Bluebasser86

After the spawn they should be cruising, if it's cloudy I'd be throwing a spinnerbait or chatterbait, maybe a topwater.

Junk, usually have at least 6 rods on the deck with different things tied on and usually catch fish on all of them by the end of the day. Usually have a pattern but if I see something that I could fish better with something else I'll put my rod down and throw something different for a cast or two and go back to what I was doing, get some pretty good fish that way.

That sounds like the same way I hold smaller freshwater catfish. I hold them with their belly across my palm with their right pectorial fin between my index and middle finger and my thumb in front of their other pectorial fin. I thought maybe they could fold down their fin and that's how they got you. Don't mean to get all technical but I'll be in Florida at the end of the month and might have a chance to do some fishing so it might be good information to know just in case.

I'd go with the Compre for that price. They're light, sensitive rods and if anything ever happens to it Shimano has great customer service in my experience.

I like a 5.1 ratio for deep runners just for ease of use but you could still use a 7.1 and catch fish.

Some tackle shops carry them but you can order them from lots of online sites. I get a lot of my lure building supplies from an online site but I don't know if they make different sized spacers for buzzbaits like you're looking for.

I've used Spike-it in chartruese, red, and orange and they pretty much always turn the bait to the color I want. I've use it most of the time on watermelon or green pumpkin colored baits but that might not be the best option. Don't spill it though, you'll never get that garlic smell out.

I have some very old Rapala minnows and other than the eyes being a little different and some fading you can't really tell the difference in them from the new ones.

I had a friend make fun of me because my ugly colored Baby 1- I tied on wasn't going to catch any fish. Several fish including a 4lber later he wanted to know if I had another.

I very rarely can catch fish on deep running crankbaits (10 feet or deeper in my book). Even if the fish are holding deep and I can catch them on something else if I switch to a deep running crank I just can't seem to get bit on it. It's frustrating to see guys catching fish on 6XD's and DD22's and try to throw them until my arms fall off and barely catch anything. I think everyone has a bait or category of baits that they just can't seem to get the hang of.

I've caught some fish on the trick stick but senko style baits aren't my favorite so I don't fish them a lot. I've got some of their 6" finesse worm that I like a lot for shakey head fishing because the nose isn't as narrow as a Zoom Trick Worm so there's more plastic to screw onto the jighead. I also got a couple bags of the 10" Kreit worm. That big thick body and short hooked tail should move a lot of water. I'm looking forward to fishing them a little later this spring.

All women are crazy, some just hide it better.

I must have the older version because the zipper on mine suck! They still keep me pretty dry and are very lightweight. I don't mind getting a little damp during the summertime when it's hot anyways.

Lots of powder paints come in multi colors. I don't get real crazy but I have powder paint in green pumpkin/red flake, black/blue flake, rootbeer/green flake. They make some pretty crazy colors if you really want to get into it. I just make baits for myself and until someone convinces me that I need my jigheads to match my skirts perfectly I'll still be using black and brown for most of my jigs. Like G-man said, find the jig style you like and get the unpainted version if you want to paint your own. Buy the skirts and throw them together. You can get some pretty good looking customized baits with fairly little work like that. I make mine from start to finish and it takes a lot of time to make them from pour to finished product.

If you're going to fish 15lb test on a spinning reel I'd be fishing braid for sure. 15lb mono or floro are going to be a PITA to fish with on spinning gear. The Pfluger President or a Shimano Sedona or if you look a little bit a Shimano Sahara are all good reels in that price range.

We call those things dorkfish . I hate catching them but I have a very unfortunate talent for catching them. My friends say I could catch one out of a mud puddle and it feels like I could some days. One that size is a heck of a fight at least!

I use the same hook you're using when I fish minnows but I rarely have fish swallow the hook. If you're using a bobber, make sure to use the smallest one you can get away with, I like the slim, standup style bobbers. These help detect bites when the fish doesn't swim away with the bait. A lot of times a bass with eat a minnow from below and just sit there. With a stand up bobber, it will pop up and lay on it's side so you know a fish has eaten your minnow from below. I haven't had much luck with circle hooks for bass but I haven't tried them a lot. If you're still having problems with them swallowing the hook you can smash the barb down, make sure you know how to go through the gills to unhook a fish, it's a priceless skill to know.

That big bass is a really healthy looking fish. Bluegills are super aggressive when they're spawning as long as they don't get spooked. The males like the ones you caught will usually hit about anything you put close to them.

Fishing does a lot of things for me. My work is stressful and it is a great stress reliever. It's a bonding time with my friends and my dad anytime we get to go together. It's "me" time when things are tough and I need to clear my head and think. It's a great conversation starter because even people who don't fish seem to like to hear stories about big fish. It's the one thing in life that it doesn't really matter how much you make,what you look like, who you are, the fish don't care. I can have as much fun with a container of worms and a couple cheap spinning rods catching little catfish from a creek as I can fishing a big lake from my boat for a big bass. The chance to be forever learning something new on every trip and experience something different on every trip is another big thing that helps to keep bringing me back again and again.

I'm not the biggest fan of cellphones but they are useful. I know when I was an hour from home fishing a powerplant lake when it was 20 degrees out and I locked my keys in my truck I was sure glad to have it. I guess you can pop the sliding window open on new trucks like you could old ones . When someone calls me when I'm fishing though I feel like seeing how far out into the lake I can throw it.

Hurt it worst and you might get to "tough it out" for the rest of your life. You can make more money, you can go fishing later, you can't grow a new hand.

I've gone in reverse from what you have Fish Chris. I used to be able to get the stuff just standing close to it, now I walk through it all the time and rarely get it. I did get some last year helping my father-in-law clear some brush by his house but that was because I cut a poison ivy vine and got the oil on the underside of my forearm. I'd get the shot from your doctor, it clears it up so much faster than anything else for me.

I've seen bass with humped backs like that, seems like they're just deformed for some reason just like some people or animals are deformed.

I could be wrong but I believe the poison from a catfishes "sting" is a mucus based poison so it might be slightly infected, which might be causing the swelling. I've been stuck by a couple freshwater catfish (usually the really small ones when I try to turn them loose) and it is extremly painful. I've had my hands swell up and I get really sick to my stomach. I've also had a burning sensation in my hand and my arm go numb. I doubt it's anything really serious that won't go away with time but I'd probably go to the doctor just be sure, better safe than sorry in this case.

Never seen one of those before but that is something I definitly need! I just broke the mounting tabs of my main depthfinder the other day. It's still hanging on but it's only a matter of time. I'm sorry for the misinformation but I have a skimmer transducer, not a puck transducer like jigman has in his picture. They have the right bracket for that too though and I will be getting a couple of them, thanks guys!