RoLo

Your question was: "What's wrong with Fireline?" Berkley Fireline is fused polyethylene, it is not fluorocarbon Roger

Berkley recently changed the name of their pro-grade braided line from 'Fireline braid ' to 'Trilene braid'. That was probably a good marketing move because for years, anglers confused Fireline braided line with the original Fireline fused line. Berkley's Trilene Braid is an 8-member braid like Sufix 832. Roger

Gorgeous fish Wayne, that's a bass and a half! Roger

This topic started as a fluoro-bashing thread, but became more of a clearing house for the pros and cons of fluoro line. For example, in March, 2014, Chris Lane won the Bassmaster Elite on the St Johns River in Florida. Chris weighed in a 37-lb, 9-oz stringer which set the new one-day Elite record and he attributed his win to 65-lb braided line tied 'direct' to a jig. If the all-time Elite record can be broken with 65-lb braid tied direct, it makes you wonder about the benefits derived from switching to 12-lb fluorocarbon (why take a knife to a gun fight?). Roger

My dislike of fluorocarbon line is not related to knot strength or line breakage, I've never encountered those problems. My dislike for fluoro is the result of being spoiled by limp, manageable braided line then trying to cope with a stiffer, less manageable line. I just want fishing to be fun and don't want to cope with any tackle that causes me to settle or to tolerate, on the contrary, I want my tackle to tolerate me...LOL I once spooled fluorocarbon on a spinning outfit to give it a shot, and that was a fiasco. I was already spoiled by limp, well-behaved braid, so I wasn't impressed by rat-nests from hell. In fact, some fluorocarbon is just about as stiff as the titanium wire I use for my pike leaders. On my last go-round with fluorocarbon, I spooled Seaguar Tatsu on a casting reel. Once again, I was already spoiled by non-stretch braided line, so could not adapt to the wimpy bungee-cord sensation. During the hookset, I actually found myself taking a step backward to reduce the line stretch (that stuff had to go). Fluorocarbon is touted as having a refractive index similar to water, but I wonder how many fish know or care about that. We all know that bass are NOT frightened by long bristle-guards, double rattleboxes and big treble hooks, so why are we expected to believe that the sight of a fine filament should cause alarm? Ironically, line-watchers commonly complain that they have trouble seeing thin braided line. On the other hand, I've seen fluorocarbon line in sunlight that looked like an incandescent icicle. Because fluorocarbon sinks and polyethylene floats, many anglers believe that fluoro line produces less line belly than braided line. If you're casting at anchor, the belly in the line will depend on the buoyancy of the lure (floating lure - neutrally buoyant lure - slow sinking lure - fast sinking lure). However, if you're drifting or trolling it's an open-and-shut case, braided line will create less line-belly than fluorocarbon line. The fatter the line diameter, the greater the cumulative water resistance, and the greater the water resistance, the greater the bow in the line. If your drifting, this will mean you'll need more weight to hold bottom; if you're trolling, this will mean the lure will be riding shallower than the same lure trolled on braided line. Roger

Excellent point. During the middle of a sunny day in mid-summer, bass cling tightly to cover, but frogs and toads can go where other lures fear to tread Roger

A solid toad is normally retrieved nonstop, while a hollow frog is normally retrieved in stop-&-go fashion. When bass are passive and need coaxing, a frog has an advantage over a toad, because it spends more time in the strike zone. However, this isn't important during a topwater bite, when a toad retrieved nonstop offers far greater area coverage. Another disadvantage to hollow frogs is that they take on water through the hook hole and require periodic wringing out (not the case with solid toads). One exception is the Ish Fat Frog, which has an isolated hook chamber, but IMO the Ish Frog has poor action. The best time to fish a hollow frog is during the post-spawn (right now in central Florida) and again during the post-summer period. Among others, I like the Spro Bronzeye Frog designed by Rojas (the frog grandmaster). Roger

I agree with the boys above, you're most likely dealing with a hanging surge brake caliper. The longer it's neglected, the more costly it will likely become. If it were a wheel bearing, the sound would come and go but would get progressively louder, eventually sounding like a can of dry gravel (but rarely accompanied by odor). Roger

Largemouth bass can and do seize birds, and one of their most common targets is the red-winged blackbird. When bass are shallow in spring, red-winged blackbirds are nesting in the stalks of cattails. In any case, when a bass large enough of engulf a bird hits the surface, it's going to sound like an alligator or like your tacklebox fell overboard. When aquatic birds fly low to the water, their wing tips sometimes leave a series of rings on the surface. Other than that, I would suspect panfish or baitfish looking for a stray morsel. Roger

This joke was told to me right around 1960, vintage humor from a naive era A gentleman from England finally got to see New York City. While riding in a taxicab he told the cabbie that this was his first time in America. The cabbie asked the Englishman if he'd like to hear an American joke and the Englishman replied: "Don't mind if I do". With that the cabbie began: "It's not my brother and it's not my sister, but this man's father is my father's son..…Who is it?" The Englishman mulled it over awhile then said: "I give up, who is it?" The cabbie replied: "It's ME!" The Englishman laughed: "Jolly good mate, jolly good; I need to remember that one". Back in his homeland the Englishman enters the local pub. He bellied up beside an old crony and proudly asked: "Would you like to hear an American joke?" and his crony replied, "Don't mind if I do". With that the Englishman began: "It's not my brother and it's not my sister, but this man's father is my father's son..…Who is it?". After mulling it over awhile his crony said: "I give up, who is it". and the Englishman replied: "Some Blooming Cabbie in New York". Roger

