RoLo

We should really begin at the beginning. What is your conception of a "jig"? To my mind at least, a jig is nothing more than a "weighting system". A jig is the coming together of a sinker and a hook, but is not the "lure" per se. There are "skirted" jigs, "unskirted" jigs, "weedless" jigs and "non-weedless" jigs. The sinker part of the jig is available in most any shape desired: Ballhead, Pillhead, Football, Spire-point, Flat-bottomed, Arkansas (arky), ad nauseam. The actual lure however is not the jig, but the Trailer &/or Dressing attached to the jig. That said, I can't compare a "weighting system" to a swimbait which is a "lure", But on countless occasions I've attached a swimbait to a jig which simply represented my lure choice. Lure choice is subject to change without notice, and an hour later I might replace the swimbait with a Rage Lobster. Yet, both lures were attached to the same jig (the same weighting system) Roger

Interesting John. I've always been under the assumption that UV-B rays are best absorbed through the eyes. This makes me wonder if sunglasses might play a role in vitamin-D deficiency in northern climes. Roger

For the record, fishing for "pressured" fish and fishing in a "cold-front" are not always handled the same. A sudden temperature drop typically puts bass down, not necessarily in deeper water but directly on bottom in the current water column. In this situation, smaller lures and slower deliveries are the best we can do. Dealing with pressured fish though, is quite different. I've fished much of my life in New Jersey, which is the most densely populated state in the union. I've had my bellyfull of overpressured, overharvested waters, but here's a couple things that work: 1) Fish something different, not necessarily small or slow, but "different" Hit the area tackle shops and ask them about the hottest lures (strike them all OFF your list) 2) Fish at night after the splashabouts are off the water. Some Jerseyites may recall the Knee-Deep club on Lake Hopatcong, NJ. They routinely produced remarkable stringers in midsummer by fishing after dark. Roger

Thanx RW Hey, congratulations on your 7lb 7oz Roadtrip mossback, that's a beast in ANY water! Roger

Do you own a handheld GPS unit? If so, I'm not aware of any hardcopy maps equal to Navionics hydrographic charts. In fact, a surprising number of hardcopy charts are cloned from Navionics cartography. With regard to "Find Your Water", I hope no one is actually relying on their contour lines. I'm currently conferring with Brian Welde of Angling Technologies, and though they show a willingness to improve, I've found uncountable inaccuracies on all their charts (e.g. 5' contour line bisecting Bird Island). Roger

