RoLo

Just recently, my wife and I were rehashing the similarities between fishing for trophy bass, and hunting for trophy deer. We mentioned all the things that Tom posted: bedding grounds, feeding areas, screening cover, and the routes & runs that join them together (the best runs are well-worn) For hunting: topographic quadrangulars are used to study the terrestrial contour (structure) and pre-select high-percentage areas from the comfort of home. For fishing: hydrographic charts are used to study the terrestrial contour (structure) and pre-select high percentage sites from the comfort of home. During the field survey, we zoom-in on the best micro-habitats. For bigmouth bass, we're looking for emergent growth such as bulrushes or lily pads, where they merge with submergent plants like hydrilla or milfoil. For whitetail deer, we're looking for hardwood stands like white oak & dogwood, where they merge with softwoods (conifers) or brushy bottomlands. In both cases, the deer stand and the anchored boat will be situated on the 'edge'. Roger

If I still had the lure that caught my first bass, it would be about 65 years old today It was called a "Creek Chub Injured Minnow", it's now a collector's item, but was similar to today's Devils Horse (propbait) Back then, those who were fortunate enough to own a boat usually owned a rowboat complete with oarlocks and oars. When we stopped to fish, the oars would be sitting in the water on both sides of the boat. Soon after catching my first bass, I whacked one of the oars on my backcast, which busted the Injured Minnow in half (it went from injured to dead). This was around 1950, a time when plastic plugs were slowly replacing wooden plugs, but the first plastic plugs were from hunger. Many of the vintage plastics had a weak seam joining two halves (not along the length, but thru the center). My Creek Chub plug broke in two halves, the fore spinner attached to one half, the aft spinner attached to the other. Roger

FFF, we were on the water from about 1:30 pm to Sunset. The action was lukewarm throughout the period; never hot and never lockjaw. A slow-pick you might say. The first bass was landed around 2 - 2:30 - I don't remember the time the 2nd fish was boated. Around 3 pm, I lost what I believe was the best fish of the day (Big EZ - just below surface - she moved lots of water) The last fish was boated about 4:45 pm ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Wondering if maybe it could've been an otter" That's a good question, and reminds me of those who speak of a giant rat they seen. In reality, they were referring to an "opossum" ;-) No, it was definitely a mink. In addition to being dark-brown (almost black) and far from water, I'm very familiar with both mammals (color and habitat aside). Thanks for the URL, and I will definitely report our sighting. Roger

This afternoon, Lois & I fished Lake Kissimmee out of Coleman. We managed to get 3 bass to the boat from 2-9 to 4-15; which fell for the Gambler Big EZ and Jig-&-Rage Lobster. While I was chucking-&-winding the Big EZ, a large object in the sky grabbed my attention. In midair, two bald eagles had grasped talons and were falling to the ground while revolving in a circle. They looked like a giant 6-foot pinwheel spiraling to the ground, a spectacle I’ll never forget! Unfortunately, it was all over before I had time to grab my Canon camera. Some of you may recall the bald eagle images I posted on BR a few years back. Well, this pair of bald eagles was also on Brahma Island, less than a half-mile from the others that I photographed. We were retrieving our boat shortly after sunset when Lois pointed to a vehicle in the lot that looked like Bobby Lane’s truck. It was a wrapped truck advertising “Power Pole” and “Phoenix”, but the owner was still on the water so we don’t know for sure. The ramp at Lake Kissimmee is only 25 minutes from my driveway, but the short trip home was very memorable. First we spotted two deer feeding in an open field with sabal palms, something we've never seen before on Grape Hammock Road. Then a couple minutes later an enormous wild hog crossed in front of my tow-car. I weigh 220, and I'm sure that hog outweighed me. Then down the road a piece a slinky animal crossed in front of the Honda Pilot. It was the first mink I’ve ever seen in the U.S. (have seen them in Canada though). It was an especially large mink with a beautiful deep-brown coat. Today’s visual experience definitely eclipsed our fishing experience ;-) Roger

