abkeenan

Yup. And Spro didn't even have to use any paint yet charges the same prices as the standard models. For essentially a blank..........canvas. Genius.

Ask and ye shall receive. Looks like Spro has released a few new colors for the RK (assuming for the Classic this week). Ayu Shad Clear (duh....nice for you DIY custom sprayers) Phantom Watermelon (which I see as kinda redundant with Phantom Green and would rather have seen something a little different)

Nice report and pics of the tools used to slay the beasts. Looks like that Don Iovino wart hawg crank is working for ya.

Self admitted.....Hasn't brought a fish to the scale in the last 10 years caught on a spinner bait......yet has a Hack Attack Strike King Model Spinnerbait on the shelves......uhhhhhhhhhh.

Size 6 for jerkbaits. I like Nickel. The red hooks for whatever reason just don't seem as sharp as the nickel. Could be me but I swear they are different. The red also wears off with use.

Only time I tie direct to the split ring is when some models of cranks have the cupped or recessed line tie where it is a pain to awkwardly force a lock snap in there. But that is rare and I think a few SPRO cranks I have and only a couple others I have to do that for.

They are better than tying direct to the standard round split ring. I actually don't care for them as I take them off anyways because I use a duo lock quick snap on all my topwaters, jerks and cranks.

And not you do NOT want to hooks to bend out on them. The bait is only running 4 to 8 feet at most under the surface so you should be able to get it out of any tree top you snag (and it WILL HAPPEN) with just your rod. If not whip out the lure retriever.

The hooks are junk on them. Owner Stinger ST 36's in size 6 for me.

I would recommend removing the old hooks and then adding a split ring to their hook harness first. Then I would put one of 3 hooks options on them: Gammy round bend, Owner Stinger ST 36 or Daiichi Death Traps. All in size 2. Edit: Oh and I believe (not sure) I use size 3 split rings on mine.

For $7.99 the RC STX jerks are gonna be hard to beat. You'll like them.

Hence my facetious quotations in my comment. He and Luck E Strike ripped off the Vision 110. So what. The fishing business is monkey see monkey do, always has been. A lure gets hot, every manufacturer comes up with essentially an idetical twin or with maybe a slight variance so they can call it their own. How many knockoff Keitech Swing Impacts are out there now? How about the Sweet Beaver? How about the Lucky Craft Gunfish copies? How about Wiggle Wart copies? Yeah Luck E Strike tried that too with the wart hog which was an epic failure. I could care less if a company knocks off another design. If it's cheaper, works as good or better then I am going to use it. Competition is ALWAYS a good thing. Always.

Rick Clunn "worked in collaboration" with Luck E Strike on basically all their cranks/hardbaits. He has his RC STX, RC Squarebills, RC Smoothie mid depth crank and RC Freak deep diver. I've only ever tried the STX and none of the others. Only models that I've seen at Wally World are the RC Squarebills.

I wasn't aware that Luck E Strike sold and is no longer in Cassville. That stinks.

Nice report Champ. Two solid jerkbait success reports between you and Bill the last week. Good to hear.

Very nice Quill. Hopefully this a sign of some of those nicer fish pushing up to where we can get at them.

That's what I was referring to as amount of sunlight. Length of day = Amount of Sunlight. One in the same.

Could you explain his reasoning further? I've always thought that amount of sunlight is the determining factor for when fish do their thing. People also say that water temps is what triggers fish to go into baby making mode. Maybe people equate increasing water temps to spawn time but water temp is directly related to amount of sunlight attached to seasons. I'm not a biologist so I don't know if it is one, the other or combo of both but how would the season spawn pattern change as a result of anything that has happened to the lake composition with the last 15-20 years?

Shorts in February. Can't beat that.

Very nice report.

No idea as I don't have one. I'm sure it will work fine.

Looks like it is in store from Lew's for $19.99. http://www.lews.com/acc-getrbacklureretrieve.php

Just for giggles I tried to see if they had any for sale on Ebay as they have been out of production for probably 10+ years. Looks like Lew's (of all brands, how weird) is going to re-release it. Could be in their store in Springfield for all I know. Kinda neat deal. Worth whatever price they charge for it. Don't see it on Tackle Warehouse yet but assuming they will have it at some point this year.

I posted it the other day here on the forums in a different thread. Here it is again. Just an FYI, I epoxied (heavy duty) the metal snap hook attachment permanently shut so the retriever has no chance of coming off.

VERY nice paint there Bee. LOVE that color you sprayed. I don't think I would say Spro's colors are "lame" but they could certainly expand their colors for sure. I am also a big fan of oranges and reds.