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soft baits & Jigs, Bladed Jigs, Rattle Traps, Frogs, Floating Jerkbaits, Spinnerbaits. Topwater - Buzz Baits, Poppers, Walking baits ,X-Rap Double Prop bait.... Always carry ultralight rod and mainly use crappie soft baits, spinners, small Rapalas, micro jigs etc. Rarely throw Crankbaits or suspending Jerkbaits or big swimbaits.....

I have fun making skirts for my Chatterbaits, Jigs and spinnerbaits etc....I have taken pictures of bluegill in certain lakes, shiners etc. to try and match....One color I really like with chatterbaits is black/Blue/Chartreuse in stained water.... I also throw a watermelon red flake mixed with whites..

I have been using these for years. Designed for hook shanks, worm hook etc... D.O. A makes them. Should be cheap. You can also wrap lead wire around shanks but these work well. https://doalures.com/products/c-a-l-pinch-weights

I use the Owner and VMC flashy swimmer models and I have a bunch of fish hornets & gambler models I found on clearance. If you want to use an underspin and go weedless... and save money and have flexibility, just get some swivels and split rings and blades of your choice. Slide it over the barb on the hook and you have a weedless underspin. You may lose a few but all the components are cheap. Gives off the same action imo and I use an EWG hook so it does not get in the way of a hookset. Can also use any size hook, guage and style and weight.....I like using a hammered Colorado or Indiana blade in gold or black which is hard to find on under spins.

Easiest way to fish and most fun imo is buzzing a swimming worm, paddle tail swimbait, toad on top or throwing any topwater lure. However, fish will not always be willing to come to the surface or react to anything near it. Why I like the Swim Senko or speed worms, or I will fish a creature bait on top with the same action like a rage craw or menace and then let it fall....I tend to use 1/8 to 3/16 the most pegged, but if you find a productive area you can go heavy and let a bait sit on bottom in the holes and often times you get bit on the fall or lifting slowly, shaking etc.... If you can get a trap or chatterbait through it and rip it out, usually works well....Also try not pegging your weight, when the weight gets stuck, rip it out and repeat. hard to give an exact answer since so many variables but hard to beat soft plastics weedless and you can essentially throw any bait you have confidence in. More compact creatures and stick worms will get through weeds easily and if muck, I avoid a bobber stop and EWG hooks, I like to use the rubber pegs and I find EWG hooks just get more junk on them and a straight shank offset worm hook with bullet weight is easier to fish in heavy weeds.

whichever has a better hook.

For Zara Spooks....I use pretty much all models from the smallest one, one knocker, chuggin, saltwater etc... Favorite colors are Bone, Clear, Sexy Shad with orange belly, Red head white body, black shore? (White markings on black body) and chart/White, Chart/Black. Also have a chrome/black I like as well. Firetiger patterns as well.... Also go for the baby bass color for all size torpedo's, still one of my favorite topwaters in Florida as it casts better than a devils horse and like the sizes & profile, feel they are rarely thrown. Clear and think I have a rainbow trout pattern I throw alot. Most paint is gone. Only other heddon Lures I have in my box are the Spittin Image topwater walking bait and poppin image, swimin' image shallow crank and all are in same shad pattern, really old, never throw em anymore but should cause they catch fish... Of course, A black jitterbug as well....Don't believe I have any Hula Poppers or other Heddon Lures.

I had a small 2 person basshunter for years when in NY fishing mostly smaller lakes. I couldn't imagine an outboad on it, although I guess maybe a 2HP could work, I would be concerned with weight and a 55lb thrust trolling motor used to push 2 of us around a lake for a good 4-5 hours, I would think with newer batteries you may get longer. 9.9HP would scare me unless we are talking about a different bass hunter and not the 2 seater plastic model which was a great fishing boat and sturdy.

I throw Rage bugs and Speed Craws on most jigs along with the menace and twin tail grubs. I also have a bunch of chunks in plastic instead of pork and forget the make....Strike King or Luck E strike I thing.

I believe Heddon used to make a popper style bait with a wide mouth that was designed to be a wake bait. I forget the name but can picture it. May have been Arbogast...I remember watching a video of Patrick Sebile throwing one of his poppers like a wake bait and pulling them like a c-rig to get it to dive and it looked awesome....Never actually tried it for more than a few times but it makes sense....I have had a ton of strikes like most people reeling in all sorts of lures to make a new cast, waking a fluke or sluggo actually can be a good technique at times...

Agree, I am sure if I replace the snaps they should be fine. I kind of like the bigger ones that I believe are 3/4 or 1oz. My main concern is the lures breaking due to age but then again I have old Stanley Living Rubber Jigs & spinnerbaits etc that work just fine...Good search baits and maybe start working on fishing chatterbaits near the bottom which I tend to avoid due to lack of confidence in deeper water.