BUZZBAITS (part 2) LIFT The word "buzz" creates the image of a lure burned over the surface like a panic-stricken coot. I'm sure we've all experienced days when it was impossible to crank a buzzbait too fast, but those days tend to be in the minority. With regard to trophy-class bass, the most effective retrieve speeds seem to range between moderate and very slow. "Lift" is a buzzbait property referring to its ability to stay on the surface at slow speeds. The greater the 'lift' the slower the buzzbait can be retrieved without sinking out of sight. The lightest buzzbait isn't necessarily the highest riding buzzbait. 'Lift' is actually the 3-way balance between Lure Weight, Blade Area & Lure Configuration (blade & body). For this reason, a 1/2oz buzzbait with a large blade may ride just as high as a 1/4oz buzzbait with a small prop. BLADE STYLE If the "noisiest" buzzbait was necessarily the best buzzbait, we'd all be chucking the Booyah Buzz 'clacker'. Just as too much speed can be hurtful, too much noise can also be hurtful, especially counterfeit noise. This is particularly true for Florida-strain bass which biologists agree are more discerning and less aggressive than northern-strain bass. Clacker buzzbaits like the Booyah Buzz are heard from a great distance, but that also gives bass more time for scrutiny and rejection. Tandem bladed and tri-bladed props make excellent buzzbaits, and actually produce less noise than a clacker-prop and their sound is arguably more natural. BLADE SQUEAK Strange but true, bass exhibit a marked preference for squeaky, creaky propellers. This observation goes all the way back to the introduction of the Lunker Lure Buzzbait. Back in the 70s, Roland Martin stated that he owned one creaky Lunker Lure that caught more bass than all his other buzzbaits combined. In the ensuing decades, anglers went to great lengths to create a buzzbait with squeaky blades. Among the most humorous practices was to tie a buzzbait to the car antenna or roof carrier, so it whirled in the wind all the way to the lake. Though I've never resorted to that tactic, it allegedly worked by enlarging the clevis hole...rapid aging you might say. "Blade squeal" is an unobtrusive sound that's most audible at close range, but can be clearly heard by spinning the blade near your ear. Anglers are in general agreement about the advantage of a squeaky buzzbait, but are sharply divided about 'clackers'. Horse sense would tell us that there's more squealing prey than clacking prey. In any case, this reminds me of the tourney where everyone was fishing crankbaits with rattles. Instead, KVD used a crankbait without rattles and won the tournament. Now just suppose that KVD did not win that tournament. The other contestants would still be convinced that the bass they caught were attracted by the rattles, when in fact they were caught in spite of the rattles. Megastrike Cavitron vs. Booyah Pip-Squeak I don't think you'd go very wrong with either one of these fine buzzbaits. Right out of the box, both the Booyah Pip Squeak and Megastrike Cavitron emit an auduble whining sound. Although they differ in pitch, they are roughly equivalent in decibels. I've noticed however that some Cavitron's whine less than others, which can be resolved by a simple modification. Both the Cavitron and PipSqueak have horizontally flattened bodies that boosts "lift" which lends to slower retrieve rates. Both buzzbaits also feature perforated props that produce bubbles, but IMO the Cavitron bubble-trail is slightly more defined and longer lasting than the Pip-Squeak. The Pip-Squeak has greater blade area than the Cavitron buzzbait, nonetheless the Megastrike Cavitron remains active at lower retrieve speeds, which is a Big Deal in my book. In spite of its smaller prop the Cavitron produces slightly more audible disturbance than the Pip-Squeak. Above all perhaps, the Cavitron prop remains balanced and stable at low retrieve speeds. In contrast, the larger Pip Squeak blade becomes unstable at low speeds, eventually getting floppy like a butterfly. The Booyah Pip Squeak has an extension-hook mounted on a flexible cable, a concept that causes mixed feelings. Granted, when a bass gets lodged in weed stalks, the odds of losing that bass are excellent to certain. For sure, a flexible cable can reduce losses due to bass lodged in stalks and also jumping bass. On the other hand, a hook that's mounted on a flexible shaft cannot possibly deliver the same hookset force as a fixed hook. After all, if you never get to HOOK the fish, you will never get to LOSE the fish. All that said, I personally prefer the Megastrike Cavitron, an opinion I've held long before it became a household name. BLADE MODIFICATION Nah, we're not going to tie the buzzbait to the rear bumper then tow it to the lake. Instead, we'll make one quick adjustment. With a needle-nose pliers, mash the rear end of the rear clevis so it no longer rotates around the wire shaft (we're merely increasing the friction). You'll notice that this modification has already been made on a Booyah Pip Squeak. LURE SIZE The propeller is largely obscured by the splash and bubbles it creates, so the "skirt" is the largest contributor to overall bulk. Though I get scolded for fishing lures too large, I always reduce the skirt bulk on a buzzbait. There are three silhouette options: Frightened Duckling, Toy Airboat or Baitfish...I prefer the latter SKIRT MODIFICATION Hold the lure by the head so the skirt strands are hanging down vertically. Shorten the skirt with a right angle cut about 1/8" behind the bend-of-the-hook. In addition to reducing overall bulk, this may help to reduce short-strikes. Now remove most of the strands from the top and both sides of the skirt, leaving all the strands on the bottom of the skirt. This sharply reduces the overall flare and bulk of the lure, and results in a silhouette more closely resembling a baitfish. Modified in this manner, the buzzbait is also better suited to fishing in clear water and in lakes dominated by smaller bass. SKIRT COLOR We shouldn't forget that as light levels diminish so does the importance of color, when the emphasis shifts to contrast. On bright sunny days and in crystal water bass can easily see the flaws in delivery. When underwater visibility is excellent, Light Colors are usually best because they obscure the lure's outline, and help it to blend into the backdrop of the sky. During heavy overcast, in murky water and at night, the goal is just the opposite. When underwater visibility is poor, Dark Colors are normally favored because they help define the contrast between the lure and its backdrop. When we turn to Mother Nature we find that she follows the exact same Master Plan. Virtually all creatures exhibit a light-colored underside and a darker upperside. This dovetails perfectly into the natural phenomenon known as "counter-shading", an ingenious system that works in concert with the vantage point of the predator versus the backdrop of the prey (amazing stuff). TRAILER HOOK A high percentage of professional anglers never fish a buzzbait without a trailer-hook. In my opinion, this should depend on the cover you're dealing with. A buzzbait with a trailer-hook is simply not as weedless as a buzzbait without a trailer hook. That's not a big deal in sparse cover, but if you're buzzing in heavy cover (if you're fishing in Florida) a trailer-hook is going to abort many well-placed casts. In addition to increased hangups, a trailer hook can make hand-landing a tad treacherous. The trailer-hook may get more credit than it deserves. It occupies a grandstand seat, so every bass that's hooked by the trailer hook was not necessarily a short-striker. As with any surface lure, most buzzbait misses are likely due to reacting too quickly. DELIVERY After the cast, engage the reel and begin the retrieve at the instant of splashdown. In that manner, you won't have to crank the buzzbait out of the hole to get it on plane. There is no one best retrieve pattern, but it's usually good to begin with a Slow, Steady, Nonstop retrieve, just fast enough to keep the lure gurgling on top. "Burning" a buzzbait may fit the iconic perception but is often fruitless, especially with Florida-strain bass. Before quitting a known hotspot, hit it from different angles because sow bass tend to be spoiled prima donnas that want everything their way. When a bass blows up on the buzzer, drop the rod so neither you nor the bass feel a thing. Gather most but not all slack line, then withdraw the rod forcefully (overhead or to the side), She's All Yours Roger

