I recently bought a big soft tackle box with 8 plastic toots. With everything I had I only filled 4 of them. So instead of just buying stuff I think might work. I rather (cheat kind of) and ask what you guys use. And buy that. It doesn't matter the season since I like to fish all year round( as long as the waters not frozen). Brendan has help me alot with this(Thank you). But I would like to hear some of your ideas biginner or pro. So letter rip and thank you in advance.

Plastics or Hard Baits?

my faviorte lure is not always the most productive,but it has its time and place, like all lures. but it is the floating rapala,i have caught 2 many species of fish 2 list them all,from largemouth and smallmouth,striper,trout,walleye and a few catfish.the only bad thing is if u have any pickerl or pike in your lake where u fish,they love em,any there destroy these lures. literaley, i have had them break one in half before,so this is a lure that is a must have in all takle boxes,now if you are just looking 4 bass, lipless cranks and tubes are always rigged when tournament fishing,no matter the place or weather these 3 will catch fish, good luck bro!

fav 5

1. BBZ swimbait, floater
2. 8 inch huddleston, ROF 5
3. 6 inch huddleston, ROF 12
4. Slug-go, pearl white
5. norman dd22 crankbait, chartruese

oh yeah i also forgot jigging spoons and slug-go

Both if you want? I fish both. Thanks you everyone

Ok..here is my list of top 5 Baits by Catagory

Plastics:

Fat Ika - June Bug
6" Roboworm Fat Straight Tail - Aaron's Magic
Tru-Tungsten 5" Dart - Watermelon Green/Purple Flake
4.5" Roboworm Curly Tail - Hologram Shad
5" Yamamoto Senko - Baby Bass


Topwater:

1/4 Oz Buzzbait - Black
Heddon Zara Spook - Flitter Shad
Megabass Pop X - Bass
Daiwa TD Minnow Floating - Yellow Spot
Lucky Craft Waketail - Ghost Minnow


Shallow Crank :

Ima Roumba - Bluegill
Mann's Baby -1 Elite Series - Bluegill
2" Original Floating Rapala - Silver/Black
Lucky Craft Pointer Minnow 78 - Ayu (Skeets Magic will be my next color)
Smithwick Limited Rogue - Bream


Medium and Deep Divers:

Lucky Craft Bevy Shad 75 - Ghost Minnow
Bomber Fat Free Shad - Threadfin Shad
Norman DD22 - Lavender Shad
Megabass Deep X - Craw
Rapala Shad Rap - Shad and Craw


Lipless Crankbaits:

1/4 oz Rat L Trap - Baby Bass
Strike King Red Eye Shad - Japanese Shad and [censored] Shad
Cordell Spot


Spinnerbaits:

Booya Quad - Purple Glimmer Shad
Persuader Assasinator - Chartreuse/Blue

Swimbaits:

6" Castaic Platinum - Trout
6" Basstrix Hollow Belly - Perch
Mini Slammer
Huddleston
Mattlures Bluegill

Jigs:

Skinny Bear 1/4 oz - Brown and Orange w/Berkley Craw Trailer

Holy cow Roboworm99, I think that should cover it. Thanks for taking the time to type all that

Your welcome..those are my faves in each catagory...some new baits are moving up the charts and im sure will replace some that have been my goto's for sometime now.

if i had to choose one hard bait and one plastic...i would go with a lipless crank and 6" Fat Straight tail robo...i could drop shot, split shot, carolina rig, shakey head, wacky rig and t-rig the worm. The lipless can be fished in any water column and at just about any retrieve and Ihave one of those in my box at all times.

Look at that... Nice post Robo!

what are you trying to say Brendan?

Can you tell i actually was home and had some time to be online

yeah that was impresive robo, u answered one of my questions before i could ask it!

Thanks bassboy...what was your question going to be?

No Bro... I was being sincere... that was a really detailed post and I just wanted to mention it... but now that you bring it up... (Just kidding)

hahaha,,,dont need to say it, bro..most of my posts are quick one liners..

What do you guys think of those Huddlestons Butch brown is always advertising?
The look pretty good?

But to be honest I've just got back into fishing after about a 25 year break & i'm just like a kid learning to fish again for the 1st time.

Well he catches those huge bass on them, right? I really want to get a Huddleston, but my current rod is under-powered for bigger swimbaits and I only have 12 lb test on my baitcaster, which is pretty light for swimbaits.

