RoLo

If a 270 fails to knockdown a Kodiak brown bear, I'd put the blame on marksmanship, where the same shot with a 458 Win Mag would probably fail as well. Roger

During the cool-water period, two lures I favor are the 'Jig & Lobster' and 'Hover Plugs' (Pointers & Husky Jerks) Roger

Bass tolerate the sight of gaudy colored lures, gangly weedguards, obtrusive rattleboxes and big gaudy treble hooks. But once a bass notices a fine filament attached to the lure, All-Bets-Are-Off! My line and leader are polyethylene braid (even in gin clear water) If I really thought this was hurting my results, guess who would quickly add a leader? Roger

What's with you Jersey guys? You make 10 posts then fall-off the radar screen. Roger

Say goodnight Gracie

Tell the caller that you'd be happy to provide any sensitive information he desires, as soon as he connects you to "The Interview" on Microsoft Xbox (meet nonsense with more nonsense) Roger

I don't hate any lure or technique that puts fish in the boat. It's the rest of them, I have a problem with. Roger

Albeit a humble man, Dwight is our resident 'Trophy Master'. How's this for record-class stats?: Largemouth Bass 11-lb 2-oz Smallmouth Bass 7-lb 6-oz Northern Pike 32-lb Lake Trout 38-lb Walleye 9-lb In a word: 'Incredible'! Roger

Why wait for the spawn? Roger

Rare is the crappie gifted by 'Catch-&-Release' Roger

You should take solace in the fact that you have no reason for frustration Merry Christmas Roger

I would say between 5 & 11 We're talking about INCHES, right?

Say What??? (quote) “Fluorocarbon fishing line is made of the fluoropolymer PVDF” (unquote) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fishing_line The scientific name for ‘fluorocarbon’ is “Polyvinylidene fluoride”, written simply as PVDF. The “P” in PVDF ('poly'), underscores the fact that fluorocarbon is a polymer, and any line containing both nylon & fluorocarbon is a 'copolymer' line. That's all she wrote. Roger

Actually Tom, fluorocarbon and nylon are both polymers, and any line containing fluoro & nylon IS a copolymer line. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A copolymer line can be a combination of different nylon polymers or a combination of nylon and fluorocarbon. The word hybrid however is more specific, because it tells us that both nylon & fluorocarbon are present. In other words, all 'hybrid' lines are copolymer, but not all 'copolymer' lines are hybrid. My pet peeve is the number of excellent anglers and authors who use the words “Nylon” & “Mono” interchangeably. What Is Mono Line? The term "monofilament" is self-explanatory, it refers to any line comprised of a 'single-filament' (as distinguished from 'braided' line). The most commonly used monofilament materials are Nylon, Fluorocarbon, Bioabsorbable Polymer and Copolymer (which is any combination of the first 3 polymers). There is one caveat however: not all 'copolymer' lines are 'monofilament' lines. A copolymer line with a separate core and sheath is known as a 'cofilament' line. Roger

Mono or Fluorocarbon for Crankin? neither

Welcome aboard. That's quite a bio, and at 50 you've plenty of road ahead Roger

Bluewater Yellowfin Tuna (on standup tackle) Striped Bass (searun stripers over 30#) Bluefish (not choppers but slammers over 10#) Freshwater Northern Pike (Not snot-rockets, but gators over a yard long) Why? Because they make the drag sing, something bass rarely do Roger

Best Action Fishing: Ontario has provided the best largemouth bass action we've ever encountered (30,000 Islands, Georgian Bay, Lake Huron) In the lower 48, we've had the best largemouth bass action in New York (1000 Islands, St Lawrence River & Lake Champlain) A close second to NY would be Georgia (particularly farm ponds) Worst Action Fishing: We've vacationed in 11 states & 2 provinces, and the hardest bass fishing I've ever encountered was Florida. I was relieved to hear KVD say that Florida was his toughest state. Most of the pro anglers in the Major League Fishing Contest at Lake Istokpoga admitted that Florida intimidates them. Chris & Bobby Lane have been Florida's finest for years. Earlier this month the Lane brothers had a 2-hour shootout on an unfished Florida lake and could only scrape-up a couple runts between them. Best Trophy State: Florida again. If your goal is a double-digit bass, no state comes close to Florida (it's well-corroborated by stats) Roger

