ww2farmer

Thanks guys, I went with the round bend regular shank, standard wire Mustad KVD hooks. I was surprised to see you guy changing them out with EWG's or TG's, I am not a fan of the EWG or Triple grips on baits like jerkbaits or topwaters where fish tend to swipe at baits. I didn't have any issues with the stock split rings on the Clunn baits but the hooks were not very good. I have yet to catch any big bass on them, handfull of LM up to 3lbs, but I have had a few walleyes over 5lbs, and a couple 30" + Pike and the rings held up.

Jig colors I like a bluegill, or a green/brown color in clear water, black and blue in stained. Grubs, paddle tail swimbaits and flapping craws like the Paca or Rage for trailers. Some kind of green like watermelon, or green pumpkin on the bluegill jig, Any color is fine on the black and blue. A green pumpkin trailer goes against the grain on the black and blue jig, as most people like to match jigs and trailers, but I like to mix it up on a swim jig, and it works well. If you fish a lake with a lot of bluegill and/or yellow perch as a big part of the forage base, clear or dirty water adding a little purple and/or orange to either the trailer, jig or both seems to be a good choice as well.

As I have whined about before, early spring jerkbait fishing has never been my strength, but I am making an effort to do more of it this year, and am catching plenty of fish, some bass LOL, but mostly pike and a few walleyes. I have been using the Luck E Strike RC STX jerkbait, the Xcailiber EEshad, and the Xrap. The Clunn bait has been the best so far, with the Xcailiber a close second..........I am done with X-raps as a cold water bait, they just do not produce for me. I am going to order some more Clunn baits today, The stock hooks were average at best, what are you guys replacing them with? I swapped them out with short shank #6 Gamakatsu Magic eye trebles, but they seemed a bit heavy for it. Insted of suspending near perfectly like it did with the stock hooks, it seemed to slowly sink. I need a lighter wire hook.

I use my 7' ML/Fast Avid spinning rod almost exclusivly for drop shotting. I tend to use my M powered spinning rods for everything else.

Lots of broken crap, rods, reels, things on the boat, etc....... I have dropped at least three phones in the water, and my landing net once. One time I stuffed a wave and the water took $100's of dollars worth of tungsten sinkers and other assorted terminal tackle in a plano box off my front deck. Been stuck with hooks a few times. I have had my boat get away from me lauching it twice when I forgot to hook the bow rope I use to the trailer. I took some allergy meds once before gong out, the fishng was slow, so I sat down for a minute, next thing I know I woke up and the boat had drifted the complete length of the lake (a few miles) while I was sleeping sprawled out on the center seats. None of this stuff seems as bad as when I don't do well fishing though....it just burns me in a way I can't describe.

I understand the not being able to stock everything in the inventory at the retail locations, but ours is a bigger joke than most. There Rod selection is 99% BPS branded stuff and little to nothing else. You would think the only color any hard lure comes in, reguardless of brand, is Sexy shad, or some variant of. And Walmart has a better selection of terminal tackle.

One of the biggest and best "no-name" producers for me has been the "genaric" Strike King spinner baits sold for $4 at Dicks Sporting goods. Not the el cheapo ones with a barrel swivel and crap skirts that are $1-$2.These are the same exact bait BPS sells as there exclusive KVD series spinner baits for $7+. The difference is the Dicks versions have fewer sizes (only 1/4 and 3/8) fewer colors, and fewer blade configuration choices, and the don't come in a fancy package, just a small tag clipped to the wire and hung on peg in the spinner bait isle.. They come with a trailer hook, and the "magic tail" skirt that the KVD and Premier Plus both have. They have been very good baits for me over the last 5-6 years.

I learned long ago that finding everything you need and/or want at Bass Pro usually is not going to happen. They do not carry in store everything they have on-line or in print.

