RoLo

I'm pretty sure the OP is asking which knot "you are" most comfortable with. Adding a snap to the equation only introduces a second weak link, where there was only one. Particularly in saltwater or wherever there's jarring shock, a snap is often the weakest link. Roger

The Study Reports published by "In-Fisherman Magazine" beginning in 1975 (each an encyclopedia) If it's got to be a book: "Largemouth Bass in the 1990s" by the In-Fisherman staff. Roger

Amazing, that's the same time frame when Kissimmee hits its stride

Lake Fork by a long shot. Roger

Skin-hooking ain't so bad, but down to the bone...now that can hurt!

The answer may lie in the title of your thread: "Location, Location, Location" I've lived in Jersey for 50 years, and know firsthand that many waterbodies are marginal bass fisheries at best. Hmm, you're nice and close to Greenwood Lake Roger

The only time I remember baseball interfering with fishing, I was 14 years old. My father and I were trout fishing in Rahway River, New Jersey. Dad parked the car alongside the stream, blasted the car radio and left the car door wide open. While fishing, we were listening to the 1956 World Series between the New York Yankees (American League) and the Brooklyn Dodgers (National League). We got very lucky, because that day Don Larsen pitched the only 'no-hitter' in a World Series, it's never been repeated. Since that time though, I've virtually replaced spectator sports with participant sports, and now fishing, hiking, stargazing and wildlife photography rule the roost. Roger

Yup...yurdee ownly won

I agree with Canyon Explorer: if in fact you were dealing with bedding bass, than it was business as usual. But in any calender period, if you see fish, the fish see you, but that doesn't mean they're not catchable. Seeing you is not the same as being frightened by you. Fish have two strikes against them (excuse the pun): Their world is in constant motion, and their short-term memory is dangerously brief. Maintain a low profile, keep your movements to a minimum and move slowly & smoothly. Use spinning gear with light line that enables loooong casts. Roger

The only time I get more than 25 pounds to the boat, is when my wife falls in the water

Managing your own private pond is challenging enough (I've tried my hand), but managing public waters to serve all facets of fishing is a daunting task. When you read the many PDFs published by state DNRs and wildlife commissions, you begin to understand the enormity of their task. To begin with, the field technicians must evaluate all limnological data to determine the most fruitful path of management. No ecosystem is optimal for all species, so they must decide on the most viable fishery, be it smallmouth, largemouth, walleyes, pike, muskies, salmonids ~ ~ ~ If field research and electro-fishing indicate that a given body of water is best suited to walleyes, the state's efforts would justifiably be oriented toward an exceptional walleye fishery. Put differently, bass might be your favorite game fish, but it's not the favorite game fish of every angler. Roger

You've gotta feel sorry for people who don't drink, when they get up in the morning, that's as good as they're gonna feel all day

Using any image editor such as Photoshop Elements or GIMP, go to the "Scale" field and reduce the pixel-count to your liking. Roger

The Senko is 50% more expensive than the Ace. 5" Gambler Ace = 50 cents <> Yamamoto Senko = 75 cents A Wacky-rigged 5" worm offers two free ends, but each end is only 2-1/2" each long. A T-rigged 5" worm offers only one free end, but since the free section is 3-1/4" long, it provides more tip waggle than a W-rigged worm. In Florida's salad bowls, I don't Texpose the point per se, but bury the hook-point completely in plastic. When fished on braided line, this poses no problem for hook-setting. Roger

Welcome aboard Adam Roger

It went from: "A chicken in every pot" TO "A handgun in every glove box" (may not be verbatim et literatum) Roger

You said a mouthful. The biggest wussies I've fished with were men (I use the term loosely) Roger

When I was heavily involved in saltwater fishing, my gear was divided fairly evenly between Shimano & Daiwa (not to mention Penn and Newell). That's no longer the case however, as I've been disappointed by Daiwa reels beginning with their low-end "Advantage" on up to the "Daiwa "Steez". It took several decades, but today I'm in the Shimano camp with both feet. Although I own a couple of Stellas, in my opinion the "Shimano Stradic" is the best bang for the buck. All my spinning reels happen to be spooled with braided polyethylene, but that's neither here nor there. Roger

