Paul Roberts

Jack, how did you do it -superglue? Yep, super glue. When you drill and glue them be sure to hang the lure by the rear treble while they dry to allow the rattles to settle forward. That will help the lure keep the nose down attitude. Thanks, Jack.

You could start with one of these... It's slotted for the hook and everything. ;D You know...it would be really fun to see who could catch a keeper sized bass on the silliest thing. I once won a bet by catching a bass -albeit a little one -on a bare hook. I used a #1 bait hook and burned it. Yes,but isn't it funny how they will hit anything but at the same time nothing at all? :-? Yup. We have high expectations from those bass in offering us sport. The bass, on the other side of the fence, are trying to make a living. They hunt when the hunting's good, and conserve energy 99% of the time. LOVE those 1% days. I know I don't have to say this, but a rubber football, change purse, or plastisol Tarzan, or a Culprit what-ever-its-called, wouldn't likely win a tournament. But...my guess is, KVDs Red Eye didn't win it either.

You could start with one of these... It's slotted for the hook and everything. ;D You know...it would be really fun to see who could catch a keeper sized bass on the silliest thing. I once won a bet by catching a bass -albeit a little one -on a bare hook. I used a #1 bait hook and burned it.

No, I meant John's winter hat, in the "get a scale" thread. It's a hot topic of late. And should be. That guys got cajones!

Spilt shot?? That would be convenient. Maybe for a casting rig -I haven't tried that -they feel just fine as they are. But on my spinning rods it takes some lead to bring the fulcrum to my middle finger -I put the stem between my ring and little finger. For instance, I tried to balance a a 4oz Skyline rod and a ~9oz Cardinal 3 reel and had to use around oz of lead. Maybe it's the short handles I use, and propensity to use the lightest reels I can find. Unless I need the length for a fighting butt I'm apt to lop a handle off -esp if used from a float tube. But the Skyline has the original handle. I do have a Quick 1202 reel that weighs in at 12+oz and this put the fulcrum much closer to my rod hand. But I've gone lighter and lighter with my reels. My lightest rig is a 7ft Kistler LTA and a USReels 225 -the whole rig weighs less then that old Quick. To balance it? Probably 2oz of lead. No, I don't get tired having to support all that weight up front LOL. I began playing with "balancing" to see if I could gain sensitivity, and found it (at this time) to be a "feel good" kind of thing that didn't pan out on the water. The one thing I do NOT want is a butt heavy rig: The tip simply disappears -to my "feel" anyway. I liked the fulcrum at my hand with the rod held low or horizontal, but anything above 9 o'clock and the tip disappears on me! I went back to my usual tip heavy rigs, which "balance out" nicely with the rod tip up -the way I fish plastics and jigs with the line hanging at a 30 to 90deg angle off the rod. When using swimming retrieves, and with lures that resist I often (but not always) use a low rod (horizontal or below) with 90deg line to rod angle, . These rod-line angles I believe give me the most sensitivity. Make sense, or am I just talkin' all "touchy feely"? ;D

;D Ya know, I might just head over to Toys'R'Us an find some fun things to catch bass on. One of the things that struck me in this year's Classic, was that KVD, with his location control, could have won the event with almost any lipless -or any number of ways. The KVD Strike King baits are well designed and thought out, but I believe he would have success fishing LOTS of lures. The horizontal fall of the Red-Eye he touts was once the "flop-over-on-it's-side-like-a-dead shad" look he talked about for the Diamond Shad several years ago. I guess it's good I'm not in KVD's shoes, 'cause I'd end up getting silly creating lures, and the only sponsor I'd have left would be Toys-R-Us.

so funny that post was from this exact time last year, one day off 'Tis lipless season, once again. But the bass 'er onto us!

Stress definitely does play a role, esp oxygen stress. Such fish seem to lose their metallic glint (created by cells called iridocytes) which tells me oxygen or energy is somehow important for iridocyte activity. This I rarely see in bass; you'd have to abuse one to see it -like crowded in a live-well in 85F water. But I see it in trout during summer in high temps. The look is of such fish is "chalky" -lacking metallic or iridescent colors. Take such fish out of the water and they fade and die in front of your eyes. Raul, that upper pic is a good one showing suspended clay and an equally pale bass. John, Raul's glasses would go great with that hat of yours.

I've been a hard sell on adding oz's to a rod I payed bucks for in part for it's lack of weight. A "balanced rod", with fulcrum at your rod hand, feels great in your living room, or when you are holding the rod horizontal. But, as you go progressively tip up, the rod gets progressively butt heavy. I've stayed tip-heavy when horizontal, a compromise between rod positions I actually use on the water.

