RoLo

Way to go Cowgirl Congratulations on your new personal best Roger

When bass aren't hitting a fluke, that would be one of the bad times

Going back to the Lowrance flasher (green box), I used portable depth sounders for rental boats in Canada. About 10 years ago, I noticed that the market for portable sounders was drying up, so I purchased a backup unit. I still have that unit, which was never used (still in the box). It's an "Eagle Fish Mark 320" Portable depth sounder, if you're interested in the unit, drop me a PM. Roger

Better yet, spool up with braid. Switching from mono to braid is indistinguishable from an upgrade in rod blanks, and the difference in price will be less that $400. Roger

Most of my spinning reels are Stradics, but they run the gamut from Symetre to Stella. If I were blindfolded though, I wouldn't know which model was in my hand. I find that a little unsettling Roger

Most Sensitive Rod? Probably a shootout between the "*** Archangel" and the "Megabass Destroyer" Hope you got deep pockets Roger

Weedy lakes is exactly where I throw the chatterbait, it goes where crankbaits fear to tread. Since it substitutes for a crank, I like a heavy 5/8 oz bladed jig with a fiber weedguard. Phenix 5/8oz Proline Wobble Jig (remove the skirt, add a 5" Kalin grub) Roger

Shimano Symetre Great little reel Roger

"What Happened To All The Big Bass?" Just filleted the last batch this evening.....I'm exhausted

Gullibility isn't limited to fisherman, it's cosmopolitan

The Florida Everglades is just as much a "lake" as Atchafalaya Basin, Louisiana and Florida’s St Johns River, which are both listed on the Top-100. You are correct, Levee 67A in the Florida Everglades is slated as having the highest catch-rate in the state of Florida. Get there in April during high water, and you can expect action on nearly every cast. In spite of that reality, the Everglades did not make the Top-100 list. We keep reading that the sale of fishing licenses is on the wane, yet the powers-that-be still don’t take a serious interest in our sport. It's become the way of the world today. Roger

OH NO! So you're saying the Product Developer was "Gilding The Lily"?? MAN I've been duped, never seen that one coming! Roger

I checked out the London Bridge over Havasu, but it comes with a Quit-Claim deed! Getting back to Idaho, if it weren't for its trophy pike potential, I might never heard of Coeur d'Alene Lake. It yielded a 38-lb 9-oz northern pike, but Idaho's state record was set by Lower Twin Lake in 2010, with a 40-lb 2-oz brute. That pike was bigger than anything from Sacandaga, NY in decades, and bigger than anything ever produced by Lake Oahe, SD. I tend to agree with you on California, definitely the Cali Delta and Clear Lake, and maybe Berryessa too. I know that Chris Wolfgram (Fish Chris) thought a lot of Berryessa. Roger

http://www.bassmaste...bass-lakes-list Well how about that! I knew my wife was a Bass Council member, but I didn’t realize she was a member of the 3,500 Bassmaster panel of super-avid bass fishermen. Even if we responded to the Bassmaster survey, somehow I think that Lake Kissimmee still would've been an oversight, and it was an oversight. Every year Florida's FWC (Florida Wildlife Commission) selects the 10 best bass lakes in Florida. Lakes come-&-go on the FWC Top-10, even Okeechobee was omitted some years, but the Big-K makes that list every year, including 2015. This is no skin off my nose, but how about the angler who takes the Bassmaster “Top-100” list for face value? Accordingly, Harlan County Res, Nebraska, Kezar Lake, Maine and Lake Bomoseen, Vermont are all superior bass destinations to Lake Kissimmee, Florida. I wonder if that bridge is still for sale? Roger

There's a vacation home in my community with an enclosed masonry swimming pool. Since I'm the property manager, you can guess where I test every lure I own To keep the pool crystal-clear, three forms of chlorine are regularly added (bleach, tablets & shock). Chlorine will kill the bacteria, viruses & fungi on your lure, but that's about it. Studying lure behavior in gin-clear water offers a golden opportunity to compare lure action & sink rates. Even if that pool was filled with sulfuric acid, I'm sure I'd sacrifice lures just for the learning experience Roger

I'll give you 500, but that's as high as I'm going.

