Bass and Crappie March Madness!

Day 1:

With all of the frustration with work coming to a grinding hault on Friday I knew that the coming weekend was going to be my only opportunity to unwind before I started over again on Monday.  The forecast for Saturday and Sunday continued to push the 72+ degree mark so I knew I was going to be in for some decent fishing.  I called my Dad up Friday night to ask him if he wanted to join in on the outing and told him where to meet me at the following morning.  Fortunately I was off the hook for most of the day on Saturday so my Dad and I decided to hit two separate ponds...both in the Dupage County area.  My Dad arrived at the first pond about a half an hour before I did since I lazily snuck in a few more minutes of sleep before I headed out to the lake.  Unfortunately I missed a good opportunity because by the time I showed up...my Dad had already landed 5 bass.  Luckily for me...that action lasted the entire day!  Every spot we hit up and down the first lake we pulled out atleast 6+ fish a piece.  Both of us switched off between crankbaits, zoom flukes, and zoom brush hogs.  The fish were all within the 8 to 18" range with the average fish coming in at 12-15".  I have never seen my Dad have this much fun in a while catching this many fish...so I was happy I was able to spend that time with him.  Of course the trash talking came out with him being in the lead most of the day, but after awhile we just lost count of the number of fish that we hooked into.

Well the fun came to a screeching hault when my Dad yelled over to me that there was a cop parked behind my car on the side of the road.  To retrace my steps as to why this was happening...earlier this morning my Dad decided it was OK to park on the road next to the lake where there was obvious signs that said "NO PARKING".  I went against my better judgement and left my car there and my Dad ended up moving his truck farther back down the road when he moved to his new spot.  Needless to say I dropped all of my gear and ran half way around the lake as I saw the cop putting a parking ticket on my windshield!  I yelled to the cop what had happened before he drove off, and luckily he was nice enough to just tell me to move my car and that he only gave me a warning.  Note to self...never listen to my Father again on where to park. 

As a side note to all of this...GatorShaun, a fellow DupageAngler.com, member was on the same lake in his kayak when this happened and witnessed me running clear across the lake to catch the cop before he left.  I didn't realize it was Shaun in the kayak so of course I get a text message a few minutes later from him "enjoying the parking ticket?".  I was busted! haha.  With my Dad also being parked illegally further down the road I knew we were pressing our luck and decided to leave for the next pond.

We headed to spot number 2 and found two cars already parked next to it.  I was kind of mad at the fact that our favorite secret spot was starting to become not so secret...but hey, you can't keep the fun from everyone.  My Dad and I started at our usual spot and made our way around the lake picking off a few bass here and there.  I saw that the bass were schooling up on shad coming out of a drain pipe so I decided to throw on my shallow BPS Egg Crankbait in Texas Shad...and it was game on from there!  Bass were slamming the crankbait every 5-10 casts.  I would feel the subtle side to side wobble of the crankbait moving through the water followed by a good THUMP and the crankbait would stop dead.  At that moment I would throw all my weight into a right side sweep of the rod and FISH ON!  This continued until 2:30 in the afternoon when my fish count came to about 35 bass for the day so far.  My dad on the other hand had close to 50!  By that time I saw another DA member, Darkstar72, making his way along the pond catching a few fish here and there and snapping pictures for his buddy he was with.  I yelled to him across the lake jokingly that this lake only allows 1 DA member at a time.  He laughed and yelled back to me ask me how the fishing has been.  We finished up the short conversation and headed our separate ways along with my Dad heading home since my Mom had dinner ready to go.

I left that lake by myself and headed back to the spot we started at this morning...making sure that I parked in the correct spot this time! lol.  Gatorshaun had been in touch with me most of the day after this morning's incident so he headed over to meet me along with his girlfriend SunnyPhish.  I had a few more fish on the board before they showed up...but when they came the Super Fluke run was over!  Senkos became the diet of choice for these bass.  The whole day turned out to be unbelievable as far as fishing went...by the time I finished up I had 40 bass and 1 crappie landed.  If I wouldn't have missed the other fish that I missed the bite on or lost on the hookset I probably would have had close to 60 bass.  Deadsticking the Super Fluke and slow rolling a crankbait became the producers for the day.  Luckily I still had Sunday to refine my patterns to see if they produced even more fish!