Cant you just use a smaller lure when you have lighter equipment?
I was thinking about getting something like a 3" one..

Keep in mind...you want to use the old saying "Match The Hatch"

If they are feeding on shad, sure you can use smaller swimbaits...but when you see those wolfpacks of fish with many over the 10lb mark feeding on stocked trout that are 12" ... you are gonna want that swimbait rod available with a big Hudd or a Baitsmith Magnum Trout tied on...ive been out where I've seen these fish eating trout over 12" long and all I had was a 6" bait and ya you will catch a few fish...but believe me that they will want the size of the bait to match...and when you do...it's magic...I have lost a few beasts at the lagoon, because I wasn't prepared...

I would at least go with the 4.5" if you want a shad imitator and then 6" if you want a trout imitator. I wouldn't go with anything small than that. You should probably be able to use the 4.5" shad, but I don't know if you have the gear for the 6" trout. I can probably BARELY use the weedless 6" trout, but I'm really pushing it with only 12 lb test on my baitcaster.

how many yards of 12# does your reel hold

160 yards. Would I be able to hold enough of a heavier line that I would use for swimbaits?

The world record bass couldn't pull off 50 yards of line without having a heart attack. They are not built for that. You could go to 17# or 20# and still have enough line to fight a big largemouth. You will sacrifice casting distance though as the spool diameter will decrease rather quickly as the line goes out increasing drag on the cast. Go with a wide spool reel and you can go up in line weight and still cast sufficiently. Pick up a used ABU 6500c and up grade the bearings, you'll do fine.

I was thinking about getting another rod and reel for not too much money for bigger swimbaits. I wouldn't even attempt to upgrade the bearings though...

Would this be an ok choice? I can get it pretty cheap at Walmart.
http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores...0001000_100-1-1

That particular model ABU has some serious issues. Look for a used 6500c3 on Craigslist or ebay, or go to www.ffo-tackle.com and get a reconditioned one. Even a 5600c wide spool would work. I buy lots of used reels and find out that most just need a good cleaning. I'm not big on cosmetics, if a reel has some wear, so what.

Another vote here for the 6500C. Great reel. Of course, I'm a bit biased as I have 5 ABUs!

ukey28 - where do you get your replacement bearings from?

First go to MIke's Reel repair and check through the schematics and find the exact model ABU you have. There are a lot of versions of the reels. I like the Ambassadeurs from the mid to late 70's, they have a serial number on the foot starting out with 74 - 78 or 9. Use the serial number when perusing the schematics.

http://www.mikesreelrepair.com/

Then check for the bearing size. They have three numbers. for an old 5500c they are 3-10-4, the numbers are the size of the shaft hole, width and diameter of the bearing. I may be off in the sequence. Once you find the size you can order from Mike's, ebay, or a local vendor. Use the schematic to help when replacing the bearings. I use ABEC 5 bearings as anything higher to me is overkill and just for bragging rights or for competition distance casting.
Things to remember when buying a used reel. Try to find one with Fresh water use only. If you aren't used to taking casting reels down and putting them back together, it's best to send them out to a pro. For ABU's, Coast Tackle Repair in Mississippi is very good, if it's distance you want, Tony can do incredible things with Ambassadeurs. He can add another bearing to the Level wind, Polish shafts, even add magnetic braking systems. It costs though as it takes time. But if I just bought one I'd send it there for a cleaning and assessment, and then talk to him about upgrades.

While we are on it. There are some other reels I like for swimbaits. The older Shimano Calcutta 400's. You may find them easier to locate. A nice round body reel. They are popular with the musky guys in the midwest and coastal fishermen too, but look inland first. I would immediately send it to one of two places for assesment and repair.

http://www.lakeforktacklerepair.com/
or
http://www.dominiontackle.com/

Connie at Lake Fork and Jim at Dominion are straight shooters about the condition of the reel and are WELL known for their service. They are the Shimano specialists.
Good luck with your search.
Frank

Jig, Jig, Jig, Jig, Jig, Jig and did I mention a Jig!!!! 1/2 ounce Jewell Jig with skirt color I make, grn pumpkin, pumpkin and a touch of Chartruese topped off with a Big Bite Yo Daddy in Grn Pumpkin!!!