RoLo

About a year ago, Berkley changed the name of "Fireline Braid" to "Trilene Braid", and for 2 good reasons: 1) Even though it's been on the market for years, many anglers still confused Fireline Braid with the original 'Fused Fireline', which is not true braid. 2) In addition, Berkley Trilene Braid is an upgrade to 8-strand braid I'm not aware of any high-visibility Trilene braid other than Berkley Trilene Tracer Braid (which I use). Roger

Knowing the 'whereabouts' of the main biomass is important, but knowing WHY is even more important. If you know 'why', then you'll be able to apply that knowledge to other lakes. Weeds are the first love of largemouth bass in 'any' waterbody, be it natural or manmade. But the kicker in this lake was learning that northern pike share the waterbody. In lakes where the two gamefish coexist, pike tend to dictate bass location, particularly in lakes that support pelagic prey like ciscoes, herring and smelt. These are high-fat migratory fish that grow big pike fast. Every year, I used to target northern pike in Lake Huron's Georgian Bay. Despite its northerly latitude, Georgian Bay has a surprisingly strong population of largemouth bass, as noted under 'Favorite Lake' on my face page (dead to the left). Although bass grow substantially larger in Florida, the 30,000 Islands provides substantially higher quality fishing for largemouth bass (my secret for years). In fall, the key depth for northern pike in Lake Huron is 15 feet, which represents the outer cabbage line. Those broad sprawling pondweed beds in Georgian Bay extend for thousands of acres into the lake. Nevertheless, I don't remember catching any largemouth bass in water deeper than 8 or 10 feet, which were basically confined to back-sloughs. Roger

The most talented drummer I've ever seen was Buddy Rich. Having played the drums myself, his rolls & triplet riffs would give me goosebumps. Another super drummer is Charlie Watts (rolling stones). When speaking of drummers, I can't leave out Gene Krupa (seen him live at the Metropole). In the early 60s, I watched steel drums from Jamaica make their debut in Greenwich Village, NY. A drummer named Victor Brady performed at the Cafe Wha on MacDougal St, along with Jay and the Americans. It was his act in fact that goaded me into drumming. Victor was a loud, dynamic drummer, far from the best I've seen, but very inspiring. He had a coffee can filled with drumsticks mounted on the rim of one of his steel drums. When a drumstick splintered (exploded) Victor would grab another stick without hardly losing a beat. Roger

Wouldn't that be 'down-scanning'

It's an insidious affliction that can only be addressed one-day-at-a-time. TODAY, I'm not buying anything

Last year I picked up an LH Metanium Hg. It's spiffier looking than a Core, but otherwise very similar in performance. I use the Metanium for yanking soft swimbaits through dense pads and emergent grass, but even with its fast 7.4 ratio, it has the power to bull thru the obstacle course. Roger

Biologists maintain that most cow bass spend 'hours' rather than days, on any one nest. Furthermore, one cow will typically deposit eggs in the nests of several buck bass, you might say, she's a runaround who plays the field A cow on the bed is neither hungry nor aggressive, and a lure placed in the nest will normally be seized by the buck. Yeah she's visible, but she's also more uncatchable now, than any other time of year (the genius of Mother Nature). Recall that Mac Weakley spent hours trying to get Dottie to strike once, but failed (foul-hooking is something else). Happily, there's a generous overlap in the pre-spawn and spawn seasons, and most trophy-class bass that are taken during the spawning season are bass in pre-spawn mode. Roger

'Fishing stuff' is just like 'food'. Whatever you had yesterday, has no bearing on today's hunger Roger

When you compare premium 8-strand polyethylene lines, the difference in my opinion is largely illusory. There is no 'best' braid, just 'favorite' braids. The only bad experience I've ever had with braided line was with PowerPro braid (multiple failures / 2 anglers) I was offered a free spool by Shimano (who admitted to a bad batch), but declined and switched brands instead. For my money, it's a virtual wash between Berkley Trilene braid, Sufix 832, Seaguar Smackdown & Sunline FX2. If I were backed against the wall, I'd have to go with Berkley Trilene braid for overall manageability, and Sunline FX2 for abrasion-resistance. Roger

Awesome! They were called Jewfish back then. The hook-&-line world record is 681 lbs Roger

