K_Mac

California 420 in both smallie and standard 4.20 is by far my favorite color!!! I almost always have one t-rigged-often one of each. Watermelon/Red and Hematoma are also very popular on my boat.

During a tourney it is a pain, other than that I don't mind. I am starting to get an attitude toward musky though. I don't mind catching them, it is the ones I don't catch that aggravate. The last couple of trips to Kinkaid here in southern IL. has cost me two good crankbaits to the toothy varmints. The last one was probably a keeper (48") that took a 100 series Bandit as soon as it hit the water. I had him to the boat twice before he bit me off. All I wanted was my custom colored bait back...

A higher price tag does not mean better in all cases. We can all agree on that. Sensitivity, quality, and value still comes down to opinion and budget though. Whether the reels you list are cheap or legendary depends the budget of the buyer, and of the model chosen. That mono was for years the gold standard of fishing line, and that as a result still holds many records is not a compelling argument for its superiority today. While you can make a case for Ugly Stiks being "unbreakable", to argue that they are world class sensitive is silliness in my opinion. What I'm saying is that these are subjective judgments that are fun to talk about and give us plenty to argue about on the interwebz, and there is value in that.

For me, this sums things up Catt. Some people will say that they can't tell the difference between mayonnaise and Miracle Whip or just don't care. It matters to me. I once worked with a guy who had more money in the sound system than the truck. Didn't make a bit of sense to me, and I love music. It mattered to him. Some of us can't tell the difference in sensitivity of rods, and some don't give a rip. For others, even the slightest improvement is worth whatever the cost. Most of us find a level that is good enough. Unfortunately, I find that the "good enough" bar tends to be very near the upper limit of my budget.

With my grankids it doesn't matter much. When I have a new fisherman along we will find some fish, and not worry too much about size. A tourney requires a limit. Other than that I am happy going for a big bite or two.

It is amazing how kids, or in my case grandkids, can have needs that so quickly burn through all available spending money. Welcome to the joys of parenting. I don't know how old your kids are, but can tell you with certainty, it will get worse as time goes on. Good luck! You probably have enough gear to last for a trip or two anyway...

I get by fine with mid priced rods. I have fished with high end rods though, and if I had the money or fished professionally I would have a few for bottom contact baits. While they are not necessary, they do make a difference in sensitivity and comfort.

I can't speak for Kansas, but if you show a DNR agent a Florida drivers and fishing license while fishing in Illinois you will not be happy with the reaction. I traveled for years in my job, and at times had the chance to fish with local guys. I always bought a license. A couple of times the experience did not justify the expense, but it was just the cost of choosing to fish out of state. While I am certainly no saint, I completely agree with FishinDaddy that if you are going to use a local resource, paying to help fund it is the responsible thing to do. I once made the choice to fish with an expired boat sticker that I had forgotten to renew. I told my wife we had fished the lake dozens of times and never even seen a DNR agent. We had not been on the water 30 minutes when they arrived. The fine was more than the sticker and I paid both...

Yep. As SirSnook said you can do it all with spinning if you want to. You can't do it all with the same combo without making serious compromises though. Punching heavy mats, bouncing a med/deep crankbait, or working a light shakyhead/finesse worm require very different equipment. While line and rod choice are the primary differences, most of us are far more comfortable using either spinning or baitcast gear depending on the technique.

Two in lakes and one in a river-all spinning combos. All three better than average quality (for my collection). One was lost while landing and unhooking a nice hybrid striper-small tin boat, rough deep water. One was lost when my canoe overturned while fishing in a river that was too high and too fast moving to safely fish. The most recent was lost when I decided to let it go after falling from my boat (not wearing a life preserver) while fishing alone in choppy, cold water and realizing I could not catch the boat or reach shore hanging on to it. There may be a pattern here... None were recovered.

The info you don't give is very important: What hook are you using? What size hook? How are you hooking the plastic? A light power rod will require a lighter gauge hook properly sized for the bait, and not much plastic to interfere with the set (think skin hook). Light power is fun, but challenging...good luck.

Well said. I am not sure about it appeasing fishing gods, but losing stuff happens. When you run out of what you think will work it gives you the opportunity to try something else.

RW gives a good start if you do not have any other info other than how to get there. A little bit of research to find a topo map and available lake info will increase the odds of having a successful trip. Good luck. EDIT: It looks like the trip has already happened. How'd you do?

