RoLo

I tried tying my fish finder to the end of my line, but it wasn't waterproof and got destroyed. So now I keep my fish finder between my ears I have a depth sounder too Roger

To me, the Lowrance 'green box' was the Pot of Gold at the end of the rainbow. I always carried two spare 6v lantern batteries so I'd never be caught without my flasher. When I got heavy into saltwater fishing, I jumped from a flasher sounder to a graph recorder using a paper roll & stylus Roger

'Favorite Pro Angler' can mean a few different things. It can mean the heaviest hitter in the recent past (we all know who that is), it can mean the most amiable personality or the most likely pro to be top honcho in the future. With respect to pros currently on top of their game, I'm real impressed by Chris Lane (secondly Edwin Evers). When he lived in Florida, Chris Lane tore up the tourney trail with win-after-win and to a lesser extent his brother Bobby Lane. After Chris moved to Alabama, he won the 2013 Bassmaster Elite on Lake Guntersville, then came to Florida this year and won the 2014 Bassmaster Elite on the St John's River (Incredible!) Roger

I didn't realize that Jeff. Therefore, 36 lead balls with a .410" diameter equal one pound in weight. Also in Europe, caliber is often designated in MM (millimeter). Unfortunately the U.S. blew its chance to switch to the metric system. Roger

When my target fish was northern-strain bass, I fancied myself as a crackerjack bass angler. All that changed however when we moved from Georgia to Florida, when overnight I went from crackerjack to duffer! It's really not about lure choice and lure delivery, which is essentially the same throughout the United States. It has far more to do with the difference in 'aggression level', 'water temperature tolerance' & water depth range'. The differences between the northern-strain and Florida-strain bass make for a formidable learning curve. Northern-strain bass in Indiana are cold-tolerant fish, but Florida-strain bass are cold-intolerant wussies. Although Florida-strain bass are readily taken in 98 deg water, a cold-front can shut down these prima donnas for 3 days. Spending time on the water will allow you to become one with nature, and before long you'll be espousing your own lures and your own presentations. Good Luck! Roger

I would expect Mercury to reiterate much of the same: that it's really not about HP, RPMs or Props. It's not feasible to discuss displacement hulls and planing hulls in the same context. Mercury will ask if you notice any difference in throttle response; and any difference in acceleration, but I'd be surprised if they demonstrated much interest in terminal speed. Roger

I believe the majority of pontoon boats are displacement hulls, or semi-planing at best (the Tritoon is an exception, which is a planing hull). Water is very heavy (8.3 lb/gal) and can only be moved so fast. Changing the horsepower or propeller on a displacement hull doesn't make nearly as much difference to top speed as it does to a planing hull (which rides on 'top' of the water). There are pontoon boats on nearly every lake we fish, and most of them brush along about 15 to 25 mph. Roger

Good point Frank. I've used 20-lb braid for several seasons and liked it a lot. Eventually I tried 30-lb braid and found it virtually eliminates wind-knots, totally eliminates line-burrowing and is more abrasion-resistant. The difference in line diameter is two thousandths of an inch Roger

It's good you're asking fishermen this question, because I doubt that bass really care Kidding aside, I'd go with pumpkin or green-pumpkin. Roger

There aren't many lines or many leaders that I haven't used in the past, but today I use Berkley 30-lb Trilene Braid for both spinning & casting (no leader, not even in gin clear water) Roger

Target another waterbody. Trying to prune out the runts, is like bailing out the ocean. Roger

That would depend, firstly on the species sought, secondly on the waterbody in question, and thirdly on the current season. On balance, I've found that a good rule-of-thumb is what I've dubbed the 'priority of poverty'. That is to say, if you're on a canyon reservoir, the value of shelf areas goes through the roof. If you're in a featureless saucer-shaped natural lake, the value of deep water and drop-offs are at a premium. The fact that there is no structural holy grail only adds to the challenge Roger

In my opinion, barometric pressure in itself has no 'direct' affect on fishing activity. When a fish changes its depth by a few inches, it produces a similar change in the overall pressure applied (atmosphere + hydrosphere). However, barometric pressure is inextricably linked to changing light levels which have a powerful affect on fishing activity. Differently put, a change in barometric pressure without a corresponding change in light level would be a nonevent. Roger

