My journey into bait...

[Craig Thoreson]

Well I'll be honest I've never been a bait guy... That all changed after the rendevous and Keith turned me on to Quill Floats and the guys showed us what some crickets could do. Since coming back I've setup a couple of bait rigs using Shakespeare Micro Spin 7' Light rods paired with Zebco 33T Gold trigger spin Reels. I stripped the factory Cajun line and respooled with some 4# Seagaur Red Label flourocarbon. Outside of the quills that Keith sent us with I've gotten a few of the Gapen offerings to play with as well. Thinking I'll have to test some jig and float methods as well. If anyone wants to trade some gear for other gear let me know I have tons of micro cranks that I can use and some other goodies.

[carl hendrix]

WELL CRAIG;; YOU DID LEARN A LITTLE SOMETHING AT THE RENDEVOU !!   AND;; YOU AND ANGIE ( BABY LOVE ) EXPERIENCED SOME REAL SOUTHERN HOSPITILY !!  NOT TO MENTION;; THE FOOD !  C- YA NEXT YEAR !!

[Craig Thoreson]

It was perfect

[Lord of the Fly , Rods]

Craig , I got to see you micro cranks at the Rendezvous , my advice is keep those  and build for the bluegill , those micro cranks of your are perfect for smallmouth  and sooner or later you will discover smallmouth . LOFR

[Craig Thoreson]

I've chased plenty of smallies over the years.

[carl hendrix]

CRAIG;; JUST WAIT TILL WE GET YOU INTO USING A FLY ROD !!  LOL

[Craig Thoreson]

No fly rods for me I've been down that road my shoulders didn't agree with me.

[jim cosgrove]

modern flyrods especially glass are so light and effortless to cast.i have bad shoulders.can hardly throw a football anymore/i dont nor should anyone cast a flyrod with their shoulder..nice and easy motion with the lower arm

[Slip Sinker]

…can i ask how you gave up on the micro crank collection so quickly?

for me personally cranks arent the most productive and efficient way to catch panfish... but they have their time and place... and they are fun!

[Craig Thoreson]

I've not completely given up on them but my fish catching rate has gone up 30 fold with some crickets

[jim cosgrove]

[jim cosgrove]

cant stand watching a bobber,you can use bait and a jig and keep it moving.i catch everything on this type of bait.gills bass carp crappie catfish perch even an 8lb striper.

[Slip Sinker]

When I was just a young kid my parents bought a cottage on a popular lake with the family. we had a great time learning how to fish. Before my Dad went to work he would set us up on the crappie bite with minnows and pinkies on spin cast rods and reels under a bobber. One day the minnows ran out and we still wanted to fish. We learned real quick that crappie will bite on the pinkies without the minnows and then eventually without the bobber casted with lighter line. We caught more fish in a shorter period of time. At that point in my life of fishing set a spark within that has remained since. To fool a fish on artificial bait was so interesting to me it has remained hard programmed in the way I fish. I soon learned to outfish many of my buddies with their live bait presentations or make a respectable competitive showing.

Many family and friends I invite out with me that bring their live bait rigs soon ask to borrow my set-up. My cousin in law Earl was introduced to my style of fishing a couple years ago and has adapted some points of that style and worked it into the successes of his style and is taking off phenomenally with Master Angler catches and numbers caught. He takes what worked for him in the past and what works for him now and is showing great success. He is still a fisherman that refuses to let go of the live bait. He uses worms and live waxies while I remain competitive and sometimes show an edge on using the Gulp products instead of live bait.

All im saying is don’t open and close the door on certain aspects and techniques of fishing because one method proved successful on a certain day or condition. If you like fixed float fishing or float fishing in general my advice to you is become obsessed with it to a point that you tweak it to the limits it works for YOU… and then add it to your arsenal. There will be times when b.gill hit the drop offs and fly fishing or slip floating will become less efficient than drop shotting or deep jigging.

Most fisherman get stuck with just one method of fishing. I am guilty of that and you can see it in many fisherman. I am hard headed to a point but I will break out the drop shot rig when the gills are deep instead of trying to flyrod  or slip/float my way into the fish. Take tips and techniques from others and adapt it to your own style. The mistake many fisherman make is becoming stuck with just one method… if there is one thing certain there is no one method in the world of fishing that is best under all circumstances.

But you know that cricket will work in 15 FOW  or in 6” of water…  its how you get it there that becomes essential.