I agree with Senile 1 that my all time favorite changes over time. When I was a kid a pre-rigged purple worm with a spinner on the front; as a young man getting back into fishing, a T-rigged motor oil Culprit worm, and a grub and Darter head jig; a few years later a black jig and black Uncle Josh pork frog opened the world of deeper structure; when I landed here several years ago I discovered the joys of a wacky rigged Senko; now a chatterbait, or as down4ttown mentioned a T-rigged Beaver might get the nod, or maybe a Trickworm and shakyhead combo, maybe a shallow or square bill crank, or even a deep crank -something I never thought would happen. Who know what's next? Swimbaits? A-rig? Banjo minnow? The next great thing? We'll see...

Happy Birthday RW. You have helped make this the best bass fishing site, and the most interesting forum on the interwebz. Thanks my friend.

There are many pros who have made a good living using "search baits" to find areas that are holding fish, and then picking those areas apart to get the maximum out of them. We can argue all day about semantics, but search baits are by definition baits that enable you to cover (or search) a large amount of water. Now how you define "a large amount of water" is open to debate, but a plastic worm fished in the traditional way would not qualify. Search baits are targeting more aggressive, feeding fish. Of course they don't always work, but many times they serve a valuable place in bass fishing IMO. When your search baits don't work is where skill, experience, and knowledge enter the game. Knowing the "rules" of seasonal patterns, feeding patterns and choices, water temperatures, depth and clarity, structure and cover, and a dozen other variables now come into play. I can, and have, spent hours unproductively doing what worked last time, or that time 3 years ago when "we caught a boat load on this spot"; or, I can make an informed decision based on the "rules" and go try something else. I am a big fan of creativity, but ignoring or dismissing time honored and proven "rules" is best done by those who know them well in my opinion.

George and RW are right that baitcast reels were designed to winch in heavier fish, esp in saltwater. If you're cranking in a 30 lb amberack from 200' of water, cranking the reel with your dominate hand makes sense. If you're strapped into a fighting chair working in a big bill fish, same thing. For bass fishing I am far more comfortable with the rod in my dominate hand to set the hook and control the fish. Based on the number of LH reels now available to bass fishermen, I think the market shows many others would agree.

This similar to asking which one: Ginger or Mary Ann? 9mm or .45? Ford or Chevy? My answers are: Mary Ann, 9mm, Dodge, and Left Hand reels. There are many who use both LH and RH reels for different techniques. Use what you like-it's all good.

Good advice BB! I would add that my favorite way of fishing one is just above or through weeds, popping it when you make contact with the grass. Pay close attention when doing this-a big bass and a little grass can feel very much alike I am not sure that color or trailer makes an awful lot of difference. Lately I've done well on a white and chartreuse with the standard split trailer. Bluegill or something like it is my favorite color, and 4" white, chartreuse or clear/metal flake single tail grub is my standard trailer. 1/2 oz is handy to have when fishing deeper grass, or a little more speed is needed.

I will agree that bass are opportunistic predators and will sometimes bite anything that moves. I will also agree that sometimes going against conventional wisdom can be a winning approach. Having the skill, experience, and confidence to effectively and consistently do things a little differently than everyone else is how champions are made. That only happens, in my opinion, through knowledge and understanding of bass and the tools available to catch them, and then figuring out what works best for you.

As has been said location is the key. I also don't change too much in the fall. Probably my favorite big fish bait this time of year is a chatterbait.

We have to be careful not to be guilty of the same tactics we condemn in others. Nice_bass I agree that using threats and emotion to protest PITA using threats and emotion is not going to help our cause.

Of course it counts! A truth that I was told early in life, and have confirmed over and over through the years is this: When you argue with a fool you are liable to act like one. I do completely agree with Dwight. A well managed private body of water will increase your chances of a trophy fish. That is a good thing. Enjoy!

I also looked at the Van Staal pliers for grins. Yes, they are more money than most of us would spend for pliers, but let's face it guys, most of us spend far more money on fishing than makes sense to most of the folks we know. I rarely fish salt water, but it does challenge equipment more...I have a couple of pairs of decent construction grade needle nose pliers with side cutters, and a cheap set of stainless cutters that have served me well. A little WD 40 occasionally and I'm good to go.

I have not had any problem with the Tour Grade jigs in limited use, but I do not use braid. One word of caution: Once you have bent and straightened a hook, even a little, it will be weaker and more inclined to bend. Put a lot of pressure on a weakened hook, and you will lose fish.