of it. You never know, I may have to travel West again, or to the Ozarks and there are one or two lakes here that I can use it on, or if I decide to go to Lake Lanier or to the Carolina’s or Virginia’s, I can use my collection.
Besides, parting ways with it would be kind of like giving up one of my kids (and since they are now teenage girls, it might even be a little worse - for now anyway - there’s a chance they might make it to adulthood and we’ll like them again).
So, here is my list of deman... I mean wish list of items I need to be able to fish here in Alabama. For those of you wondering why this list is worth read- ing, this can help you in your efforts on the California Delta, Clear Lake and the Thermolito Afterbay in Oroville.
12-INCH TH MARINE ATLAS HYDRAULIC JACKPLATE
I currently have a manual set back plate on the Advanced Angler Skeeter, which was great when running the lakes and occasional trips to our shal- low fisheries of the West. But, now that many of the waterways I’ll be fishing will be in extremely shallow water, a hydraulic jackplate is a must. The benefits of the Atlas include the fact that the pump and motor are inside the plate, so I won’t have to move the pumps for my Power Poles inside the boat, and it makes it easier to navigate shallow water easily, and adjust the plate for heavy loads and environmental conditions.
SWIM JIGS AND TRAILERS
Alabama’s river based fisheries make the state tailor made for swim jigs. Shallow water cover is the perfect place to throw swim jigs, and I’ll need to learn to incorporate them into my arsenal, especially when fishing Coosa River lakes.
WINTER 2015
From my research, there are certain brands that seem to be the prime ones to purchase. I prefer those from Davis Bait Company; the Bill Lowen Signature, Strike King’s Tour Grade for the rivers and Greg Hack- ney Swim Jigs for Guntersville, along with the Talon Fishing Unlimited Shibui Swim Jig. I prefer them in 1/4 to 3/8-ounce. I’ll need, Bluegill, Sexy Shad and Pearl White Colors.
For trailers, I’ll need swimbait trailers like the Mis- sile Baits Shockwave, and the Gene Larew Sweet Swimmer, and Crawdad trailers like the Strike King Rage Craw, and the Big Bite Baits Big Daddy Craw, all in colors to match.
NEW CRANKBAIT COLORS
Almost everything in the south is about shad col- ors when it comes to crankbaits. Whites, chartreuse and blue, Sexy Shad and Citrus Shad colors rule the roost here. My collection of crankbaits at this point features a lot of reds and crawdad colors; which I will try, but in order to catch a bass, I know I’m going to need to adapt my arsenal.
BIGGER SPINNERBAITS
I currently have a nice collection of spinnerbaits that will catch fish, but I will need to make some addi- tions to make the kind of presence in the water I need. I need a collection of larger bladed spinnerbaits. I don’t necessarily need heavier baits; 1/2-ounce is fine, but anglers here routinely use size six or seven blades, and most of my spinnerbaits top put at a size five.
35