RoLo

Thank you for your detailed reply Dwight, my Tackle Warehouse gift certificate isn't long for this world

Like you Primus, I too believe that color can definitely make a difference. However the role of color and the reason it might make a difference is where I part company with the herd. It's my opinion that color makes a difference only inasmuch as it affects 'lure visibility', but has no affect on 'fish appetite'. Color can be used to make the lure 'more' visible or 'less' visible, as dictated by current light levels (sky clarity, water clarity, etc). => The lower the light level, the darker the lure color, which enhances 'contrast' For example: Black at night (where there is No light, there is No color) => The higher the light level the lighter the lure color, which makes it harder for fish to detect flaws in delivery For example: Clear ghost in gin-clear water Merry Christmas Roger

Welcome aboard Oldkayaker You're a breath of fresh air, and unknowingly usurped Fishing Rhino, the House Father. I'm boring down on 72 myself, but still think I'm the kid in the group...that feeling never goes away. Oddly, the most sobering reminder of my age is learning the age of others. Somehow, I got 'older' than half the actors, rock stars and TV personalities of my era I Hate When That Happens! Roger

Interesting! Even with 10-lb braid, does it really get down 20 feet? Roger

That other person may have cashed out (just saying)

I believe Rhino is the alpha buck among us, I'm only 71 years young Roger

The list of variables that influence an angler's success rate would go twice around the block. Among the litany of variables, how did you determine that 'color' was the responsible variable? 'Color' may be blatantly obvious to humans, but that's not a measure of its importance to fish. The next time you find a color that's hammering bass, immediately switch to another color...any color. If color is indeed responsible, then the action will quit. Now switch back to the winning pattern again, and the action should pick-up. Run this color-swap experiment every time you're convinced that color is the key. I have a hunch that next year at this time, you & I will have similar opinions on lure color Roger

Radio-tracking studies repeatedly show that largemouth bass are highly residential fish that stay put. With respect to 'good' fish, always save the coordinates where one is landed, because those are the spots most likely to provide a repeat performance. Even if you took a big bass home, that would create a vacuum that would eventually be filled by another good fish. In the law of nature, 'might makes right', and the biggest bass lay claim to the best sweet spots. Roger

I agree with that, but to a fault. On many Canadian lakes you'll see suspended fish marking at most of your holding sites. Fishing over every marking school would be prohibitively time-consuming. Although you know they're fish, you don't know whether they're walleyes, whitefish, smallmouth, pike, salmon, largemouth, white bass, rough fish ~ ~ ~ Have you ever noticed that new sonar owners tend to call it a "Fish Finder", but after a few seasons under their belt they tend to call it a 'Depth Sounder' Roger

Geez, isn't two 7s worth at least one 8? In any case, your goal for 2014 looks like a shoe-in. My only resolution has been: 'No More Resolutions' So far, so good Roger

During the past couple of seasons, my wife has boated about 3 bass to my 1. This year however, and against all odds, I slashed that 3:1 ratio down to 2:1 Roger

The Original Zoom Trick Worms are advertised as floating worms, but are not even neutrally buoyant but sink of their own weight without a hook (test them at home in your sink) Adding salt to plastic increases its weight, so the more salt added, the faster the descent rate (think Senko). Roger

My goals are not set too high, I just have great difficulty reaching them :-) Roger

Very True. Differently put, 'Humility' is a man's ability to hate himself. Roger

There was a point in time when I fished exclusively in saltwater (offshore) when reel brands like Penn and Newell were in the mix. But even in saltwater, the classic shootout was Daiwa versus Shimano. At that time, Shimano was my favorite reel brand, and today about 45 years later, Shimano still has my vote. Roger

Fish that possess a swim bladder are reluctant to change depth because it requires a readjustment in buoyancy. For this reason, bass typically move laterally without changing their depth (water depth changes, but fish depth does not). Bass on a shallow flat that chase a wad of baitfish into open water will be active and suspended close to the surface. Trouble is, bass that close to the surface will rarely enter the transducer cone, so surface activity is your only clue to their presence. On the other hand, when bass are suspended 10 feet below the surface, the odds are high that they left a 10-ft deep structure, and are passive, virtually uncatchable fish. Roger

