RyneB

looks good. my green pumpkin jigs are all green pumpkin skirting, then if I feel I need some extra color. I'll take a spike it marker and mark a strand or two.

chatterbaits and jerkbaits. I dont want to master them, I just want to have enough success them to gain some confidence.

If I'm punching mats. 100% of the time there is 1 or 2 baits on my deck with a Junebug bait. A junebug Gambler BB Cricket has done some major damage for me. If I'm flipping a lizard, or Carolina rigging a lizard. First color I try is Junebug. If I'm flipping a green pumpkin jig, more times than not it has a junebug colored trailer. There are some days where a junebug Zoom centipede on a finesse Carolina rig seems like cheating. I prefer junebug over black an blue every single day of the week.

knowing how to drive a boat at 85+ mph sure does help.

IROD genesis 2 Bubs punch rod. I've punched with a lot of other brands and rods, mostly high end. The Bubs is the best punch rod I've used. I've had mine for years and it's been flawless. I did have an eye insert come out of the tip eye. An email to IROD and I had a brand new tip eye in 6 days, didnt cost me a cent.

you better have a strong set of testicles.

I love mine. They have as good of a reputation as anyone.

it's a great jig. I used it a lot this past year. Loved everything about it.

Angling A.I. is your best choice. I have a 3.5 slender tube mold from them. It's an excellent mold. They also have a new 2.75 double dip mold that may be exactly what you're looking for.

I head up to Lake Leelanau the first week of June every year for a family vacation. I dont catch the BIG smallies that the Traverse City area is known for, but I catch A LOT of 2-2.5 lbers and a few 3s a day and I usually run into a 4lb range fish every year. Get out early when the mayflys are hatching and the topwater action can be insane.

when I go to northern wisconsin, my best bait is a jig with a rage craw trailer. followed by a buzzbait. Ironically, my 2 biggest northern wisconsin bass both came on a drop shot with a 3.5 inch shade shape worm.

if you want used, there is one for sale on the big auction site right now.

Buzzbait, Couple packs of Senkos, green pumpkin tubes, a frog, popper, spinnerbait, swim jig, some hooks and weights will be a good start. Then build knowledge and go from there. Learn everything you can from this site during the winter months. The biggest mistake I made when I first started getting serious about bass fishing was buying everything and anything. I had no plan or knowledge of how to effectively use the baits I was buying. Time on the water is the best learning tool.

I am not sure of any manufacturer that doesnt use salt in their tubes. I use a Trokar tube hook.

Sunline SX1 on my spinning reels. I cant say enough great things about this line for spinning applications. Original Power Pro for my baitcasting setups. Not saying it's the best, and I haven't tried many other brands. But its been more than reliable for me.

Something happened 6 years ago that made me go from a person who hated tubes, to someone who had to try. For the last 6 years I have committed myself to tubes. Going so far as to buying a tube mold and customizing my own to my liking for the technique I would be using them for. Even won AOY in my club last year, and I'd say 90% of my fish came on a 3.5 inch tube. I used to think a jig was the most versatile bait in the bass fishing world, and I still love jig fishing. Now, i would say with great confidence it is a tube. Here are several ways I fish a tube. Carolina Rig: My favorite way to Carolina rig a tube is with spinning tackle. First, I put on a bobber stop, then a 1/8 oz tungsten, and then another bobber stop. This allows me to change "leader" length on the fly, without retying. I dont inject my tubes with salt, so it helps them suspend. Or, take a piece of foam earplug, stuff inside the tube. This allows the tube to suspend above vegetation, or above rock or whatever structure you are fishing. Texas Rig: I believe there is no wrong way to fish a tube on a texas rig. I've caught fish punching a tube with a 1 ounce weight, to skipping docks with a texas rig tube on a 1/16 oz tungsten. Jig head: I prefer the jigs that insert into the tube. but a simple painted jig head from your local wal mart will get the job done if need be. This is a rig I like to use up north in michigan for smallies. It's not nearly as effective here in illinois because most of the cover I fish is vegetation, docks, and rip rap. Occasionally I will use this technique on deep points when they stop chomping on a Carolina rig or jig. Hook:I strictly use a Trokar Tube hook. It's a beefier hook than most of the tube hooks out there, but I can negate that extra weight by inserting a ear plug in the tube to suspend it if that's goal. The keeper holds a tube on better than any other hook I have tried. Not pushing a product, it's just my favorite hook for tube fishing. Colors: I have tried hundreds of different colors, and own hundreds of colors. In the end, I only need two. Green pumpkin, and some short of shad color (most manufacturers make a Smoke color).I like a little orange glitter in my green pumpkin, but it's all personal preference. I have had some great days on a Junebug tube as well. Just like any bait, color is a confidence thing. But a shad or smoke colored tube on the Carolina rig I mentioned above can be deadly. Its tossed the skunk out of the boat countless times. Size: I throw 3 sizes. 2.75 inch, 3.5 inch, and 4 inch. 3.5 inch is by far my best producer, but I also throw it the most. I use the small 2.75 for jig heads sometimes, and the 4 inch for flipping on a t rig. The 3.5 does everything for me though. If I am flipping wood. A lot of times I'll flip a jig and creature bait, but there is always a 3.5 or 4 inch tube on deck as well. Style: not all tubes are the same. Some are double dipped, some are loaded with salt, some are soft, some are hard. Some are dipped with one color, and then redipped for a two colored tail. for instance, a BPS 3.5 Tender Tube is very slim compared to a Strike King coffee tube. Which tubes you throw where is completely up to what you have confidence in. I prefer a slim tube compared to a double dip, but there are guys who swear by a double dip thick body tube. In my little experience, the slender profile gets more bites. I'm not saying it's better than double dip, it's just what I have confidence in. I have yet to try the "stupid" tube yet, but i already have that on my to do list. If anyone else would like to add to this, feel free. But if you are an angler who wants to try a versatile bait, the tube should be in your boat or tackle box. Thanks and tight lines.

