RoLo

You're a lucky fellow. Banks is the only lake I've seen in Georgia, that could easily pass for a Floridian subtropical water (gorgeous). Roger

Isn't that contradictory? Yes, it does pay to have light equipment, but if as you say, it always takes ounces to balance the rod by itself, then you'll be forced to attach a 3-bearing reel made of polycarbonate in order to offset the weight you added to the rod. I personally prefer to spend the money on a lightweight rod, rather than a lightweight reel. In this manner, I can select a reel with a robust frame and high-bearing count, and still end up with a "naturally" balanced outfit. But of course, it all boils down to personal preference. Roger

Right you are, but there's more. Given two identical outfits, the longer rod will cast a bit farther because of its greater circumferential "speed" (greater radius). But 5 seconds on the electric motor would dilute the discrepancy. Moreover, what the shorter rod lacks in speed, it makes up for in 'power'. Although long rods are often associated with 'leverage', the fulcrum is located at the reel, so it's the fish that benefits from the leverage of a longer rod, and the fisherman who foots the bill. With regard to "line-handling" and hook-setting, rod-length is a two-way street. When working in a spatterdock field, I would surely appreciate a little extra rod length to prevent the line from draping over a pad and aborting the entire retrieve. On the other hand, when working in close quarters among 8-ft tall bulrushes, the shorter rod maximizes my maneuverablility. As a bonus, a shorter rod is always more portable in the car, in the boat and in the home. With regard to "hook-sets", the shorter rod provides more power but the longer rod moves more line. The shorter rod would be better for game fish with bony mouths, but the longer rod benefits anglers who use nylon, copolymer or flurocarbon line. The extra line movement generated by the bigger arc of a long rod helps to override the stretch in the line. On the other hand, anglers using non-stretch braid do not require a long-stroke hook-set. Roger

I like short rods too, but the only 5 to 5.5 ft rods I've owned were so-called "Strokers". They were short broom-handles designed for going toe-to-toe with tuna, mako sharks and billfish without the benefit of a fighting chair (just a shoulder harness & gimbal belt). Roger

6' 6" is my favorite rod length for all chores, in fact, every freshwater rod I own is under 7-feet in length. Except for my fly-rods of course, where rod length is needed to cast the line (not the lure). Roger

As I'll bet you know, the best retrieve is not always the same (would be nice if it were). On balance though, I'd say that a Steady, Medium-speed retrieve is most often the best with swimbaits. On the other hand, bass are borderline insane and often respond best to a red-hot retrieve (when the strikes are most explosive). Roger

P-line manufacturers fantastic line, there's no doubt about it, in fact Sufix is probably their only rival. With regard to limpness, it's a known constant that fluorocarbon has significantly more memory than nylon. Based on the inherent properties of the two materials, it doesn't seem physically possible for any line jacketed in fluorocarbon (CX) to be as supple as pure nylon (XL). Going further, the difference in limpness even between pure nylon and braid is like night and day. Roger

There are two approaches to establishing a balanced outfit, that is: "with the reel" & "without the reel". A rod that's balanced without the reel will always be balanced regardless of the reel attached. On the downside, the only way to balance the rod alone is by adding to its weight. This flies in the face of buying an expensive 3.75 oz blank, because in many cases, "ounces" will be needed to achieve a center-grip balancing point. Common counterbalances are heavy stainless-steel bolts and big rubber chair tips (alias butt caps). The other approach and the one I prefer, is to balance the outfit with the reel attached. Alas, this approach flies in the face of buying the lightest high-end reel, because the lighter the reel, the more top-heavy the combo. In any case, I personally prefer the feel of a slightly top-heavy outfit, where the heavier reel generally gets the nod, and the balance-point is roughly in-line with the front-drag of a spinning reel. Roger

How about, numbers of BIG bass. Roger

Sailfish in Ohio? Water temperatures do not move lockstep with air temperatures. The most damaging cold-fronts are generally caused by several days of unseasonably cold air temperatures, and are especially negative when dealing with Floridanus (Florida-strain bass). As noted above, bass affected by a cold-front usually calls for a smaller lure using a slower, bottom-hugging retrieve. Fishing somewhat deeper can also be of help. I don't believe that bass migrate deeper during a cold-front (they're comfortable in all temperatures), but the metabolism of bass already in deeper water will be less affected by the cold-front (more catchable). Roger

Heck, every lure I use catches small bass ;D Don't bet the ranch that there's no BIG bass in your small lake. Roger

Wow! If I were intentionally pitching INTO that nasty stuff, I'd probably don a pair of hip waders ;D In any case, as soon as there's a pickup, it's Yank-and-Crank! Roger

Not even close. W-rigged plastics are centrally skewed so that both ends are free to waggle. Very differently, a side-rigged swimbait is hooked nose-first as any T-rigged lure, but instead of embedding the hook between the belly and back of the swimbait, the hook only penetrates the thickness of the swimbait, from one side to the other. Among other benefits, this leaves more unoccupied hook-gap. Roger

What gave you the impression we'd ever part with them?

