RyneB

Strike King Series 5 in chart. sexy shad, with the DD in Bluegill pattern not far behind.

The DT in Bluegill pattern is one of my best producing cranks just behind the strike king series 5 chart. sexy shad.

Baby Rage craw. One of my best smallie producers is a strike king bitsy bug jig with a baby rage craw trailer.

I bought one to throw on my local river. I throw a bomber in sexy shad color and have very successful outings catching sauger, smallmouth, largemouth, white bass, flatheads and an occasional walleye. I have thrown the flicker shad every outing and have yet to get a strike. It runs true, looks good, but i have yet to catch a fish. And thats how i judge a bait. Iv talked to guys at the boat ramp and thats all they use to troll for sauger and walleye. So i guys one mans trash is another mans treasure.

Was that the tornado that hit Utica? We were fishing the vermillion when it hit. We heard the rumble but couldnt see anything. We walked up the large hill and there were trees and debris everywhere. I wasnt very scared during the storm because i didnt know there was a tornado going on, but when i got up on the hill it hit me on how lucky i was to still be alive.

3 wt fly rod with a white Clouser, white wooly bugger or any other shad imitation. It is a complete blast on the river when the whites are running. My other set up is a 6-6 Ul rod with a UL reel with 6 lb Sufix Elite. White mister twister with a chart. head is my best producer.

Im only an hour north of Bloomington and there is still a solid 3 inches of ice on all lakes and ponds around here. Rivers are flooded, so im still waiting to wet the line. With the snow and 20 degree weather, it feels like i wont fish until May. >

Me and my friend decided to head down to Clinton lake for a day of fishing. We got to the ramp around 6 a.m. and it is packed. We wait in line and finally launch. Im holding the boat against the dock and i see a dad letting his son drive the boat in the busy marina area. The kid is 10 at the oldest. The boat was a deep V with a 115. All of a sudden this kid throttles down and smashes into two other boats and misses mine by a mere 6 feet. Everyone was ok. After that ordeal we head out to a cove. This lake is notorious for its high winds. We fish for a good 2 hours and decide to move down lake. We get out of the cover of the cove and there is 2-4 foot waves. I have a Pro Crappie 175 with a 40 mercury. I make it about a half mile and decided to head in. I have never been more scared in my life. My buddy wanted me to go find another cove. I told him if he wants to fish, he can have the boat and keys and go risk his life. Im not. We found a spot on shore to fish and caught 50+ crappies and several bass and catfish.

The clown colored X-Rap is what i tie on when im struggling to catch smallies

I watched a tourney on Kentucky lake and guys were hammering them on spoons. I decided i had to have one. I bought the BPS nitro spoon in the bluegill pattern. I had it for a year without trying it. I tied it on one day and i was having a blast fishing it. I threw it for about 20 minutes, i was letting it flutter down and something hammered it. Im fighting this fish, thinking i have a huge bass. I get it to the boat, only to realize it is a catfish. It weighed 12lbs. It wasnt a bass but a very memorable fish. Only fish iv ever caught on it.

I use Bio Edge crawfish wand for jigs and plastics and Bio Edge herring wand for cranks. The reason i like this scent is its like a glue stick, just rub it on the bait.

My confidet bait is a Crappie color Brovarney swim jig with a pearl zoom salty fat albert single tail grub. If that fails i pick up the 3wt fly rod with a home made foam spider. I have yet to throw that and not get a fish. The only problem is keeping the bluegills off of it.

Purple Haze

For swimming jigs i like to use a single tail grub,rage tail chunk, and the ultravibe speed craw. For mop jigs i strictly use the Rick Clunn Luck E Strike trailer.

i also fish a similar ponds as you. I agree with swimming a rage craw and scum frogs. I also throw a texas rigged Rage Tail smokin rooster with only a 1/16th ounce weight. I throw it out and pretty much just reel it in like a wake bait. Its a bigger bait but it has caught me small bass as well as large bass. I like to reel it on top and then when i see a little pocket in the vegetation i let it fall in. With only that 1/16th ounce weight, it falls very slow and it looks amazing.

I always keep a bottle of Simple Green in my boat. Its good for all clean up needs. All my fishing buddys chew tobacco and they dont always make it into the water. I fish the Illinois River a lot and i usually hook an Asian Carp in the side. Those things get on the boat and bleed and slime all over the place. Good to have a quick cleaning solution. I also wear a helmet while im using the outboard so i dont get knocked out by a flying carp.

I have to agree with the lure retriever as said above. My uncle made me one and it has already saved me a few hundred dollars.

we got 17 inches of snow with 35 mph winds. Im snowed in. I have my credit card and visiting Bass Pro and Tackle Warehouse. This cant end well.

I fish strip mines that are very very clear. I can usually see 15 plus feet down. I catch over 50% of my fish on swim jigs. I have found the best color is clear or white skirt with that blueish flash. Its hard to describe, but if you have ever seen Strike Kings blue shad colored cranks. You'll know what im talking about. North Star Baits has a spinnerbait skirt somewhat like that but theres is more pinkish. I have caught fish on other colors like bluegill and white, but the color i describe is far and away the best.

I dont know if you venture up to Wisconsin at all but you can find spinnerbaits with those type of color schemes in the tackle shops. Im assuming theyre mainly for musky and northern, but theyre small enough to catch bass. I bought a black skirt with purple blade spinnerbait that produces bass for me here in Illinois.

My #1 spinnerbait color is the bluegill pattern from Strike King. I still throw on the all red Wal Mart $1 spinnerbait and catch fish. I catch a lot of smallies on the local river throwing the all red in stained water.

I usually dont comment on pictures of baits, but i have to admit. Those are the most beautiful baits i have ever seen.

I fish the Illinois River between Spring Valley and Starved Rock which is considered "sauger capitol of the world," so its pretyy easy to catch saugers. I have tried fishing for them with jigs an minnows, grubs,leeches, etc. I usually just fish the river for smallies and largemouth. My #1 bait is a Bomber fat free fingerling in there sexy shad color. Some days ill catch 10 sauger to every 1 bass i catch. So i catch a lot more by not even trying. Just hard to keep the gar off my bait.

The only place i can think of is Lake of the Ozarks. Although if you are bringing your family it probably isnt the best place to go during spring break. A lot of college kids borrow daddys pontoon boats an such and party on the lake.

I would have to say the Revo S. I found 3 at Wal Mart last year for $70, i picked up all 3. My other choice would be the Pro Qualifier.