Just give me a bunch of terminal tackle and a 100 Pack of 3.5 inch tubes and let me work.

I throw lizards year round. Mostly on C Rigs. But I will flip them on a t rig, a keel weighted hook, and even weightless on top of slop.

Baits that never leave my boat are put in plano boxes. The rest I take in and out depending on the body of water I'm fishing, try to limit those plastics to 1 gallon freezer bags. I try to limit it to 2 bags. I have been fishing the same bodies of water for many years, so I dont have to bring a whole lot. On several day trips or vacations I'll fill up freezer bags and leave them in the back seat of my truck in case I need something. I have found the less clutter in my boat, the better.

BPS 3.5 tender tubes, Dry Creek 3.5 tourney tubes and tubes I make are my favorites and really all i use. I know this is off topic, but take one of these smaller tubes and insert a piece of an ear plug. Rig it on a light c rig and it flat out catches fish. My favorite way is a punch stop, then my 1/8 oz weight, and then another punch stop. That way I can adjust the "leader" length with ease.

you will be happy with the Zolo. I have not fished the Kistler, so I cant speak on it. But I do own several Kistlers and they are great rods. I do love my Zolos as well. Actually, my favorite jig rod is a ALX Ikos hammer 7-3, followed by a Zolo Dragger. There isnt a jig or scenario I have put the Ikos Hammer through where it hasnt succeeded. The Zolo deputy can feel under powered in some situations I've put it in. But it is a great light texas rig and jig rod. I dont know how people say the Zolos are not sensitive. I fished a Zolo Dragger and a Loomis IMX on and off dragging jigs and Carolina rigs on points for 3 days and it was very very clear to me the Zolo was more sensitive. Both rods had the same MGX and same braid.

biggest smallie. Lake Fork magic popper in bluegill during the mayfly hatch. Biggest largie came punching mats with a Gambler Ugly Otter in Bowens silver with a black an blue punch skirt. Largie weighed just under 4.5 lbs in Illinois. Smallie is a Traverse City area smallie and not sure what it weighed. Topwater bite was ON and didnt want to waste valuable time.

The deputy is a great rod, but it may be a bit underpowered for heavier jigs. I have used mine for jigs, but if I'm flipping a jig in heavy wood or thicker vegetation, I usually rig the jig on a Toadface or Dragger or Ikos hammer. My favorite jig rod is actually a ALX Ikos Hammer 7-3. I insist there is no better rod for the price point of the IKOS. As far as the Deputy goes, I love it for T rigs and light T rigged tubes and even small finesse jigs. You will love the Deputy. Or any other ALX rod for that matter.

I prefer Abu Garcia because they fit my hand better because I have small hands. But I also own a Daiwa Tatula, and 3 Curados. I have nothing negative to say about any of them. The Tatula isnt the best feeling or lightest reel I own, but it casts like a dream and performs well.

I have had my previous boat serviced by them, and was working with them on trying to get a new Ranger. I ended up going with a Skeeter, but they were great to work with. I even called them to see if they could work on my Yamaha since my local dealer closed shop. They told they dont, but steered me towards a dealer that does.