Scott F

My opinion? Color usually doesn’t matter that much.

I live near the Plano factory and often stop in their outlet store where utility boxes sell for $1-$2 each. Hard not to stock up at those prices.

I know I do it all wrong, but most of the time, the spinnerbaits I am most successful with have only Colorado blades and no willow leaf. I think few guys use them because stores like bass pro barely stock them.

Almost all of those in the pictures have willow leaf blades. 21 baits and NONE with Colorado blades?

Waterproof utility boxes are ok, but they not only keep water from getting in, they don’t let water out. The latches also make getting in the boxes more difficult. Im not sure if they still do, but Plano used to make the boxes for Flambeau. Deep or shallow, depends on what you are putting in them, the number you can fit in a tackle bag and your personal preference.

The original Superline, Kevlar, was pretty abrasive. But none of the current lines will damage your rods.

If there is a broken or cracked eyelet on your rod, it can damage, weaken or cut your line also.

I didn't customize my boat myself. Had a custom river boat guy do it. Here is the way it came. And this is the way it came out. Before I added a trolling motor, seats, and depth finders.

I’ve never fished the lakes you will be on. So I don’t know what’s there. Right after ice out, my first choices would be anywhere the water is a few degrees warmer than the rest of the lake. Incoming creeks, shallow dark bottom bays, often along the northern shoreline can warm (or cool) faster than the deeper sections. Any place you might have green weeds leftover from the past season. Those canals you mentioned if the sunlight can get to them to warm them up. After that, as the water warms, I always concentrate on areas that are near known spawning sites.

My Ranger is 31 years old this spring and is still as solid as the day I brought it home. Everything depends on how it’s been stored and maintained.

That $50 reel back in the 90's, would probably cost over $150 today. Back in the 90's, there were almost no $100 spinning reels

I only fish clear, rocky, lakes and rivers. From my, reading, and experience, just like with Senkos, the slow fall is one of the triggering features of the Ned rig. I don’t let the bait drag on the bottom. Just like with a Senko, there are a lot of ways you can fish Ned rig style baits. If you catch fish with your approach, great! I catch em’ with light heads.

Fish the Lews $50 reel for the same amount of time as the Stradic and compare them after the same amount of use. In my experience, my expensive reels outlast the less expensive ones. When I was buying lower end reels, they generally were worn out after one season. I haven't bought any cheaper reels recently so I'm not familiar with how long they hold up today.

I’d never go as heavy as 1/5th. 1/10th is the heaviest I use, 1/16th the lightest. The idea is to have as slow a fall as you can. The buoyant Elaztech plastics, also help slow the fall. None of this is required, but it’s the way I do it.

Mike Mladenik guides mostly for smallmouth on the Menominee River out of Crivitz WI. He is a pro staffer for Case Plastics. For those in the Chicago area, tomorrow and Sunday, he’ll be at the Tinley Park Fishing and Outdoor Show doing seminars and manning a booth. He usually sells Case Plastics out of his booth at the show. That’s where I’ll stock up.

My belief is that if a bass is going to eat, except in rare circumstance, he isn’t going to pass up a crawfish just because the color isn’t exactly right.

I use a lot of Case plastics. Sinking Shad, Sinking Minnow, Jacks Worm, and their Magic Stiks. They all work well. Durability is good and they all sink well. I’ve been using them for years

1. Jerkbaits 2. Jerkbaits 3. Jerkbaits

Have you checked out Tinboats on the web? Lots of projects like yours posted.

For some people, the extra sensitivity is worth the money. For me, much above the $100 price point, I can't feel the difference. I've got GLoomis and high end St Croix's, along with cheaper St. Croix's and other custom rods. In a blind test, I can't tell the difference.

$10 shipping on a $30 rod order is pretty cheap. If you spent $50, many sites might include shipping.

Those lakes have 25hp restrictions because they don't want guys running 50hp motors. If you have no intention of following the law, you deserve whatever the guys in the "ole green jeans" decide to do with you.

Go to your local tackle shop and see what they have. Any suggestions made here won't do you any good if you have to order online and pay for shipping. For $30, you are going to get an inexpensive rod, not a decent rod.

There isn't a braided line made that holds it's color. They all fade. The fraying isn't much of a problem either. It doesn't lose much strength. Fireline is just as bad and I've been using it happily for years. No line is perfect. You just have to decide which of the shortcomings you can live with, and which you can't. I can't live with lines that stretch, so I put up with the issues braided line has.

Those larger Whopper Plopper 190's were designed to be used as musky lures by Larry Dahlberg. They have caught small and largemouth bass as well.