papajoe222

FYI, red is the first color to washout as your lure sinks or the water gets murkier. That being said, red and orange have been thought to be bass strike triggering colors for decades. Whether or not that is an actual fact is up for debate, but almost all the hard baits I throw have a splash of one or the other on their underside.

Although I've given away quite a few rods over the years, I can say I never disliked any of them (except for the spinning rods?). I did, however, purchase a Daiwa Exceler that I was very dissatisfied with. After using it twice, I traded it for a BlackMax. My only regret in doing so was that fact that I'd spooled it with Sunline Sniper FC.

I carry four crankin' sticks, of which only one is rated mod. The other three are mod/fast. That one is relegated to use with small/light cranks, more for its ability to cast them farther/easier.

You can also get thread and epoxy finish from either of them. Don't forget the glue for the tip replacement. If you have a set of calipers, you can measure the diameter of the blank at its current tip and use that when ordering. The guides are measured by the inside diameter of the ring. I'm sure if you call your order in, they will be able to recommend replacements.

Very Nice

Not on a skirted jig, but I use the tail section of a trick worm on a hair jig the majority of the time I throw one. When the nose of one gets torn up, I just toss it in a ziploc with others and use them as trailers and for drop shotting.

July and August for me. My top three were all caught in July 26th, 18th and 4th. The next two were caught in early Aug. Of those five, only one wasn't caught during mid-day; The one on July 4th.

I remove the split rings. On the rare occasion when l reach for one that has one, i tilt it up and attach the clip to the bait’s line tie

If it is, as the seller says, lightly used, it will look almost new. A nick here or there on the exterior is common on a used reel, but multiple nicks and scratches are a good indication the reel was abused. Another indicator of a reel that hasn't been taken care of is a dirty level wind gear and/or line guide. That's a good deal on that reel, but the old saying; You get what you pay for, often applies to good deals.

I only own Savage rifles now as I love the out of box accuracy and that AcuTrigger. My latest purchase was an Axis ll in .308 that I added a Boyd's thumbhole stock to. Bedded it and that inexpensive combo shoots .33MOA at 300. So does it's little brother a Model 25 Varminter .223Rem. My Ruger Mark ll never did better than .5MOA.

I did GSSF (Glock) matches for a few years, not so much for the competition. It was a learning experience. Glock techs were onsite, and I observed some common problems that were easily fixed. I tried BR competition at my local range, but I'd rather invest my money in more firearms, rather than expensive equipment that all but takes the human element out of shooting competition.

Just wipe them down with a damp cloth if you feel the need to.

I'm a 'flatlander' from Illinois, and a ridge was explained to me as the crest of a hill and I've always referred to one as a crest, but envisioned it the same. A valley or ravine can only exist between two ridges.

If I use any trailer on a hair jig, it's the tail section of a trick worm and I only use that when I'll be letting the jig sit motionless on the bottom.

I cut my fishing teeth using Original, clear blue, Stren and still use it for night fishing with a black light. I don't see any reason why a blue braid wouldn't be beneficial. When I'm teaching the little tikes to worm and jig fish, it's yellow line for the contrast. When they become fairly proficient, I switch them over to the Stren. It takes a little while for them to get the knack of using it as it isn't anywhere near as visible, but it helps teach them to focus on the line and concentrate.

Wouldn't matter. I fish super clear (10ft.+) water and do very well with B&B. It's always my first choice because very few anglers up here use that combo.