That's also interesting. Look at her body condition -She's fat! She isn't always shallow and visible. The pic was taken in early spring and she was sunning in the warm shallows. Difference is she doesn't spook at my approach -doesn't seem to know when she's visible. If an osprey doesn't get her, she may live a good long time. I posted about her last year, with some discussion about vision and bass feeding.

I'm really liking the spoof lure idea. I guess the idea is that LOTS of the right sized moving things will catch fish. The hype around many of them is laughable, but annoying too when you think about some of it being just quick-buck BS, and MEANT to dupe anglers. Years ago I had a "Creepy Crawler" set which allowed kids to cook up plastic creatures in molds and a little hot-plate. I had a mold for a Tarzan -which produced a little plastic man. I melted plastic worms and poured a little human topwater bait lol. I caught a bunch of bass on it, to the "Jaws" theme song; "Baaa-ba...Baa-Ba...." Another time I bought a kids "Snoopy" float and took it steelheading. It was prime conditions and I knew my waters and fish, so I crushed 'em. Snoopy had nothing to do with it of course, but guys were coming up to me and asking where they could get one too.

Jack, how did you do it -superglue?

A little off topic...but...when buying line look at the actual diameters, as lb test ratings are all over the place. CXX is rated as one of the top lines in tensile strength -a great line -but it's 8lb is .012, akin to 12lb XL, and most 12lb FC's. Diameter is what affects depth and speed most. That 12lb CXX you were using, at 0.015 is akin to 17#XL, or many FCs. Just something to be aware of.

OK...Here's some I already had in Photobucket. Not perfect for illustrating the range, but interesting anyway I think: Winter/earl spring bass not long after ice-out. I don't know what causes the yellow color exactly. I believe it's a wintering bass that has been holding on bottom (they often have mud on their bellies) and was just moving in-shore. John's pic of his dark, yellow, bass was probably from productive algae-rich waters at the height of phytoplankton production a pea-soupy backwater in a shaded environment is my guess. I have photo's (in print and slide format) of bass like this and they came from shady pea-soup. Actually, looking at the pic background, it's from Sodus Bay (not Port) with its summer algae blooms. I've seen similarly colored fish in Mendon Ponds in summer. Bass caught under dark overcast in shade of heavy veget. in rich pond. Note yellow belly. Clear water late fall fish. High clarity, lots of patchy vegetation offering contrasty background, and therefore well patterned fish. This is the same pond as the "yellow" bass in previous pic. Vegetation and algae have died back and clarity is very high. Early spring fish under bright sky, in gin clear water with vege beds offering contrasty background, and therefore well patterned fish. Fish from a clay pit a shallow pond with clay suspended in the water, diminishing contrast in the lighting. Deeper caught fish in plankton filled water. Notice fairly even shading little countershading and little patterning. Again, plankton rich water and even (overcast) lighting. Notice little countershading and little contrasty patterning (stripe or spotting). Muddy looking smallie caught under dense slop (shaded) with LMs! Dark, but with very little patterning. Really dark late fall bass in fairly clear water under low light low sun angle, overcast sky, shaded pond in woods. Here's an interesting one. The darkest of them all. A nearly blind bass (probably cataracts) that is always uniformly dark, almost black. She is unable to adjust to ambient lighting much at all. Stands like a sore thumb -she's lucky there are no big cats in this pond.

That's how he pays for gas.

Awesome!! You did the right thing. And I bet you'd do it again.

A common initial reaction might be "Yeah, come fish in MY waters...blah blah blah. These video spots aren't to prove that KVD or others can fish lol, it's to highlight techniques (like Dance) or promote lures -usually good ones. The "come and show me in MY lake" misses, once again, the fact that NO lure can make anyone a pro. What I'd like to see is some real details on when, where, and why a given lure shines, instead of the usual "This lure is awesome; It catches the big ones where-ever they are!!!" Where's the gag-me Smilie?

;D ;D Perfect description! You know your's are the first turd jokes I've actually belly laughed at since middle school. Won't tell my 8 year old what I'm guffawing about here though. I tell him to keep his poop jokes amongst his friends. Guess that applies to me too -as it should. Thanks for the chuckle. That video is just pathetic. Someone should make one from a little hollow plastic football -laces and stripes and all. It would do the exact same thing -probably better. You know...if I find one, I'll do it and post a spoof video of it. That would be fun.

