papajoe222

I've been a die-hard fan of a splash of red on the underside of shad colored hard baits for years. The same goes for an orange belly in the spring. I have more red lipless cranks than chrome, or gold. With me, it's a confidence decision to throw something red when the water isn't clear, even though I know that it's the first color to wash out the more stained, or the deeper it's fished.

Almost everyone in my club throws green pumpkin soft plastics. I mop up using smoke/black flake, or watermellon/red flake. Do they catch 'em using GP? Yea........But not as many.

In-line spinners, tube jigs and blade baits, think are all underrated, fish producers. As for techniques, I rarely hear of anyone actually flipping anymore. If water clarity allows, I much prefer it when fishing dense cover. It's easier and faster to pick apart that cover than pitching, IMO.

I purchase hand poured tube baits in bulk from a guy that has a store on ebay, but never randomly bought a lot from a seller there.

If your loyalty leans toward Daiwa, another Fuego possibly in a different gear ratio. If brand isn't a consideration, there are four or five quality reels in that price range.

I have both Simms and Columbia rain jackets. The Simms is a heavier material and I'll choose it for storms while the Columbia is lightweight and my choice for on and off rainfall. Note: neither of these have a lot of pockets as I have no need for them in the boat.

The two areas I would concentrate most of my efforts through the season would be the sharp bend just below the outlet that has the sharp drop to deeper water and the point, peninsula, at the bottom. As the water is fairly shallow, a weightless T-rig and drop shot (especially when that moss is present) are good choices for finesse, vertical presentations. A spinnerbait will allow you to cover all depths as will a lipless crank. Those would be my choices for horizontal presentations.

A C-rig is a good choice for covering/eliminating water quickly. A ribbon tail worm, tube, or a lizzard are my favorite soft plastics and points are my favorite structure to use it on. Sitting shallow and casting deep, I can determine what depth the fish are holding without running over them with the boat. It will also let me know if there are changes in the bottom composition, or if there is cover present. I have used small crankbaits with this rig to show the fish something they don't normally see in the deeper water. I will caution you on this, if you aren't familiar with the water you're fishing, as you can loose baits to snags very easily.

All my tackle and gear is organized before the season begins. Three weeks later, I end up looking for spinnerbaits everywhere but my spinnerbait boxes and my RageTails end up in my Senko box.

I have buddies that still refer to them as rubber worms.

many times

It depends on the bait and the conditions. A crank is a no brainer, but a jig or soft plastic presentation is a different story. If conditions are tough, I target cover and I want to be right on top of it with my jig presentations. Bass are rarely in a chasing or following mood, so I get it back quickly for another cast. Otherwise, I'm fishing it all the way back to me and likely using a different style jig, or a worm or creature.

Welcome to the forum. Take the time to do a little reading on this site. You can check articles specifically about fishing plastic 'fake' worm, or any of the videos on the topic if you're more of a visual learner. Either way, there is a ton of information here on this site and also a bunch of us more than willing to answer your questions.

If you fish from shore, I can understand your reluctance to throwing hard baits. If you want to venture into doing so, a squarebill crank, or a topwater will keep you from getting snagged better than others. That is provided a fish doesn't take you there. Squarebills are good at deflecting off cover and that can generate strikes. With topwaters, fish may miss your offering, so it's a good idea to keep a back-up combo with a weightless worm, or fluke and cast to the area of that blow up.

I love those turtle back blades on the Terminators

I'd likely go with a 1/2oz. white/chartreuse, chrome Colorado/Willow bladed one. IMO, you don't need to use a leader when fishing moving baits and the only reason I could justify it would be if I were using a fast action rod. In that instance, I'd use a mono leader in 12lb. for a bit of stretch.

A few years back, I was out on a small, public lake by myself in my boat. It was cool, windy and raining on and off. Needless to say, I was the only one on the water and there was nobody shore fishing. I had tossed out a few markers and when I was done fishing the structure, I swung the boat around to retrieve them. As I reached over the side, the boat glanced sideway off a huge boulder and I got tossed overboard. The wind continued to move the boat away from me, but it was much closer than shore. In my rain gear, it was difficult to swim. Almost to the point of exhaustion, I caught up to the boat, but was unable to pull myself aboard. I just hung there for about five minutes thinking I could regain some strength, but the cold water had other plans and I soon realized I had to do something. I worked my way to the transom and placing a foot on the big motor used the power trim to raise myself enough until I plopped onto the rear deck. I doubt that a PFD would have been of benefit in that instance, but I now wear an auto-inflate PFD whenever I'm in the boat.

If I'm targeting docks, I always have two cranking rods and a tube rigged and ready. On one rod is a crank tuned to run to the left and the other with one tuned to run to the right. By adjusting my boat position, I can run one or the other under the dock and pick off any active fish. This is also a great way to target fish holding under pontoon boats without banging it with a jig on an errant cast, or skip. It also shines when fishing docks that sit close to the water's surface. If you plan to try this, keep a constant eye on your line and retie often. It helps to use abrasion resistant line. I prefer Original Stren as it's cheaper than fluorocarbon and holds up just as well.

A good ole Arkie head jig comes through brush and timber well. Very versatile design, that can also sub as a flipping jig, or swim jig. Not ideal for all, but does work well when you target different types of cover frequently during the day.

Picture a sideways facing clock.12:00 is your head and your rod is the hour hand. On upward movements with the rod, keep the rod tip around 10:00 or 11:00 and work within that general area. For working the rod sideways ( like when working a C-rig), picture the clock lying face up. 12:00 being the direction you're facing and work anywhere from 11:00 to 9:00.

You mentioned frogging and jigging with that H/F rod. I'd go with a 15-20lb. leader for jigs and straight braid for froggin'. Just color the last foot or so of the line.

Same here, but no garage. I have a wall in my workshop dedicated to hard baits and replacement hooks. The opposite wall is for soft plastics.

I throw them on a regular basis. My favorites being the Fat Free Shad and the Model A. I will admit that I haven't purchased one in years, I just switch out the hooks to Tripple Grips and keep chucking them.

The obvious answer is that it generates current and that, in turn, will increase feeding activity. If you know where cover is, LM will position themselves on the down current side. the closer to the dam, the stronger the current and the possibility of eddies. In that scenario, fish it like a river. Hope that answers your question.

We don't have shad in the lakes around here, but I do well with 4in. paddle tails all season. In the spring, I prefer ones with tails that will kick on the slowest retrieves. The 3.25in. Rage Swimmer is an early spring favorite. Oddly, green gizzard shad is a steady producer.