Day 2:

The second day I had alot less time to make my mark on the lake...the numbers ended up being about half of yesterday's take, but man the quality today was there!  MWolf, another DA member, planned on meeting me out at the lake around 4:30 pm and before he arrived I already had 1 bass landed and 1 lost.  I saw him parking his car and I waited before I made my next cast.  I threw the Zoom Super Fluke out as far as it could go.  Let it sit, and gave it three twitches before it stopped dead.  I set the hook and the bass was off to the races!  The head of the fish never broke the surface until I could see MWolf walking down the sidewalk.  I yelled at him to hurry and that this fish was much bigger than any of the ones that I had on yesterday.  A couple head shakes later of the beast and I finally lipped it.  She taped at 18.5" and weighed in at 3 lbs 10 oz.

We worked our way down the shoreline picking up one or two as other fisherman in the area were nailing smaller bass on senkos.  I put on a senko just to see if that changed things up a bit, but I lost interest and was more concerned about hitting my favorite spot on the lake before sundown.  Unfortunately there was a smaller family fishing off the point so I waited patiently until they moved off.  Knowing that we would have company fighting for the spot I told MWolf to book it as soon as we saw the family leaving.  We got settled at our final spot at around 7-7:30ish and we had no idea what we were about to get ourselves into.  Since the fluke wasn't working anymore and the wind was picking up I switched up to a crankbait and the feeding frenzy commenced!  One bass after another with the biggest one pushing the 17-18" range.

It wasn't until the 6th or 7th bass until I felt a lighter bite on the line...reeled it in, and come to find out it was a 9" crappie that inhaled the crankbait!  MWolf then hooked into one of his own after also switching to a crankbait with this one being in the 11" range.  Unfortunately it was gut hooked and bleeding badly so we decided to keep the crappie instead of letting it die in the water.  I am usually opposed to keeping fish, but that was too nice of a crappie not to eat.  Once the sun started setting the crappie madness kicked into high gear!  Another 9 incher then a 10 incher...with MWolf and I switching off catching fish.  Next thing I know my crankbait gets slammed by something alot bigger.  I thought it was a bass but to my surprise it was a 14" slab of a crappie!

That had to be one of the biggest crappie I had seen in a long time and was amazed to find it in a Dupage County forest preserve lake.  By the time it was all said and done we walked away with 7 keeper crappie that weighed about 5 lbs in total with my 14" weighing in at a pound and a quarter.  MWolf took the 7 home to his family since his Dad had been waiting for a good amount of crappie to cook for dinner.  All I wanted was a couple pictures of my beast in return before it ended up in a frying pan.  After back and forth promises of "this is my last cast for the night" going on for about 30 minutes we finally wrapped it up.  It was interesting trying to get back to the cars with all of our gear and trying to hold 7 crappies by hand between the two of us...but some how we made it. 

It was one of the best two days on the water I have had in awhile and the final total ended up at 54 bass and 6 crappie.  I know I won't have numbers like that very often...so I soaked it all in as much as I could!  Good fishing with good friends and family...doesn't get much better than that!

Thanks for reading...and tight lines!

Fluke

Braidwood Aftermath

Well guys, yesterday ended up being a brutal first day back on the tourney trail for me.  No fish to weigh in...caught 2 cats on a crankbait and that was it for me yesterday.  My boater caught 3 bass but only 1 was a keeper.  I can't say why or how I ended up with no fish, but that is the breaks with fishing sometimes...but I did have a lot of fun with the guys out there today and I know that I will be doing my homework next time around for the tournmaent in April.

I can't say that I didn't try to mix up the lure choices that I had because I threw everything that I had confidence in...flukes, cranks, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, shakey head, jigs, swimjigs, creature baits...you name it I probably had it tied on for a few casts.  My partner was at the lake on Saturday and said that he did really well but unfortunately his go to spots just ended up not producing.  That happens more often than not....maybe the slight change in pressure from the storm the night before moved them off the area...or maybe the average 83 degree water temps drove them to cooler water areas.  Who knows really, but if I had to put a blame on anything it would have been my inexperience with fishing the lake and limited time fishing from a boat.  I have been to Braidwood maybe twice in my lifetime fishing from the shore...it is a whole different ball game being on a boat and not knowing the lay of the land.   I have to say though I did have a few follows from bass and a couple bass that I could see making their rounds to shadey areas...but I couldn't get any of them to commit.