That's incorrect. The bore diameter of rifles is normally designated in "caliber", which represents 1000ths of an inch. For instance, a 243 Win has a bore diameter of 243/1000 inch, just 0.007" less than 1/2". Caliber may be rounded off to 100ths as in 22 caliber, or expressed in 1000ths as in 220 Swift Shotguns are normally designated in "gauge", which expresses the number of lead balls needed to equal one pound. For instance, the diameter of 12 lead balls that weigh a total of one pound equals the bore diameter of a 12 gauge shotgun The 410 shotgun is the exception, which is expressed in caliber like a rifle, rather than gauge. Therefore, the bore diameter of a 410 shotgun is 410/1000", which equates to 41 caliber. Just for the fun of it: 28 gauge = 55 caliber and 10 gauge = 775 caliber Roger

Yes I have, many times. Above all else, I admire your honesty Roger

Brian, there's no fish at Carnegie Hall. Oh wait a minute.....Yes there are

The hull design on pontoon boats is a mixed bag, which range from semi-planing to full displacement hulls. I'm not familiar with your hull, but if it's a displacement hull than it'll have a terminal speed. Adding horsepower to a displacement hull will add response and acceleration but may not much to the top speed. Roger

Yes I do listen....that's why music on my boat is conspicuous by its absence. I'm listening to the music of nature, the deep bellow of the alligator, the impact made by a diving osprey, the haunting cry of sandhill cranes, and most importantly, the unmistakable splash of a surface feeding bass Roger

Make the switch from bubblegum to braid

Beavers are an asset to fishing, but can be a serious nuisance for the landowner. Back in the 90s, I received permission from a friend in Georgia to fish his small private pond. Before I seen Mario's pond, he complained bitterly about beaver damage. I thought he was being a tad melodramatic, but I had a learning experience in store. When Lois & I reached that little pond, we were shocked by what we saw. Beavers had felled about 60% of the trees that once lined the pond's perimeter. Back on point, the bass fishing was very good, and the key cover in that pond was felled aspens. Roger

On the contrary, much of what I write is for the benefit of novice anglers. It's the novice who's most vulnerable to misinformation, false notions and misnomers. The best service a BR member can offer is to deliver the facts, tell it like it is, and allow the reader form his own opinion. I think I speak for most anglers when I say that we welcome the facts, but are intimidated by misinformation. (BTW: I have lots of dacron braid in my line drawer, but back on track: I also have nylon braid - nylon mono - fluoro mono & copoly cofilament) Roger

This afternoon we headed out to Lake Winterset in the Winter Haven chain. There was thunder and lightning in the southern sky, so we knew we were leading with our chins, but for a change we didn't get drenched. While motoring through the canal between the islands I counted 10 boats heading back to the barn, they looked like a long string of big ugly pearls. I can just imagine the bottleneck they created at the Summit boat ramp. Today is only the 2nd day of summer, but I was surprised to learn that the bass are already heavily schooled. We witnessed a few whitewater blitzkriegs, on & off throughout the evening. Frankly, we lost more bass than we boated, but had a ball in the melee. On a high note, the bass we boated ran mostly between 2 and 4 lbs, which is unusual for schoolies. Most bass were taken on a bubblegum super fluke, but the biggest fell for a Deps Deathadder Grub (4lb 12oz). P.S. Compared to most lakes in central Florida, Lake Winterset is very clear and deep. Today at least, the key to location was pondweed patches mixed with open water for good chase visibility. By the way, pondweed is called 'cabbage' in Canada, and 'peppergrass' in Florida (same stuff). Water depth seemed to be secondary, but most bass today were taken in 6 to10-feet of water. Roger

Actually I wasn't referring to your reply but to the thread title, In any case, you are absolutely correct. Funny how 'line material' (nylon - fluorocarbon - copolymer - polyethylene) got convoluted with 'line construction' (monofilament - cofilament - braided). When I fished in saltwater, I had both monofilament nylon and braided nylon on my boat There is also braided dacron, braided linen and braided kevlar, yet today the word "braid" automagically assumes 'polyethylene'. Roger

Fluorocarbon IS monofilament.

That's a great question, and I would also like to know. What state are we talking about, how deep is the water and do you know what the fruits or seedheads look like? My first thought was spikerush (Eleocharis), but spikerush usually isn't so dense and orderly. Roger