hightide

Those are really great replies. I think that your yesteryear and today comparison assessments are right on. I would not have traded my earlier fishing years for anything, but it looks like I might have some concessions to make now.

I'm new here and , wow, bass fishing has really become a science. It's been many many years since I was a die-hard freshwater fisherman and I knew the sport had changed dramatically. I need to catch up by about 45 years is all. Don't laugh, but we caught trophy largemouth back in the early 60's on Jitterbugs, Hula poppers, Dare devils and French lures. We also caught them some of the biggest lunkers you have ever seen on hotdogs, bacon. crickets, grasshoppers and dough balls. I caught them from an 8ft wood pram with the prettiest set of ash oars you have ever laid eyes on when I was a kid... and never had my picture on TV or laughed my way to the bank by catching a bass. I bought that pram when I was 10 years old from the local marina for $35 making $5 monthly payments by cutting grass. Now you have to catch them from $50,000, 60 mph, sparklie bass boats and have 10K in tackle to do any good. Do the fish know this? Well, times change, and so I. Just trying to get a grip on what works best today.