RoLo

Very true. A winning winter retrieve is: "Twitch - Pause - Pause | Twitch - Pause - Pause"

In Lake Wales, FL, gas at the pump hit a low of $1.96, and is currently trading at $2.29 The uptrend however, doesn't appear as robust as the downtrend (likely the major trend). Roger

Quartering upstream (diagonally across)

The lures tied on while fishing, may be very different from the lures dangling at the dock Roger

My wife was on the stern deck fighting a bass, when her fish got locked-down in bulrush canes. Quickly, I laid my rod on the bow deck and backed-down on Lois's fish with the electric motor. In my haste, I didn’t retrieve the lure all the way, and left it dangling in the water. It apparently got snagged in weeds, then I heard a sickening splash as it was dragged into the lake! I cast the area with a grappling hook for about 1/4 hour, but to no avail. The rod was an inexpensive Daiwa Light & Tough, but the reel was a brand new Shimano Stradic. This was an old hotspot I had named “Toadstool”, but since that day we call that spot “Shimano” Roger

I don't know which braided line is the most buoyant, but do know this: Berkley Trilene Braid floats, and will continue to float as long as it's on your spool. Line that floats on the water surface makes line-watching a breeze, especially for lures fished on a slack line such as flukes & senkos. After the cast, you can let all the line slack just flop on the water surface without taking up any slack. Then watch the largest loop of slack line you find, which tends to magnify small line movements. That may seem like an awful lot of slack line, but it's all gone instantly with less than one-turn of the reel handle. Roger

I'm afraid you're right, as cheaper components is a popular road to higher profit margins (e.g. Johnny Morris rods). Roger

I hear it all the time: "Boy, I wish my wife liked to fish". What they don't realize however; if my wife didn't fish my annual fishing expenditures would be Slashed In Half Roger

"The pain is gone and her memory is restored". So very well put, and now is the time to celebrate mom's life. Roger

A leader is necessary with braided line...If you believe it is (The Odd Couple: Alabama rig+fluorocarbon leader)

No lure color will ruin the appetite of a feeding bass. No lure color will give an inactive bass an appetite.

The Shimano Core is the smoothest, quietest and most reliable casting reel I have ever owned in fresh or saltwater. That's a broad-reaching statement that embraces unseemly reels like the Penn GTI and Penn Internationals. Why would Shimano discontinue a superb, top-selling freshwater reel? That's easy, the CEO's decided that Shimano would ultimately benefit financially. One theory is that the ripple-effect from JDM reels is shaking out the domestic market. I have trouble with that theory though, because the differences between JDM & domestic reels are essentially cosmetic; stuff like label placement, handle knob changeout, colors and finishes. Shimano is a shrewd corporation that wants a strong market in Japan as well as the USA. Consequently, you'd be hard pressed to find any measurable difference in "performance" between JDM and domestic reels. Raising the price of the Stella from 600 to $700 went over like a lead balloon, so maybe this time around Shimano decided to change the name before ultimately raising the price Roger

That's a very valid point overlooked by many excellent fishermen. There's a blanket belief that mono is superior to braid for crankbaits (Yes & No). In the Kissimmee chain of lakes, if you throw crankbaits tied to monofilament line, you will spend your day plucking weeds off treble hooks. Roger

I'm very sorry for your loss, may you and yours find solace in closure. You have my condolences. Roger

True fluorocarbon-coated lines are rather uncommon. P-Line CX is a true fluoro-jacketed line (not CXX however) The fluoro jacket boosts abrasion-resistance while the nylon core boosts manageability. Technically speaking, P-Line CX is cofilament line, while Yo-zuri Hybrid is monofilament line in which fluoro and nylon are molecularly bonded to achieve the same end. Roger