My bottom jig outfit is spooled up with Berkley 30-lb Trilene Braid tied direct to the jig. Braid is highly sensitive, very fine diameter line with great knot strength and it holds up to weedbeds like iron. If braided line has a hidden bugbear I'm yet to learn about it. For mat-punching I use Berkley 50-lb Trilene Braid, which negotiates the heaviest cover I encounter. BTW: Chris Lane just won the Bassmaster Elite on the St Johns River in Florida. Chris was using 65-lb braid tied direct to the jig. His finesse rig was tied to 15-lb nylon mono but his biggest bass fell for the jig tied to 65-lb braid (Chris boated 37-9 setting a new 1-day Elite record). Roger

"T-Rigging" is not a lure it's simply a rigging method, and "Soft-Plastics" is a noncommittal response to say the least. In and of themselves, soft-plastic lures comprise the bulk of the lure market, which outnumber both hard-plastics and metals. Just because it's 'soft-plastic', do you feel equally confident with a stick worm, crawfish, paddletail minnow, creature, grub and plastic chunk? Roger

WORD DEFINITIONS RECTITUDE A mental attitude that really stinks BALDERDASH A condition marked by rapidly receding hair SKELETON A bunch of bones with the person scraped off NEGLIGENT A women who answers the door wearing a nightgown FLABBERGASTED The disappointment one feels when discovering sudden weight gain POKEMON A Rastafarian proctologist Roger

When I plied the ocean and when we go on vacation in Canada's outback, I'll pack my VHF-FM Transceiver for emergency use only. That and EPIRB is the sum total of my radio experience while boating. Roger

The next time I use scent on a bass lure will be my first time...it's a confidence thing Roger

Welcome aboard Roger

True enough, as long as they're not pawning off some old braided Kevlar! The young fellows today believe that "braid" is synonymous to polyethylene (it is not). Roger

I'm quite sure that a big old bass emits pheromones as do smaller bass, but the big old bass is dealing with a much smaller sounding board. As dictated by mortality, the population grows smaller and smaller as the year-class ages. Schoolies (1/2 to 3 lb bass) may be aggregated in good numbers, but bass over 9 pounds are generally alone or a member of a very small pod. Roger

The key to annoying a bass on the bed is to keep the lure in place over the nest, while imparting movement that suggests an invader interested in the eggs. Raise and lower the rod-tip delicately to alter between a tight-line and slack-line without moving the location of the sinker (a 1/4 oz sinker makes it easier to work in place). Work the lure in this manner at several different points in the bed. There's usually a 'hotspot' in the nest that raises the parent's hackles (i.e. egg pocket). Roger

WORD DEFINITIONS COFFEE A person in the path of a cough ADULT A person who stopped growing at both ends, and is only growing in the middle. BEAUTY PARLOR A place where women go to curl-up and dye. OYSTER A person who flavors their conversation with Yiddishisms MOSQUITO An insect that helps you like flies more SECRET Something you tell to one person at a time CANNIBAL Someone who is fed up with people Roger

For some reason I can't get myself to count fish (into quality not quantity). This year it's somewhere between 3 bass and 3 hundred bass, probably closer to '3' Roger

Courtesy of U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services: > Number of U.S. practicing physicians: 830,000 > Annual deaths caused by physicians: 180,000 > Annual deaths caused per physician 0.217 Courtesy of Federal Bureau of Investigation: > Number of gun owners in United States 80,0000,0000 > Annual number of firearm homicides 11,078 > Annual number of gun deaths per owner 0.00014 Conclusions > Doctors are 1,550 times more dangerous than gun-owners > Guns don't kill people - Doctors do Roger

If you like fish that tastes like chicken, you won't like this simple recipe: Roll the fillets in a plate of milk Roll the fillets in a plate of seasoned breadcrumbs (omit heavy sauces & crankcase oil) Pan fry for 3 min on 1st side, sprinkle with kosher salt & medium black pepper Pan fry for 2 min on 2nd side - Bon appetit Roger

Lee, I'm sure you're tired of hearing this from me, but next month (May), you & your lovely wife will be scooping up the fat ladies Speaking of ole bass, the girl below with the belly sores threw me a curveball. I thought she weighed a pound more than my 6-10 on Saturday, but weighed only "1-ounce" more (6-11) Lee, if you & I hope to stand a chance against the BR sharpshooters, we need to be gunning for a 12-pound hippo Roger

Guys, I'm beginning to think that the bass are having fun with me. Today, my best fish looked about a pound heavier than yesterday's best. NUH UH, the trusty Brecknell told me that my eyes ran out on stems and it threw away the extra pound Today's girl weighed 6-11, exactly one-ounce heavier than yesterday's (pathetic). Yeah I've got pictures of her, but for one lousy ounce I didn't bother going through the FTP process. Roger