Felix77

With you 110%

Welcome

I will survive! (Break into song).

Mine is on its way too.

Learned this the hard way in one tournament. Got spanked by my friend who threw a black neon hawg all day.

For me it's a bulky 4" Flippin Tube. Don't know why but I can't ever seem to get bit on it so I choose other baits to flip/pitch with instead. Mainly rage craws, hawgs and ribbontail worms.

IMO chat rooms don't work like people expect for the reasons already stated above. This forum has very good response rates in general. That is good enough for me.

x2! Lol. I spend enough time on this site as it is.

There is no proof that Judith is actually dead. She could have still made it on the bus. It was a big topic on the Talking Dead show.

I have been playing with fishing skirts over this LONG winter and I found that Gene's suggestion in his jig tying video is spot on. I stick to 2 strips (44 strands) of silicone to around 14 strands of Living Rubber. For silicone only I do 2.5 - 3 strips (around 55-66 strands MAX) I tried more and it looks ridiculously bulky in the water. It also seems to get in the way of the living rubber IMO. The living rubber needs a little space to "breathe" in the water. For "finesse jigs" or smaller regular jigs I tend to stay in the 33-44 strands area MAX. (1/4oz ish size jigs)

3 have made it into my lineup Beat Shad - It's no Keitech but it still catches a ton of fish for me. Flat Dawg - Rigged it on a drop shot and caught my PB Largemouth this season. Great with traditional Wacky too. Subwoofer - Great as a swim jig trailer

Exactly! This is even more true when you include living rubber in your skirts. I have been learning to tie my own jigs. I have done 2 strand silicone skirts all the way up to 4 strand skirts and it does make a difference. Add some living rubber into the mix and you have a whole new ballgame IMO. My base is around 44 strands of silicone with about 15-20 strands of living rubber for a 1/2oz jig.

Seaguar InvizX for me. Great all around FC. Use it from 8ln all the way up to about 20lb test.

For rocky bottoms I find these all are about the same. A lot depends on the angle and the type of stuff you are dragging it through. There is one other I keep in my arsenal and that is the skip gap jig from Gamakatsu. It has a 90 degree bend which makes it easier to hop over the bigger stuff IMO. The keeper is one where you shove the worm through and it stays in place.

Wow ... Bass-selfies ... the next trend on Facebook. LOL

There are 3 which I absolutely love. Hard to choose just one for me. VMC Rugby Jig Gamakatsu Alien Head Megastrike Shak E2 Jigs My personal best Smallmouth (5.68 lbs) was on the Gamakatsu Alien Head so naturally I tend to lean towards that one.

I use JJ's. I have a bag of finesse worms with the tips dipped in JJ's. Keeps me from worrying about spilling JJ's everywhere.

I'm a little late to the party but I can't wait to participate this year. Should be fun!

To me finesse fishing stained water is more about the color lure you present than anything else. I steer towards the black, black/blue and junebugs when presenting finesse lures in stained water. A few examples is a T-Rig Senko, a black finesse worm on a shakey head, black/blue jig and baby rage trailer or a beaver style bait. Seems to do well for me in those situations. One fun technique that I have tried a little bit with some success is an MJ rig with a small gold colorado blade. It worked decently when I fun fished a few times. I didn't have the confidence to try it during tournaments yet. If you give this one a shot let me know how it worked out.

Circle on Bass: Bass Wisdom from a Master by Homer Circle

My friend is turning 40 and is having a non-surprise birthday party this weekend. I didn't want to go empty handed even though he insisted on no gifts. So I decided to give him a card which has a QR code to one of my favorite techniques. The Shaky Head. In a small gift bag I put in the following things The card with the QR code glued in a small tacklebox a few shaky heads (MegaStrike) some of my favorite finesse worms. Since I didn't "buy" anything beside the card I technically didn't violate his rule. Hope you can use this idea for a fishing buddy or family member.

One very overlooked thing is your attitude. Nothing brings down a day of fishing more than a negative guest. Just try to be positive and stay positive throughout your day. Fishing is hard enough without negative vibes. Remember you are fishing and there are a lot of people out there who would trade everything they have to be in your shoes.

I fish when I can. I don't let weather dictate too much. The only thing which keeps me from the water is when I can't punch a jig through the ice. LOL