One of my most important fishing tools isn’t found in the sporting goods department at Walmart; it’s in the crafts department. That’s where I find the Sharpie waterproof marker kits that I like to have with me when I’m fishing crankbaits. I keep my crankbait colors pretty basic – natural shad or chartreuse for the most part – but if I see bass chasing bluegills, or have one I caught spit up a bluegill, I’ll use a Sharpie to color the crankbait up a little to look more like a bluegill. I might dab a little yellow on its side and orange on its throat. If I want a big section of yellow on a big bait’s sides, I’ll put it on and then smear it around with my finger so it blends in better. Mainly I use yellow, orange, blue and red. So instead of having to take along an array of millions of crankbaits, and then having to dig around in my boxes to find the exact one I want, I just have to take a few basic colors and some Sharpies. There’s no telling how many dozens of fish I’ve caught on crankbaits that I’ve doctored myself. I also use markers on my football jigs and shaky heads. If, say, the paint on a pumpkinseed jig starts chipping off, I’ll use a black marker to tone it down. A Sharpie works good for that too.