RoLo

Exactly. As to the Dale Hollow reference -another BIG advantage with fine lines is their ability to maintain good presentation to deeper fish. Nowhere is the effect of line diameter more dramatic than in the ocean. Let's say that you're drifting in 100 ft of water with 20 lb line, and a 4 oz sinker is just barely bumping bottom. You fetch a rod out of the socket that's spooled with 30 lb line. On this outfit you'll have to step-up to a 6 or 8 oz sinker before you feel the sinker bumping bottom. Roger

Team9nine wrote We know for sure that every bass we catch on a plug has seen the lure. It's almost certain that the bass also seen the gaudy treble hooks dangling from the plug, but accepted them as part of the meal. They also accept the rattlebox and bristle weedguard on a jig, the beads on a C-rig, the sliding bullet sinker on a T-rig and the weedless hook in a W-rig. If bass are so tolerant of all these gaudy contraptions, why are all bets off when they glimpse a fine filament in the water? As I mentioned above, I've seen fluorocarbon line in sunlight that looked like an underwater icicle. Fortunately for anglers, line visibility probably means little or nothing to bass. On the other hand, "line-drag" caused by heavy diameter line is a whole other ballgame. Regardless of line color or line visibility, skewing the natural drift of the lure (i.e. stream fishing) or stifling the action of the lure can blow the gig. Clear water makes it much easier for fish to detect unnatural lure action, where finer diameter line is often needed (e.g. Dale Hollow Reservoir). Nevertheless, "line visibility" generally gets the blame. (Braid by the way, is fine diameter line) Roger

Funny, but I came close to typing that you compressed the time frame (I'm okay with that). To be sure, braid has many virtues, but it's NOT the weed-wacker that many would have us believe. Living in the heartland of aquatic vegees, I'm in the habit of constantly feeling my line for frays and frequently retying for any little reason. Roger

It's a little uncanny John, but your line experience has taken many of the same paths as mine. Like yourself and Paul, I too am a Trilene guy, and used it exclusively for about 45 years (Xtra Limp on spinning & Xtra Tough on casting) We've tried many other lines in the interim, but always came back, there's not a bad thing I can say about any Trilene line. For sheer blood and guts though, it's pretty tough if not impossible to beat P-Line CXX. With spinning tackle though, where a little less memory is much appreciated, the mono I personally prefer is Sufix Elite. For everything else, I prefer Sufix Siege, it's one great line. Now then, if the goal were centered on abrasion-resistance, I'm not aware of any line that's meaningfully better than Sufix Tritanium. On the chart above, Trilene XT edged out Sufix Tritanium in average strength, but I have trouble aligning myself with that metric. Okay, if zebes means zebra mussels, then we have the Archilles heel that'll quickly separate the men from the boys (hope to get the chance sometime next year). Everything changed just a few years ago, when I took the giant step from mono to braid. Technically speaking, "monofilament" includes all line that isn't "multifilament", which is to say nylon, fluorocarbon and copolymers that aren't cofilament (fused vs. jacketed). After all is said and done, no line transition made a greater impact on my spinning experience than braided line. Its line-diameter vs. test-strength is unparalleled, it's virtually non-stretch which in effect raises the tensile modulus of the blank, enhancing the sensitivity and allowing "flick-of-the-wrist" hook-sets. And for spinning junkies like myself, you can't help but fall in love with the "zero-memory" limpness of the line. So what does that leaveLine Visibility? Ironically, in a recent thread Glenn stated that he didn't like Fireline braid because he's a line-watcher and when wearing polarized glasses he can't see the braided line. Yet, there are many anglers who fret over the visibility of braid and add a fluorocarbon leader (I never do). Paradoxically, and in spite of its refractive index, I've seen fluorocarbon line in the sun that looked like an underwater icicle! Back to braided line, I've tried Sufix braid, PowerPro braid and Berkley braid and though I like them all, my latest squeeze is Berkley Fireline Tracer braid...yeah Tracer, so I can see the line ;D Roger

Wow, seven fish in the swash is one great day! I must say, I've yet to catch a trumpet fish. Roger

Great approach...that ought to be called the "Florida Rig"! Oh wait a minute, I believe it is. Roger

