ChrisD46

All good recommendations above - however using a 3/0 size worm hook is a bit better suited for a Trick Worm (for a finesse worm a 2/0 size worm hook is ideal) .

Interesting category for a top water / sub surface category in that minus - 1 wake crank baits roll and wobble so along with their belly being seen by bass below - they also flash their sides and top to a greater degree than say a popper where you can get by mainly with a pearl colored bottom . For a minus - 1 wake crank ( Bandit Footloose , Mann's Minus - 1 , Storm Arashi Wake , etc. ) I think mainly three to four color schemes : Bluegill , Shad and Craw . Specifically - Firetiger / Chartreause Shad for stained water , natural shad colors for clear water and brown / orange to red craw (depending on time of year) . Lastly a wild card chrome / blue color would round out the offering . * As water cools now through the Fall the minus -1 wake crank bite could be a lot of fun as bass chase shad into the shallows . Your thoughts on favorite minus - 1 wake crank colors and baits ?

Most stock trebles on the size crankbaits I use are #4 in the front and #6 in the back ... So with the short shank trebles you would use a #2 in front and #4 in the back ?

Thanks - I'll have to be on the look out for the Mustad's ...

Leaning more towards the EWG vs. the standard round bend short shank trebles - do you believe the EWG makes a difference in a treble hook up ratio ?

I'm looking to replace my stock treble hooks with Gamakatsu Short Shank Treble Hooks . A professional review I read stated these are best for : "The shank on these hooks is extremely short, which works very well on wide-bodied squarebills and larger deep crankbaits" ... What about top water baits (spooks , poppers) , twitch baits, traps and suspending baits ? Anybody use these short shank trebles other than on just wide body square bills and deep diving cranks ?

Any comments on the Strike King Pro Model 1XS Shallow Crank ? ... Looks like it might be comparable to the Bandit Footloose but is a little heavier at 3/8oz.

Thanks - I thought : shad , bluegill , sunfish natural colors to begin and a chartreuse something for cloudy or stained water conditions .

Looks like I can get both the Bandit Footloose and the BPS Super Shallow from BPS - What two or three colors in the Bandit Footloose or BPS Super Shallow would you star with to cover conditions from moderately stained to clear water ?

The "small" category would fit my needs best as I don't have a suitable baitcast rod (except carolina rod) that would handle the larger 3/4th oz. BPS egg . What size mono would be good for the Bandit Foot Loose or the BPS Super Shallow ? Currently I have one baitcast reel with Big Game 10lb. on it and another baitcast reel with Sunline Super Natural 16lb on it .

Interested to try adding a wake bait or two to my top water bait inventory - in the small crank bait size category of wake bait what do you like ? Any time of year or specific technique you have found effective ?

I tried painting lead bullet weights with limited success using a exterior spray paint from a hardware store . The paint would chip off fairly quickly ... I thought about spraying a primer on first then the exterior paint but never got that far befor swtching to tungsten weights ... If I were to attempt it again I would focus on using powder paints which use heat & a curing process to harden and adhere to lead weights MUCH better I believe . A you tube serch of using powder paints with lead weights will provide a lot of good information I believe .

Depends ...If standing on the deck of a bass boat then a 7 ft. rod could work - all around I believe a 6'6" ft. to 6' ft. is better and a 6:3:1 reel speed is fine for poppers , twitch baits and walk-the-dog spooks . I believe you only need a 7:1 reel if you are using your rod with big sweeps to move line (jig , carolina rig) and need to catch up to a fish quickly for a hookset .

In the $100 to $150 range it is Lew's Tournament & Daiwa Tatula for me .

Curious what you think of the Strike King Spit-N-King Popper ? ...Decent price point and curious about the performance .

Netbait makes a 12~ 14 inch T-Mac straight tail worm ...Let 'em see something different !

The Damiki D-Pop 70's are on my short list as is (believe it or not) the new weight Rebel Pop-R . I plan to sand the lower lip of the Pop-R (make it a spitter) and upgraded treble hooks with a feather / mylar tail ...Poor man's Rico .

You wouldn't know it by many areas in the 90's currently - but soon the bass will begin to move from their Summer deep water haunts to follow the shad moving into shallower water through the end of Fall . Will you be throwing a new top water popper, chugger or walk-the-dog type bait through the Fall - or stay with a tried and true selection ? I'm going to do a little bit of both I believe : For tried and true , I am going to make a more concerted effort to the Lucky Craft Gunfish 95 & 115 . For the new , I'm open to new top water baits being recently released ... What will you be throwing for top water action soon ?

For the money and specs listed - the new Lew's reels look to be the better buy in their respective classes ...Until you use one though will not know if it is built as well as previous Lew's models .

Current fav little gem (H2O Express Mettle) has centrifical only brakes, so I use 2 sometimes 3 brake pins out .

I will be interested in the new breed of light weight reels Lew's just introduced at the ICAST show ... Should be nice !

I go to WM and pick out a rectangular plastic container with lid to store my soft plastics in their original package . I have a container each for : Worms , Creature Baits , Craws and Trailers ...Works for me .

The Lew's Super Duty may be under appreciated as compared to other reels in the Lew's line up .

A larege line capacity and a slow gear ratio on the Lew's BB-1 go hand in hand and are a perfect match with cranking applications ... I want to hear from Lew's owners what other Lew's baitcast reels , gear ratios and applications / tactics you feel are a perfect match for each other ?

Now that AS has released the Mette 2 at $59.00 the lowest you will see them priced on sale now is between $39.00 ~ $49.00 . Only available in 6:3:1 gear ratio though ... For a few $ more if needing a higher or lower gear ratio is to move up to a BPS PQ which go on sale between $79.00 ~ $89.00 ...Hope this helps !