ww2farmer

I would have to say about 80% of my cold (<50 degree water temp) bass have been caught on lipless cranks. The rest on small bodied divers like a Storm Wiggle Wart, SK series 3/3xd, bandit 200/300, etc.... or smaller squarebills if they are shallow like a SK KVD 1.5, SK series 1, Bandit 100, etc...on the lakes I fish most often, it seems like flat sided baits (other than lipless cranks) are just not all that effective, or at least I have never had banner days on them.

Local Wal-Mart has SK tour grade tungsten weights, and Mustad KVD treble hooks on clearance, so I bought some, and a spool of 20lb Power Pro.

I gave up on Interstate. I couldn't make there batteries last for more than a year. I have been very happy with my Napa store brand DC, and cranking batteries. I had 2 full years use on my last set of TM batts. , 4 years on my cranking ,and were they were still going strong. I swapped them out for new ones this winter, just because. Napa had a rebate on new ones, and a sale, and I had money so better to replace them early then too late. They have a great warranty too, 36 mos.

New York......5 bass, 12" or longer per person, per day from the 3rd sat. in June till November 30th. C&R only Dec. 1st till the 3rd sat. in june on most waters. Some still have closed season during that time. Which means no fishing for them at all. There may be lake/body of water specific regulations that I don't know about. But those are the rules on most of the waters I fish. Your daily limit is just that. Not take them home and come back and catch/keep 5 more. It also covers both LM and SM, five is five...period. You can't have 5 of each. Other limits in NY I am familiar with are, Bluegills/Sunfish are 50 per day, no size limit, all year long. Perch is 50 per day, no size limit, all year long. Crappies are 25 per day, 9" or larger, all year long. Bullheads, no limit, no season. Pike and Walleye open the first sat. in may and close March 15th to protect spawning fish. I don't know the length/numbers limits on them as I don't usually keep.

You don't need 60' of water for a 1oz jig. Some of my best jig fish all year are in less than 5' with sparse cover on a heavy jig. It's all about a reaction bite. I can slip a 1oz. jig in and around dock posts, boat hoists, clumps of grass and laydowns a lot more stealthy than I can a 1/4 oz. jig.

Well if the supply of good used D series reels ever dries up, I'll worry about what Shimano is doing.

I am firmly in the camp that the super realistic baits, while very nice, are not needed. Do they hurt, no, but I personally don't think they help all that much for me to fork out the extra $$ they cost. Besides, just because a bait looks like a real bluegill to us, who says it looks like that to a bass. The dumb things bite hunks of flopping plastic being cast about attached to a rig festooned with wires and snaps, but if you think a bait with the exact scale count, and tiny painted on fins that look like an photo copy of a 4" shad is really a difference maker, have at it.

Nothing. I tie direct to everything. The only time a swivel is in my line is on a c-rig, or about 5' up from my hook when drop-shotting if I am out of spinshot hooks. Oh and maybe a few feet in front of a fluke. But it's always just a swivel, never a snap swivel. The only time I would use one is I guess it's recommended on some of the umbrella rigs that don't have a swivel built into the nose, but the ones I have, and use have the swivel built in.

None of those baits pull hard, if it were me I would get a 6:1 reel. I have a 5.0:1 Shimano Curado DPV, and it's too slow. It's great for big, deep diving cranks like a 6xd, but after a day of burning them on a slow reel, it feels like my arm is going to fall off. It's much easier to slow a fast reel down, than speed a slow one up. For that very reason I went with a 6.2:1 reel on my cranking rod that throws my lipless cranks, squarebills, and baits that dive less than 10', and use the slow reel on the 10'+ diving baits.

Well when I pick one I'll let you know. I can't think of a single tube that I have used that I have not caught them on, and I have had good days on them all. They all have one common theme, 3.5", and some shade of green in color, other than that I have been all over the map on brand. GYCB, SK, BPS, Zoom, etc.......

LED boat trailer tail lights. Sick and tired of blown bulbs, corroded fixtures, water getting into "sealed" lights.

I'll play.

No, IMHO it's not bad etiquette. I welcome questions from guys. The more people I can turn on to bass fishing , and help have some success the better it is for all. I love bass, I love bass fishing, I love the competition of tournaments........but I hate the modern culture of bass fishing. That's another rant for another time.

I am bored, and sick of waiting for ice to melt so I can get on the water. Any of you NYer's want to have a friendly bragging rights lunker contest for the 2013 season? Similar to what J.Francho's buddy Burnie ran last year on NYBass? John knows what I am talking about.

I don't toss them a lot, but when I do, it's with a Citica D.

If I wasn't limited to rigging options, a 4" senko. You can dropshot it, drag it on a jig head, wacky rig it, and on and on and on.........

Usually bigger in the front.

The same line I use all year long. Power Pro braid. 8,10,15,on Spinning gear, and 20,30,50lb on casting. I use fluorocarbon leaders as I see fit. Seaguar Red label. 8,10, and 12 on spinning, 10,12,15,17, and 20b on casting.

I have ate bass too, but usually they are mixed in with the rest and I can't tell, other than the size of the fillet, the difference. I will admit, crappies have to come from my home lake, the next closet lake to the east of me, Conesus............blahhh, they taste like garbage out of there.

I have two baits in my bluegill rotation. Strike King Bitsy Pond Minnow, and a 1" gulp minnow on a dropshot.

#1 Bluegill #2 Perch #3 Crappies #4 Rock bass And that's all I eat.

I have caught smallmouth, and many good ones while targeting largemouth on just about every bait I own. And many good sized largemouth while targeting smallmouth. Those times of the year when both are in the same areas in my home lake are magic.

Over-greasing is just as bad as never greasing them. I grease mine at the end of every season, 2-3 pumps MAX. I do it the last time I pull the trailer out of the water for the year, so on the drive home new fresh grease is in the hub and spread around a little before sitting all winter. Mid-season I put 2 pumps in each side, and that's it. Every couple years I re-pack them.

I have always liked Zoom, Netbait, and Berkley stuff. Check out some of the baits from the Berkley Havoc line. I used a couple things from them last year and liked them a lot, so much so I bought a ton of there stuff this winter to try.

Anytime. I have caught big fish at first light, dusk, mid day, and just about anywhere in-between. Depends on a lot of conditions, weather, water, and season. I probably spend more time on the water in late afternoon till dark than any other time, so if any one time gets a slight edge, it would be that. But it's simply because I have more time on the water in those hours than the rest of the day.