Those are some gorgeous bronzebacks! Thanx also for sharing your technique Roger

Between hunting and fishing over the years, I exposed my skin to way too much to ultraviolet rays. I've been fortunate in escaping melanoma but don't want to push my luck. For the past couple years I never wear shorts and always wear long-sleeve shirts right through the hottest days in summer. Florida has a long summer, but thanks to our maritime climate (NE Tradewinds), it's summer's are not as hot as most believe. Many northern states in the contintential climate (prevailing westerlies) have higher recorded summer highs than Florida (Key West never hit 100-deg). Once you get past the "mind-over-matter" thing, you might be surprised to find that a long-sleeve shirt is even more comfortalbe than a short-sleeve shirt. For one thing, the hot sun isn't beating down on hot skin, but falls on your insulated shirt. For another thing, LL Bean and Guy Harvey make sun shirts that feature insulating mesh and a ventilating cape that runs across the back (and a bunch of pockets I never use). My wife normally wears shorts and a short-sleeve top, but she generally overheats before I do. Roger

Given the proper drag-setting, line failure is typically the result of frayed or nicked line, rather than big fish. I might have 30-lb braid spooled on my reel, but if I miss one bad fray, I might actually be fishing with 10-lb test line. A good habit is to frequently run your fingertips over the fishing line in search of abraded line. If we miss a fray or nick in the line, the biggest fish of the day is sure to find it for us. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention one other thing. A couple years back I had a bad experience with PowerPro braid. Like so many anglers, I used and loved PowerPro for a couple years, that is, until my wife and I began to experience numerous unwarranted breakoffs. PowerPro was above board and admitted that they distributed bad batchs of line in their bulk spools. PowerPro also offered me a free batch spool which I declined (what happened to Bantam1?). Anyway, today we exclusively use Berkley Fireline Tracer Braid with nary a beef. When bass are in heavy cover (routine in central Florida), I don't hesitate to exert maximum pressure. Frankly, my biggest concern is breaking the rod, not the line. Given a proper drag setting and unfrayed line, just keep the rod 90-degrees to the line. "O'clock positions" are not as reliable because they change constantly according to changes in "water depth" and changes in "fish distance" from the boat. High tensile modulus blanks cost bucko bucks, but as the rod angle departs from perpendicular, the effective modulus is proportionately reduced. For instance, point the rod-tip directly at the fish and the tensile modulus is zero as the reel-spool fights the fish Roger

> Dobyns > Phenix > Quantum Roger

Jig:........1/2oz Dirty Jig Trailer:...SK Rage Lobster (Runts need not apply) Roger

Intelligent Question, by the way: The 'landing' phase is very different from the 'fighting' phase, it's a time when all stops are pulled (a time when I often blow the gig) During the fight, the emphasis is placed on maintaining a rod angle that's perpendicular to the line (and OF COURSE a constantly taut line). During the landing phase however, rod angles go out the window, and the key becomes dragging the fish to within landing reach without ending up with 'too much' or 'too little' line. For the most part, this means grasping the rod blank about midway (depending on rod length) then pushing the rod backwards to drag the fish within reach of the landing hand. Y'all might be wondering why J Francho fishes from a kayak. Well...if you had to foot the bill for a follow-on camera boat, you might be fishing from a kayak too Kidding aside, John's photos portray the classic boating maneuver better than I could describe it in words. Roger