Been cleaning out old tackle and found a box which has a bunch of really old Z-man Chatterbaits which ended up at a Liquidator here in Florida 10-15 years ago. I remember they would come in before they were all that popular and often in models that were all over ebay and overstock sites for 1.99...One has a rattle hanging on it, funky hook design with a mister twister keeper worm hook style pin, stamped z-man original, and one has a Mono Weed guard, super shiny and also OG Z-Man stamp and flat head design....One has a red blade etc. A bunch are 1 ounce models that came with rainbow trout colored swimbaits like 5" long and segmented. I remember catching a few fish on the bigger ones after taking off the swimbait and adding a skirt, but the snaps used to break really easy so I just chucked them in a box and forgot about them.. However, I am curious about the Booyah & Strike King versions? Don't think I ever used them and they kind of look like the new ones... one has an oval line tie instead of a snap which is interesting. I believe they were only out for a year and then discontinued for patent reasons. Says Strike Kind Pure Poison, booyah Just says Booyah. Anyone ever have success on these baits? Thinking about fixing the snaps and giving them a go, just not sure if they used to break off the head or anything. The SK models and booyah look good, not sure who makes a few of the others, most are stamped. Anyone remember these models and would you throw them or not worth the risk? Thanks.

I love buying frogs as much as I love to fish them, I have a ton of colors in my box but I tend to only throw Brown, White & black and something in Chartruese/Orange bottom when bluegills are around. I carry sharpies and spike it pens to add color to bottom of white frogs and also use em to brighten the tops so I can see when they are underwater and the fish has em. I miss way to many fish on frogs, especially when you can bomb long casts and they often get crushed upon landing or first few twitches. Since there are not any treble hooks to help with premature hook sets, I like being able to see my bait. I do the same thing with all my topwaters, red line on top of lure if making long casts.

Can't go wrong with ribbon tails and curly tails and Bass Pro still has a great color selection that many brands do not have.

Personally, I just wake the original Rapala Floating Minnows and Jointed Minnows as wake baits in all sizes and just reel slowly...Only issue is they are a bit light for casting gear......Rapala has every size and plenty of good color patterns from 1-3/4 up. The Smaller Bomber Long A makes a great wake bait in that size range, pretty sure the 13A is barely bigger than 2", and 14A is about 3". I Have never had success with the Bomber "Wake" Baits but the regular old school Long A is a great wake bait over weeds. Yo-Zuri has a saltwater wake that is 3.5" but a slimmer profile than a crankbait style, made for saltwater and has a really aggressive side to side roll. Only needs a few inches of water. Older version is the SS Minnow which you can still find, now they make it in the 3db series I believe.

Academy has great value on Casting Reels, the mettle for $50 is a great reel that can take a beating and hold up....Also like their terminal tackle, Hooks, Braid, soft baits and some hard baits...They always have some trending "Knock offs" in the $5 range. I just grabbed a bunch of spinnerbaits for $1.99 but have yet to throw them...Also tackle boxes and storage are great value...When they have clearance in the store you can score on Academy gear but also random stuff at great deals.... I find BPS has good quality reels, rods and tackle and you generally get what you pay for...Their cheap line of House lures come with cheap hooks and are identical to .50 Ali express lures, but the baits they sell for $4 plus are usually good. Soft baits are good as well but not that inexpensive compared to other brands. Still have 2 Egg Wake baits left..They were one of the better BPS baits made and were on the cheaper side if I remember. I also like some of the older walking baits and love BPS buzz baits/Spinnerbaits. BPS Soft baits used to be manufactured at an OEM in Alabama who made 90% of all the major USA brands.....Not sure where they are all made now but all came off same presses....Certain brands used to have identical baits as BPS baits when I sold them in bulk....I used to notice that if a company needed a toad, the Humpin Toad would pop up.....That same toad is still in plenty of line ups.

I have been consolidating all my tackle lately and still can't leave to go fishing without Lunker City Sluggo's(Not a worm but tend to throw em more than fluke), Mister Twister/BPS Curly Tail worms, and still fish culprits and ribbon tail Power Worms all the time. In summer time when everyone is throwing 10" ribbontails, I like to throw the BPS Tournament Curly Tail worm or Mister Twister Phenom in 9" black and blue tail...Pitch it, swim it etc...the 6" curly tail makes a fantastic bait to throw after working an area with a Speed worm to get extra bites....Much more subtle.... Tubes are still great as well, fish rarely see em imo....Lakes in FLorida get pounded with pressure so I truly believe throwing different colors like solid purple, Red shad etc. and slightly different looks matter. A 4" Curly Tail ringworm on a spinning rod with a small 1/16 ounce weight is one of the best Bass baits to get action. I do always carry some old Manns translucent Blueberry/Strawberry Straight tailed worms with small paddle tail. Something about that color on bright days that seems to work when it works.

I love zoom flukes for fishing higher in water column and for fishing fast. I love the caffiene shad because it's heavier and has more salt. Gets deeper. I often fish them like a senko. Great saltwater bait. My brother guides up north for Striped bass and he fell in love with the caffiene shad after grabbing a bunch of mine to use. May not be durable but neither is the OG Senko but they are both 2 of the best softbaits I have in my box. both have a different action but work great when paired on a double fluke rig which is something I will be using much more in freshwater after a saltwater detour. Double fluke rig is a killer. mixing a zoom and strike king works.