Color and Senko in the same thread?? Might not have the bandwidth to handle this one. ;D "Baby Bass" offered by Kinami (Yammy company), until last year when they discontinued it. Probably bc it was going to be made illegal anyway.

Dunno. Don't own em all. Mine's 21". It's just fine for lipped crankbaits. It's a tad too slow for burning lipless. I mean it get's them up to speed OK but I've not been able to catch up to some overrun strikes. Not sure that 23" would make that up, but if I were buying now I'd go with the 23". Others may have more experienced advice.

Fish can adjust their color (to a point) and pattern (quite a bit) to the photic environment around them. Special cells in the skin called chromatophores have the ability to match background lighting patterns. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Chromatophores are pigment-containing and light-reflecting cells found in amphibians, fish, reptiles, crustaceans, and cephalopods. They are largely responsible for generating skin and eye colour in cold-blooded animals ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iridocyte In fish like bass, washed out background lighting offering little contrast results in a washed out appearance. Very clear water with sharp contrasty backgrounds result in higher contrast patterns (lights and darks). Strong lighting from above can cause strong countershading too. Dimmer lighting can cause fish to be more even shaded. Fish in clear water and deep shade may be nearly black. Those in bright light with little contrast (open water, or muddy water) may be silvery metallic. I've caught LMs wearing something akin to pelagic silver, almost like an open water trout or salmon. Brightness is required for light to reflect. Under dim conditions fish are less metallic/reflective and more opaque. It's an amazing ability, one that allows for amazing camouflage, or contrast (as in advertising spawning individuals). Fish health, mood, and specific behaviors can affect coloration too. If I find time, I'll post some pics. I have a pic like J's second one, but it was a late winter fish. Has everything to do with what the specific environment dishes out.

At least those are better than the reviews that are done BEFORE the product is even sold!!! Yes. That can go beyond a minor peeve, and into something else. I understand the need for advertising, and excitement around new potentially useful products, but I'll say it again, "The fishing world may be the last bastion of the snake-oil salesman". OK... but then there's the weight loss, sports performance, get rich quick, and psycho-babble businesses lol. As a friend once said, "A little information can be a dangerous thing..."

;D Good point. Absolutely true. And this is so even after years of tying. Professional tiers usually discard the first 3-6 flies they put out in a production run. I do almost the same, although I'm less picky. But it does take me a couple to get what I want. Then each one in a run gets better after that. I have standard ties I use every year, and have to re-supply. Then there are ones for specific activity/emergences (or segments of emergences), waters, circumstances, or fish behaviors. I'm not 'scurred' of trying new stuff on fish and have pretty much developed my own patterns from scratch. But there are basic techniques developed the world over to jump off from. I have stacks of catalogs and books showing fly patterns for basic design ideas, and have added a few to that world myself. Over time you get to recognize how things are done and can make your own designs. You also begin to figure out what's REALLY needed in given situations -what water and fish require is rarely what many anglers might expect, just looking at a fly in hand. This creativity is what floats my boat in fly-tying. VERY cool. 8-) Love getting connected deep into the waters I fish. Crash course in tying, to help you through the most challenging parts: -Use the right thread size for every given fly. I like Gudebrod or flat Danville. Personally hate Uni-Thread -round and course. -Plan the fly design ahead of time by measuring the shank. So you don't crowd the head, leave ~1/4 of the shank for the fly head. A buddy and fellow tying instructor called this the dreaded red zone. The rest of the shank, usually to the bend, is for the fly body where the tying takes place; it's a lot less of the shank then most people realize. Measure out the fly segments across this so you know where to stop the abdomen and begin the thorax. If you need to use a marker on teh shank at first, do it. Seeing the shank this way gives you the best shot at proper proportions. -Practice handling materials. When you cut off a hank of elk hair, hackle fibers, or quill sheet, practice handing it back ad forth between your right and left hands, keeping the clump together. I've taught fly-tying to literally hundreds of people of all ages. I never could tell by looking at someone whether they had good fine dexterity. Handing practice, just back and forth, told me what I was dealing with and gave everyone an almost instant jump on handling materials. Soon you will be able to turn materials completely around in your fingers (swap ends) without it all coming apart. You will need to swap ends to be able to measure a material against the shank for proper length of wings and tails, trim it, then swap ends to wrap it on. -Two essential wrap techniques to know, used to initially lock a new material to the shank: the loose wrap and the pinch wrap. The "loose wrap" is simply NOT keeping a tight line from your bobbin to start a wrap, which pushes the materials away -frustrating. Use a loose loop, make a full turn around the material, then cinch it tight. Every few wraps give a tug, to be sure your wraps are snug. Good habit, and provides proper tension to hold the materials until you get adept at proper wrapping tension. Loose wrapping, or simply good tension control, will allow you to lock down more challenging materials. The technique of spinning deer hair simply requires this. The pinch wrap uses the same loose loop, but in between pinched fingers of your serving (materials) hand. The materials are held firmly in your fingers on the top of the shank, and those fingers are pinched down over either side of the shank. Bring the thread up between the tight fingers, over the shank, leaving slack in that line (the loose wrap) then down between the fingers on the other side of the shank. Then pull tight inside your pinched fingers and the materials are locked onto the shank, ready for you to add a couple more firm wraps to hold. -Wrap to the shank -meaning, after each new piece has been applied, wrap a single wrap ahead of the material. This locks the piece on so it can't loosen while you get the next material piece. -Keep control of thread twist. Twist is a thread handling nightmare. Do not let the bobbin spin when it's waiting for you to prepare materials. At times you'll need to back-spin the bobbin on purpose to alleviate twist. -Lay a thread base first. This offers the thread and materials purchase, through friction, and results in a more durable fly. As you get better at proper tension, and for some flies --like some small dries-- you'll not need or use a base. -Use as few thread wraps as possible. This'll become especially important when you start tying tiny stuff. And thread allows water to soak in and adhere, sinking dry flies. -When dubbing, in general, use very little just enough to change the thread color, and build up, rather than caking it on. For dry flies, you'll want to do this too, but not too much building up of thread. To apply dubbing, pull out strands of it between your fingers to get the fibers running in the same direction, then apply it with fibers perpendicular across the thread not parallel with it. If you have trouble you may want to use a dubbing wax. I use saliva. -For larger flies that require dubbing, look up how to make a dubbing loop. I've made my own dubbing loop tools a simple wire with a hooked end, from a large paper clip. -Get/make a hair stacker. Any tiny cup-shaped object will work of appropriate depth for given material: half inch deep for dry fly tails, up to several inches for streamer or jig wings. -Get a ball-bearing whip finisher (the original was by Matarelli). Eventually you'll be faster and better by hand. Your flies will never unravel. Won't even need cement.