Your most successful lure is the lure that spends the most time on the end of your line. To put it differently, your most successful lure is the lure you made your favorite. My most successful lure for good-sized bass is a "Gambler Big-EZ" in 'Not So Sexy'. My 2nd most successful good fish lure is a "Gambler Big-EZ" in 'Forty Niner'. I almost never catch a bass on a Senko; because I almost never fish a Senko Roger

In the scenario you outlined, the fishable depth extends from the surface down to about 17 feet. Bass may be positioned at any depth within this range, from the crown of the canopy to the naked stalks on the bottom. Of course, we never know the disposition of the fish in advance, but their location can often shed some light. Though far from definitive, the following 3 situations tend to favor active bass: >> Bass on weed points (outside turns), as distinguished from bass in weed pockets (inside turns) >> Bass in shallow water, as distinguished from bass in deep water >> Bass lofted high in the weedbed, as distinguished from bass hugging the bottom (the swimbait targets these fish) Bass spend most their lives 'off' the feed, so culling the aggressive bass first stands to reason (strike while the iron is hot). Roger

Humph, there's always a skeptic Ah cum-on, rerun the video and as soon it passes '304' you will hear the Product Developer say: "If you wanna catch BIGGER FISH"!! This is a Must-Have toy.............I mean tool.

Beginning with the Lowrance green box flasher, I never fished out of any cartopper without a depth sounder and suctioncup-mounted transducer. Roger

Yup, that's what I was trying to say If I ever plan a trip to Coeur d'Alene, it would be in pursuit of a trophy northern pike, definitely not bass. Roger

I believe that once something enters the mouth, the sense of taste outweighs the sense of smell. In that regard, it's tough to best sodium chloride (NaCl)

I realize that I'm late for the party, but does anyone see something wrong with this picture? I see a lot of things wrong with the Top-100, but will only comment on the anomaly closest to home. Apparently the rankings are based largely on the input from Bassmaster members. A while back I received a survey from Bassmaster asking me to checkmark 10 lakes from their list of preselected lakes. Although I'm curious, I have no idea how the original list of candidate lakes was devised. On the survey, I was also asked to enter my 5 favorite American waters not found on the Bassmaster list. Looked like busywork to me, so I never responded to the Bassmaster questionnaire. Anyway, last year (2014) Lake Kissimmee was ranked 21st in the nation, which in my opinion was low. This year (2015), Lake Kissimmee didn't appear anywhere on Bassmaster's Top-100 list! Here's the irony, the Big-K had an unusually productive 2014 (prior to the 2015 survey), when it generally took 20 pounds to win a local amateur tourney. How does a lake that enjoyed a banner year, slide 80 places in the Bassmaster ranking? Selfishly speaking, it's fine with the locals of mid-Florida, who'd rather see less publicity than more. On the other hand, I'd be livid if I were a professional guide or owned a fish camp on Lake Kissimmee Roger

'Hope' drives the opening game, but 'confidence' can only be built on success. Although you may gain confidence in a lure, your learning experience will never end. One Lure At A Time: Knowledge is always the first step, followed by time on the water. Omitting the first step would sharply lower the quality of time spent on the water. Learn the tricks and tips before wetting a line, and prevent the pitfalls made by your predecessors. Roger

I'm in Farmer's court; strike while the iron is hot. Begin in shallow water near the surface, working down to the bottom then move into deeper water. The sluggish bottom-huggers aren't going anywhere, they'll wait for you. When the weedbeds won't give up a fish, it doesn't mean they're not there, it just means they're not feeding. Alternative spots to look for active bass are docks, over shellbeds and at the mouths of feeder creeks. Roger