Seems like half my tackle and I have a ton.....lures and plastics are discontinued. 4-5 years without buying much new stuff will do that I guess.....I was always into older lures from when I was young but I notice you don't see much of the Bagley's true balsa cranks and Rapala Flats, Thugs, squarebills from Rapala, Sebile, and lots of plastics. Glad I have a ton of xcalibur stuff...I see these one knockers are going for alot on Ebay. I used to work at a liquidator and must have 3 dozen lipless cranks, Squarebills, Evers Jerkbaits, poppers etc....I would imagine the booyah version work just fine. Is the red one knocker 25 size that good? I was just throwing the Storm Subwart in a pond at lunch yesterday. I have a few in the chart belly dark back color. Can't say I have ever done great with them. Then again, never have much success with wake baits or super shallow divers unless jerkbait bomber long a or Rapala original minnow style. I have a ton of plastics in packages and out of some of the baits mentioned. I plan on going through them and posting a bunch for sale. I need to simplify my stuff, have way to much, not letting the bait monkey get me this time, causes to much stress when packing for the day. I throw the same 10 baits or lures, yet bring 100x more than necessary and waste time on water. Need to let those days go. Don't need 40 Hollow body frogs or more in the boat....I am likely throwing the Spro popping frog or live target 55 size. Black or white.

Do they still sell the critter craw? Love that bait for catching numbers and as a trailer on a jig or spinnerbait. I think the trick worm and speed worm are the 2 I use most with the Horny toad one of my favs as well. Zoom also has a good grub. Tab tail I think it's called.

I haven't been on here in a few minutes, kind of took a break from bass fishing after 2020 for various reasons, but have started to get back on the water again in the last few months and glad to have caught the bass fishing bug again. (It blows my mind how much different bass fishing tackle has changed and also hasn't at the same time if that makes sense). I had to comment on this question because I love the split shot rig and have always favored it since a little kid due to the simplicity of rigging it and also because I mainly fish shallow water and throw a ton of weightless plastics(Less than 10') usually less. If I need to get them down a bit deeper, or faster fall rate, it is just easy to add a split shot. I get most strikes on a senko or worm on the fall, so I try to get the bait to fall as often as possible and a split shot will allow you to cover more water imo. If possible, a slip shot rig is better as Tom Mentioned, can't damage line, but you really can't fish a split shot rig wrong. If you find the right spacing and weight, then I would stop and re-tie with swivel and leader etc. if it makes sense. I split shot rig 12" worms and swimbaits, creature baits etc.....I also love a small floating bait behind a split shot. Then I just cast and cover water until I figure out how they want it. Often times dead sticking works and I figure that out accidently as I tend to fish to fast most of the time.

I like a White skirt and copper and or silver blades....I use 1/4 & 3/8 the most, but sometimes will use a heavier one in 1/2-3/4 if I am in the mood to fish slow. I tend to fish spinnerbaits quicker than I probably should, but I like covering water. In Spring, I will use orange and yellow skirt/Red which has always worked best early in year since I was a little kid. I have never paid attention to brands much, I like the Stanley Wedge little spinnerbaits in 1/4, and the Booyah, Bass Pro Lazer Eye, and I have used the terminator stainless and titanium for years....I believe the blade size, type, line tie angle are most important, but I have never put in the time to truly understand the differences. I just know the basics & pretty much chuck and wind...Run them along weed edges most of the time but had alot more success in NY with spinnerbaits than here in Florida.

I started using the Gambler Ace several years ago because they make a firetail color that I love & not available from most companies....Our local stores started carrying them and glad I started using them.... Both are "Expensive" compared to other brands, but I try to use GYB Senkos & Swim Senkos and I actively look for sales, and with Florida having liquidators etc.. You can get them for under $5 a bag at times, or on ebay or overstock. With that said, I also use all the other brands, Ocho, BPS, Dinger etc.... and they all work well, can't say for sure one is better than another as there are too many variables and be tough to actually prove. The Ocho is probably the best value and I like the design and colors, so I have plenty of confidence with it. I used to like the Wave Worms....They had a super soft one and some swirls that were also good. I still have no idea why a stick worm works as well as it does.

I use the Trick worms 4" & 6" the most, 4" & 6" Ribbon tails and curly tail worms which Zoom both makes, and one of my favorite I found accidently years ago is the Big Bite Squerille tail worm which has a floating tail..It is designed to be a shaky worm, but it works really goon on any rig, and I love the Motor Oil color with a yellow tail cause it was the only color I originally purchased. Bass Pro has the same worm which I have in junebug which I also use now......Of course a stick worm is hard to beat, but there are tons of good finesse worms. The GYB and BPS Cut Tail worms are also really good, heavily salted similar to the pro senko which I used to love but have not found them on sale in years.