RW, I was hoping that you'd post "The Magic Lure" http://www.bassresou...the-magic-lure/ I was a BR member less than a year when you made that post, but remember it like it was yesterday! Roger

Roadwarrior has done very well with the Fat Ika, I'm sure he'll weigh-in. Roger

I live in Lake Wales, FL, but if I were in Ocala, FL, I'd make a beeline for Rodman Reservoir. The Eureka Dam is slated to be demolished, reverting the fabled reservoir back to the Ocklawaha River. By the way, the lake record is 17-4 bass. Roger

When buying a lure, we rarely have a hook choice. But when buying loose hooks, I only purchase premium brand hooks such as Owner, Gamakatsu and Trokar. When comparing premium brand hooks, my attention turns to 'point style', which IMO is more important than zooming in on a specific brand. Given a choice, I'll always opt for a 'knife-edge' point (triangular point) over a 'needle point' (conical point). As a conical point penetrates, the pressure increases until penetration reaches the full diameter of the wire, but that's not the case with a knife-edge point. When a triangular cut-edge point begins to penetrate, membrane is severed with a cleaving action that generates little or no pressure buildup (like a knife). Roger

If you take away my T-rigs and jigs, you might as well take my rods too Roger

That's one spiffy rig (like that color combo). Best of luck. Roger

Hollow Frog: Spro Bronzeye Popper (excellent dog-walker & spitter) Solid Toad: Stanley Ribbit Roger

A very old couple were sitting together on their patio. The old lady was working on a big glass of wine, and she says: “I love you so much…I don’t know how I could ever live without you”. Her husband asks: “Is that you…or the wine talking?” His wife replies, “It’s me….talking to the wine”. Roger

I selected one inconspicuous 'trial site' near the ramp that would not have to deal with the anoxic zone: COORDINATES: N40.82625 W73.12755 1) The selected site adjoins a broad 0 to 10-ft shelf that extends 300 ft offshore & stretches about 100 yd long. 2) In addition, the site is nestled in a fairly defined indentation in the 13-ft contour line. (Land points are invaluable inasmuch as they increase shelf area, but 'inside turns' are more effective at aggregating fish) 3) In addition, the trial site offers a good slope between the 13 and 16 ft depth lines (1 ft drop per 11.5 ft) (In many lakes this would be classed as a slow slope, but bottom grade is lake-specific, and in this lake it's a fast taper) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After the 'Chart Survey', a 'Field Survey' is needed using sonar & GPS. Many negative game-changers may be encountered, but 3 of the most common are the following: 1) All too often, expensive chart bathymetry is blatantly inaccurate (There's no substitute for onsite sonar & GPS) 2) The water level may be much higher or much lower than Normal Pool, which would skew 'all' depth lines! 3) The bottom contour may be the cat's meow, but if the spot lacks suitable "cover", all bets are off Roger

I've never heard that expression. You'll need to be more specific about north-facing points Roger

I've never kept it a secret that my wife normally out-fishes me. If I had to choose her single-most lethal lure, I'd go with the Deps 7" Deathadder Grub They're now 'discontinued' but we still have 20 to 30 lbs of them Deps 7" Deathadder Grub Roger

Soon after getting my driver's license at 17, I attended the Annual Sportsman Shows in New York, when "Madison Square Garden" was still located on 8th & 50th (since been moved to 8th & 33rd). Even as a kid, it was plain to see that this wasn't a place for learning, but simply a place for spending money. Some of the kiosks were pretty interesting, but their ulterior motive was highly transparent. When I got home, all the free brochures found their way into the trashcan. Roger

You're not alone; it looks like our Sunday plans will also be dashed by high winds. Every year about this time, I'll hear from neighbors telling me that the bass are already bedding. However, in order to mark his territory, one amorous buck may fan-out several mock beds in close proximity. Though the cows may not yet be incubating, they're now in the pre-spawn pattern when they're far more catchable. In mid-Florida, the pre-spawn season lasts about a quarter-year, roughly from New Years Day to April Fool's Day. The heaviest cows are taken during the early pre-spawn but the fishing is generally slow. The late pre-spawn is far more productive but the mean weights are down. Roger

Yes, the structure between two defined ridges is known as a "Saddle" Roger

Pretty sure I recognize that lake, Dwight Looks about 8 lb BTW: All fishermen are liars, isn't it possible I was playing close-to-the-vest Roger