Bluebasser86

I have an older model LTB 7' 3" MH/F that is the C-rig model that works very well for that or for flipping and pitching.

Falcon spinnerbait box. They look very nice when they're all in the box correctly. They look like a mess when you just toss them in the box after use like I do

I don't like trailers on my spinnerbaits unless I'm trying to bulk them up and slow them down like in dirty or cold water. If I do use a trailer it's almost always a 4-5 inch single tail grub.

Lots in the 5-6lb range but nothing really spectacular. One of my biggest this year was 5 1/2 on a 7" GP BPS stick O T-rigged with a 1/4oz bullet weight pitched into a brushpile.

Great informative post Hooligan. The only thing I'll add is I occasionally use a very slow sinker in very cold water. I think sometimes the bait sinking slowly into a fishes face as it rises towards the bait will sometimes cause them to strike.

I fished that lake once and did so poorly I swore I'd never go back. The fact I had to change a flat truck tire in a downpour with no raingear probably heavily affected that decision but now I've seen 2 good reports from that lake that have me rethinking that decision. That fish looks extremely tall for some reason, almost rectangle shaped. I think we had our best luck towards the north end of the lake, where did you get your 2 bites?

These were caught at a power plant lake. I've got 2 within an hours drive so I fish soft water all year

I use a telescoping lure retriever from my boat and it has almost a 100% success rate. I also do what I call the bowstring technique that lots of other guys do. Put a little pressure on the rod and then use your reeling hand to pull the line in the middle between the reel and first guide towards you so it's like a drawn bowstring towards the rod. Let go of the line while releasing pressure off the rod. Sometimes this will knock the bait loose also.

Caught on 7' 1" MH rod with 14lb test and a 1/2oz jig flipping docks. Was very obvious when it bit that it was not a bass. My buddy kanasbassfisher08's Missouri muskie that trashed a buzzbait for him. These guys are always a fun surprise when they crush my swimbait during the winter months.

One of the lakes I fish in the winter they have to be 14" to keep, and I catch keepers pretty often. My biggest is a 17" fish that ate a 1/2oz spinnerbait. Didn't weigh it but it's by far the biggest crappie I've ever caught. I saw a guy with one that went 4lbs 4oz from Lake of the Ozarks a few years ago, it was as big around as a 5 gallon bucket. A couple 14.5" bookends from the lake I was talking about. They have to be 14" and the creel limit is 2 a day.

I'm left handed with a spinning reel and right handed with a baitcaster and can not interchange the two. I have tried to use left handed baitcasters and I end up moving the rod in a circle instead of the reel handle, basically reeling the rod. I tried for a month and gave up. It works for me and I can smoothly change hands while my bait is in the air and be ready by the time my bait is reaching the water so not really an issue anyways.

Depends on the wind, and we usually have plenty. 3/8-3/4 most of the time for me.

Don't forget some jigs, best big fish night bait I've found.

Depends on your classification of a "dink" I suppose. If you're talking a 10" fish or nothing, then I'll take nothing. If it's RW's classification of a dink, I'll take a 3 pound fish any day of the week. The lakes close by me suck, plan and simple. The one I fish Wednesday night tournaments on anything over 2.5 pounds is a kicker fish and if you get one over 3 it's a lock for big bass.

Yep, it was really nice out as far as the weather goes but that usually doesn't add up to good fishing. Water was slick almost all day and not hardly a cloud in the sky. Clouds and some wind usually adds up to the best days out there for me.

I would much rather have had cold, cloudy conditions than the sunny, mild day we had. Nice days rarely equal good fishing days in my experience.

It was slow and honestly probably caught almost half of them in the last hour of the day once we finally figured them out pretty good.

Well it was a lot tougher today for Hi Salenity and I, but I still almost caught 40. A lot more small fish today, no topwater, spinnerbait, or trap fish at all. Had a couple hit a spinnerbait and trap and not hook up but not even a boil on topwater. There was just way less activity on the water today with it being so calm and cold this morning I believe, 30 degrees at the ramp this morning and it felt like it. It was a Ned rig day for sure but even that was slow most of the day. We got a few on cranks and Curt caught a few on a Mepps but that was it. We finally figured them out pretty good in the last hour. Backed of the dam and started casting into 10' of water with the ned rig and fishing it SLOW, started getting bit almost every cast. We probably caught almost as many fish in the last hour as we did the whole rest of the day. Wasn't a multispecies day at all either, smallmouth, 1 spot, 1 sunfish, and several whites. No drum, cats, walleye, or crappie. Curt had a nice largemouth hooked but it got in a brushpile and pulled off. My 2 biggest of the day were 16.5 and 17, both on a Ned rig.

Yep, that's the whole point of a paper tournament, no need to put fish in the livewell so you reduce the chances of killing fish greatly. No reason to risk killing fish for a bragging rights tourney.

Dang thing chased a bunch of turkeys off I was hoping to get a shot at. He started to walk away and I didn't have a call so I just did the best squeak I could muster and it was good enough to get him 20 yards out. Barked at him right before he hit the tree line. He didn't go 30 yards before he piled up. Not a big dog but really cool way to get my first one with a bow.

Wal Mart usually carries the Strike King Zero, it's the same thing as a zinker basically. Don't forget the super glue! Hi Salenity and I will be headed to Melvern tomorrow and it sounds like we'll be enjoying a rare calm day on Melvern. Of course they're saying 5-10 and you can usually add 5mph down there and it's supposed to be coming from the west when we'll be fishing the east end so it will probably feel like 30

Fished Olathe for about 4 hours this morning. Bite was pretty good just the size was not there. I caught 17 but only 2 over 15". I also had a 17" saugeye on a DT10 that I turned loose before I found out the length limit was 15" It's 18 everywhere else I fish so I just figured it was the same out there. I guess I'll know next time.

It'll be a real good morning in about 4 more hours when I get off work. Got the boat hooked up in the parking lot outside, rods and gear in the cab. It'll take me 5 minutes to be on the water and my weekend will officially be started

How would you attach the blade directly to the eye? open the eye with pliers and slip the blade on? I've been having great success with the baits I've been making, the bait really dances with the split ring on there. I've had good luck with the original chatterbaits too though, just wondering how you would go about getting a blade on without a split ring.

As in the rods and reels they're being fished on or the actual baits themselves? Here's a couple of my favorite color baits rigged and ready for action.