RAMBLER

Lipless crank or white super fluke.

Zoom trick worm,watermelon/red, weightless, T-rig.

When I was growing up, in Wisconsin, the old folks would say that during the hottest time of summer (dog days), the northern pike would lose their teeth and would't bite because their mouths were tender. I never did get an answer to "When do they grow new teeth?"

Huh????

I enjoy helping kids. When you see them, on the bank, alone, it's usually because they've no one else (like a caring parent) to help them. Adults, that can be a different thing. I had two BAD experiences helping people and I shy away from that, now, unless it is a good friend and I know the way they fish. There was a guy that started working in the same place I did. He was not the most pleasant person in the world, but I tried to get along with him because we worked together. I took him fishing a few times and showed him how to fish (use tackel, bait, etc.). He went crazy. Fished all the time and kept everything he caught. His wife was from overseas and liked fish. Now, this is the honest truth. They actually bought and filled, with fish, three (3) of the biggest freezers they could find to keep all of the fish in. I sure wish I had never taken that guy fishing. Another time, I was launching and some out of staters came to launch at the same time. They asked and I told them in detail where and what. Later they came trolling right through where I was casting and pulled up one of the biggest crappie I have ever seen and asked me if that was the kind of fish I had telling them about. You will not get specifics from me.

I like to use two of those sinker stops. One above and one below the bullet weight. You can simply slide the stops and change the rig from T-rig to C-rig with any length leader. BTW, the ones made for 12 lb. mono work great on 50 lb. braid.

I wonder if it would be a good thing if the administrators of this forum were to set up a pinned thread for this subject. There could be subject headings for each type of tackle, e.g., rods, reels, soft baits, etc. I think we all are glad to buy "Made In America", when possible.

1. No. 5 Mepps spinner 2. Orange blade/black skirt and trailer BIG spinner bait 3. Spoon, yellow/red 5 of diamonds 4. Black hair and feather streamer on fly rod 5. Silver/black sinking Rapala 6. Anything else you have on your line, especially if you're fishing for other species without a wire leader. Oh, by the way, I didn't always live in Florida

Zoom trick worm, watermelon red, T-rig weightless

Maybe alfalfa or white clover?

Small cable ties. Once they are on snip the long end off. The are cheap, easy and indestructable.

Yesterday, I bought an Abu Garcia Silver Max for $20 off list price, at Gander Mountain. The clerk said they were discontinuing it. Don't know if that meant Gander or ABU, That made it $49.97. Good enough reel for me, especially for that price.

PRACTICE !

I never rely, totally, on either. I started using a baitcaster when there was no thumb release, no brake, no drag and when the line went out the handles turned, too. I think that now, it is so automatic for me to use my thumb I don't even really think about it. All the bells and whistles on the new reels makes casting so much easier, if they are all set up right for what ever conditions, i.e., lure type and weight, line type and weight, wind,etc.

Way back when, sometime in the '50's, my little brother and I were fising with an uncle (who has since passed away), who was the most mild mannered man you would ever want to meet. We had told him about a guy that had an airboat (never saw one before that) and he would harass us while we were trying to fish. Well, the guy came out from his place, up and across the river, and started buzzing us getting as close as he could without hitting us. My uncle opened his tackle box and pulled a revolver out, pointed it at the airbooater and followed him as he buzzed by. The guy parked his boat and never did bother us again. I know my uncle would never have shot at the guy, but the fool didn't know that.

In the late 70's I was stationed in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I had an old white chevy station wagon and a white ABS plastic canoe. The canoe and all my tackle went in/on the car before ice out and stayed there until after deer season. I fished a lot. Mainly for northern pike. Now, another time and place, I don't dare leave any tackle in my rag top jeep. In no time at all, I wouldn't have any windows or tackle.

The real problem is when either or both fish are taken off the bed and put in a live well and taken completely out of that body of water to a weigh in point and then dumped into a completely different body of water. Don't even try to tell me it doesn't happen, I live 7 miles from a resevoir that the Elite Series have fished and this is exactly what happens. Fortunately, the Florida Fish and Wildlife are aware of this situation (in part because I call them and tell them my concerns) and this is not the only body of water in Florida that this happens in. Hopefully they will be taking some action on this isssure.

Something I'm curious about. How much will scents, from handling lures, accumulate on the lures? We all touch something that has odors, i.e., steering wheels, tie downs, ropes, tackle boxes/bags, garage doors, gas pump, and the list goes on forever. Will these secnts build up over time as the lures are handled? Another question; Will the scent eliminators that are used for spraying all over yourself for deer hunting clean the scents off of lures or would they be something worse to put on the lures? Being careful about handling gasoline and oil, or whatever and washing hands is the best thing to do. Just wondering if there is more that can make the lures "stink" and more that can be done to eliminate it.

I bought some of those red worm hooks at Wal-Mart because they were all Wal-Mart had of the size and design I wanted. Can't remember the brand, but, the hook tips bent over very easily, the whole hook bent very easily. If I didn't see that the hook had bent I would start missing a hook set. I don't catch many fish so I don't want something that is going to cause me to lose what I do get to bite. The color actually had nothing to do with it, they were just cheap hooks.

I've trolled in one specific area on one lake. It had a point that was wide, shallow and was very very gradual in depth change. It was hard to recognize as a point. There was only one depth that I could get a strike, at a very specific speed, with a long line, with a bitsy minnow. There was no way to cast that lure far enough from the boat to get bit. The fish were scattered across that area and there was no structure to fish. That point was the structure. With that lure, at that depth and speed, I've caught LMB, catfish, bluegill and crappie. Never more than a total of 5 fish, but nothing else was biting on anything. Slow, boring way to fish, but also relaxing and I did tighten my line on something.

I like fillets from about a 15" - 17" bass. When I fillet it, I leave the skin and scales on. Brush the meat side with a little olive oil, sprinkle with mediterranean basil leaves, put a couple of strips of onion and just a very little tomatoe on them (I don't eat the onion and tomatoe, it just adds a little bit to the fish). Put it directly on the grill, skin side down ( I use a gas grill) on high and close the lid. Check once in a while to see when the center turns white. The meat will slide off the skin and be moist. I was told that this was the way to cook snapper and found it works really good with bass, too.

Zoom trick worm, t-rigged, weightless, watermelon red flake. Always catches one, except for yesterday when absolutely nothing worked.

Again, yesterday. Fished 5 hours with nothing to show for it except a bluegill on a square bill crankbait. Fished everywhere I had ever caught a bass and more using every bit of tackle I've ever used and more. Tried a few things the experts say "never fail". I never even saw a bass. Saw tons of gar. I can always catch at least one. Weather, temperature, barometer, fronts, etc. shouldn't have been a factor. Just one of those days. I had a real good day on the water, though. It isn't all about the fish.

I would like to see all "soft bait" or plastic worms, etc. that all fishermen use to be made in America. I know that some of the most popular plastic is made outside the US. I have quite a bit of it, but I have been checking, locally and found that I can find the same style and colors, that I use, made in the US. Maybe, we could have a place, here, to list all of the US manufactures of plastic lures, including large maufactures and the little local shops. It's my opinion, and a lot of others, that we need more "made in America" products and therefore more jobs. I really think we should all stop using the most popular foreign made plastic. If they want to sell their product in the US, then set up a factory here and employ local people. Bassfishing is a great American sport. Why shouldn't we go all America and use American made products to pursue our American sport. It would be great, someday, to be able to buy all our tackle made in the US, including soft baits, hard baints, rods, reels, line, hooks, electronics, etc.