RoLo

Ain't that the truth. Just recently, I was discussing this with a friend. I suggested the possibility that cold-blooded animals may not feel hunger pangs like warm-blooded animals, that their feeding schedule may be founded on opportunity rather than hunger. My friend didn't buy into my hypothesis, but that came as no surprise because it does seem to defy logic (warm-blooded logic). The 'bluefish' is a saltwater species that tends to support my theory. Although schools of blues may be marking on your sounder, you may not be able to buy ONE fish. Suddenly a feeding frenzy is ignited, and bluefish begin chasing nearly anything that moves. During a 'blitz', bluefish will engorge their stomachs with baitfish and continue feeding until they regurgitate their stomach contents, then refill their stomach again. This phenomenon has been experienced by every offshore angler, whose deck will be paved with regurgitated anchovies, sand eels, spearing or whatever prey fish triggered the feeding frenzy. Roger

There you have it, in a nutshell

Not knowing the bait source is not a stumbling block. With an accurate hydrographic chart, a knowledgeable fisherman can quickly and accurately pinpoint onshore and offshore holding sites. Furthermore, the primary forage is subject to change from year to year, and also from minute to minute based on the opportunity at hand. Unlike oceanic game fish that chase pelagic forage for miles, largemouth bass are ambush feeders. Regardless of the soup du jour, the same premium holding sites will host the festivities. Roger

There's unique beauty in the birth-of-the-day and the death-of-the-day, and each creates its own special feeling. With respect to the Magic Hour, we've found dawn and dusk to be pretty much equal for both largemouth & smallmouth bass.. Oddly, Florida is the only location I've ever fished that doesn't exhibit a pronounced dusk bite. I can only guess as to why, but it may have something to do with Florida-strain bass, which are well adapted to strong sunlight and high temperatures. Roger

Gimp

By the way, welcome to Bass Resource Shoot any questions you might have via personal messenger (icon of envelope) Roger

Lake Kissimmee is just minutes from my home, but my advice to you would be, stick with the lures you know best, the lures you feel most comfortable working. Needless to say, you've got to keep your lure in the slop, but it doesn't have to be a Punch Craw. If you find yourself marking time most of the day, then you have less to lose by trying your hand at mat-punching. With regard to emergent vegetation, you'll be spending most your time in spatterdock, maidencane & water lilies, where the punching rig can be useful but is not mandatory. Roger

I use all the exact same lures and the exact same deliveries whether I'm fishing in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Michigan or Ontario, Canada (honest engine). Roger

Photoshop costs about $700. With that kind of cabbage you can buy a St Croix Legend rod and Shimano Core reel. At least say the photo was 'Gimped' (Gimp is open source). Neither Photoshop nor Gimp can make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Roger

Every angler has experienced slumps and battered confidence, which I'm sure gave rise to Iaconelli's motto "Never Give Up". Most anglers would agree that 'location' is the most critical factor, but not all anglers realize that the 'depth' of the lure is a vital segment of location. Your boat may be in a good geographic location, but if your lure is running above or below the active depth window, things are going to be mighty quiet. Nothing's more bewildering than juggling with lures, retrieves and colors without having a deployment strategy. As a rule-of-thumb, the more active bass become, the higher they'll rise in the water column. Oppositely, inactive bass in a neutral or negative disposition tend to fall lower in the water column, ultimately relating to the bottom. Actively feeding game fish are exponentially easier to catch than inactive game fish. Action from aggressive bass usually takes place during the first few casts and is generally short-lived. For this reason, a 'top-down' strategy stands to reason, where surface lures and subsurface lures are worked first at every new site. That is, strike while the iron is hot & skim the cream. Next you'd ply the mid-depth zone and finally the lake floor. Working the bottom is the most time-consuming, but should be done at every holding site before throwing in the towel. I'll use a 'top-down' strategy at every holding site until I can identify a depth pattern. Roger

I prefer a relaxed atmosphere on my vessel and impose only a few unwritten laws: > Alcohol is not permitted, unless the captain approves of the choice > In the unfortunate event of crossed lines, the guest's line must be severed > Bananas are welcome............meatballs are not > Never encroach on another angler's space...........unless it's producing fish > Anyone is welcome to use the bow platform..........when the boat is moving backwards Roger

Negative messages are infectious, they tend to gain momentum faster than positive messages. I've had the same experience as you, the majority of fishermen I've meet are really nice people. The truth be known, I've been outclassed by gentleman who caused me to take a closer look at myself. Roger

The Yum Dinger was my favorite stick worm for years. By the way, you might also give the 'Gambler Ace' a shot (senko impersonator) Whether you T-rig or W-rig the stick worm, 'Unweighted' & 'Weedless' is the way to go. Roger

Virgil Ward first appeared on TV the same year I got married (1964). That was also around the time when Gadabout Gaddis hosted "The Flying Fisherman". I was surprised to learn that Gadabout debuted on black&white television in 1939, and that his TV show was the second show to be sponsored (Lowell Thomas was first). As a kid, one of my first reads was "Lucas On Bass". Jason was a highly intuitive angler and way ahead of his time. The information he provided on habitat, behavior, presentation and colors is as true today as it was in 1950. Fisherman have changed a lot, but bass not so much. Roger

If a punch skirt is included, a Punch Craw is a '5-component' rig (tungsten sinker - superline hook - rubber skirt - plastic craw - bobber stop) I just tallied the component cost of the 1-1/2 oz Punch Craw I use in Florida, which came to $11.98 (tungsten sinker: $7 <> Other 4-components: $5) Roger

Good Deal sounds like Goblets Cove

I'm not sure that would've been a good idea, BR is a Tough Crowd. The consensus might've come in around 12 pounds Roger

That jogs my memory. I remember when the 22/250 wildcat was first introduced. Though I never owned that caliber, I shot my buddies 22/250 Savage. It had a remarkably flat trajectory but was drifty in a fresh breeze Roger

Wherever we catch a bass, it seems that baitfish are never far away. That is a fact, but largely because gamefish and baitfish both seek the same environment. When we look at the shape of the food pyramid we see that prey fish which form the wider base of the pyramid far outnumber the game fish that form the narrower point. Due to this vast difference in biomass, it's not volumetrically possible for bass to accompany every school of baitfish. A more accurate statement might be: "Wherever you find bass, you'll also find baitfish". Therefore, it's always nice to find baitfish, but even nicer to find bass Roger

For anyone in search of pure, unadulterated generosity..............you won't find it here

After listening to the video, I'm left with the feeling that 'Percentage Triangle' is synonymous to 'Horse Sense'. Roger

Dwight, at least you're chomping at the apple Against my wife's wishes, I recently performed some home surgery on an ingrown toenail (vertical cuts & yank-out with needle-nose pliers) The podiatrist told me that even a youngster abused in this fashion would never heal PICKY - PICKY In any case, between the infected toe and adverse weather, we haven't much chance to wet a line. Hopefully that'll change real soon, but in the wake of Speedbead's hippo, my confidence level has been sharply deflated Roger

I do both, love both, and allow the 'target species' to select the ecosystem. Stream fishing can be more challenging than lake fishing because of the incessant water current. On the other hand, streams are a blended ecology with a higher nutrient turnover and higher tolerance for water temperature change and weather change. In the main, feeding periods on a power reservoir will be closely tied to hydrodynamic generation (water release schedule). In contrast, the feeding periods on natural lakes are random and unpredictable. Roger

Sometimes there are 3 or more sides to a story. However, Mike admitted to falsification so there might only be one side to this story. Cheating is cheating: you can't justify it and you can't explain it away. Roger

AMEN! Roger