senkosam here - been posting but figure it's time for an intro

[SenkoSam]

Fished most of my life and caught thousands of fish, over many decades in 5 states - including Texas where I was stationed during the Vietnam War. I used to watch fishing shows every week and believed everything the pros said for years - even buying far more stuff than I'll ever use! I can remember catching my first smallie using a bright yellow Mr Twister Grub in a local river. THAT WAS IT! No more live bait for me!
    Belonging to bass clubs introduced me to many different waters and I was able to get a first-hand look at my partners catching fish with different lures used different ways. My addiction to making my own lures started after I made an in-line spinner with fur tied to the treble (like a Mepps) and caught fish on it. After that, I bought weedless bass jigs and tied on Living Rubber skirts of different colors and adding pork frog trailers. What a thrill it was to catch bass in it for the first time. Now I only tie on silicone skirts for the color pattern variety.
    But then, pouring soft plastic lures became an obsession and I now have about 30 molds of different shapes. If I liked a certain lure that I bought, I make a plaster of Paris mold copy of it so I could pour different colors and color combinations. My pork frog copy works as good as the real thing.

  All of the above has confirmed the simple truth that: fish don't have a clue what they're striking! Also, that there is no such thing as targeting a species of fish such as crappie when using smaller lures. Plus, having a Ranger bass boat (which I sold) didn't guarantee fish in the boat. Heck, I catch just a many fish in small waters from my 10'V and 46 # thrust trolling motor. (Coarse the Tracker with 40hp came in handy last week when a lightning storm hit and we had to get back to the shore FAST!)

  One thing that stands out after all these years is that fishing renews itself year after year with new discoveries that add to my experience. I fact, I have a photo log on my PC of the waters I've fished (in their own folders labeled with dates and fish caught) containing shots of the lures stuck in fish lips that proved productive. It is proof that lures that worked, ALWAYS WORK as long as they are cast to known fish locations and used the right way. They prove that lure color is important but not usually to fish. Confidence in a lure and lure color is always key.

That's it.

BTW, Mike Cork is a great guy and moderator and I only wish we lived closer.