Paul Roberts

John, that is one hilarious, and dangerous, rig. My guess is that guy made modifications pretty quick or didn't live to get the chance. That wasn't Lake Ontario was it ;D. Love the intent though -pretty cool. Float tubes are great portable intimate fishing platforms. They are very maneuverable, but that takes some time to get used to. Cons: -They are not fast -so it helps to have an efficient fishing plan. -You are limited in what you can carry, so you have to have an efficient fishing plan. -You sit low to the water so you cannot see into the water very far ahead, and cannot use some vertical presentations (at least at any distance). Pitching is out, although flippin can be done to some degree -esp with spinning tackle. They are safe, with common sense: -Wear a PFD. I wear one year round. I'm a decent swimmer but I also have a lot of gear to haul back to shore with me. Most tubes have multiple bladders so if you puncture one you'll get to shore. I fish right to ice-up but am aware that I can probably only swim so far if I go in at those temps. Think ahead. Tether everything! -Avoid current (stillwater only), and waves. Think ahead. -Be very careful on muddy bottoms. People have drown by getting their feet stuck, then falling over. It's not something you might think about, until you are in trouble. Search for hard bottom before you step in. Don't even try to walk in your fins -take 'em off. I'm using a FishCat. The "V-tube" design offers more space for modifications. It also has carry straps for hoofin'.

Seaguar makes Bass Pro Shops XPS flouro , not cabelas .. Yeah, I've heard that, and noticed the Cabela's FC is thicker per "rated" break than XPS, which leads me to believe they are not the same formula. Dunno the two really compare due to the BS rating game. Again, I go by diameter first to meet my presentation needs. And most lines are close enough in tensile strength to be useful. After diameter, it's the other properties that begin to matter most -like abrasion resistance and handling (stiffness). Glad you guys like the Cabela's. I will consider trying some.

Hey Paul, glad to have you back.

I'll take a stab, from 1200 miles away (although I did live in NY for a long while): You never really know til you get there, and sometimes it takes a few trips to sort things out -at least for me. Dunno where in NY you are either. Could be an Adirondack SM lake, or a southern tier largemouth pit in farm country. If it's a downstate Catskill-ish LM lake kinda looks that way -with rocks and veges, you could have some deeper fish. Some general parameters for assessing/eliminating water: Clarity -tells you how deep bass habitat exists. Prey tells you where, and often when, bass must spend their time. Cover -Cover can make or break locations. Often the greater the diversity the better. Weeds tend to produce the most food, but a mix is often best, if it exists. Substrate -like cover produces food, creates edges, and is critical during the spawn. General bass habitat: Much of the lake looks too deep for bass. However there are some possible elements that could support a deeper bass fishery, if they exist: High clarity, little cover, pelagic prey. If it's a clear, rocky SM lake, esp up north, nearly the whole lake are could be used. If it's a turbid, well fertilized, farmland lake, it could only have bass shallow due to oxygen issues, and no vegetation, deep. Clarity is a good general indicator of bass' depth and cover/structure use. High clarity bass can go deeper and stray from cover/structure further esp with SM. Low clarity and bass will remain shallower and stick closer to cover/structure, esp with LM. If there's few or no pelagic preyfishes, and there is vegetation, I'd consider the shallows as the majority of bass habitat. If clarity is low but there is pelagic prey, like gizzard shad (south), or yellow perch (north) you could have away-from-shore fishing but it will be remain higher in the water column. Spring habitat: I generally (from 1200miles away) like the looks of the shallow flats. They would warm first, esp the N side, and esp the NW as it likely receives the most early season sun. It's possible large numbers of bass move into that NW cove area very early, even before ice-out. I'd look for channels, potholes, cover areas, in that cove particularly in the NW of it. If it's got bluegills I'd even look right tight to shorelines looking for clusters of heat-soaking gills. Wind will play a role too, in daily heating. The shallow cove areas are worth looking at esp if they're wind protected. Other spots to check are the S coves and NE cove for the same stuff. Any or all of these areas might be used year round, again depending on clarity, cover, and prey. Realize there is a general movement into "deeper" water after the spawn. How deep is what you'll need to assess as you get there. Wintering habitat: D4u2s0t identified a classic wintering location. It may not pan out of course but the steep drop along that N ridge/point looks really interesting. Another might be the E side of the S point, if there's a good drop there somewhere with some change like clay to rock, or muck to gravel, or Another area might be the drop along the outside the NE cove on the E shore (opposite D4's spot). Still another might be the funnel at the mouth of the W cove/basin. Again, these areas would need /be best to have something special to hold, or better, to concentrate the fish. Now I'm pointing out classic deep water winter holds but it's possible that there are shallow fish all year. Depends on what the lake offers the fish. If it's a shallow fishery and there's good cover in the shallow zones then many bass may not leave the shallows, or would be quick to return after the mid/late winter habitat squeeze. Let us know what you find.

