PourMyOwn

I'm all over Michigan vs Penn State at noon- I'm a Buckeye so I'd like to see both teams lose...and I think Bama could be in trouble today. They seem mortal this year. USC vs Utah at 8 should be entertaining as well.

I have a few old Lews Speed Sticks from way back in the day-5'6"-5'8" with Fuji guides. I use them for light cranks and smaller square bills. I love using them, but it's not something I would use for more than a few hours. Eventually my wrist takes a beating.

Great choice on the rod and reel. I'm not a Shimano guy but that's like having Miss America be your first girlfriend. For the most part, a MH rod can handle anything you would use. A heavy action for me is for power fishing in heavy grass or for big swimbaits. I also use 6.3:1 reels for the vast majority of my fishing. Best of luck!

10 pound mono or copoly for me. I'm also a big believer in fiberglass keeping fish pinned on treble hooks. As much as I'd love to buy a new glass rod, I'm still a big fan of my old Rick Clunn fiberglass rods. As Columbia Craw said, you don't have to spend a lot.

A pointer would help you, my Springer doesn't give much advance notice!

If I had to pick an all purpose ratio- 6.3. That's mostly what I use, with an 8.1 for frogs and buzz baits, and some 5.1s for big cranks. A 10 to 1 would be good for buzz baits and getting your bait back to the boat for another cast. I'd have to focus too much on slowing down with a reel that fast to use it for anything else.

I usually pass out watching TV in my recliner anywhere from 8-10:00 and get up between 3:30-5am. The Mrs is a big fan of being woken up by me making coffee at 4:00 on a Saturday!

Added a little red glitter to some green pumpkin remelt.

90% of what I use I pour, so I'm pretty quick to take off even slightly damaged baits. At the end of the day I toss them in a container to be remelted.

I always used a snap swivel using spinners-no leader needed

I'm 45 and fully expect to put my TD Zillions in my will.

DD22 Bandit 200 Bomber Model A (all versions catch fish) Anything that Rapala makes Sadly, even these baits are creeping up in price, but what isn't?

In the interest of not going on a political rant about how my state is run, I'll just say "yes."

I dropped $785 in 2002 for a lifetime license here in NH- I was 24. It's now 45 dollars a year. Seniors over 68 pay 7 dollars a year-no free licenses at all, which is a shame.

I paint jigs with it on occasion. Really scratches that itch.

I'm in NH, and we have had multiple nights in the high 40s, so things are certainly changing.

I'll still be throwing a living rubber jig on my TD Zillions.

I have 11 Simplicity garden tractors from the 70s and 80s. I actually do use them all to move snow, mow grass, till the garden etc. A few of them are parts machines, some I bought because they came with implements that I needed. This one is my dirt plow/tow pig.

You're going to get bombarded with options- all of them will be good. I use Daiwa TD Zillion in 7.1 and a custom 7' MH rod (Esox is the brand). The reel is definitely older, but it is a tank. I always buy used reels, I feel like I get way more for my money. To help others answer your questions, what is your budget?

2" yellow Mister Twisters on a roundhead jig is my favorite crappie bait. I look for submerged wood and just let the fish tell me how to retrieve. It usually results in a few bass too.

I've had decent success with the recycled "billboard vinyl" and a grommet maker. Shipping is pricey, but I'm happy with it.

I'm slowly moving all of my reels to Daiwa, but that's mostly because I love the TDX and TDZ reels. I have some Shimanos, Lews and even Ryobis that I like, but unless a Curado 200E comes along I'm done buying anything else. Rods are all over the place. 90% of my soft plastics and jigs are made by me, with tungsten and Zman being the exceptions. There's a handful of brands I avoid like the plague, but anything else is fair game.

I lived in Ecuador, they eat guinea pigs- "cuy" is really popular there.

I use flukes to fish shallow pads and hyacinths. If I'm not using braid, I've found that at least 17 lb mono (.016) makes a big difference. I twitch them erratically and anything lighter that 17 doesn't stay straight . Lighter line tends to curl right in front of the bait.

I feel the same way. I have a hard time believing that any bass I'll run across have seen a Mud Bug before.