After the totals were calculated at the weigh in I was impressed with the amount of fish caught.  Out of 20 anglers I believe more than half came in with a limit.  First place came in with about 14.5 lbs of bass and the second place finisher had a little more than 9 lbs.  So there was a good gap between first and second...and the winner, Mr. Dave Schultz, is one hell of a fisherman....he knows Braidwood like the back of his hand.  All of his fish came on a white/chartreuse chatterbait...and if you want to learn how to use that lure he is the one to talk to about it hands down.  Dave also came in with the biggest bass of the tournament at 4.90 lbs.  Because of Braidwood's strict rules you are only allowed to hold bass in your livewell over 18" so the other bass that were caught were rounded to the nearest 1/2" and marked down on a sheet of paper.  Those fish that were less than 18" were put into an fish weight equation and the total weight was calculated from that.  It was kind of unfortunate that was the way we had to do it because I gaurantee those fish caught were heavier than the equation calculated....all of the fish were full of shad!  That's why I was so surprised I couldn't get a crank bite going...I though for sure those fish would have been keying in on shad to stock up on food.  The other 18+ fish came from Mr. Mike Pena with his fish weighing a little under 4 pounds.  Here are the two biggest fish caught....first was Dave's fish and the second was Mike's fish!

It was tough getting skunked out there, but I was happy with how my equipment performed and all of my prep work was well worth it!  That new FSA flipping/pitching rod is A-MAZING!  Subtle bumps from rocks felt like an earthquake in my hands!  Only lost a couple hooks and one rat-l-trap all day to rocks so overall it was a good day.  Weather was great and the camaraderie between the group after the fact was second to none!  Special thanks go out to my boater Chaz for trying his hardest to get me on fish and having free reign on his 2005 20 foot Ranger bass boat...that thing was a sweet ride!

Until next time guys, I will continue to do some write ups on different techniques and outings, and how my prep work will change for the next tournament at Lake Shelbyville on April 29th.  Thanks for reading and supporting me in these competitions...I really appreciate it!

Fluke

Prep for Braidwood Tournament (Part II)

The next thing that needed to be packed was the tackle bag that I purchased from Bass Pro.  I ended up getting Bass Pro XPS Rigging Bag which can hold either 6 Plano 3700 boxes or 10 Plano 3600 boxes. It also comes with 2 side compartments and 1 front compartment.  In order to effectively pack everything I needed I got some tips from others in my bass club and decided to do a mix of box sizes to fit all of my lures.

The first thing that I did was buy a deep 3700 Plano box that could store all of my plastic baits in their bags without being shoved in my bag in multiple places...

After that I bought (3) 3700 boxes (One FTO for crankbaits and two regular 3700).  The FTO held all of my cranks from shallow to deep diving.  The first regular 3700 box stored all of my football jigs, swim jigs and chatterbaits.  The second regular 3700 box stored all of my rat-l-traps, topwater lures, and jerkbaits. 

The last set of boxes that I packed were (5) 3600 boxes.  One box for terminal tackle, one for spinnerbaits, one for Zoom Super Flukes, one with Senkos, and one with plastic Craws. Terminal tackle was put in the center compartment of the tackle bag and the other 3 were put in either the side compartment or the front pocket.

The last items that I needed to pack would also be handy to me while out on the water.  Anything that would be of value to you while out on the water should always be within reach in order to be fishing effectively on the water without wasting time...

- Bug Spray, Lure Scent, Line Conditioner

- Split Ring Pliers, Wire Snips, Angled Pliers, Knife

- Cull Tags, Measuring Tape, Bump Board, Scale

- Sunglasses, Hat, Sunscreen, Gloves, Rain Suit

- First Aid Kit

- Rod Socks, Spare Reels, Spare Spool

Oh and can't forget the SECRET WEAPON!!!  The A-Rig!!! haha.  Probably won't use it but I have it rigged up LEGALLY and may throw it if nothing else works out for me tomorrow...wouldn't hurt to try it.

I will be checking back in with all of you guys tomorrow to let you know how I did.  I feel prepared and hopefully those of you just getting into tournaments find this useful to help you get organized for your own competitions. Any questions, don't hesitate to email me at Alan@dupageangler.com

Thanks for reading and tight lines tomorrow!

Fluke

Prep for Braidwood Tournament (Part I)

It is the night before my first tournament and I am glad to say that I am all packed and ready to hit the water tomorrow.  There is a chance of AM thunderstorms but should clear up by the afternoon.  Winds are expected to be 10-20 mph and the temperature change will be from 58 degrees in the morning to 79 in the afternoon.  So I better be prepared to fish in wind, higher temps, and rain.  My BPS Pro Qualifier rain suit and a couple of layers of clothing should do the trick, I can always take them off later on if need be.