Gary Loomis is credited with this quote: "I can make a rod that won't break, but you wouldn't want to fish with it." Angler's looking for cutting edge in sensitivity are dipping into the fringes of durability. Super high MOE rods are more "brittle" than the more elastic "rubbery" lesser MOE rods. The breakthroughs following reducing weight and increasing MOE revolve around resins and laying/wrapping processes that increase durability. You pay for all that. I well remember when graphite hit the markets. Blew us all away that kind of sensitivity! But as rod makers experimented trying to make lighter more rigid rods, they pushed the envelope of durability. Some of the first "thin-walled" rods had high breakage rates. I worked in a large tackle shop and saw up to 80% breakage rates in some rods. Many, if not most, were in my mind and experience, angler caused. Got to be that when I sold a rod I gave a quick crash-course in how NOT to bend a rod. I owned some of those early thin-walls and LOVED them, and never broke them bc I knew what their weaknesses were. OK I take that back, I broke two, both were my fault -I over-strained them at too steep an angle. Some rods had quality issues though -like poor rod guide installation. When you custom build a rod, you inspect the foot of each guide and we often filed them to make sure there were no sharp edges that could wear a thin-walled blank. When I saw a rod broken at the very tip of the guide, I suspected that that was a guide with a bur. Take care of your rods, don't over-strain them -being esp careful landing fish or popping a snag free, when you have the rod lifted over your head. If you need to strain deeply, make sure the rod is in front of you, distributing the strain across the rod, not sticking straight above you. This last puts all that strain on the tip. If you are not willing or able to take such care, go with lower MOE rods (IM6 is still a marvel). If you buy new and inexpensive high MOE rods, realize you are taking a calculated risk, and until the word is out about durability, take extra care and my guess is your Carrot Stix and Carbonlites will last a good long time. A peeve I have are all the "reviews" you see in catalogs and websites saying, "I've had my XXX rod for two weeks and LOVE IT!!" I always grumble, "Truly glad to hear you're excited about your new toy, but it tells me zip."

The reports are gonna be comin' in on the Carbonlites. We'll see what they are really like. Could be one of several things: -Cheap garbage/poor manufacturing quality blank -Poor quality control in wrapping guides -Angler over zealous on a super high MOE rod Until I hear more, I'm betting (hoping) on #3. (I haven't put a bend in mine yet.)