I might've missed it, but I didn't see braided line mentioned. If you're NOT using braided line, I'm sure that will solve your problem. If you ARE using braided line, then hook-sets should be a secondary issue, while maximum weedlessness is the primary goal. I know I deviate from the norm, but I never tex-skin or tex-pose the point, but BURY it as deep as possible (with braid you can do that). I'm far more concerned about NOT snagging a bulrush cane, than setting the hook on a bass. If my lure keeps hanging up in key territory, then I'll never get the chance to miss a hook-set anyway Differently put, if I can keep my lure in heavy cover, that'll provide more opportunities to miss a hook-set Roger

A soft swimbait parts company with a hard swimbait by virtue of the fact that it's "weedless". In Florida, "weedless" is music to the angler's ear, so exploit that attribute to the hilt, by keeping it in the heaviest cover. I'm at the K-chain where spatterdock is the king veggie, it may be different where you reside. Spatterdock looks like water lilies, but rather than lying flat on the surface, spatterdock pads are held above the water. Bass love spatterdock to death, and soft swimbaits navigate them swimmingly. A soft swimbait used in this manner is a subsurface lure that runs just a few inches under the water like a spinnerbait or Johnson spoon & grub. In the beginning I would try a Slow & Steady retrieve then concoct your own delivery style (there is no one best retrieve). Why "slow & steady"? Simply because it makes it easier for an old cow to home in on the lure (but exceptions are common). Roger

I liked your reply ;-) Hey, I think Joedodge has a lot to look forward to

Look at this way Joe, shiner fishermen normally fish with 5 to 8" long baits, some up to 12" long. Frankly, if the Big EZ was available in 6 inches, that would be my soft swimbait of choice (until it was discontinued, I used to throw the Berkley 6" Hollow Belly) Roger

Living in Florida, I only throw the 'Gambler Big EZ' (never owned an EZ Swimmer) We rig the 'Big EZ' on a Gamakatsu 1/4oz x 5/0 Superline Springlock Hook Many fellows opt to Texas-rig the Big EZ, but there are 2 reasons why I prefer a keel-weighted swimbait hook: 1) A T-rigged swimbait is nose-heavy, therefore it 'nosedives' when paused In contrast, a keel-weighted hook tends to maintain a more horizontal posture 2) A nose-weighted T-rigged swimbait allows the tail-to-wag-the-dog, an unnatural action that deducts from tail throb. On the other hand, a keel-weighted hook offers a more natural swimming action, and reducing lateral instability funnels more throbbing action into the paddletail lobe. Roger

Matters not who you tell or don't tell, your secret is still open source. Planting 50 brushpiles would be going to a lot of trouble for all other anglers. Every time you anchor-down at one of your reefs, a passing boat has got your coordinates. For instance, in decimal-degree Lat/Lon syntax, a boat passing 50 yards due east of your vessel, has only to subtract 4 digits from the 4th decimal place. Now it's his brushpile too Roger

I weigh every trophy bass I land, that way I know whether I'm going to get 4, 6 or 8 fillets JK

I Learned Two Things: 1) Having lived in Georgia for 6 years (92-98), I learned that Lake Hartwell today, offers better bass fishing now than it did 20 years ago. 2) I also believe that I've learned the reason why. Some may not be aware of it, but the blueback herring population fell on bad times for many years. But the blueback has apparently been on the comeback trail, which means more to me personally than angler stats or angler lures. Blueback herring (an anadromous species) are the key forage fish on Savannah River impoundments, particularly Lake Hartwell and Clarks Hill Reservoir. Roger

Block X (incomplete)

I'm not a 'window shopper' by any means; I'm a 100% 'Target Shopper' who comes with a Command List If it's not on my Buy List , I can walk past millions of dollars of angling merchandise without blinking an eye. What's more, if the items on my list are not in stock, I may never revisit that store again. I shop 'online' 99.5% of the time. In this manner you're in the comfort of your home, you are going to find 'everything' you want, and you're not going to burn any gasoline and rubber. As though that weren't enough, online distributors like Amazon & eBay invariably undercut the prices set by the brick & mortar retailers Roger