Curado 51E

I guess I need to re-learn every thing. I can't catch a bass right now to save my life. Worst slump I have ever been in, March was ok....heck it was March, we were fishing in boats insted of standing on ice, and catching fish, so it was all good. April has been terrible. I am not sure I have a limit of keeper bass yet for the month. And it's not for lack of trying either. Jerkbaits, tubes, dropshot, lip-less and shallow cranks, jigs, shakey heads,senkos.............I might as well be throwing bare hooks, at least I might snag somthing on accident.

1. I use a trailer hook on both almost 100% of the time. I do not use a bait threaded on the hook under the skirt as a trailer. I use Strike King spinner baits and buzzbaits with what they call "magic skirts" that have a trailer built in. 2. Braid...100% of the time, 20,30, or 50 lb depending on where I am using the baits or what rod I am fishing them on. 3. 7' M/F for 3/16 or 1/4 oz baits, 3/8 and up on 7' MH/F

I have two 51E Curado's........have not paid more than $100 for either of them thanks to Bass Resource.

Good luck. You can do it. For a good laugh, let me tell you this little story. I belong to a large WW2 living history/reenacting group, many years ago a few of us sought to "recreate" the qualifiying process of the WW2 era EIB, just to see if we could do it, 100% of us failed LOL. No we were not soilders, or were trained to do some of the stuff required, but we tried and were pretty embarassed with our results.

Pass....I have no problems hooking up with frogs as is, and besides those would be a disaster in alot of the places I fish frogs.

Before I "upgraded" to Fenwicks, then St Croix's. I used alot of BPS rods. Cranking Sticks, Bionic Blades, and Extreme's were very good rods, that if you bought on sale were high on the bang for the buck meter.

I hate sight fishing largemouth. For one, if they see you, game over, or your going to have to work your butt off and have more paitence than most to catch them. Bedding LM are can be tough, but the cruisers are the worst, some times it seems like the whole lake is up in shallow water just swimming around aimlessly, and, not only will they not bite anything, but they will swim as fast as they can to get away from what ever you are offering. Bedding SM can be spooky, but generaly, they are alot easier and more willing. My biggest problem is seeing them, most years the big ones (SM) do not get up shallow on the lake I fish, but bed in 8-12 feet of water.

IMHO one of the worst things to do in gin clear water is to stop it and let them look at it for very long. Keep it moving, often I move it FASTER when I see one come up behind it to try to get them to react, you may only draw one out and it never hits it, but now you know where he/she lives and you can pitch a slower jig or soft plastic bait to that spot in a little while.

I know how it feels, been working 70 hours a week for five weeks now, without a break , nor is one in sight. The times I have been able to fish have sucked, and every one else I know has been crushing them. I am sick of it. Sick of fishing in general. I feel a sell off of the stuff coming up soon, and I'll go back to my old hobby, where being at the right place/right time is not critical to success, and where every one involved has real jobs, don't pump you for all your best ways to catch fish, and then rub your face in it on a regular basis.

My 7' Legend Tournaments, either the M, or MH powered. Love them both. Both paired with Curado 51E's.

No.........never. I have a phobia about putting my feet on the bottom of a natural body of water. I won't even go in the ocean at the beach.

I have thrown one on my 7' M power, fast action St Croix Legend Tournament with a Curado 51E and 20lb braid and can cast it as far as I need to. With the same set up I can launch 1.5's any where I want them, and just spool myself with a 2.5

Well there is a first for everything......................after not having any bad baits that I can remember, ever, I now have one. Brand new SK Red Eye Shad, takes on water. THAT IS IT!!!!! I have had it with Strike King, out of the 200-300 SK baits I have , how dare I get a bad one.

It's hard to beat a frog over the top and a senko in the weed holes/edges on most of the ponds I fish in summer. Add a spinnerbait or shallow crank in spring and fall. I like to keep it simple when pond fishing.

Even a $50 reel should last more than 3 trips...you got a lemon. I am sure Abu will take care of it, they have always treated me good when I had a problem, no matter what the reel cost.

I also go with the backing line, braid ready spool or not. Putting that much braid on a spool is big $$$.