All-Terrain 3/8oz Grassmaster Jig (for weed-probing not weed-punching) Strike King Rage Lobster (more vibration than the tiny rage craw) Roger

Yeah, that's got me scratching my head too

I agree with No.2 Pre-frontal conditions offer a brief period of hot fishing, but I'd much rather have 3 days of stable weather (active bass on 'top' of the weedbed). Ryan, I well remember that hippo you caught (around 2005 as I recall). Roger

Point well taken, which leads us to Color 202. When a fishermen catches 3 bass in a row, he's apt to stick to that presentation. But unless he's fishing in a tournament, by sticking to the same presentation he's depriving himself of a golden opportunity to learn. For example, you're banging bass on a 'black' fluke, so now is the PERFECT time to switch to a 'white' fluke. Switching to a 'white' fluke should slow or stop the action, but that will rarely be the case. The action might slow simply because your color change coincided with a fading bite, but that's easy to confirm. Simply tie the 'black' fluke back on and the action should resume, but that will rarely be the case. I've been experimenting like this for several years, it makes the game more interesting (my wife thinks I'm nuts). Anyway, I've found color to be the least influential lure attribute, but color often gets the credit for other variables that the angler is not even monitoring. As a result, color has very little influence on my level of confidence. Roger

I have a BIG problem believing that any color will give a non-feeding fish an appetite, or that any color will take away the appetite of an aggressive predator 1) Color rendition underwater is both illusive and highly changeable according to ambient lighting 2) Time spent worrying about color should be devoted to lure depth, lure choice, retrieve speed, boat position, cast placement, ad infinitum. Roger

To each his own of course, but in the great outdoors I prefer the music of wildlife. I want to hear the haunting call of passing sandhill cranes, the deep bellow of an alligator, and I certainly don't want to miss the unmistakable splash of a feeding bass. Roger

You said a mouthful. Every deer I ever took was while standing on the same ground as the deer (no tree stand, no salt lick, no feeding station). Roger

The Withlacoochee River was the first Florida water I ever fished (1970s). Back then, it was noted for giving up 'teeners', but I haven't heard much lately. Now defunct 'Camp West' displayed a row of fish heads from double-digit bass that were nailed across their dock bulkhead (I kid you not). We stayed in Dunnellon and fished the so-called "Withlacoohee Backwaters", which was pay dirt back then. Lake Rosseau near Inglis used to have standing timber and good bass fishing too, but played second fiddle to the Backwaters. At that time, the locational key was where hyacinth rafts merged with the river channel. Use the same lures you'd use anywhere else, but in March you'll encounter a lot of shiner dunkers. Roger

Like most fishermen I suppose, I began as a shore-bound angler. Though I've owned about a dozen boats since that time, no boat has ever lessened my love & respect for bank-fishing. Old fishermen never die, they just end up on the bank from whence they came That said, I thought it might be fun if the boaters in here described their very first watercraft. I'll start the ball rolling: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In 1964, the same year we married, Lois & I came upon a beautiful sight. Modells department store received a large shipment of affordable boats. Several piles of 10-ft jonboats selling for '$70' were stacked like Pringles potato chips. I didn't know it at the time, but we entered on the cusp of the aluminum boat explosion kicked off by Appleby's success. Carl Lowe (Lowe Boats), Tracker Marine and other boatmakers all setup shop in Lebanon, Missouri to shake the money tree. During the first season I rowed the little peanut shell, then sprang for a new 5-HP Eska motor that cost $100, so the boat & motor together cost a tidy $170 1964 SEARS & ROEBUCK AD FOR APPLEBY JONBOATS 5 HP Air-Cooled ESKA (Noisy & Butt-ugly!) Okay, now it's your turn to UNpimp your ride, and tell us about your first soaky toy Roger