SDoolittle

Welcome to BR!

Welcome to BR!

Welcome to BR!

Of the options listed, I've only used Wiley X and Oakley. I selected "other" because my favorite eyewear for fishing is Bolle.

If you're only fishing 2-3 times per year, once a year should be plenty.

Great catch!

Ditto!

PM sent.

Welcome to BR!

Go back and buy some more. Those are my favorite cheap crankbaits. 20 years ago, I used them because they were about the only crankbaits that I could afford. I still have a few, but now I throw them because they flat out catch fish. You'll probably have to tune them and change the hooks, but for $2 apiece, you won't be disappointed.

Agreed!

Four or five.

I prefer to take a few minutes to explain to them some of the many variables that go into successful fishing. Most of the non-fishing people I run into think of fishing as something done in a lawn chair with a cooler of beer close at hand. They're amazed to learn how much time, energy, and money we tend to invest in our sport. Educating the masses is key to preserving the future of fishing.

4th place out of 140 is good no matter what your experience level is!

Welcome to BR!

The big difference I've seen in the high-end Japanese stuff versus the more inexpensive baits is consistency. How many times have you bought a crankbait that just would not run straight no matter how much you try to tune it? How many baits have you bought that you immediately had to change the hooks? The higher-end stuff is generally good to go straight out of the box, and every one of them will run exactly the same. With that said, I have caught more fish, and I have far more confidence in my Bandits and Strike King crankbaits, but usually not until after I do some significant tweeking.

I tried it years ago, and it was pretty brittle. That was almost 10 years ago. It may be better now.

I spent a lot of time drooling over those catalogs in the 80's.

You might try something like this. $25 at BPS, and it should allow you to run your trolling motor from the front or back.

The first thing I noticed about your current tackle is a major lack of soft plastics. The Texas rig has always been my most productive bait for bank fishing. Get yourself some worms, craws, lizards, etc., and have some fun. There's no need to spend a fortune on hard baits just to fill up your box. Pick up something new from time to time to try out, and you'll be amazed at how quickly the stuff accumulates.

I've never had an issue with the stock hooks on any Lucky Craft lure.

This is the only picture I have, but I've seen much worse.

^^^ Yep. That's how I used to buy most of mine.

Before I started building my own rods, I used Kistlers almost exclusively. I haven't used the Helium 3's, but the above statement is spot on for the models I've used in the past.