The Perris world-record spot has since been bested, and is now held by Pine Flat Lake, CA (10-4) I agree with you that natural phenomena occur in cycles, but that would be a highly unusual event outside the species native range. Roger

NBR, the clear majority of anglers never boated a double-digit bass, In the same vein, never have regrets about weighing any fish. I weigh EVERY good fish that comes in my boat with a certified scale. It's called facing reality, and it also makes us a 'little' better at guesstimating weight. I say a "little" better, because human optimisim springs eternal Roger

Thanks again gobig for your follow through. You will notice however that the list embedded in your first URL acquieses with my reference to year 2006 c/o Perris Lake Perris Lake, CA has been the poster boy of declining genetic vigor. For many years, the world-record spotted bass belonged to Lewis Smith Reservoir, AL. Spotted bass transplanted from the Smith Reservoir to Perris Lake ultimately upended the Alabama world-record from whence it came. It gets worse. Sadly, due to chormosome degeneration the spotted bass population in Perris totally collapsed, where catching one spot is now newsworthy. I find it intriguing to learn that the same lake (Perris Lake) is now the new theater for Florida bass (and so it goes). Roger

I used to do a lot of pike fishing in the milfoil beds of the St. Lawrence River. At that time, Stanley dominated the skirted jigs and it was almost impossible to find a spire-nosed jig with a swept-back weedguard. The only one I found was the Denny Brauer Weed Sneek (long defunct) which was nothing more than a swim jig, before they had a name. Today, every jigmaker offers a swim jig, but rather than swimming them, they make excellent weed probes (top to bottom). BTW: I'm not talking about bladed grass but branching weeds (underwater forests). One of the first things I look at is the angle formed by the weedguard and jighead. The more obtuse that angle the better I like it. The Bass Stalker Grass Stalker is an example of what I try to avoid. Notice the nearly 90-degree angle formed between the weedguard and forehead of the jig. That perpendicular corner creates a dreadful weed trap, and doesn't get very far in milfoil or hydrilla without loading up. "Dirty Jigs" has a serious lineup of quality jigs that offer most of the features I look for in a jighead (no jig has them all). The No-Jack Punching JIg is a fantastic weed penetrator, but is not available in less than 1oz (my mat puncher). The No-Jack Flipping Jig isn't quite the weed penetrator as the punching model but is available in 1/2 oz The Dirty Jig Swim Jig is another great weed probe and is available in 1/4 oz Roger

I was fishing at "17 Fathoms", a bluewater tuna hole about 15 miles offshore of Sandy Hook, NJ. Early in my journey back to port I lost my engine, it was shortly before sunset and a storm was scheduled that night. That experience taught me the meaning of "visceral anxiety". Roger

Based on your description, there's not much in the way of bedding flats & nursery grounds which is the backbone of population dynamics. The best ponds will yield eyepoppers that embarrass the big lakes, but not ALL ponds support lunker bass. The 4-pounder you caught on a minnow may well represent the upper end of that waterbody Roger

When the culprit worm first became popular I used 'red shad', but eventually migrated to 'black shad'. The last color I used before retiring the culprit worm was 'crawdad', which I found no better or worse than black shad. Roger

Precisely! If you're not in a tournament, then "today" is the best opportunity for improving all the "tomorrows". The next time you find yourself in a torrid bite, instead of counting boated fish, seize the opportunity to experiment. Change the lure, change the color, change the depth. At the end of the day, the number of fish will soon be forgotten, but you'll come away a more knowledgeable angler. Deliberately, I try not to use the same lure that my wife is using. On this day however, it was clearly a crankbait bite on a clean shellbed ridge. My wife was using a calibra lipless crank, so I choose a strike king DT instead. While Lois had to count-down to fish depth, I had to crank-down to fish depth. At the end of the day we each boated 8 bass. So what did I learn? Well, since Lois is a much better angler than me, the strike king dive-to was the better tool for that job. Roger

Thank you gobig. Oddly, those bass were not listed in a recent register. But I realize that up-to-date stats can be elusive, which is why I prefaced by saying: "To my knowledge". If you could, I'd appreciate a URL documenting those catches so I can alter my files. . Roger