I'm sure that went over many heads Roger

I used to play the drums, but never tried eating one Kidding aside, the outward appearance of a fish offers no insight to its value as tablefare. Though I've never eaten freshwater drum, I have eaten plenty of saltwater drum. I'm referring of course to the "red drum", better known as a 'redfish' (mighty fine). I've never eaten a "black drum", which is the other saltwater drum, but their flesh is ill-reputed. Roger

'Windows 8' was a fiasco, about as good as 'Windows Me'. It's my understanding that Microsoft may trash 'Win 9' and skip to 'Win 10'. BTW: I'm also using Win 7 on a Hewlett Packard (good ride). Roger

My fish scale has called me a liar so many times, that now I "underestimate" fish weights. So, to compensate for my traumatic bias, I'll just add a couple pounds to my best guess Roger

That is why I embedded the original poster's quote. NavyVet already owns a Shimano Core, and I warned him not to expect a Shimano Curado to hold a candle to "his" Shimano Core (like night & day to me). Roger

I purchased the Onix August, 2014, and (as usual) the shelf version was upgraded to the 'then' current v1.2 (a sizable update). I checked back since then and there was no update. Just now I went to the "My Hummingbird" site and sure enough, they're now on version 2.0. Thanks Wayne for giving me a boot (excuse the pun) ;-) Roger

I thought I did Wayne, but now that you mention it, I'm going to verify that I have the latest update Roger

My current sonar/gps unit is the 'Humminbird Onix', and unfortunately you're correct. Although the unit does everything, including live onsite charting, my bug list for the Humminbird Onix is as long as my arm. One of my main beefs is their touchscreen, which only works about 2/3 the time. When I'm serious about drilling-down fast, I use the buttons only. Roger

I used to do that, but before I could open all the bags....the bass would die!

Yes, and that's turning 'Putin' into 'Gluten'

Length: 6' 9" Power: Medium Heavy Action: Fast Lure Wgt: 1/4-1oz Line Wgt: 10-20lb Gear Ratio: 6.2:1 Roger

The petro slump has turned the Russian 'Ruble' to "Rubble" Roger

The Curado offers great bang for the buck, but will not hold a candle to your Shimano Core (to me at least, like night & day). Roger

Hmmph, never occurred to me, you might have something there

I should've mentioned that our major interest is wildlife and telephoto zooming, not fish pictures. I also keep a Galaxy Android S5 in my Dry Box, but never use it for picture-taking

It's also possible that an angler may OWN a scale, USE the scale, and KNOW the exact weight. Come home, post the photo, then pop the question. Owing to the benevolence of fellow anglers, he can sit-back and watch his bass grow before his eyes Roger

Heck, I used to wing lures about 200 yds, but after hooking some guy on a rider mower, I try to keep it under 100 yds All kidding aside, surf-casters do in fact hit 100 and 200 yards (world-record: 313.46 yards) Roger

I've owned a few brands of 35mm reflex digicams over the years, including a Nikon with Nikkor lenses. Surprisingly, the Nikkor lens was flawed and the Nikon body was problematic. I migrated back to a Canon 60D, which I use today and highly recommend. Though it's water-resistant, it's not waterproof, but I store the camera in my Dry Box (which is always on my deck). Roger

Appears around 5 (more if full-bodied). In any case, great catch Roger

Humor makes me feel good all over, but nothing in that clip fits that description. Roger

From Mitchell caps through Penn Internationals, there are very few reel brands I haven't owned. Believe me, that statement is not meant to be boastful, and frankly I find it more embarrassing than elating. In any case, my two favorite reel brands ultimately boiled down to Shimano and Daiwa. Of late however, I've had some issues with Daiwa reels (namely: Advantage & Steez), So in my mind at least, Shimano sits on top of the heap. I have no opinion or knowledge regarding Shimano's warranties or tech support, simply because I've never had the need for either. Roger