RoLo

Reminds me of a maneuver touted by Ish Monroe. After crossing an open hole, he parks the head of the frog on a lily pad, then twitches the skirt of the frog over the opening. Roger

OH BABY! Those are some awesome fish! I'm really impressed by those gator pike, they strike a tender nerve Roger

That's an intuitive assumption and would be my guess too (I know you meant 'downwind', and not windward). Although T-storms were in the offing, it was a windless day. It was NOT your textbook case of wind-driven plankton, followed by baitfish that ignited a topwater frenzy. For these reasons, I wasn't expecting 2 to 4 lb bass to be breaking water in late June, which we've never encountered before in this particular lake. In my opinion, the pattern was centered on vegetation more than anything else. Water depth didn't seem to have much effect on the pattern, as the best activity occurred in 6 to 10 ft of water. That's also the depth zone that marks the best weed clumps surrounded by open water, which I believe provided welcome visibility for bass in ambush. Roger

On that day, bass were busting shad on-&-off along the entire eastern shore, but I doubt that the same pattern was effective throughout the lake. Nevertheless, since few boats did anything that day, I was grateful for the pattern we found. To be sure, there are always several patterns in progress at the same time, but expecting to always find a pattern that encompasses the whole lake is a lot to ask. Roger

Though my approach to patterning may be systematic, the retrieve I use with a Zoom super fluke is basically constant. If the fluke isn't producing, rather that alter the delivery very much, I'll switch to another lure with another delivery mode. Rather than imparting sharp jerks (as the name implies), I prefer short easy tugs, maybe a half-foot in length. You'll notice that a soft 1/2-foot tug will cause the fluke to scoot swiftly about a foot to one side or the other. The secret to crisp action is having a little slack 'before' and 'after' each pull. In other words, a gentle tug imparts the jerk from the whence the name came. I'll alternate randomly between a single jerk and double jerk, but the double jerks are not made in rapid succession but are separated by about a second. I've found that controlled action is generally more productive than spastic action, but of course, there are exceptions to every rule. Hard jerkbaits have a diving lip that drive them down to the desired depth, but soft jerkbaits rely solely on sinking plastic. So after your 1 or 2 tugs, pause the fluke about 3 sec to allow it to sink back into the strike zone (1 to 3 ft below the surface). For the most part, the 'pause duration' is more important than the 'pulls, in addition, most strikes occur during the pause. Roger

Late-Jun/early Jul is one of the tougher periods because bass depth can vary widely. During this period bass are in the last vestiges of the post-spawn, but not yet in a full-blown summer pattern. Let me explain what I meant by the statement: "Patterns are determined by the fish, not the fisherman". Last weekend we went to Lake Winterset, and knowing it's a transitional period I was working various depth zones. Then we got lucky and received unexpected input from bass that launched a brief whitewater blitz within yards of our boat. I was surprised to find bass grouped in late June, especially 3-4 year-class bass I exploited our lucky break by letting the bass revamp my game plan. One of the biggest mistakes an angler can make is to tell bass where they are going to be, and what lures they are going to eat. In retrospect, the "pattern" last Sunday was patchy peppergrass growing in open clumps that offered good visibility for bass giving chase. A bubblegum fluke was the most productive lure, and since vegetation was the key, water depth was material only inasmuch as it lent to the vegetable pattern. Roger

Patterns are determined by the fish, not the fisherman. Roger

It's true that the thinner the wire diameter the lower the penetration resistance of the hook, but that's not the whole story Thin wire hooks are also more rubbery than stout wire hooks, and the lateral torquing of a rubbery hook subtracts from the penetration force. With a rigid heavy-wire hook, all the striking force is given to hook penetration. The danger of course is using fat-wire hooks with light line which make it difficult to set the hook beyond the barb. I used to fish with monofilament line, and my line-test pretty much dictated the maximum wire diameter of my hook. Now that I use braided line, I only use heavy-wire hooks and am not worried about line-stretch deducting from my hook-set force. Roger

'OOMPH' is exactly what defines a shotgun, that's a statement you will NEVER hear from a seasoned scattergunner. What would you rather use for home security, a rifle, a handgun or a shotgun? (There's no contest). The choke controversy is based on the premise that a full choke may result in peripheral "flyers". A 'flyer' is a deformed pellet that flies outside the main pattern. This is controversial though, for example, in your 'quartering to' example, the theoretical flyer might enter the neck spine, jugular vein or femoral artery. A Modified Choke should be your best bet, and you'll never be more than half wrong Roger