My rod and reel choices continue to change depending on the fishing situation but for tomorrow I settled on the following 6 rod and reel setups...

1) Topwater/Jerkbait : Baitcasting

Reel: Lew's Tournament Pro Speed Spool (7.1 gear ratio)

Rod: Shimano Cumara 7' 0" MH Moderate Fast Action

Line: P-Line CXX 12 lb test

Starting Lure: Rapala Shallow Shad Rap (Black/Silver)

2) Spinnerbait : Baitcasting

Reel: Lew's Tournament Pro Speed Spool (7.1 Gear Ratio)

Rod: Shimano Crucial 6' 10" MH Xtra Fast Action

Line: Seaguar InvisX Flourocarbon 15 lb test

Starting Lure: 1/2 oz Strike King White spinnerbait with white painted willow/colorado blades

3) Flipping/Pitching : Baitcasting

Reel: Shimano Curado 200e7 (7.1 Gear Ratio)

Rod: FSA Custom Hydra Rod 7' 3" MH Fast Action

Line: Power Pro 50 lb test

Starting Lure:  3/8 oz California Reservoir Lures Pro Series Jig with Netbait Paca Craw trailor

4) Squarebill Rod: Baitcasting

Reel: Shimano Chronarch 200e6 (6.5 Gear Ratio)

Rod: St. Croix Mojo Bass Rod 7' 0" MH Moderate Action

Line: Power Pro 50 lb test

Starting Lure: BPS Egg Shallow Diver (Texas Shad) w/ upgraded Gamakatsu No. 4 treble hooks

5) Rat-L-Trap Rod: Baitcasting

Reel: Lew's Tournament Pro Speed Spool (7.1 Gear Ratio)

Rod: St. Croix Mojo Bass Rod 7' 0" MH Moderate Action

Line: Power Pro 50 lb test

Starting Lure: 1/2 oz Strike King Red Eye Shad (18K Tennessee Shad)

6) Texas Rigged Plastics/Finesse Plastics : Spinning

Reel: Shimano Saros 2500F (6.0 Gear Ratio)

Rod: Shimano Crucial 7' 2" MH Fast Action

Line: Fireline Smoke 10 lb test

Starting Lure: 3/0 Gamakatsu EWG hook (Plastic: TBD)

(Part I of II)

Time to Shake things up a bit!

Continuing on from our dropshotting technique...I would like to introduce you to two more techniques!  The Flickshake and the Shakey head!  Both techniques can be fished on your dropshot/finesse rod and are awesome techniques to have in your back pocket when the bass go into lock jaw mode and need a finesse presentation to trigger strikes!

The Flickshake

The Flickshake technique utilizes a very crucial technique that most anglers have run into at least once in their lifetime...the wacky worm rig.  The wacky worm rig is one of my go to rigs in the late spring, summer, and fall and works wonders when you are fishing in shallow areas with sparse cover.  The slow decent on a weightless wacky rig is irresistable to a bass, and the flickshake is the same thing only using a jig head instead of a regular hook.  Flickshakes, like other finesse presentations, are meant to be fished slow.  Sudden twitches of the rod will bring the lure off of the bottom quickly and will then make a quick fall.  Pausing periodically and varying the power in your twitches will allow your lure to wiggle at different heights and rates, thus triggering a strike.

The flickshake jig head comes in two common styles, one with and one without a wire weed gaurd.  For simplicity sake, I like having the ones with the weedgaurd already attached so that I can fish in heavier cover areas more effectively.  The lighter the weight jig head the slower the fall, since I am used to fishing lures mostly weightless I tend to go with a lighter flickshake head since I have more confidence in it.  The jig head also helps to elevate the worm slightly off the bottom allowing the bass to inhale the lure more easily.

What type of lures do I use with a flickshake?

Straight worms like a Senko or other uniform type worms work really well with this bait.  One in particular that I really like using is the Jackall Flick Shake worm.  It has a slender profile and has A TON of action when bounced around with the jig head.  Other lures like curl tail worms and other straight worms would work as well



Once you have chosen the bait, you would rig the flickshake like you would a wacky worm rig with the hookpoint going through the center or the "collar" of the worm.  Here is a good video that gives some more detail on the flickshake rig and what it looks like in action!