All companies make useful stuff. It helps to use wider bodied/wider billed models, but it's as much in how you fish them than the particular plug. It' possible to fish narrower plugs and lipless around, in, and through vegetation too. Here's something I posted last summer on cranking weeds: http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1248500205/0

yendor, LOVE our avatar! Welcome! Braids are apt to slip, so a knot that cinches on itself is important. Uni and Palomar are good. IME Clinch knots eventually slip. As to your problem, my only thoughts are that you used too heavy a SB and cast too abruptly with it, and/or you got a bad spool of line -which can happen.

http://www.jhigley.org/ But any Mod action, or glass rod, will do.

;D I know that feeling all too well.

Ditto T9. There almost certainly are some fish near a shoreline somewhere. Keep looking.

Maybe salmonid production costs should be reduced consummate with bass production costs? :

Yeah, but, and I haven't looked at it in recent years but the salmonid fishery interests have dominated NYS fisheries for a long time. It was developed, brought money from Albany and Feds for economic development and has clout. Bass fishing is marginalized. Maybe that's changed? I am not surprised how money is earmarked there. Probably, ramps are probably under a different line than fin-clipping machines.

Excellent post SM. And why Glenn's and crew's job is tricky.

I gave up on TU when they gave up on public access legislation. Those that has -gets.

A unified voice requires some tolerance. That just doesn't seem to be part of today's voice.

Absolutely. Very well done. Can't say that about some other boards that decided to let such an inflammatroy piece go unchecked. And thank you for the update. 8-)

Yup, Chad's a fisherman. Just recently perused his book. Lotsa neat bait modification tricks in it.

I have. I simply replaced the tip-top guide with a ceramic. I tape (vinyl) the reel to the cork. Have used such a rig for trout, steelhead, and panfish; when I want a light action rod with some reach, or for float-fishing. If you are concerned about the cork, (electrical tape can chip some off) you can use "Vet-Wrap" a friction bandage wrap you can now get at pharmacy's -not sure what it's called now. As to the FF use for that rod. If it's the casting and control, I suggest you get a lesson or two under your belt. Fly-fishing is NOT easy -at first. Took me two years (self taught) to begin to get some semblance of control on moving water. Don't give up! Helps to find some friends that are into it too. Good luck.

pg, Here's a thread that might be the one you were thinking of. Regardless, it brought some good discussion: http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1259889276/0 In this thread rubba bubba provides a table of some lines and their diameters, as well as break "ratings" -not real break strength.

Good post, Fury. I would expect longer rods, esp with heavy actions, to be the most in need of balancing from an all day comfort standpoint. My interest was been in terms of senstivity. I'm not convinced that I get that from balancing my rods, esp considering the various rod angles actually used in fishing.

They aren't supposed to rattle. They have internal weights that click together but it's not made to rattle.

That's very true, and what makes jerks so special. They attract and trigger really well, yet the pause is what makes them commit. They know they can catch it.

I fish it really aggressively, with lots of short rips and tugs that cause it to accelerate, dart, and then pause. Two things seem to trigger bites with X-Raps for me: Short swims/rips, or a sharp tug and then give slack and the X-Rap will dart to one side with a great flash. This triggers really well. The X-Rap isn't as effective as some others in really cold water, for me, (<50) when rolling flashes and long pauses work better.

Ditto the above good. Guess I'd add Chatter too. As in all seasons, what you do with a given lure often matters more than the exact lure. It's nice to find fish that will chase a faster retrieve. I often start faster and see what comes. If no go, I slow down. This is true in cold water too, but everything is slowed down across the board. Another thing helps, often a lot, but esp so in the cold: erratic action, BUT, not moving too far horizontally -forward. Consider erratic action with limited horizontal movement the reaction presentation for the cold. In summer sometimes simply rapid forward speed does it. Not so in the cold. Sometimes cold water bass are willing to move for a horizontally traveling bait. Great! Makes covering water and catching fish that much quicker. I'll usually swim a jig or grub or creature or Chatter or SB or lipless or But often more erratic action triggers bites better. I then go to a jerkbaits, or bladebaits, lipless, or jigs fished more vertically -yo-yo'd. Last resort, often under real cold, is even more vertical with little or no horizontal movement: spoons, blades, grubs, or float-n-fly. Year round horizontal speed of a lure is important, sometimes critical, determined by how willing bass are to give chase. In cold water, the issue is magnified, with generally slower presentations required, but this does not have to preclude erratic action.

Very good plug. I like the X-Rap for more aggressive darting retrieves. It is also the most weedless jerkbait I've used; a snap of the rod and it's clean! 8-) The rising thing: They can vary from out of the box. I check all suspenders in a tub of cold water (I have a well), as buoyancy is affected by temp. If I get a riser I add weight: split rings, trebles, or stick on lead tape, depending on severity. For sinkers there are fewer options. Lighter wire hooks and lighter split rings can help for slow sinkers, as well as marking it and fishing it on braid or mono. I did once return a Husky to Cabela's and they replaced it and paid the shipping too!

Tarzan. "Baaaa-BA....Baaaa-Ba...."