ww2farmer

5 is for rookies................I can, and have done it all with three......but I carry more than that. What's the line from the wizard of oz? Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain........anyways, when I hop on someone else's boat I take 3. 6'8" M/XF spinning 7' MH/F casting 7'3" H/F casting

Trolling motor + boat plug Outboard dies............as long as I have a TM and the boat floats I can fish Electronics die..........as long as I have a TM and the boat floats I can fish

Now that I think about it some more, there was a day that kind of stands out....for no other reason than just a bunch of "that never happens" moments It was early Aug.....hot as blazes. I was on the water early, and the fishing was good from dawn till dusk. Which is not unusual, except for the fact that it was smallmouth that were on fire that day in 8-10 feet of water......The most memorable catch of the day was a 4lber I hooked deep cranking on a 5xd, that had another 4lber with it. With out hesitation, I dropped a drop shot over the side and the 2nd 4lber bit it. Now I have two 4lbers on at the same time..........one on the crank, one on the drop shot. Now what?? I set the cranking rod down and stood on it while I got the drop shot fish in, tossed it in the livewell real quick and picked up the cranking rod........fully expecting that fish to have pulled off by now, but it was still on. I got it in, sat down and just laughed. About three casts later with the crank, my cranking rod snapped where I had stepped on it..............oh well.

I throw crankbaits a lot, but I let the day's conditions and my "gut" determine if I use them or not. Slick water, sunny skies, calm wind, post front etc...I am probably not cranking............BUT, I have caught enough on days like that with a crankbait to always keep it within reach, especially if it early or late in the day during a long stable stretch of weather. A front rolling in, it's clouding up, wind is starting to blow....I will probably crank. Then there are those days when you think it's perfect for cranking, but they want nothing to do with it.

9mm Smith and Wesson Shield is with me where ever I go.

I used Senkos exclusively for many many years. I got tired of paying a premium for them. Switched to dingers, and my catch rate, size of the fish I catch, and money in my pocket has gone up. The Yamamoto Senkos work better than the others crowd will be here shortly...............

I make my own using the plastic Boss punch hubs, and then I slip that in to the collar of a Z-man "EZ" skirt.

For whatever reason, we are all guilty of this...........probably at some point in the past, we have had baits/lures that were mainstays in our rotations, but we have moved on from them for one reason or another, with the exception being they never stopped catching fish. Here is a list of mine, in no particular order: Bandit crankbaits: Especially the 100............it was my "go to" shallow crankbait for ages, the chart. rootbeer colored 100 used to do some major work for me. Then the SK KVD's burst onto the scene and for no good reason, I haven't used or bought a bandit since. Bill Lewis Rat-L-Traps............there was a time that in the spring a red craw Rat-L-Trap was money, followed closely by a gold/black back, and chrome blue/back. I strayed away from them to try a whole bunch of other lipless cranks, before settling on the SK Redeye shad as my new "go-to". And much the same as the Bandit's haven't bought or used a Rat-L-Trap since. Spinnerbaits: No matter the brand. I don't even own one anymore, the swimjig and chatterbait have replaced them. Mann's jelly worms: There was a long period of time, from the late 80's to the early 2000's that if I needed or wanted to throw a straight tail worm, it was a jelly worm. I ran out once, and tried something else, and have never gone back for really no good reason. They worked on t-rigs, c-rigs, weightless, on jig heads (back when we called it a jig worm instead of a shaky head) Culprit Ribbon tail worms: Like the jelly worm, this was my go-to action tail worm in the late 80's until at least the late 90's. Then I found myself out of them one trip and bought some Berkley Power worms. I have used Power Worms ever since, but have never thought them to be superior to the Culprit, I just never went back to them. The Power worm is, or should I say was, in the same boat. From about 2006 -2014 or so, I am not sure I ever threw one. I have gone back to them the last few years however, and they work as well if not better than they ever did. I am sure I will think of a few more....but those are just off the top of my head for right now.

Flip a coin, I have had both, and both are nice rods for the money. If price is a factor, go with whatever is on sale. It's true the Abu rods run a little heavier than their rating, but if you know that going..........adjust accordingly. I personally like the reel seats on the casting Veritas better than the HMG, and just the opposite for spinning, I like the HMG reel seats better.

Mom and Pop often have killed themselves. I am for supporting local small business, but when "mom and pop" charge..........for example.......... $6.99 for a bag of Yum dingers that BPS, Walmart, TW, etc......charge $2.99 for, I draw the line. There is a difference in a modest mark-up to stay viable with the big guys on every corner................and then there is just greed and ignorance. Lots of time, "mom and pop" deserve to go out of business because..............well, they are bad at it.

I have had two guys in my boat that thought nothing of tossing used soft plastics in the lake. I strongly cautioned them against doing so in my site again. One guy, was generally ignorant of the issues it could cause, and I think my "talk" with him changed his ways. The other guy.............let's just say was pretty flip about it, and him and I do not fish together anymore.

I am in the "off the spool + out of the rods guides" camp. My usual starting length of fluoro is about 5' when drop shotting. This allows me a few re-ties before I have to tie a new leader. It's worked for me for a long time, and I have never had a fish break the alberto knot I use to connect my braid to the leader. More 4-6 lb green and brown fish have been caught doing this than I can count. Some of them have even taken me into some hairy spots where using 8lb flouro and a ML spinning rod could have been a disaster, but lucky for me, it hasn't been.

#1 SK KVD's #2 Storm Twitch Stick #3 I don't have one..............two is enough.