For sure, the "pre-spawn" period is the peak season for beer-keg lunkers The timing of the pre-spawn hinges on geographic latitude and strain of bass. Here in central Florida, I don't get serious about pre-spawn fishing until after New Years Day, a season that normally continues through March (quarter of a year). The definition of coldwater is relevant to the strain of bass. For Florida-strain bass, anything below 65-deg F is cold (they're not uncomfortable, but behave differently). For this reason, bass fishing grows increasingly more productive 'after' the pre-spawn, and the months of April & May usually provide the best action of the year. On the downside, the mean weight of bass during the post-spawn is lower than during the pre-spawn. Roger

I believe you made an excellent decision Jerry, and will love your PSE Stinger X. When I first began bowhunting (right after dinosaurs were gone), I hunted with a straight lemonwood bow built by my dad. So you can imagine my excitement when I finally moved up to a 'Recurve Bow' (Bear Kodiak Magnum). Then in the following years, some ghastly contraption came out of Pennsylvania called a "Compound Bow". I told my wife that I'd never tote around that hideous contraption. Never say Never! Shortly thereafter I was hunting deer with a Jennings compound bow, and once you experience the drop-off at full-draw there's no turning back (the let-off was only 25%, but a godsend). Eventually I ended up with a 'Hoyt Compound bow' which I highly recommend, and my wife ended up with a 'PSE Pacer', which had a quieter release than the Hoyt (very important) and held remarkably tight groups. Now your fun begins...selecting the right arrow spine, the best broadheads, bow sight, bow quiver, stabilizer ~ ~ Roger

Wayne, what force on a spinning bullet would cause it to defy gravity? I have a hunch you might be confusing bullet drop with 'point blank' range. The axis of the bore is intentionally angled upward from the axis of the scope, which crisscross (X) at 'point blank' range. If you fire the rifle upside-down (scope on bottom), the bullet will now be angled downward toward the ground. But in both cases, the bullet begins to drop the instant it loses support of the barrel. Roger

>> "How far will both of these rounds travel before they start to drop?" No matter how big or how small the cartridge, the bullet begins to fall the instant it loses support of the barrel. Furthermore, ALL bullets drop at the same rate-of-speed, regardless of their forward velocity. A loose bullet that rolls out of your hand will hit the ground at the same instant as the bullet shot from a horizontal rifle. The bullet from a 30-06 has a flatter trajectory and greater range than a 30-30, but the 30-30 is a better "brush-bucker" and has a shorter range. However, the bullet from any rifle will be deflected by brush, so accuracy is as important as range. Roger

I've owned a slew of different rifle calibers from the 22-250 Savage to the 200 H&H Magnum. Over time though, I pared it down to one caliber: a 270 Win for everything, from woodchucks (90 gr hollow-point) to big game (130 gr jacketed). Needless to say, a misplaced shot from ANY caliber will not fell big game. But a 270 placed high-in-the-lungs of a moose or elk, will either go down like a sack of potatoes or pile-up a short distance away. BTW: a 270 is a 30-06 case necked down to 27 caliber (flatter trajectory). For antelopes, you don't need anything bigger than a 243 Win) Roger

HOOK-SETS ARE FREE (Really?) When Mat-Punching with a 2-oz tungsten weight, flogging away at everything can be downright hazardous. When a heavy weight takes flight, you better cross-your-legs. If it's flying low to the water, there goes your gelcoat! There are other costs as well. Due to false hook-sets I made in Rodman Reservoir, a couple of my expensive crankbaits are still embedded in stumps. Roger

'9' Rod Brands: St Croix - Dobyns - Quantum - Okuma - Shimano - Kistler - Phenix - Daiwa - Penn '7' Reel Brands: Shimano - Daiwa - Abu Garcia - Penn - Pflueger - Quantum - Newell (discontinued) Roger