Based on your avatar Tezz, you already achieved your trophy walleye...kudos I lived in New Jersey most of my life, and fished the northern states and Canada extensively. I now live in the deep south and can tell you firsthand that the northern tier is characterized by quality bass fishing, a region known as the Bass Box. But any serious quest for double-digit bass involves a trip to the deep south. In my view, it's vital to rule out opinion, sentiment and hearsay by referring to tourney results and documented records. If your target goal is an 18-lb largemouth bass, California is your 'only' choice. I should add however that your odds of success would be no better than winning the Mega Millions Lottery. To my knowledge, California hasn't certified a single bass over 18 lbs since Mar 2006, six years ago and counting. In the state of Texas, 15 pounds represents a very stubborn weight-ceiling, as a matter of fact, Texas has only 'one' certified bass over 18 pounds. All the same, if your target goal is a 15-lb bass, then Texas is your best hope. Year-after-year, Lake Fork continues to produce an impressive string of Florida bass topping out at 15 lbs & change, Now back to your question. The odds of landing a 10-lb bass are best by far in the state of Florida. No state even comes close, which should come as no surprise to anyone. The largest bass throughout the world are "ALL" Florida-strain bass, a fact that shouldn't be taken lightly. This means that outside of Florida the only waters possibly containing Florida-strain bass are those that were "transplanted by man". It also means that the many thousands of waterbodies not stocked with Florida bass are simply out of the running. In The First Place: "Any" of the thousands of lakes and ponds in Florida are capable of producing 10-lb bass, and indeed most of them have. Bass in Florida tend to plateau around 12 pounds, but the state churns out an unparalleled volume of 9 to 12-pound bass throughout the year. Lake Okeechobee and Mexico lie south of the ideal latitude for long-lived bass, where bass tend to die prematurely of thermal burnout. For this reason, neither the Big-O nor Mexico have put a dent in the record books, where weights tend to plateau around 10 pounds. Nevertheless, this year and last year Lake Okeechobee spewed a dizzying amount of 10-lb bass and 30-lb stringers, a lake that lies in the native range of Florida-stain bass In The Second Place: A hundred years from now, Florida will still be producing double-digit bass, but the future of Florida-strain bass outside their natural range is not so certain. It's rarely addressed, but when any fish species is transplanted outside its native range it's susceptible to "Declining Genetic Vigor". With each new generation, the chromosomes tend to revert or malign. We've seen this in California where each waterbody in the limelight tends to poop-out over time, until the baton is passed to another emerging waterbody. Castaic produced the greatest number of Cali freaks, but its brief heyday lasted a mere 2-1/4 years between Jan, 1989 and Mar,1991. Castaic hasn't made news since March 12, 1991 (21 years ago). Miramar hasn't laid a golden egg since 1998, and Casitas hasn't been in the limelight since 2002. It's also beginning to look like Dottie closed the book on Lake Dixon. Back On Topic: If you're looking for a 10-pound bass, Florida has no equal. To be sure, Falcon Lake is currently riding the crest of Florida-strain magic, but if Mother Nature has her way, the gravy train won't last forever. Since the *** of B.A.S.S in 1967, the all-time heaviest 5-bass stringer was taken from Lake Toho, Florida in 2001 by Dean Rojas. In spite of the numerous tournaments held on the California Delta, Clear Lake, CA, Lake Fork and Falcon Lake, the Florida stringer still retains the title. Dean's stringer weighed 45-lb 2-oz, an average of 9 pounds per bass. By no means a fluke, Mark Davis weighed a 41-lb 10-oz stringer during the same Toho tourney but it wasn't good enough. Come on Down Roger

My sentiments precisely, Caver: I've used the uniknot-to-uniknot connection for decades (fresh and salt), and have never experienced knot failure. On the downside, I've never been happy with the bulky joint. Over time, line loss and retying eventually expose the joiner knot, where the fishing line tends to catch during every cast. Very recently I've switched to the "Eugene Bend" for attaching lures and for joining line (who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks?). Though I've never tested the breaking strength myself, I read that the Eugene Knot is significantly stronger than the Palomar knot (which I never use). In addition, the Eugene bend can be tied to a lure with 3 treble hooks without the "loop over" nonsense. More importantly (to me at least), the Eugene joiner is noticeably smaller than a uniknot joiner. As an added bonus, if the Eugene Bend were any easier to tie, it would tie itself: Roger

Are you actually saying that you bass fish WITHOUT a chum line? I'll have to try that one day Roger

Wow, this query is an antique....just found it in my unread content CWB, I don't fish swimbaits 'unweighted' but almost always use 1/4oz weight (more, but not less). To exploit the weedless advantage, I work them over surface vegees, and keep them coming like a Johnson spoon. The swimbait spends half its time climbing over pads and hyacinths much like a surface lure But the 1/4oz weight gives the lure a subsurface bias and keeps the paddletail underwater (vibes are lost in the air). Roger