I don't remember my best fun fishing day of 2016...........having been on the water over 150 times between early April, and Early Nov. they all kind of blend together. There were a lot of good days, a few tough ones, and a plenty of just average ones. My favorite tournament day of 2016 was in early August. I fished as a stand in with the guy in my avatars 16 year old son during one of their club tournaments on my home lake, because his dad was in the Upstate Anglers Crazy Cash event, and their club allows non-members to fish with a club member once per season as a stand in, or "try out the club before you join" type of thing. This club didn't know me for nothing, except the tournament director, who usually does very well on Silver., and has beaten me here before...............not today fella's...............I went out and caught 20lbs in six hours, and won that thing handily with the tournament director finishing 2nd with 12lbs. My partners kid did a fine job of netting fish all day, and I was able to send him home to dad with some gas/tackle money LOL.

The only reason I replace trebles on stock baits, esp. Strike Kings, is because I fish with braid, and have bending issues with their stock lighter wire hooks. If I used mono or fluoro the stock hooks on SK baits are fine. That being said, all my SK baits get their hooks replaced with either Mustad KVD Elite 2x strong, 2x short triple grips. I tend to like the triple grips when I am fishing around grass, which is most of the time, as the slight inward bend allows them to come through a little better, and also when I am up-sizing hooks, SK, Mustad, and KVD worked together well to have a system where ups-sizing the hooks do not negatively effect the bait, and in some cases actually enhance a few things, the same can not be said about other brands..........Normally all my SK squarebills, lipless cranks, deep diving cranks and jerkbaits get the mustad hooks. I also fish with a lot of the Storm Arashi baits, those baits get fished as is out of the package with their stock hooks. They are a good quality, heavy duty, black nickle treble. When they need to be replaced, I usually opt for VMC short shank heavy wire hooks, as that's what they come with, were designed with, and work well with. Those VMC hooks are of decent quality and are affordable. The Mustad hooks get a little pricey.

The rods I fish jerkbaits on have multiple uses for me. For a casting rod I use a 6'6" M power Berkley Lightning rod shock, it also gets used for target casting of shallow running cranks, and the few odd times I year I throw treble hooked top waters. Despite being "cheap" this rod is surprisingly light and has just the right taper IMHO for treble hooked baits, while not being "too soft" to hinder working a jerkbait effectively. When I need to switch to smaller jerkbaits that are difficult to cast on casting gear, I use a 6'8" M/XF custom built spinning rod , built on a Batson blank....it's a little stiff, but works well. Normally this is my flick shake + shaky head rod.

I never thought of this angle............but your right were all animals in some basic form. My cat will wake up from coma and appear out of thin air if he smells (or perhaps hears) an open can of tuna or something like that. Maybe bass are the same way..........they certainly have been accused being curios creatures like cats.

Fishing is my "escape"................sometimes it feels like a job, but I wouldn't want to be doing anything else in my free time. No matter what is not going right in my life, I can always spend a little time fishing and it makes me feel better. And to be honest, many of the "problems" I have are not all that big in the grand scheme of things...........I mean my kids are happy, and healthy. We have food/shelter, an easier life than those that came before us, but it's nice just to get out on the water, and think about how to put a bass in the boat and forget what I have to do at work tomorrow, or what bills have to be paid. I truly feel blessed that I think this way, and feel bad for people who think life is all about money, work, 401K's, health insurance, paying debt, etc......we only get one spin on this rock, and I'll be danged if I am going to not go for the ride on my terms.

This ^^^^^^^^^^^^ You can get by fine with spinning gear if it's stout enough, but sooner or later it's going to cost you a good fish. Freshwater spinning tackle that is comfortable to fish with for hours on end just doesn't have the power to winch a 5+ lb fish wadded up in 30 lbs of grass on a regular basis like a light weight, but powerful casting rig. You could always go with some in-shore, or salt water rated spinning gear if you want.............but fish with that for 8-10 hours straight and you'll wish you didn't.

That's about how I look at it too. Although in very clear water a jig head rigged paddle tail ripped through grass, trying to hang and pop it free on purpose gets some very vicious strikes.

Ned and Neko rigs will be experimented with for me when the bite gets tough this coming season instead of just relying on drop shotting, flick shake, and shaky heads.

I do my own, but DVT got the call on a problem child reel I had a while back. I got top notch service and communication from Mike. He's a real asset to the community here, and I wouldn't hesitate sending him anything if I needed his expertise again.

If I am not using a Powerbait infused Berkley soft plastic, it get's megastrike rubbed on it.........period. I don't know if it helps get more bites, but it don't hurt, and a $7 tube lasts forever. What it does help, is fish will hold on to a bait longer, giving me more time to detect the bite and set the hook if I am asleep at the wheel for second.........I am 100% convinced of that. I also think it helps on pressured and negative mood fish. If it turns a couple of lookers into biters on a tough day it's worth it. If they are jumping in the boat, you could probably have the bait dipped in diesel fuel and it wouldn't matter. IMHO JJ's is too dang messy, and it's special handling requirements make it hassle...........I don't need to keep a climate controlled lock box on the boat with two keys that need to be turned at the same time, with authorization from the FBI and CIA to open and a haz-mat team on stand by to add scent and color to a plastic worm. If I need a little splash of color added to a bait, the Spike it markers get the call for me, and have never exploded, leaked, or turned the floor of my boat green.

What he said. There is almost nothing you can't do with a 4" or 5" stick bait. I have even caught fish on them dragging them around on mats and pads as a top water.

Frog................I throw it year round, in a wide array of conditions. Waking cranks would be #2 probably, but buzzbaits are making a comeback for me though. I own few traditional treble hooked topwaters anymore.