I considered titling that post: "TRUE STORY (not)

Just the other day, a guy reported a close-call he had with Sasquatch. He was deer hunting, when he heard a loud bellowing sound like a one-ton gorilla! When he turned around, there stood Sasquatch about 50 yards away. Without any provocation at all, Bigfoot began to charge the man and though the man was running full tilt the great ape was closing the gap. Glancing over his shoulder, he seen Bigfoot reaching out to grab him by the shoulders. Then suddenly the skunk ape slipped and piled up in a heap. With little time lost, Bigfoot regained his feet and was soon hot on the heels on his victim. Once again, the great ape was reaching out to grab the man, when suddenly he slipped again and rolled-up in a heap. This gave the man just enough time to reach his cabin and bolt the door behind him. The reporter who was recording the story said: "HOLY SMOKES!, if that were me I would've lost control! The man replied, "Waddaya think he was slipping on?". Roger

I doubt that you'll regret that decision. When I lived in New Jersey ("shotgun-only" state), Hunterdon County boasted one of the highest deer kills per sq. mi. in the nation. Hit broadside within 25 yards, a buck commonly goes down like a sack-of-potatoes. As much as I thrill to taking big game at 50 yds and woodchucks at 200 yds with a 270 rifle, in wooded close-quarters I have far more confidence in my 12 ga Remington 1100. After all is said and done, no weapon can compensate for a poor shot. Roger

At close range, there's no deadlier weapon than a shotgun (nothing comes close) The majority of deer I've taken were felled with a 12-ga shotgun using magnum 00 buckshot. A shotgun also excels in brush, where the single bullet from a rifle is easily deflected by one thin branch. The popularity of the 30-30 and 35 Rem is due to their 'brush-bucking' tendency, but they don't hold a candle to a 10 ga or 12-ga shotgun. Rifled slugs are superb, and offer greater distance and greater accuracy than shotshells, but there again, it's a single projectile that's subject to deflection. Many deer felled by a shotgun is the result of one pellet in the lungs or spine. For this reason I prefer 00 buck to 000 buck, which offers an extra pellet (9 over 8). For hunting over fields, swaths and open woods I use a 270 Remington 700 with a 4x Redfield Roger

"Age" is the dubious practice of counting birthdays. In a couple months I'll be 72, but if I wasn't counting my birthdays I would guess I was somewhere around 55 Roger

You know a safe bet when you see one Lois used to ask me a bunch of questions about fishing, but now I find myself asking her questions. I put her on notice though, and told her that she's on her own for the next 50 years. On our first date, I took Lois with me to track a deer I hit with bow & arrow. Her fascination with the outdoors was obvious and we bonded immediately. I broke off with another girl I was dating at the time. Ironically, the other girl married my best friend and they celebrated their 49th anniversary this year. Roger

Thank you fellows for your kinds words, they're much appreciated. Roger

Yesterday (Jun 28), Lois & I celebrated our 50th Golden Anniversary. It's actually closer to 51 years because I asked her to go steady on Oct 11, 1963 I asked Lois where she liked to go today (Sunday), and told her the world is her oyster. You guessed it, we're going fishing this afternoon. How lucky can a guy get? (I'm not worthy) Roger

Magnificent! Bar none, there's no greater joy in fishing than being outfished by your better half; in my household it's business as usual Roger

Punch Stops Even when not in use, they're not an encumbrance on the line. Roger

I'm not real big on alcoholic beverages, in fact the only time I even think about drinking is when there's something to celebrate. Then again, I might have a drink when I'm depressed, but I don't get depressed that much, only when there's nothing to celebrate. ================================================================================================= Yes officer, I did see the 'Stop' sign, it was YOU I didn't see. Roger

A muscle spasm is a muscle's way of expressing insult (Hey, I'm not used to this!) Nothing at all to be concerned about, in fact, not using your muscles is the bigger concern. Roger

7 - 8" T-rigged Straight-Tailed Worm 5 - 6" Soft Swimbait (1/4 oz swimbait hook) 5/8 oz Lipless Plug 1/2 oz Swim Jig & 4.5" Twin-tail Trailer Roger

Will A Black Buzzbait Work During The Day? You bet!

A fishing rod, sandwich & bottle of coke

"You're on private property, son"