Native

Cool Q, you know your hooks, lol. Those are the Mustad, KVD, short shank, 3/0's. They are really nice and so far, pretty effective performers. My favorites thus far. Mustad says on there site that with a short shank you can increase the size of the hook one size and expect increased hook up ratios. They're right, so far. And sticky sharp as hell!!! Had nothing but problems with the long shank Eagle Claw's that came with the Slammer. At the very least look at the Owner's if you can't find these. Tim

+1. I also agree with Justin though, get a Wake Jr if you can. I'd have to agree with these folks and add that as much as I like the two section 7", the two section 12" may be an even better addition to the Wake Jr., NOT instead of ... They have a very different action and sound with considerable drawing power. It displaces alot of water and makes quite a distinct racket especially at night and from quite a distance. And like the Wake Jr., the hits I've had are like having someone dropping a cinder block on your bait when you get a good one, yeah that good! My favorites are the Black, Dark Trout, Light Trout and Perch colors, in that order. Tim

Beautiful fish Dave! Nice job! Tim

Congrats, really great looking fish. Good thing you were using the "whopper stopper" swimbaits for those suckers, lol. Tim

Heckuva good job Doc. Love the photos! I see you have the same Colorado large mouth "blues" that I do, lol. Tim

Dang guys, you really kicked it!!! Heckuva nice job fishing and even nicer report, I really enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing! Tim

I've used a Ultra-Pod II for years. Like the Gorilla pod, it's very portable and easy to use. The difference is the 3 legs are firm and collapse against each other so the unit can be secured to something like a boat seat support tube with the permanent velcro strip that comes with it for a really rigid support. I carry the Ultra-Pod II and my Canon Powershot SD 800 in my pants cargo pocket where I can get to it almost immediately. As a shore fisherman, I use alot of trees and lamp-posts to tie my pod and camera to for the shot. They really rock for the money. With an auto focus camera feature it's pretty idiot proof; set the timer and step in front of the camera. There are several versions that go for between $8 and $22 (you can probably do better at REI) which is where I bought mine. The nice thing about mine is it's rigid enough for a D-SLR or a video camera if you need to use one. Hope this has helped. Merry Christmas!!! Tim

Funny that you should say that ... That happens to me with braid but not with mono (difference in stretch). So I'll tie direct with braid with swimbaits (a rarity for me, always use a mono leader); with mono I'll use snaps 3 oz. or less, anything heavier tie direct. Speedy swimbait change ups aren't as important as having one left on the line when it's time to change! Tim

White fish or white anything is selected against in nature. Darwins "Survival of the Fittest". They tend to be the most prominent targets in nature and the first to be selectively eaten or killed since they lack the camoflage coloring that the others of their species are normally born with which helps them to hide and conceal themselves from predators. Fish do see color, maybe not the way that we do but they do see colors. Tim

Seth, its braid/fluoro for me because I want the added abrasion resistance of the fluoro vs mono, plus the visibility factor cant hurt. I use the same setup at night only because I want my leader dragging on the rocks and not the braid. I start each outing with a 12 foot leader; factoring in retying every so often that normally gets me through a trip. Once home, I retie a completely new leader for the next trip. Nice spot +1 except I use 16' yellow 30# mono easier to see in the darkness. Mono leader changed every outing.

Thanks Spook, very cool of you! 89

The 7.5" Wake Jr. is available on the site fairly easily and is also available from Bait Barn online. Noticed you didn't mention the 3:16 plastics. Don't dismiss those baits because they catch fish just as well as the hard baits you've talked about. The Mission Fish, Rising Son, Mighty Minnow and Little Booger are top notch baits; they come in a variety of effective colors and sizes and don't cost a fortune to get into, give 'em a try!!! Tim