The Shakey Head

The Shakey Head rig also is a finesse variant of another popular rig, the Texas Rigged Worm.  In this instance the Shakey Head rig allows you to downsize and streamline your presentation without having to worry about pegging bullet weights and having extra terminal tackle.  There is one style available that most companies vary their design off of, and that is a round jig head with a screw lock.  You can see this jig head below...

The screw lock allows you to screw the head of your bait to the head of the jig, which gives you a secure point to prevent the worm from ripping off easily.  All of these jig heads come in different styles, colors, and hook sizes so find what works for you.  In my case I try to use a 3/16 or 1/8 oz jig head with a 2/0 or 3/0 hook.  This will work the best for most lures.

The lure choices are endless with this bait.  Worms with floating tails are the main choice with this jig head...but others may use shad style baits, creature baits, and craw style baits as well.  My favorite to use though is either a straight tail worm like the ZOOM Shakey Head worm, or a smaller curly tail worm like a Gambler 7" Ribbontail worm.  Both of these worms give off great action at the tail end which is essential when fishing this rig.  Both the Shakey Head and Flickshake require you to make the most action possible with the smallest bit of movement.  That's what makes a finesse rig so effective...slow moving, high action!

Here are some good videos showing you how the shake head is rigged and how it looks underwater.  After spinning and locking the head of the worm to the jig head, you will texas rig the bait like you would on a regular worm hook.  A good thing to learn how to do is skin hooking the worm after you penetrate the hookpoint all the way through.  This will allow you to fish it virtually weedless without getting hung up.  Another good point to bring up is toning down your hookset.  You don't have to swing for the fences when setting the hook on a finesse technique.  A good pop of the wrist along with a sharp hook will be plenty to penetrate through a fishes mouth.  Otherwise you run the risk of pulling the bait out of the fish's mouth or breaking your smaller pound test line.



So when and where do I fish this rig?

Any time you would use a finesse rig would warrant using these baits.  Cold fronts, hot summer days, during spawning time,  and when water temperatures are dipping down into the 50's or less.  When the bass are less active and other presentations aren't working, these will be your ace in the hole to start triggering bites.  But keep in mind that these rigs need to be fished slowly with a lot of rod tip action!  You are not encouraging a reaction strike in most instances so you want to entice the bass into biting.  Take the time to learn this craft, and you will be catching fish when others don't.  Shallow areas, flats, boat docks, and areas with some form of vegetation or brush will all be places to be looking for when throwing these baits.

That pretty much sums up what I have experienced, and I plan on using these finesse techniques at my first tournament this season.  I look forward to hearing from all of you too to see how these techniques help you throughout the season!

Tight Lines,

Fluke

Dropshotting for Suspended Bass

Dropshotting has just recently been thrown into the mix of new techniques that will hopefully add to my overall success this year.  This technique has been around for awhile and most pros use this technique when bass are suspending off the bottom in deeper water areas.  Otherwise known as the "split shot" rig, this technique is one of the most successful finesse rigs that a bass angler should have in their arsenal.

What you need to have to be successful with this rig...

- 6'6" to 7'2" Spinning Rod with a Medium Lite or Medium power and a Fast or Extra Fast action tip

*You can also use a baitcasting rod with the same characteristics, but you want to be able to throw lighter line with this rig since it is a finesse technique*

- Spinning Reel with 6-10 lb flourocarbon

*Flourocarbon will give you more feedback to the bite and cover you are in, and will not be visible to the fish*

- Cannonball weight (1/8 to 3/8 oz)

*I like to keep it in the middle so a 1/4 oz cannonball weight will work in most applications, you may want to go up in weight if the area you are fishing is really deep*

- 1/0 EWG Worm hook

*You can use a smaller or bigger hook, but for most of the plastics I will throw a 1/0 hook will work for most baits*

After you have all of the necessary pieces, the success of this technique stems from the way you rig it.  In order to fish this rig effectively you must have the hook point facing upward, the hook should be parallel with your line (not perpendicular), and the tag end should be long enough to suspend at a decent height off of the bottom.

As you can see in the image, this is what the final rig should look like when you are finished.  To begin tying this rig, should have a firm understanding on how to tie the Palomar Knot (see below) 

In image number two you should have a tag end atleast 16-24 inches long.  It will look goofy at first but the tag end will be long enough to give the bait a good height off from the bottom.  Most people that try tying a dropshotting rig miss a very important step at the end after they finish tying the Palomar knot, and that is bringing the tag end back through the eye of the hook on the hookpoint side.  This will ensure that the hook stands proud of the line when the rig is being fished. This can be seen at the 1:08 mark in the following video.

