Bankbeater

I doubt that they are underproducing them on purpose. If they were then they wouldn't be able to ship new ones to the shops as they sell out, and they would have to store the manufacturing materials somewhere when not using them. Same problem with inventory. If the makers only ship a few baits at a time then they'll have to find a place to store all the baits until they ship.

Around here a lot of the steep rocky drop offs have sunken trees around them. I can usually get through the snags with a weightless plastic, or maybe a 1/8 ounce jig, but anything else hangs up.

I use firetiger crankbaits all the time. It doesn't matter what the water clarity is or how sunny it is. I just have to try the bait to see if the bass want it.

Nice going! This time of year it's always a great when the bass bite.

What happened to the last guy?

Nice looking pup. You're doing good work with the dogs.

This year's haul. Not shown are two rod holders and a stringer.

I cast them with spinning gear, but not around rocks or rip-rap.

I like a 1/4 ounce when I want a slow rate of fall to keep the bait in the the water column longer. I also like to use the smaller size when I'm fishing from the bank, in shallow water, or if there is a lot of action on the surface.

Spots aren't weighted the same as traps, and the rattles are different. Rat-L-traps will cast out better, but for me it depends on the size of the bait I'm fishing with. The 1/4 ounce traps outproduce the 1/4 ounce spots, but the 1/2 ounce spots catch more than the 1/2 ounce traps.

Watching some of the MLF / BPS tourneys I have seen some pros just start cruising around looking at the FFS. If this happens when there is a camera in the boat, I've noticed they switch over to another boat pretty quick.

I never use one. I'd probably trip over it and fall in the lake if I did.

I fish with Rat L traps, Super Spots, and RES. I've fished with traps and spots longer than I have fished with the RES, but I have had the best success with the 1/2 ounce spots.

Those could replace tourney weigh in bags.

Usually from BPS, but since we had an Academy open up I have been asking for those also.

Drop shot. I only used the rig once this year, and that was only for about 1/2 hour.

Either a Zoom Big Salty Chunk, or a Zoom Super Chunk. I will try a creature or a craw every once in a while, but most of the time it's one of the chunks.

Heddon used to make a Baby Zara that was roughly 3" long. It has been out of production for a number of years.

When I got my first rod with micro-guides I thought there would be some kind of learning curve, but it was really no different than any other rod. The biggest gripe I have is fishing in cold weather, and when the trees start dropping things into the water. Those small guides ice up quick, and when the line picks up vegetation on the water surface it will collect in the rod tip.

Welcome to the forums.

In spots that I know contains snags I fish Texas rigs, weightless plastics, or moving baits that run shallow. I hate having to go out after a bait in cold water.

I usually get gift cards. That way I can buy what I want when I want.

Our tradition is to put up the tree during the first weekend in December. I put up lights one year when the kids were small and the general attitude was "yeah so". That was the last year I put up lights.

Try and find a topo map of the lake. That will tell you where the deepest parts are and if you can reach them from the shore.

I leave the backing on. The line that gets used gets removed at the end of the season.