RoLo

Glenn summed up tube presentation really well, and in my opinion, the "slack line" he mentions is key. When it comes to river smallies, I've never felt that the senko can hold a candle to the tube. On the other hand, the "jig-&-grub has often rivaled the tube in our experience, but that may not apply to the Columbia River drainage. Roger

The small fish are used for bait ;D Those are some awesome smallies!! Dwight, would you consider this the fall peak? Roger

They're okay on a looped wire eyelet, but can slide down the arm of an open R-bend Roger

I do not use fish attractants, and do not see them in my future. Like it or not, many soft-plastic lures are factory-impregnated with proprietary fish attractants. Examples include Gambler (garlic-scent), Strike King (Coffee-scent), Chompers (garlic-scent), Berkley (patented powerbait), Wave Worm (patented MOLOPO) and the list goes on. There are also numerous unscented soft-plastic lures like the Kalin Grub, Zoom Fluke, Culprit Original Worm and Yamamoto Senko. Ironically, most of my favorite soft-plastic lures are made of unscented plastic 8-) Roger

I'll always begin with a snap, but since the J-spoon has to deal with the weediest of all weedy situations, the snap will occasionally cause a problem. If scum or snotweed cling to the snap I'll eliminate the snap without hesitation and tie direct to the spoon. In hindsight though, that is very rarely the case because the Johnson spoon is normally gliding through spatterdock (bonnets), milfoil, pondweed (peppergrass) and/or maidencane (Kissimmee grass). Roger

I'm sure you would Scott. I think the main difference between your situation and mine are the differences between manmade reservoirs and natural lakes. In a deep impoundment, "depth control" provided by metal slabs is highly important, especially during the wintertime. But in shallow weedy natural lakes the importance of depth control is bumped by the importance of "weedlessness". For this reason, bladebaits are bumped by weedless spoons. The J-spoon can negotiate matted vegetation that would bog-down a buzzbait. IMO, that single fact is why the Johnson spoon has earned its reputation as a Big-Bass lure. The J-spoon is able to reach inaccessible bass that will probably die of old age. Roger

I ran into a good article on spoons today and immediately thought of this post. The article did not get into bladebaits or flat metals, but dealt only with true spoons. In fact, it's the best read I've ever seen on the Johnson Spoon, and I tip my hat to the author. The article is entitled "Johnson Silver Minnows" and the search words include: "Weedless Wonder" & Splashdown While on the subject of spoons, Roland Martin boated the two heaviest bass stringers of his life while cranking Johnson Spoons through salad. He accomplished this many years ago when the daily limit was 10 bass on Santee Cooper. On separate occasions, Roland bagged an 87 lb stringer (8.7 lb avg.) and a 79 lb stringer (7.9 lb avg.) every bass fell for a 1/2 oz Black Johnson Spoon! Not surprisingly, the J-Spoon is Rolands favorite Big-Bass lure. The story is in Roland's book on page 213: http://books.google.com/books?id=3btYCspbBUUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=101+secrets+roland+martin&source=bl&ots=tGQMFGc1bU&sig=Fku6SukV9854iJLb0V8Tdf91tXs&hl=en&ei=Qp_PTMa-BIaKlwf11tzHBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CDkQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q&f=false Roger

When fishing with soft-plastic lures I always tie direct, either to the hook or jig. For plugs and spoons though, I generally go with a 'plain' snap (NOT a snap-swivel). This offers the ability to make quick lure changes, and also enhances the action of many lures. Purely as a bonus, a snap also extends the life of the line because knot-tying leads to re-spooling. In addition, when tying to lures with treble hooks, a snap is much more user-friendly than a palomar knot (I use uni-knots so this doesn't apply to me). In my experience, the Coastlock Snap is the clear winner, a powerful little snap that's easy to open & close. I began using Rosco Coastlock Snaps in saltwater (in the 1960s). In freshwater I use the No.32 x 50-lb snap and No.33 x 75 lb snap. The larger No. 33 snap offers two advantages: > It's extremely easy to open and close > It can handle the shock of non-stretch braided line. (Lesser snaps can bust or pop open with a fish on a short line or out of water). Roger

Sir Snook, if this forum weren't freshwater oriented, you & I would be rapping about Drone Spoons, Pet Spoons, Clark Spoons, Hopkins Spoons & AVA Diamond Jigs ;D ;D Roger

A true' spoon looks like an actual spoon, a cupped metal lure like the Johnson Silver Minnow or Eppinger Dardevle. Spoons can be buzzed across the surface, known as skittering, they can be fished just below the surface, called bulging' and waking', retrieved at middepth with a constant rocking action, pumped with a lift & drop retrieve, or slow-rolled near the bottom. Every angler has his or her pet spoon, mine is the Johnson Silver Minnow which can be fished where buzzbaits fear to tread For vertical jigging, which is most popular during the winter, a bladebait is generally used like the Reef Runner Cicada or Manns Little George. Roger

Now there's a chunk Booyah Buzz eh...probably the noisiest buzzbait on earth! Roger

I have a Dick's Sporting Goods about 20 min down the road (Davenport, FL), and a Bass Pro Shop about 50 min away (Orlando, FL). Nevertheless, all the "walk-in" stores are deathly afraid of overstocking. To avoid drowning in their own inventory they only stock fast-moving merchandise. It'd be a cold day in hell before I ride 20 minutes to find that the item I want is out-of-stock. Everything I could possibly want is available online Roger

