RoLo

With regard to belly-spinners like the Sworming Hornet and Northland Fire-Ball, I'd personally give the nod to Wordens Roadrunner. The use of belly-spinners is dominated far-&-away by smallmouth bass, but will catch virtually any species that will strike a lure. The best delivery to use will hinge on the day at hand, but I'll generally begin with a crank-&-glide retrieve. Roadrunners are year-round lures, where the trailer should be adjusted to the season. Roger

Now that you opened this can of worms, I’m going to drop the floodgate: When I was a youngster, there were only 3 major classes of bass lures: Plugs, Spoons & Spinners. Oh yeah, there were also Streamers & Flies, but they were fly-rod lures used mainly for coldwater fish such as trout & salmon. Back then, the word “bait” referred to “live bait” such as minnows, worms, crickets, hellgrammites, etc. I had no way of knowing that the term “bait” would suffix every artificial lure I ever fished, namely: crankBAIT, jerkBAIT, spinnerBAIT, swimBAIT, twitchBAIT, stickBAIT, bladeBAIT, ~ ~ ~. In reality, the suffix “bait” adds nothing to the lure’s description. Back in the 1950s, the term "plug" referred to any solid lure made of wood, which was eventually replaced by hard plastic. “Plugs” ran the gamut from the topwater Arbogast Jitterbug to a deep-diving Bomber and everything in between. The word ‘plug’ however did not include artificial lures made of metal such as ‘spoons’ & ‘spinners’, which were separate categories of artificial lures. Then one day, I believe it was in the late 60s, I heard Rick Clunn refer to his cedar Poe plug as a "crankbait" (Say What!), and we all know where it went from there. When the term ‘swimbait’ was coined, it alluded to any lure (hard or soft) that incorporated two separate actions. For instance, the 'Big EZ' incorporates the body waggle of a soft-plastic lure with the throbbing of a paddle-tail. In contrast, a "plug" (billed or lipless) like a Bomber A or Rat-L-Trap offers only one body motion. Well, the day they coined the word ‘crankbait’, they painted themselves into a corner! Plugs, spoons, swimbaits and crankbaits are ALL 'cranked baits', but only 'plugs' are allowed to be referred to as such. It's the age old problem: When you don't think it through, you end up defending a weak position. Fish On Roger

As fishermen, hope springs eternal, but realism ain't a bad thing either. Adding weight moves 'away' from the Ned rig approach to trigger a passive bass, but it caters to the opposite approach by using 'speed' as a trigger (who ever said fishing was easy?) Roger

Every day we wet the boat, we're fishing in weeds from hell. Try 30-lb braid and I'm confident that you'll find that it's adequate. (It goes without saying, your drag must be properly set) Roger

SOLID TOADS Strike King Rage Toad: 350 gr. Zoom Horny Toad: 340 gr. Yum Buzz Frog: 325 gr. Gambler Cane Toad: 320 gr. Stanley Ribbit: 300 gr. Sizmic Pop’N Toad: 265 gr. (discontinued) Sizmic Toad: 265 gr. Mean Toad Weight = 309 grains (11/16 oz) Roger

On the other hand, a high percentage of anglers are also hunters who own a powder scale for reloading. Powder scales are graduated in "grains" which is 1/437 OZ (subsequently rounded to the nearest 1/16 oz) This comes in real handy when comparing the weight of hooks, where there wouldn't be any rounding off. Roger

30-lb Sufix 832 (8-lb diameter) Straight braid, No leader, ever If a bass doesn't like my braid, he's granted the freedom to find some fluorocarbon Roger

My wife would definitely agree with that. Her most productive plastic craw is the 'Gene Larew Rattlin Crawler'. She imparts a short, rapid jiggle to the jig that looks unorthodox to me, but it works for her. Roger

He's got a new Megabass Vision that he's dying to try out

You want the transducer mounted perpendicular to the water surface, not the bottom of your hull. In addition, the face of the transducer should be flush or a tad below the bottom or your hull and the trailing edge of the transducer should be about 1/8" lower than the leading edge (anti-cavitation) By all means, turn off the Fish ID option, and leave it off forever. The Fish ID option is a wild electronic guesstimate that obliterates the actual signal. Over time, you'll understand the raw signals far better than guesstimates made by your unit. Roger

Single-tail Grub: Kalin Lunker Grub Ned Rig: Z-man 4.0” Elaztech Hula Stickz Senko?: Hmph, that's a new one on me

That question has been asked a thousand times. No free hat! Roger

Having owned many trihedral hulls & deep-V hulls, it all boils down to one word 'COMPROMISE'. Differently put, it's a choice that only the captain can make. A bass boat is more stable at rest, a pike boat is more stable underway (that's all she wrote). A bass boat might offer more topside deck space, but most of your equipment will be stored underneath a lidded compartment (big drag). In most deep-V hulls though, your gear will be readily accessible, gear that you'd better remove in restauarant & hotel parking lots. Though I currently own a bass boat, I have an eternal crush on deep-V utility boats & center-consoles. Roger

In manmade reservoirs, the water is generally clearer as you approach the dam, owing to sedimentation. In natural lakes, the water is generally clearer around inlets with the hardest substrate. All other things equal, water along sheltered shorelines will be clearer than windblown shorelines. Roger

Yellow perch are very aggressive little devils, easy to catch and great table fare. They often hit lures meant for other species, and sometimes hit lures 3/4 their own length If they're specifically targeted though, it's hard to beat live worms or tiny live minnows. Roger

More and bigger bass.

From what I've read (and those I've spoken with), the Big EZ, bladed jig & soft jerkbait have been the best producers

As it happens, you named 3 of the best waters in south Florida (save Lake Istokpoga). I haven't fished the Loxahatchee River, but aside from its low-water woes, I’ve heard some glowing reports from that water. Speaking only for myself, the scenery and wildlife make up a large part of my fishing experience. On that basis alone, I'd opt for the Big-O (a natural seabed) to the Stick Marsh (a manmade reservoir). Harney Pond ramp offers access to Fisheating Bay, the Monkey Box and Whiddens Pass. Roger

Cold is relative, and though they may not be more active in 45-deg water the odds of a lunker are certainly greater. Roger

Without a hook, a Horny Toad weighs approximately 1/2 oz. Roger

In brief, catching 3-5" bluegills depends on 'location' more than bait. Juvenile bluegills aggregate in shallower water than adult bluegills. Once located, they're as easy as taking candy from a baby. Roger

I doubt that there's much you could've done. A fish that makes "2" false starts indicates a fish in a passive disposition, where triggering 2 impulsive reactions might be the best you can expect. Roger

Perish the thought.

To each his own of course, but I use painted & unpainted jigheads interchangeably, and without a 2nd thought. I'll bet some of your favorite crankbaits have a battered, beat-up finish. If someone repainted my war-torn pike spoons, I'd be tempted to throw them away Roger

You have the eye of a naturalist. Roger