you are going to need. The bag full of the "might need stuff" got shoved into a bin or up underneath the console. If was a way for me to feel like I had brought enough stuff without tripping over it as much.

You may want to rethink going "light" with your drop shot weight. I think a lighter weight just dampens your feel. Think about it, in contrast to most other methods of fishing, in drop shot fishing the bait is above the weight rather than behind it. The whole point of the weight is to anchor the bait to the bottom, so that you know, for the most part, how far above the bottom your bait is. A heavier weight accomplishes this better, at least for me. In addition, a heavier weight gets to the bottom quicker and that is where you fish a drop shot bait, slightly off the bottom, from 6" up to 2 or 3 feet or so. Even when I am fishing a light line drop shot rig (6 or 8 lb fluorocarbon) I never go below a quarter ounce, and I think a 3/8 or 1/2 ounce weight is easier to fish. All I can say is to try that with your drop shot rig and see if that works for you. I've never had a "great" day fishing the drop shot. Many times though, fishing the drop shot has turned a rotten day into a decent day, with 6 or 8 fish that I wouldn't have gotten otherwise.

I'm 99% a boat fisherman, not a bank fisherman, but I think that soft plastic organization is similar either way. I don't see any point in taking soft plastics out of the bag that they come in. I sort soft plastics by type (shakey worms, ribbon tails, creatures, lizards, hula grubs, senkos, tubes, etc) and keep the different types in gallon zip lock bags. The various gallon zip lock bags get stores in a couple of medium sized boat bags. As a bank fisherman, you probably don't want to carry as many, but the organizing principle is the same.

How fine do you want to get? A decent electronic scale, one that will weigh down to + or - a gram or so doesn't cost that much. I think I got mine from Walmart for around $25. I would guess that 5" Money Minnow would weigh in the neighborhood of 16 to 20 grams, but I don't know for sure. That is something for me to check out the next time I have spare time fooling around in my fishing shed.

The BPS in Independence, MO has a BIG picture window, basically the southern side of the store. It just makes the light in the whole store weird. I've bought things that I thought were brown in the store and brought them home and they were olive green. Trying to compare different colors of soft plastics in different aisles in a pain because in different aisles, with varying degrees of light - cloud cover - etc., the light is just different.

I have a different rod for square bills because, basically I throw square bills often, I always have one tied on on deck. For throwing square bills, the 7'4" AETOS works the best for me so far. Basically I like a stiffer, more sensitive rods for cranks because I want to know about strikes ASAP. I will take my chances on the fish throwing the hooks.

Throwing cranks is such a subjective thing. Feel versus distance. Glass versus graphite. Longer rods versus ease of storage. Taking other guys word for how different rods work for you only goes so far. You've got to experiment for yourself and be willing to make a few mistakes. Me, I have issues with glass rods. I get the distance I like most of the time, but I can stand the "delayed reaction" you get to strikes. Also, in my truck, rods over 7'3" or so get problematic in terms of storage. I think that everything involved with cranking rods is a compromise and you get to pick & choose what you want. Currently I am a fan of graphite rods, because, no matter what distance the bait is from me, I think I get better feel than I do with a glass rod of relatively equal power. MY current crank rods are relatively cheap compared to other rods in my arsenal. I use a BPS Extreme 7'4" Woo Davies special - medium action (in BPS terms.) This rod was originally marketed by BPS as a light pitching rod and for me it didn't work very well for that. Put a 3/8 or 1/2 ounce crank bait on this rod and it is plenty sensitive and has enough tip that it loads ok and gets decent distance. Handle is long enough that two handed casting is easy, which reduces the strain on wrists and elbows. Price is ok. List is generally around $90 and they frequently go on sale to around $70. Just another rod to consider. Now if the subject is square bill rods, my new this year 7'4" Fenwick AETOS med action beats every other rod I've ever tried for square bills hands down. Again, another subjective opinion, but as far as square bill rods issues are concerned, that issue is solved, at least until I break it.

I think that there are many more variables to this question than just lb test of line. In alot of bass cover, you might get more strikes with lighter line ( I repeat - might - no guarantee on this), but many of those strikes you wouldn't land, line would get broke, hung up and so forth. If you think that you can catch more bass in cover with lighter line, then buy all means go for it. If you find out that you are breaking off quite a few fish (and thereby leaving hooks in their mouths,etc) then stop it. Line is only one variable ( albeit an important one ) in the spinning versus bait casting discussion. There are lots of others.

Any of those high end coolers, in the size you're talking about, once it is full of beer & ice you will need help to move it. Other than that, I've looked at those high end coolers myself, I want one, but I just can't swing it right now. Too bad, I would "be somebody" if only I had one of those high end coolers.

A couple of weeks ago I got a new Fenwick AETOS 7'9" HEavy action rod. I don't know about heavy swim baits, but it throws a 3 1/2 oz (total weight) A-rig great. It is rated to throw up to 4 ounces, so I'm pretty sure it would do OK. I thought the color was a little weird at first ( a deep, dark blue) but I got over it.

I've broke down and bought fiberglass cranking rods a couple of times. Never again. If I got to fish all the time, I might appreciate the delayed reaction time offered by fiberglass rods. I wouldn't say that my fishing reflexes are atrophied, but I wouldn't call them finely tuned either. I like the quicker, faster feeling of my graphite crank rods.