Everyone has given you good advice on deepwater fishing, so allow me to shift gears. There is no magic in fishing "deep", and no stigma attached to fishing "shallow". In saltwater, we often fished in water depths around 200 ft deep, which in my opinion is easier for pinpointing fish, compared to pinpointing fish scattered on a flat shoal. The location of deepwater fish is laterally compressed by rapid depth change (drop-offs). With respect to largemouth bass, your depth sounder is just as valuable in 2 to 6 ft of water, as in water between 6 and 20 ft deep. Although the lake zone between the 35 & 45 ft depth lines may indeed be unfished, it might also be fishless. Ole mossback adores plant life, and in water between 35 & 45 ft deep, bass would be forced to abandon the milfoil and hydrilla. While smallmouth bass, walleyes, pike and muskies are commonly unrelated to weeds, that is rarely the case with largemouth bass, in lakes where lush plant life is available. Roger

There are days when I can almost smell impending doom, days when we find ourselves counting bites instead of bass One lure in particular though, has often got the skunk out of our boat. Gambler Big Stick (7.0 Shadow Blue Glitter) <> Owner Type-Z Bullet Head (3/16oz 3/0 Hook) Slow bottom-drag using double-twitches and pauses. Roger

If I'm not mistaken, buck brush is another name for "buttonbush" (Cephalanthus occidentalis). It gets its name from the button-like flowers that it sports on-and-off throughout the summer: http://www.birdmom.net/WildflowersWhite/Buttonbush.jpg The first time I ever encountered buttonbush was at Lake Marion in Santee Cooper Reservoir, SC. I've fished lots of it since that time however, in fact, Lake Walk-In-Water, FL (my ex-home lake) supports lots of buttonbush in the shallow zone (alongside water primrose & pickerelweed). It's a good bass-holding plant, but rather than fish "in" the buttonbushes, we fish "around" each bush, chipping the edges and occasionally hanging up > Roger

Be advised that P-line CX (fluoro-sheathed copolymer line) has multifold the 'memory' of braided polyethylene and multifold the line 'stretch' of braided line. They're two very different animals. Although the CX ad states "low memory", I'm sure they mean compared to a stair-walking Slinky. Roger

A soft swimbait rigged sidewards offers four advantages: 1) It's postured like a troubled minnow (Sick & dying minnows swim on their side or upside-down) 2) A 'different' action & more 'vibration' (vibration is critical in dark water, such as central Florida) 3) There's far more unoccupied hook-bite, which leads to a better hookup ratio. 4) 100% weedless (may be pitched 'anywhere') Top View (Texskin the hook-point) http://216.149.215.9/scans/swimbait-topview.jpg Side View (screw-coil keeper is buried in head) http://216.149.215.9/scans/swimbait-sideview.jpg Bottom View (that "black dot" is probably more important than color) http://216.149.215.9/scans/swimbait-bottomview.jpg ===================================================== The Big-K is now in the 60s, and the bass are in 1 to 3 ft of water. We did best in the South Slough, the Highway Canal (beside FL-60) and also in the Keyhole just N of bouy "1". (look for circular clearing in spatterdock on left side). Given wind under 30 mph, it should be worth the run to "Jack Slough". Pro guides who live in my area are now focusing on Jack Slough (north point & jackson creek), but typically use live minnows for their clients (a 9-lber was taken from the Slough this past weekend) Roger

The best angler to ask is someone who fishes spinning gear exclusively from 1/8oz to 1 oz. He or she would tell you that spinning gear and braided line is a match made in heaven I've used most brands of braid and all line-tests, and have come to settle on Berkley 30-lb Fireline Braid. To an angler who fishes with nylon monofilament, 30-lb line probably sounds like overkill, but it's only .011 in diameter, the same as 8-lb nylon mono. The diameter of 20-lb braid is just .002 less than 30-lb braid, but that extra .002 in diameter virtually eliminates 'wind-knots' and 'line-burrowing', and provides improved 'abrasion-resistance'. Go for it...and you'll never look back. Roger

Dwight, that's a mighty fine hawg you're holding, especially under the circumstances. Cordele eh? The watermelon capital of the world is on the same latitude as Montgomery Lake. I'll bet George Perry's legendary bass crossed your mind. When living in Georgia we fished Banks Lake a few times, it's a tad farther south near Lakeland. It has big bass, big pickerel and is chockfull of cypress knees and lotus pads (blue-green pizzas). Roger

Tomorrow I'll post a photograph of a side-rigged soft-swimbait Roger

Green Pumpkin / Watermelon Laminate - 912 Roger

I mostly throw the "Tennessee Shad" pattern, but I believe the biggest leg-up is rigging the swimbait sideways on an Owner Sled Head. Roger

Lois & I fished the Big-K Sunday afternoon (out of grape hammock) and again Monday afternoon. On Sunday afternoon we boated a couple buck bass and pickerel, but just before sunset on Monday there was a hot bite just below the surface. Most were bucks, but I did manage one girl just under 5 (hollow-belly swimbait). Roger