I'll start by explaining the type of craft I was fishing from which will explain why this story is both scary and crazy. Forty years ago my craft of choice was a 'belly boat.' Basically a truck tire innertube with straps wrapped around it to form a seat. There are an abundance of strip pits in the area and it was easy to transport form one pit to another. To move around I had fashioned a pair of kick fins that would 'propel' me forward as opposed to backward using swim fins. The scary part is the fact that the area is infested with cottonmouths, so I would normally have avoided it during the dog days of summer, but I really needed a fishing fix, so I headed out. As the day got hotter, the activity level of all creatures increased, but all I noticed was my good fortune with the fish. While reeling a feisty two pound bass, I noticed what I thought was an acorn floating toward me with the wind current. When it got around 50ft, from me I realized what it was, spun around and attempted to 'paddle' as fast as I could away from that satan spawn, all the while hanging on to the rod with the fish attached......... Snake closing fast. All I actually accomplished was getting that innertube to rock back and forth without much headway. I gave up trying, spun around to face my nemesis, only to discover............it was a stick.! I swear that fish was laughing so hard when I went to lip it, I was tempted to not let it go, but I did and it jumped out of the water just to laugh at me one more time before swimming off.

You've all heard stories of catching two fish on the same cast, but I'm here to tell you my buddy and I caught the same fish at the same time! What happened was he had crossed my line with his cast and as we both brought our line in, we set the hook on what we thought was a double. It turned out it was the same fish, my lure was deep in its mouth, my buddy's was in his upper lip. We fought each other much more than that fish did as we were pulling in different directions. We argued over who had hooked him first for years to come. I still get a kick out of telling that story.

Keep it simple to begin. First decide what type of presentation you want to learn, be it flipping, pitching, casting, skipping. Then pick two jigs of the same style, one on the heavy side and the other lighter. Start with the heavy one working a piece of structure, or cover and feel your way using the rod. Make a few casts, or whatever, to the same spot and work it the same way, again feeling your way back. Now switch to the lighter jig and repeat. What you're attempting to accomplish is your ability to feel your way along. As you approach an irregularity you felt with the heavier jig, tell yourself; I should be feeling that rock, stump, or whatever right about now. When you do, try to remember the difference in feel. If you're not feeling anything with the lighter jig, go back and do it all over again until you do.

I use a standard, tungsten arkie jig like Siebert Outdoors offers. They have a stout hook, 3/0 or 4/0 depending on weight. Because the tungsten head is smaller, you end up with a smaller profile on that end, use a standard skirt and pull out whatever number of strands you prefer and trim to your liking. You can eliminate strands from the weed guard to your liking also.

My love/hate relationship with fluoro has diminished the last few years. The only use I have for it is cranking. Seeing as I have four cranking outfits and a spare reel spooled with it, I do have some coin invested in it. On all my other rods, I run straight mono, or braid. I tried the braid to fluoro route, but didn't notice any difference in the number of bites and I fish some clear water.

If I had to choose, it would be summertime. The fish are more predictable, not only in their location, but in their activity level. It isn't only a numbers game. The majority of my big fish have been caught in July, including my two biggest. Both were caught between 10:00AM and noon.

One of my most productive 'retrieves' in cold water (under 40), is a slow,short hop of a few inches followed by a long pause. Inactive bass will be drawn to the flash and vibration and will actually strike the blade as it sits motionless on the bottom. This works on fish suspended below the ice in the winter. A slow short hop and let the blade suspend motionless. The bass will let you know how long you need to let it sit.

Three things about your set-up and one about setting the hook. First, dump the section of fluoro, it isn't necessary, even with brass weights and it adds an extra knot to the rig. Second, up your mono to 12lb. or higher. That will add more flotation to the leader and will transmit more bite information. Lastly, switch hooks to a light wire, offset worm hook. https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/gamakatsu-round-bend-offset-worm-hooks?searchTerm=Gamakatsu+Round+Bend+Offset+Worm+Hooks It doesn't inhibit your bait from rising as much as using an EWG worm hook and the point sits farther back. Now the hook-set. Point the rod tip at where the line enters the water and reel until you feel the weight lift off the bottom. Now, in unison, sweep the rod to the side and reel. A high gear ratio reel helps a lot. It takes some practice to reel and sweep at the same time, but it's fairly easy to master. DON'T use an overhead hook-set. You can't move enough line and you change direction of the bait's movement and hook angle.

#1 Location #2 Presentation and Speed which leads to; #3 Bait Type/Profile #4 Timing #5 Color