What they said. An adjustable post is preferable to one that isn't. As far as the seat itself goes, get the one with the most padding. Don't skimp.

If anyone has a Hydrowave they don't like, I'll swap a late 80's era Color-C-Lector/PH meter even up.

Nobody has mentioned Pete Townsend yet. He belongs in the conversation.

Every so often I feel like I should keep a log, that it would make me a better fisherman. That resolve often lasts for a few hours, then I forget. I tried keeping a log in my truck, the idea being that it would be the last thing that I would do prior to leaving the ramp, i.e. fill out the log. That lasted a couple of trips. The bottom line is that so far I have found it to be more trouble than it is worth. When I first got my boat, I tried using a voice recorder, I kept it in my shirt pocket and anything of note, I would talk into the recorder. Worked OK for a few trips, never did get around to transcribing the verbal notes into a log. Eventually the battery on the device wore out and couldn't find another one. It is still in the shop somewhere I think.

YES - since I got one with variable speed ( years ago) I wouldn't have one that didn't have it. It is just easier.

I don't swim very well. I fish by myself in all kinds of weather throughout the year. Just don't be dumb. I wear an HIT inflatable life jacket most of the time. The only time I don't wear it is when I forget it. Be aware that falling out of a boat is easy, it is the getting back in that is difficult. Once you get your boat, you might want to pick a shallow spot during warm weather and practice getting into your boat. That is what I did the first year I got my boat. I have only inadvertently fallen out of my boat once. Early spring - 40 something water temp. & it was pretty windy. Wind blew me into a stump sideways and I wasn't expecting the impact. Over the side I went. You will be surprised what you can do when adrenaline kicks in. Anyway, when I finally got home from that trip I pulled out my Mastercard and ordered an inflatable life jacket from BPS - before I took a shower. Bottom line is don't let a simple thing like not knowing how to swim keep you from fishing. Improvise - adapt -don't be dumb. A comforting thought is that if you are dumb, your actions will solve your problems.

Quitting was pretty easy for me. At the time, my doctor had me on a medication that had a toxic reaction with nicotine. The first few months it was relatively easy, as I was scared and believed the warnings that came with the medication. At work, I stayed in the non-smoking break room, didn't hand with the smokers on break. One summer evening, after a few beers on my deck, a cigarette didn't sound so bad. I had 2. The next day I was sick as a dog, lethargy & puking for12 or so hours. Haven't had a cig since. I am around alot of cigarette smoke at work, but it doesn't bother me so much as long as I don't get it right in the face. I'm not on that medication any more, but I don't want anything to do with a cig.

I gave the Jika rig a fair test over the last month (July). I made my own rigs that weighed between 3/8 and 1/2 oz. I made mind using worm weights positioned back to back with a glass bead separating them. I fished a mildly pressured Conservation Lake that is gaining a reputation for being stingy about keepers (15"+ fish) , but there are plenty of "slot fish" between 12" and 15". In 4 July trips, (all hot, 90+ degree days, some very sunny and some cloudy) I caught 17 keepers up to 21" long and an additional 40 or so slot fish. All on the Jika rig, all deeper than 10' down to 18 or 19'. All on the deep edge of a weed line. So currently, I am pretty sold on the Jika rig as a solution to the summer, fishing deep dilemma. I used a variety of creature style baits and the BPS Mag Fin-eke worm. No real pattern emerged there, just keep fishing deep and every so often something would hit it.

Should you desire to get away from from bank oriented cover you are going to need a depth finder. You can get a decent one for around a hundred bucks + or -. I would recommend the Hummingbird Fishing Buddy. You can go around and drag a heavy weight to determine depth, but that is a pain and it is easy to get lost, more trouble than it is worth, really. Deeper water fishing has a pretty steep learning curve. I am not real good at it myself. I do know that you need a depth finder to start.

I use braid occasionally. Over the past 5 years or so, I haven't noticed any significant wear issues. EXCEPT - I had a Bud Erhard Graphite/glass crank bait rod (purchased new at a sports show 1989 or 1990 I think) The last few years it turned into my primary rattle trap rod, using 17 or 20 lb mono. Last year I decided (for no good reason) that I should throw trap style baits on braid, so I wound some 65 lb power pro on to my Calcutta 200 TEGT. Anyway, I found that I got a little better casting distance with roughly the same amount of effort. Hook setting at a distance improved. After 4 months or so, I noticed a distinct groove had been cut in the tip, and grooves were beginning to form in all the guides. So, that rod has been benched for now, on the injured reserve until I can afford to put new guides on it. In the meantime, I got a MH Bucoo Trap Caster from Walmart and it works great.

I tend to fish a jig head/soft plastic combo more often than I do a traditional skirted jig/trailer. Shakey head fishing isn't just for light line & spinning gear, at least that's the way I see it.

The best time to buy fishing tackle is when you've got spare money to buy fishing tackle. Yeah, a few times per year Tackle Warehouse and other major on-line retailers will have good sales, but the chance that they will have what you want is problematic. Besides, I can't buy rods & reels on-line, unless I am getting something that I am already familiar with. I've got to touch and play with the rods & reels prior to buying them, that's just me. For my, that means buying local at brick & mortar stores. I have used on-line prices to negotiate a deal.