RoLo

Medium-Heavy power | Fast action | 6'6" to 7'0" Roger

Since the 1960s, I join 'everything' with a Double Uni-knot (uni = universal). 25 Top-Ranked Saltwater Skippers FAVORITE JUNCTION KNOT Double Uni-Knot 12 Albright/Alberto 5 FG Knot 3 Blood Knot 2 Clinch Knot 1 Bobbin Knot 1 Slim Beauty 1 Roger

The Helin Flatfish was my dad's favorite lure for Chain Pickerel. Back then, the eastern chain pickerel was voted New Jersey's most popular freshwater fish (Due to the fact that Jersey set 2 pickerel world records). On the other hand, my dad's favorite bass lure was the Garcia Eelet (very worm-like). Roger

Nah, I prefer Gatorade.

That's correct: 'steez' is the binary term for Style & Ease (StEase). Frankly, I've been disappointed by Metanium, which IMO is noticeably inferior to the Core. Sold my last Metanium on ebay, which I replaced with a Bantam (my new crush). Roger

I came THAT close to posting about the Berkley Lightning rod, but dropped the ball after other members did. To be sure, the Lightning rod has been a low-priced, high-performing blank for decades, and still is. Another low-priced rod I've held in high esteem is the BPS Bionic Blade. On a low note, Bass Pro has since bumped up the price on their bionic blades (Today, it's just fairly priced). Roger

"Topwater" is a large category that involves a wide selection of lures, rods, reels & line. Given a choice, I try to adhere to rod lengths nearest to 6-ft 9-in (my preferred mix of power & speed). I have casting outfits and spinning outfits devoted to topwater baits, which all use braided line (no leader) between 20 and 50 lb test, depending on the prevailing cover. Roger

You're probably not interested in the painful reality: “Procyon” is the brightest star in the “Lesser Dog” constellation (Canis minor). One would logically deduce that Daiwa offers an upscale rod called “Sirius”, which is the brightest star in the “Great Dog” constellation (Canis major). But NO, Daiwa named their esoteric model “Steez”. Roger

I can't say there's a lure in my box that never caught a fish, but many lures in my tackle box have not earned their keep. My least favorite baits are probably chatterbaits followed by hard swimbaits. Hard swimbaits are exciting to fish, but have only accounted for a modest number of true hawgs. When trophy-hunting, I can't tear myself away from heavy cover, and therein lies the dilemma. I've moved almost entirely to 'weedless' soft-swimbaits, which account for most of my best fish Roger

Cobalt or tungsten carbide

Tom makes a point that’s frequently overlooked. If you’re planning on a day of deep-cranking, or have hopes of horsing pigs out of heavy cover, forget about rods with a short, pistol-grip handle. Regardless of its intended use, I’ll generally reject any rod with a handle length under 12 inches. Roger

There's no doubt that W-rigged stickworms are here to stay. I have used O-rings, but since I use the Ace instead of the Senko, I no longer bother. Any blackish worm will do, ideally with a bluish hue (junebug, blueberry, black & blue, black ~~) Beyond that, I'm uninvolved with color and focus on important stuff. Roger

I was almost convinced that my displeasure with St Croix blanks was personal. Without getting personal about their non-travel blanks, thanks for your experienced opinion. Roger

I fish the Whopper Plopper on braid without a swivel and without any line issues. If I did have line-twist issues, I'd probably kiss the Whopper Plopper goodbye (Sorry Larry). Roger

Exactly

I own Stellas and Stradics (No, I don't own a Vanford ?) and my recommendation is Stradic. Roger

Congratulations, she's a hefty rascal. Ain't nothing better than a PB...well, it's the Best Roger

Simple as that. This forces you to focus on bottom contour, the same thing that fish focus on. As a welcome bonus, the underwater terrain isn't visible to every drive-by hopeful. Roger

When I was heavy into ocean fishing (inshore, bluewater, deep-sea), I used around 80% casting gear (conventional) and 20% spinning gear. In freshwater, during the early 2000s, I used about 90% spinning gear as a novelty, and maybe 10% casting (Big-O thought I was nuts). Today, in freshwater it's about 70% casting & 30% spinning. In summary, I'm impartial to casting & spinning, and would be fine if either one was abolished. Roger

They come in different colors??

The bass in Florida never tell me anything, so that option is off the table. I agree with @J Francho, predators that live in murky water are vibration-oriented, where thumping is important. Furthermore, where there is no light, there is no flash. Roger

When you're chucking a deep-diving plug, the first third of the retrieve is wasted on diving down to the running depth, the last third is wasted on climbing back to the surface, so only the center third of the retrieve is running at optimal depth. Trolling is a wise substitute for deep-cranking, which is not only body-friendly, but the running depth is sustained throughout most of its linear coverage Roger

For sure, a fish may be taken anywhere along a drop-off bank, but there are only so many hours in a day. The angler who targets the high percentage areas, will probably be halfway to the dam, before you or I can saturate one 300-yd long bluff... Roger

Exactly. For example, Dale Hollow is chock-full of gorgeous shale banks. After spending about 2 days meticulously working along bluff banks, I finally wised up. Working the ends of each bluff was the ticket, and of course, any prominent juts or gashes in mid-bluff. Roger

The only benefit there might be to a crowded lake, is being prodded to trailer my boat to an uncrowded water that I’ve been neglecting. Roger