Same here BP, and price had no bearing whatsoever. I find it odd that all "stickworms" tend to be pigeonholed as senkos. For instance, all "crankbaits" aren't called Sonics (they were first) , and all "tubes" aren't called gitzits (they were first). Conducting your own stickworm comparison is very simple, so why take anyone's word for it? >> Select a gin-clear pond or lake >> Rig the contestant stickworms with hooks of identical weight (sink-rate affects the end-waggle) >> Compare the stickworms based on the intensity of "end-waggle" during a vertical freefall. This is what I've found when comparing 'unweighted' stickworms: >> Gambler Ace & Yamamoto Senko are a dead-heat (on some drops the ace looks better, on other drops the senko looks better) >> Wave Worm Tiki Stick is a middle-of-the-road stickworm, but bass often prefer muted action >> Yum Dinger provided the least end-waggle, but they're nonetheless popular (sometimes less is more, bass are fickle) Roger

Based on your question I assumed you were looking for attack techniques. But based on the replies, it seems that you've gotten about 10 different lure suggestions. Set me straight, are you looking for a strategy or a lure? Roger

Those who lived thru the "Clinch Knot Depression" might still be a little gun-shy, and may still blame every line-break on "knot failure". Remember those line-end 'Pigtails'? Today it's different. Be it nylon, fluorocarbon or polyethylene, it's my opinion that the major cause of line failure is "frays" & "nicks", It's a good habit to visually inspect your line after every few casts, while running your fingers along the line. After a while it all becomes second-nature, and line failure will basically vanish. Roger

I'm with you buddy. Every method and every technique was originally concocted by some bumpkin who gave it a silly name In the strictest sense of the word, I 'never' Flip and 'never' Pitch, but use a self-devised catapult-type toss. I've been using this nameless, unorthodox casting style for around 30 years, so naturally it splashes down exactly where I'm looking about 95% of the time Roger

Spiderwire was the first kitestring to enter the angling arena. In their original TV commercial, a fisherman using Spiderwire gets snagged in a mature oak tree, then proceeds to pull the whole tree down into the lake Since its *** though, most anglers have abandoned Spiderwire and Fused lines and followed polyethylene technology up to today's 8-member braids like Trilene Pro Braid, Sufix 832 & Seguar Smackdown. Braided polyethylene lasts indefinitely, and I never think about replacing it. Of course, constantly pruning the last foot-&-half of frayed line will eventually take its toll. I only re-spool when I start seeing too much exposed reel spool, which usually takes around 3 years or so. I don't pay any attention to line visibility, and never add a leader (business end stays knot-free). Seeing your line is important for strike detection, and I'm told it also helps bass follow the line to the bait...LOL Never use braided line that has the same diameter as your plastic worm, otherwise bass will strike the line instead of the worm Roger

Actually neither. Any downward movement would submerge the rod-tip, and lifting the rod-tip to 10 o'clock would expose the line to the wind and defeat the purpose. There are two retrieves you can use, and both keep the tiptop guide just above the water. One option is to use a horizontal pull to either side, so the rod-tip travels parallel to the water surface. The other option is what I call the “crank-&-glide” retrieve. Simply crank the reel to advance the bait, then stop reeling to allow the lure to glide back down to the bottom, and so on ~ ~. However, instead of allowing the bait to freefall, use a tight-line glide by mending out the line-slack, which helps to stay in contact with the bait on windy days. Roger

For sure, I'd much rather fish in a glass-smooth mill pond, but fishing in the teeth of the wind is an important skill. It's the age old progression: Wind => Plankton => Baitfish => Gamefish To reduce the luff in the fishing line, be sure to hold the tiptop guide just above the water surface. Of course you won't have the same feel, but can generally fish in winds over 20 mph (done it often in a 12' cartopper). It's tempting to move to the sheltered side of the structure or weedbed, but there'll be times when you can't buy a fish on the lee side. On the other hand, bass commonly exploit the wind while holding in slack water, which gives the angler the same opportunity. That is to say, exploit the benefit of the wind while holding the boat behind the lee side of a point. Roger