Shadcranker

GYBC Kreature and Zoom bush Hog. If punching mats, a Beaver.

1 cavitron Buzzbait; One 3/8 oz War Eagle Spinnerbait in Chartreuse / white; One X Calibur Zell Pop; 1 bag Flippin Tubes- Green Pumpkin; 1 bag finesse worms- Watermelon pepper; 1 pack 3/16 oz shaky head jigs (Original Davis shaky head in long shank); 1 pack 8" Zoom Lizards- Green Pumpkin; pack of 3/8 oz bullet weights; 2 packs Gammy EWG hooks (3/0 and 4/0); 2 Sk Series 5 cranks in Sexy Shad; 2 Bandit 200's- 1 shad and 1 craw color; 1 1/2 oz SK Red Eye Shad in Chrome / blue; 1 pack Zoom Ole Monster worms in Plum or Blue Fleck; 2 SK Bitsy Flip jigs in Watermelon; 1 pack Super Chunk, Jr trailers in watermelon; 1 pack pearl white Zoom Super Flukes; 1 pack Yamamoto senkos in Watermelon black Flake; 1 pack kalins 5 " single tail grubs in Watermelon; 1 pack of grub heads in 3/16 oz. Should be right at $100, and I could fish for a while on that stuff in all depths.

Larger sized Xcalibur Zell Pop and Sammy 100 in rocky lakes (no grass), and a Bull Ribbit or Spro Bornzeye frog over grass (Ribbit in sparse or open water over grass, and Bronzeye on the mats).

The thought is people will buy em, b/c it's Sexy Shad, and KVD says to.

4 1/2" Rattlin Rogue

Go to bait would depend on timeof year: Early Spring- #5 Shad rap Mid to late spring- 8" Zoom Lizard on C-Rig Summer- T-Rigged Ole Monster Fall- 1/4 oz finesse jig with Craw Papi trailer

IMHO the Kreature is awfully expensive to use as a jig trailer. I have good success with the old standby, Zoom Super Chunk or Twin Tail Grub. You could get a similar profile with another Creature bait. I use the GYBC Kreature, but as a flippin bait by itself.

Shad Rap (#5) in craw color and Wiggle Wart in Green Craw.

X2- I have bought several brands- Omega, Black Angel, SK, Outkast, etc. The Dirty Jigs seem to have the best components. the skirts in particular are really well made.

That's exactly what SK is counting on! Brilliant marketing in action.

Mann's Mosquito Hawk.

I have 2- spinnerbait and drop shot. If the water is right, i'll throw a blade, but I don't have much confidence. On the drop shot, I just don't like ultra finesse fishing.

I have two different stashes; one for the boat, and one for home storeage of back-ups / refills. For the boat, I use 3700 and 3600 size boxes and sort by style / type, and then color. I use the bigger boxes for worms, lizards, jig trailers, etc. The smaller boxes hold my senkos, tubes, drop shot baits, craws, grubs, and smaller sized baits. By using specific boxes for different styles of baits, I can limit what goes in the boat, reducing clutter and weight. I just grab what I need. For example, my 10" worm box only gets used in the warmer months on structure, so it stays in the garage until May. For the extra / refill plastics at home, I bought two of the largest sized Plano plastic boxes available (roughly 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 and approz 12" thick). these have no dividers in them. Then I grouped the baitys by style, leaving them in their bags, and put them in 1 gallon freezer bags (i.e. jig trailers, craws, 10" worms, etc.). I use a Sharpie to label each freezer bag. One of the big boxes contains worms, senkos, lizards, trick worms, flukes, etc. The other big box is stuffed with trailers, craws, tubes, etc. When my boat supply runs down, I go to the big boxes and refill out of the back-up. Freezer bags have really helped me to get and stay organized. Each winter, I will take an inventory and refill the home stash to make sure I have enough for the year. This works well for me.

90% briliant marketing by SK / 10% it's a really nice shad imitation. Whatever SK pays KVD, it's not enough. I would venture to say that his success has at least tripled their sales the last 5 years or so. That said, I fish a lot of crankbaits, and TN Shad, Lavender Shad, Threadfin Shad, Gizzard Shad colors all catch fish. The colors and finish on the Lucky Crafts are incredible, and that's why they sell them all day for $15-20. IMHO, the fish aren't nearly that discerning.