After tying the hook to the line the last step is attaching the cannonball weight or drop shot weight.  It is important that the angler DOES NOT tie the weight to the line!  By not tying the weight to the line you will only risk losing the weight if a snag occurs instead of losing the hook, bait, and weight.  Most dropshot weights come with a crimped wire attachment that allows you to pinch the line to the weight without having to physically tie it on (See picture below)

Now your rig should be completely finished and should like the first picture in this write-up.

What kind of baits should I use?

Again, this is a finesse technique so smaller worms, tubes, shad style baits, curly tail grubs, and senko type baits can be used.  I generally prefer to use either a 4-5 inch straight tail Roboworm or a Zoom Finesse worm.  Play around with what you are comfortable with, you'll eventually find a technique or pattern that will work for you!

The bait should either be texas rigged, or nose hooked so the bait can float horizontal with the lake bottom.



How do I fish this rig?

The dropshot rig should be fished with close to zero slack in the line with the weight at the bottom of the area you are fishing.  This will help you keep the bait in the strike zone and allow you to feel the cover you are dragging the weight through.  By bouncing the rod tip, you will dictate the overall action of the bait.  Pauses should be made in between to increase your time in the strike zone.  Even lifting it off the bottom and letting it fall will trigger a strike.  Seems like most of my strikes have a occurred on the fall of this bait.  You can see this happening in the video below...

This rig can be fished throughout the year whenever a finesse situation would be more appealing to the fish.  I have used this in cold fronts as well as hot summer days with great results.  Deep water structure as well as less weedy shallow structure are all prime targets for this type of finesse technique.  Some pros also prefer fishing this bait in clearer water as opposed to stained water since this technique relies on the fish seeing the lure in action off the bottom. The only place I would not use this technique is when I am shore fishing.  Shore fishing with this bait puts you at a disadvantage because the steeper the angle you put between the lure and your pole, the closer that bait will end up hugging the bottom...especially in shallow water areas.  You want to only be casting the bait at the most 20-30 feet away from you so that you can keep that bait in a vertical position during the retrieve.

That pretty much sums up the dropshot rig.  There are other variants you can try with this bait such as using two hooks instead of one, using different styles of weights or using split shot weights, and using different size lures and hooks...but all of these varieties stem off of the same basic rig.  So once you learn this, you can do it all.

MORE TO COME...

Flickshakes and Shakey heads...some more finesse techniques to add to your arsenal that you can do on the same rod and reel as you dropshot rig!

Tight Lines to all of you...the tournament season will be starting in 2 1/2 weeks!

Fluke

Misconceptions of Technique Specific Gear

I took some time writing this up as a comment on another blog after a heated debate ensued on whether technique specific gear is really necessary for the average fisherman. This was my response, and I really want all my readers to understand that my own decision making on rods and reels are based off of my own personal experience and the combined knowledge of others that have put their time in on the water. By no means does that mean that you to have to follow my lead or that I am right...I am just giving some essential information that I feel will steer you in the right direction to help you make the best possible gear choices that works for you in the end. So always keep that in mind as we move forward through this coming season and realize that sometimes a little goes a long way...

"You are right, the gear does not make the fisherman at all...and I think that's what most average anglers don't come to grips with. I fished with one to two rods for many years and I could out fish a good percentage of them out there, and that was because I was familiar and confident with my equipment from putting so much time on the water. Now that I have branched out I have started to understand the added benefit some extra setups can buy me in an average fishing situation or a tournament situation. Doesn't matter what action, length, or power the rod is. All that matters is knowing that once I throw that lure out there, I will have the best chance to present that lure, detect a strike, and bring the fish back to me without incident. Any time I go out fishing, I want to put myself in the best situation possible to catch as many fish as I can...that's the best way to learn! No one learns by going out to a lake and getting skunked...you learn by catching and putting 2 and 2 together...and only then can you make an informed decision if a different setup is truly warranted. I am no KVD or Denny Brauer...but I know that if I was fishing and the bass were hitting lipless cranks or any other lure for that matter...that I would know the right rod/reel/line setup to get my limit or outfish my buddies. Yeah it saves time and effort retying and blah blah blah if I have more combos...but the bottom line is knowing your equipment well enough to make the necessary adjustments if need be to ultimately make your experience on the water better."

Just some things to think about this year...

Tight Lines,

Fluke