RoLo

Sounds good, and the best of luck

Hootie, not only do I remember the Hunt Brothers, but I rode their silver bubble in the early 80s. I got in at $5 oz when silver spiked to $14 oz. Sounds like a great investment right, but it was a Horror Show. My exchange broker was IGBE who were over-leveraged on the short end and became insolvent (chapter 7). My advice to Jeff, don't hold silver certificates, but take delivery of the commodity. Roger

Discovering that no method and no delivery is bulletproof is all part of the learning process. We learn just as much from our failures, as we do from our successes. Memory and recall are critical, because without them we cannot broaden our knowledge base. Roger

Where are the Hunt Brothers when you need them? Roger

For Members over 55 -- It's MEMORABILIA For Members under 55 -- It's a JOKE http://www.rolotechnologies.com/Avatars/Memorabilia.pdf

Not if you're fishing in a stump field Roger

Yes I know Dwight, I've been ogling that picture for years There's no disputing that Lake Erie is the crowning jewel of world-class bronzebacks. Oddly enough, Randy's brother Kevin spends a lot of time on Lake St Clair and he also likes Lake Charlevoix and Lake Leelanau in the upper reaches of Michigan's lower Peninsula. Lately though, Jonathon VanDam has been the smallmouth force to reckon with, but he refuses to divulge his secret lake in the Traverse City vicinity. I'm guessing his Lake X is either Burt Lake, MI or Lake Skegemog, MI Based on the FLW national scoreboard, only Lake Erie prevented Burt Lake from clinching the national smallmouth title. In the Walmart FLW tourney last year on Burt & Mullet, the winning stringer was 25-14 and the next 23 places all had stringer weights over 20 pounds, where 23rd place weighed 20-10 (That's insane!) http://www.flwoutdoors.com/bassfishing/bfl/tournament/2013/7056/burt-mullet-boater-results/ Roger

Hersey, I can only reiterate my original suggestion which was West Tohopekaliga (affectionately known as 'Lake Toho'). Read the post provided by Fishing Cowgirl, Toho is her stomping grounds and she offered a good suggestion. Toho is world-class water, and you'll feel good just being in Big Toho Marina (I know I do). BTW: eastern chain pickerel are there for the taking, and I'm with you, I welcome a bout with a pickerel anytime Roger

When a bass clamps down on a single hook, the hook will often be laid down edgewise rather than remaining in an upright swimming position. For this reason, I prefer to set the hook with a vertical upstroke, because regardless of the hook's position in the bass's mouth, the rod is always higher than the bass. In short, a vertical hook-set raises the odds of hooking the upper jaw, and lowers the odds of popping thru the lips. Roger

Welcome aboard Zachvu Roger

All else equal, the only advantage to split-grips is lighter overall weight Provided the butt section is sufficiently long, I wouldn't know if I'm holding split-grips or a full grip without looking down. But to each his own of course, for instance, my wife does not care for split-grips. I tell her jokingly, 'just don't grab the handle where there is no cork' Roger

Great group shot and a lifetime memory (awesome backdrop too). Roger

I have a few Dobyns rods but I think my favorite is the Mag Hvy which negotiates heavy cover, tosses swimbaits ~ ~ (the workhorse) It's the Dobyns Champion 705C (7' 0" - Mag Heavy - Fast - 3/8 to 1-1/2 oz - 12-25 lb) Roger

Holy Cows! Great work fellows Roger

We just purchased a Honda Pilot 4WD (lease return), in prep for our next boat. I always leave the boat hitched to the towcar and park them outside the garage in the driveway. I'm dragging my feet on the boat purchase though, because I still haven't figured a way to stretch my driveway 3 feet. Roger

Erica Clapton

It surely is, but just like a 12-lb bass, I'd much rather see it alive

Normally I don't get real serious about topwaters until the post-spawn stage in late spring. So in early spring, I'll only target active bass with a solid toad (nonstop retrieve) which provides much faster coverage than a hollow frog (stop-&-go retrieve). My three favorite toads are the Stanley Bull Ribbit, Gambler Cane Toad and Strike King Rage Toad Roger

I'm not sure how anyone can answer your question without knowing the type of cover you're dealing with and how you intend to fish this jig (mat-punching, midwater swimming - bottom-hopping ~ ~). Roger

Long live the Lone Ranger

I'm actually torn between the Husky Jerk 12 and Pointer 100 (tough choice for me) Roger

I probably have more mono in my den than you'll find on the shelf

Nice going Weld's, that a sweet little pond. Can't beat the sunshine state Roger

Catt & Brian Needham, From my viewpoint, you fellows are both in agreement, but are each supporting different aspects of the same platform. Just like Catt, I run a paper route of waypoints founded squarely on 'history'. Why? Because history tends to repeat itself and trends tend to persist. On the other hand, I don't like the word "memories", because it connotes nostalgia and fixation. This is where Brian came in, who wanted to interject flexibility & versatility into the mix, and I couldn't agree more. Lund Explorer reinforced this notion by offering examples of the damage caused by anglers who are paralyzed by memories. Brian specified 'seasonal pattern' and 'map study', Right On! Throw in 'field study' (cover survey) on top of that, and we're home safe. With respect to flexibility, ask Catt how many time he re-adjusted his waypoint coordinates, and you can rest assured the number is closer to 1000 than 100. In short, we can use the word "clock" if we like, as long as we understand that the clock never stops. This is what I meant earlier in this same thread, when I referred to 'tweaking the nuclei'. Roger

'Gulp' baits are the closest thing to natural bait, but as ww2farmer pointed out, they are biodegradable. On the downside, you might notice an ill-wind in your tackle box Roger