The owner is a personal freind of mine, and one of my fishing partners. Dwayne is as honest as the day is long. This is a part time gig for him. He got tired of paying thru the nose for tungsten and found a source of quality inexpensive weights. he's not trying to get rich off of it. Really good guy.

LC RC 2.5 Wakebaits (x2) Lake Fork Tackle- 10" worms and Tube Craws (6 bags total) Jewell Eakins Jigs (8) Red Eye Shad in Chrome SS (2) Plus it inspired me to reorganize my tackle in the garage for about the 12th time since Fall. I've got to get out of the house and to the lake. One more week!!!

Bait monkey keeps putting theses in my head. My tackle is about as ready as it could be, and I don't need anything else, but, I've been looking at some of the WEC's, Brian's Bees, and other NC and VA Crankbait makers' stuff, and they look pretty sweet. But for $18-20 a bait, I'm wondering if they are worth it? Also noticed that Gambler has a line of high end balsa baits with circuit board bills, great looking paint jobs, etc. Anyway, if I do give in to the little primate, can anyone suggest a brand / model to try? I would probably just use them in the 3-10 ft range, as my really deep cranks are pretty well set. I'm thinking a few of the flat sided baits, and a few fat ones for shallow cranking in the Summer aroundlaydowns and stuff. Any advice is appreciated. Don't want to throw my money away.

IMHO the non-boater should have zero say on the water to be fished, unless the boater asks for help. I've fished as both boater and non-boater. If the non-boater owns a boat and has practiced recently (within a week) and / or is a local with a lot of knowledge, and if the boater is not on anything, then, yes, I might try some of the non-boater's ideas. But, if I've been out on the lake, practicing, and pre-fishing, and spending money to develop a gameplan to win an event, I'm going to follow that gameplan. Another problem that exists is in these two day Federation deals. A non-boater goes out and does well with his day 1 partner, and then gives away that guy's pattern and spots to his day 2 partner. I accepted the fact that I had no say-so when I was a non-boater, but if I could help, and the boater asked for help, I would gladly tell him what I was on. Once it got old fishing out of the back of the boat, I started fishing as a boater. It's pretty clear, if you want first shot at the water and say-so over fishing spots, step up, by a boat, and go as a boater.

My local BPS said they got a shipment of DT20's back in the Fall, but they sent them all back, bc there was a design flaw with the baits. I was going to try a couple, but now that I've heard that, I'll just stick with my DD22's and FF Shad #7's. Honestly, when the summer crankin bite is really on, I don't think it matters much what you throw, as long as you can get down to them. Most of the fish on the ledges I fish are in 8-15 ft anyway, so a true 20 ft bait is not really necessary for me.

10-4. I have the same stick, and I use it just the same. It's perfect for throwing that little #5 SR. Nice to have a rod you can use for more than one application. I own around 6 Crucials, and they are the best value out there IMHO.

Finesse- SK Bitsy Bug and Jewell Eakins Flippin- Phenix (rubber), Pepper, and Oldhams Football- Picasso, Omega, and PJ's Shallow Bank Grass swimming - Lunker Lure Rattle Back Jig

Zoom Super Chunk, Jr and Yum Craw Papi for finesse jigs Zoom Super Chunk for Flippin Jigs 3 different ones for Footballs jigs- Rage Chunk, Zoom Twin Tail Grub, and Zoom Speed Craw

1. Skeet (came close on Lay fishing up river; if the jig bits is on, he's got a shot).. 2. R Howell- (grew up fishing shallow grass in AL, and he can junk fish with the best of them). 3. K. Jordan (knows the river well; great grass fisherman and he'll figure out how to catch the right ones). Esay pick is Hackney, but I think the pressure may be too much, with everyone picking him to win ala Russ Lane at Lay.

I've got two JB rods- one 6'6" and one 6'8". Any longer and I'd be slapping the gunnel of the boat. I think a 6' rod is too short to cast a light JB effectively, plus the extra length helps play the fish down, which is critical with trebles. So, I think 6'6" or so is ideal. Just make sure te rod has enough tip action to give it the propper action and the rod isn't too stiff (trebles).

One bit of advice on the Powells. I would go one or two models heavier than they rate them. I have a 683, 703, 704, and 705. the 703 and 683 are too light for mostof my jig and worm fishing. I have reserved them for lighter stuff. I use the 703 for Bitsy Bugs, shaky heads, and lighter finesse jigs (3/16, 1/4 oz). I also own three ofthe cranking models, so obviously I am a big fan of the Powells. They are a great value for the $$$.