J Francho

I've fished them. I haven't been out for bass in the cold lately, though.

Overkill, but they'll work.

Yes. Doo-dah.

I fish for steelhead in the tribs around here. Year round, I do this, though writing and performing ramps up in winter.

I hear ya!

Judging by the number of border patrol boats, trucks, and the constant presence on Lake Ontario, along with the various sheriff, Coast Guard, and other agency boats, I'd say there's a reason to be cautious.

I don't fish them enough to have come up with a preference. I follow every thread, though. Hopefully it inspires me!

Yes, and the sale price and rebate made it even more attractive. I believe I saved around $500 on a long shaft Maxxum. Also, sales tax was 1.25% since BPS is in the next county over.

No way would like to be in an airboat lane. Stay safe, man!

The old leverage a job interview for a raise trick...

We're done here. This is a fishing site. Carry on....peaceably.

Yes, if I catch the male first, lol. The males do stay and guard the fry. Smallmouth fry and dad are pretty cool to see. The fry are jet black.

I think it's the emotional attachment to "spawning." That we are somehow interrupting the act, making that attempt unsuccessful. I fish for spawners, but I get it, I understand why some feel that way. You're totally right, though. And that was the mindset of preventing ANY bass fishing until late June, up here.

When we were working with biologists and the DEC to get an extended catch and release, the biologists stated that approximately 75% of the bass population in a given lake do not spawn. They can generally be found in emerging weed beds in somewhat close proximity to spawning areas.

It's tiny dot of tip top glue. It's not a blemish. Just knock it off with tweezers or something. If you've ever replaced a tip top, and used the proper powdered glue, you've seen this. It's easier to let it dry, and break the glob off than try to wipe it off with an alcohol soaked swab when wet. That often makes a bigger mess.

You can pop that off without any issue.

Yer totally banned! J/K! Get with A-Jay, he's got some work for you, lol.

That's an eye-popper! However, there's more to it than just breathing, and the key word is "survive." I'd rather the fish "thrive" if I'm releasing them.

My buddy Noel "No Good" does this. I think he uses Gamakatsu short shanks. I use split rings. The mystery is that there are no split rings on the bait out of the package.

I often belly grab them ion the kayak, especially if it's got a face full of treble hooks.

I've seen two on a bed all day, and not spawning. It's usually the male that bites first, with more aggression. Other times, I only see a male. I watched one male by our old dock keep three females at court. He was probably only 13" long, but man he had three big females hanging around all weekend. Cracked me up.

I watched Rojas do his thing on SML in VA. That guy has an eye for deep beds.

Three short, drag stripping runs, maybe 15' tops. Fight was probably less than a minute. Despite it's size, that's an old wood handle Stradic 1000 with 15# braid and a Carbontex drag washer, on a Eyecon 6-3 MXF. Stout and light.

They are cork.