My favorite Coffin Bill by far: Rapala DT-7 Flat Sure-Set (balsa wood) Roger

Of significant concern to Florida anglers is the line drawn by the FWC that runs between East Toho and West Toho. Lakes to the east of this line are dubbed "semi-fertile", which includes East Toho, Mary Jane, Hart and so on. In contrast, lakes to the west and south of this line are classified as fertile, which essentially comprise the Kissimmee chain-of-lakes (Ex-Hatchineha). If you're willing to migrate to another manufacturer, you might also consider migrating to another hull material (AL) Roger

Needless to say, there's never been a hollow-frog made that doesn't catch bass. However, if you refuse to wring the water out of the hollow body every few casts, there's only ONE frog I'm aware of that does not take on water. Snag Proof's "Ish Phat Frog" has a separate hook chamber that's segregated from the frog body. Roger

Suprisingly very very thick also. You said a mouthful Although New Jersey is chockfull of lush plant beds, Canada has even more, particularly Eurasian Watermilfoil, Elodea (Canadian waterweed) and Pondweed (cabbage). Roger

Holy Smokes, I'm running out of "attaboys" Dwight, but that's a fine brace of groupers! ;D Roger

After releasing a bass on Lake Toho, I was casting with wet hands. Suddenly my Kistler and Stella slipped from my grip like greased lightning and my heart followed them to the bottom. I was very lucky as I eventually retrieved the outfit, but it left me with mixed feelings. I felt that anyone that clumsy did not deserve to get lucky. It was not an easy rescue though, and after dredging for a loooong time with a large treble hook, I finally snagged my fishing line. You guessed it, I was hauling braided line hand-over-hand until the entire spool was empty, then prayed that my spool-noose would hang tough. Roger

For those who may be unfamiliar with natural "counter-shading", let me explain. Nearly every animal on earth exhibits a darker back and lighter colored underside. Except for a few apex predators, all animals are targeted by several predators. Predators that lie below their forage see mainly the light belly, which tends to blend into the lighted sky above. Predators that lie above their prey mainly see the dark back, which tends to blend into the darker bottom below. When a given species of forage becomes over-abundant, Mother Nature seems to turn game fish into morons that become fixated on a given shape, size & color. This is a control mechanism I first experienced in saltwater, and to a lesser extent in freshwater. As we all know, crankbaits attempt to mimic prey fish, which swim in midwater, whereas jigs attempt to mimic crayfish, which crawl & hop along the bottom. If bass are currently keyed-in on a given baitfish, why would an angler intentionally tie on a "crayfish-colored" crankbait or spinnerbait, which are floor-dwellers? Maybe I'm missiing something here Roger

I feel your pain. I used to live on Lake Walk-In-Water which is not only void of submergent vegetation but is nearly void of bottom contour. Bass have a love affair with weeds, but they can cut a living in lakes without any weeds. If I were you, there are 4 things I'd focus on: 1) If it's an impoundment and not a natural lake, look for "woody cover" (stumps, stickups, pilings) 2) Find the best "drop-offs" in the lake (pinpoint spots with the most rapid depth change) 3) Find the nearest shoreline "emergents" like bulrushes, cattails, maidencane, ~~ 4) Look for places where "bottom composition" changes (admittedly hard to find). Once you're able to figure out 'Where' & 'When', lures and presentation gets real easy Roger

No one would debate that logic, but realistically speaking, every time you stop the boat the size of the baitfish may be different. The clouds of baitfish that mark on the sounder are of various sizes, shapes and densities. In Florida for instance, you might be over a cloud of 1½" taillight shiners in one spot, or a school of 10" golden shiners in another spot. Roger

I've been "fishing with worms" for most of my life, but since I switched meds, I think they're now under control Roger

No argument there (The pot calling the kettle black)

Coverage on Varner is nowhere close to 75%. Closer to 10% maybe around five % matted on top. The 75% is a huge lie made up by the lake managers and spread to the media. I am guessing they are doing it to get support for grass eradication. They seem to be spreading lots of other lies to the media and other places right now to get support for stocking grass carp. There is a movement started by a study on eagle deaths at the University of Georgia to eradicate all Hydrilla all over the South in the name of saving Bald Eagles. Varner is just the second lake where they want the grass removed. Once they get a precedent where they can say they removed the grass and the eagles are not dieing anymore in this study it will not be long till lakes like Guntersville, Clarks Hill and the lakes in Texas will no longer have grass. In the case of a lake like Guntersville where almost everyone depends on the fishermen spending money it will be the end to great year round fishing and the local economy will suffer a huge loss. Staff reporter Crystal Tatum; Sep 16, 2010 Quote: "About 70 percent of 820-acre Lake Varner is now covered in hydrilla" Link: http://www.rockdalecitizen.com/newtonnews/headlines/103104724.html

Exactly.To that I would add, when fishing an unweighted worm, I'll choose the hook-size based on the 'descent rate' I want. I Have A Question When I lived in New Jersey, my favorite plastic worm was the 7½ Culprit worm and my favorite soft jerkbait was the 5 Zoom Super Fluke. Now that I live in Florida, I throw worms up to 10" long (1/3 longer), and use the Zoom Magnum Fluke, which is 7" long. Strangely enough, every Floridian angler I know throws the little 5 fluke (4-penny nail), yet, the same anglers won't hesitate to pitch a foot-long worm. This is my question: If 5" is long enough for a fluke, why does the plastic worm need to be a foot long? Roger