RoLo

Gamakatsu 2/0 Wide-Gap Finesse Hook Roger

I use the "uni-knot" for everything, hence the name universal knot. I've been tying uni-knots for more than 40 years, in both fresh and saltwater. We all know anglers who attach their lure via some pet knot but join two lines together using a uni-knot to uni-knot. Whether they know it or not, they too are relying on the uni-knot. : Roger

Generally speaking, graphite frames are more brittle than aluminum frames, which is why Penn Internationals are made of aluminum, and why big-game rods are made of fiberglass. On the other hand, I've purchased several graphite/titanium saltwater reels without incident (light & strong). I still have a "Shimano Custom GT4000 Plus Spinning Reel" I purchased in 1985 (220yd/17lb line). It's been discontinued and is no longer repaired, but it's probably boated 1000 lbs of bluefish, and is still up-and-running. 8-) Roger

Sometimes having a camera isn't even enough. I weighed, measured, photographed and released my two largest bigmouth bass, feeling happy and proud that I'd have them forever. The negatives were on a 36-exposure film roll, so they remained in the camera until the roll was fully exposed. Then, a couple weeks later we got caught in a quick downpour, and by the time I realized my camera case was lying on the boat floor, rainwater had seeped into the camera and obliterated the negatives :'( Roger

Has good girth, so I'd guess 4ish

That's not paranoia, that's discretion. If the key is in the ignition, I"m in the boat. My boats keys don't leave my left-front pocket until I board the boat, and are back in my pocket before I step out of the boat. (I also keep a spare set of boat keys in the glove box of the tow vehicle) Roger

x2 I'm guessing you're using fluorocarbon line? Roger

I'll let you know. I ordered a few from 'The Natural', and he said..."Any day now"

If you're using braided line, you have no reason to worry about the hookup ratio. I use 30-lb braid on spinning tackle (6" x 1oz Huddleston Weedless Trout5), and hooking-up presents no problem. The action of the weedless Hudd is subtle & attractive, and it's very weedless, which is a must in Florida. On the downside however, the weedless-slot on top of the head, tends to fall apart. Roger The body of water I mainly fish is quite clear. I was going to use floro. I really can't vouch for fluorocarbon, which stretches similar to nylon. Why not give fluoro a shot, and if you're not happy with the hook-ups switch to braid with a fluoro leader. Roger

A bass may strike your lure without mistaking it for a shad, but a bass won't strike your lure, if he doesn't see it. There is no color that's not displayed by some natural creature, so rather than try to mimic any preexisting creature, I choose colors based solely on their underwater visibility. The 'sooner' a bass sees your lure, the broader the strike-window, which is increasingly important as water clarity or water temperature decrease. For lures that run on or close to the bottom like jigs and plastic worms, I generally go with 'dark' colors such as black, black & blue and green pumpkin. For lures that run on or close to the surface like toads and spinnerbaits, I normally go with 'light' colors such as white, chartreuse, yellow, pink, etc. Roger

I should preface by saying that my spinning gear is a heavier class than most baitcasting tackle. Whenever casting is involved, I use only spinning tackle, for instance: jigs, crankbaits, soft plastics, spinnerbaits, swimbaits, you name it. When casting is secondary, I'll often turn to baitcasting gear, for instance: live shiners, trolling, drifting, still fishing at anchor and certain saltwater apps. Roger

I use spinning gear and Fireline tracer braid for nearly everything. In the past, I've used fluorocarbon leaders and copolymer leaders, but the past few years I've been tying everything directly to the braid (zero leader). The leader hassle has been eliminated without a noticeable change in catch-rate. Roger

I was always under the impression that Loomis offered a Lifetime Warranty. Recently I found out that it didn't apply to MY lifetime, but the lifetime of the ROD!

I'm not sure that I understand, Tin. Two months would be a long pre-spawn season, but granted, it's even longer in Florida. I've done quite a bit of pre-spawn fishing in New York and Ontario, Canada and provided you're dealing with a natural lake (rather than a manmade reservoir), I've found the pre-spawn sites in Ontario to be the same as Florida. Roger

The pre-spawn season is quite long, and there's usually a big difference in bass behavior and bass location between the "early" pre-spawn and the "late" pre-spawn. My favorite by far is the late pre-spawn. Unlike the early pre-spawn when bass are still relating to the primary break, they may be far from deep water during the late pre-spawn. The classic late pre-spawn site is found in the "back" of "backwaters", on a 1 to 3 ft flat and usually within 10 yards of a shoreline. In natural lakes, the best bedding flats will have a bed of firm sand that's blanketed by a couple inches of black humus. The humus is the result of many seasons of decayed vegetation, and though the sand bottom can't be seen, the presence of water lilies, bulrushes or cattails are your telltale markers. Roger

If you're using braided line, you have no reason to worry about the hookup ratio. I use 30-lb braid on spinning tackle (6" x 1oz Huddleston Weedless Trout5), and hooking-up presents no problem. The action of the weedless Hudd is subtle & attractive, and it's very weedless, which is a must in Florida. On the downside however, the weedless-slot on top of the head, tends to fall apart. Roger

You're right on the mark! I've retired several hard swimbaits that have unbelievably seductive action, but they're all-show-and-no-go. Bass LOVE paddletail lures, beginning with the paddletail worm and swim senko, moving through the money minnow and skinny dipper, all the way up to the Basstrix Paddletail and Berkley Hollow-Belly. Roger

I've seen remarks referring to REAL swimbaits, and not those soft paddletail things. Well, I've been in love with soft paddletail worms, paddletail grubs, paddletail minnows and paddletail shad, long before hard swimbaits reached the East Coast. It's not as though I don't throw hard swimbaits, in fact, I'm ashamed of the money I've spent on hard swimbaits that are lying in a pile in my tackle cabinet. It could be that hard swimbaits appeal to fishermen more than fish, but soft swimbaits are incredibly weedless, which is an enormous asset. I don't hesitate to pitch a 6 Berkley Hollow-Belly, where a hard swimbait would get hung before it could move 6 inches. Roger

Glenn, I thoroughly enjoyed your chat with Kevin, the man's humility only adds to his greatness. I got a big boot out of Kevin's most memorable fish, a 10 smallmouth. That's something every smallie fisherman can easily relate to. Sowhere do you go from the apex? 8-) Roger

I'm sure it depends on the make, model, year & engine type. I'm running a 60-hp, 4-stroke, 2010 Mercury, and the manual recommends "87 Octane" with 10% Ethanol tolerance (that's what I run). Roger

If your heart is set on a jonboat, than a jonboat it will be. Otherwise, I'd strongly recommend a "modified deep-V", it's a far safer hull in a big chop. Roger

It's six of one, a half-dozen of the other. Balancing the rod without the reel can only be accomplished by increasing the weight of the rod. So instead of a heavier reel, you're going to end up with a heavier rod, but that would be counterproductive to buying an expensive 3.75 oz rod. Roger

Dual-brake and centrifugal-only reels are both fine, but I'm very underwhelmed by magnetic-only reels Roger

BassPro215, you might want to check your motto (live to fish)

Three possibilities come to mind when nothing is going to work, be it natural or artificial: 1) If you see them, they also see you (that's never good) 2) Spawning cows are fasting cows, and though the bucks may be easy to catch the cows can be nearly impossible 3) Especially in ponds, I've often seen pods of indifferent bass cruising along the shoreline. In some cases, you can almost follow their progress around the pond, as excited anglers along the bank become vocal and can be seen pointing at the water. In every case though, no one ever touches a single bass (in some way, this may tie into number 1). Roger