Yeah, they're predicting a big snowfall here too on Friday. I think they said it'll be the earliest snowfall "ever" in central Florida......or maybe they just said the first "ever" Roger

Yeah, legendary Lake Harris is right at your doorstep. I have to agree with Lee though, Harris is big bass water but like most lakes in Florida, it can be a tough nut to crack. Ten miles northeast of Leesburg is "Yale Lake". I fished Yale only once (when I lived in Edgewater, FL) We didn't boat anything of size, but it's an attractive marshy lake that I'd revisit in a heartbeat if it were a little closer. About 15 air miles to the north of Leesburg is the Ocala National Forest. The "Big Scrub" as it's locally called, has dozens of lakes with very quiet and private bass fishing. Though I scratched up my 4x4 Suburu, I didn't have many trophies to show for my efforts > Roland Martin used to hire an airplane, pick a lake from the air then portage in as necessary. In my opinion, the pick of the litter would be Lake Panasoffkee, 14 air miles east. The lake has suffered low water for years, but is currently enjoying a nice comeback. It's a nice looking lake where the best bassing seems to be along the eastern shore. Then about 35 air miles east you have Lake Monroe and the St Johns River, both super waters. I've fished both waters many times and I'm especially fond of the St Johns River between Lake Beresford and Crows Bluff. In any case, good luck on your acquisition Roger

You make an excellent point! Especially with regard to "abrasion-resistance", line-diameter is King Roger

Catt, you didn't invent the name "pondweed", you merely conveyed a local moniker for Elodea, therefore you have no reason to feel compelled to defend anything. Though I've never seen the name "pondweed" used to describe Elodea, I fully realize that local monikers are countless and ever-growing (guaranteed employment for lexicographers). The common name for Elodia is "Canadian Waterweed", but in aquaculture its trade name is "Anacharis". As it happens, Anacharis (Elodea) is one of the most common plants sold for use in fish aquariums. Several years back, I compiled the following data on Elodea for my own edification (not a copy-&-paste), a culmination of several sources that you won't find elsewhere. Actually, Elodea has a very interesting history: Elodea grows either rooted in the bottom or free-floating and is found in streams, ponds, and lakes throughout most of the United States. Both elodea and egeria have a wide tolerance range for water temperature. However, elodea is endemic to Canada, whereas egeria is indigenous to South America. Consequently, egeria (Brazilian waterweed) has been spreading northward, while elodea (Canadian waterweed) has been spreading southward, today both plant genera occupy nearly all of the United States. Roger

Therein lies the danger of using slang names like buggy whips and Kissimmee grass. In the vernacular, Maidencane and Knotgrass are both called Kissimmee grass, which specifies nothing. Elodea is sometimes called waterweed, but should never be called "pondweed". Pondweed is a whole other large family of plants (Potamogeton). Wherever it grows, pondweed is A-1 bass cover, Illinois Pondweed being the most common (Potamogeton illinoensis). Roger

To that I can only add, I intend to do some cheating in the coming months Roger

Even on spinning gear I use 30 lb Fireline Tracer braid, which is 0.011" diameter (8-lb mono equivalent). Wind knots, line-twist and burrowing are about as common as whooping cranes. Roger

You and I have nearly identical recollections. Growing up, I too was impressed by their slow, tantalizing wobble (Lazy Ike came later). I was also impressed by the ability of those tiny treble hooks to hang onto a thrashing fish. My dad & I caught mostly chain pickerel, yellow perch and rock bass on flatfish. I especially liked one dubbed "SPS" (spinning surface). It's also been about 30 years since I last retrieved a Helin Flatfish. Roger

John makes a good point regarding the "end of the chase". From what I've read, the lateral line mainly picks up low-frequency waves, which are most effective at close range. It's been suggested that the sensors along the median line of school fish enable them to stay in a unitized group at night. Roger

When I was a kid, there was a method of pickerel fishing called "skittering", which used a Johnson spoon. A long canepole was used to literally skate the spoon, back-and-forth over the tops of the pads like a fleeing baitfish. Today, the J-spoon is probably used most often as a superficial runner (couple inches under the surface) for very weedy areas where other lures can't be fished, not even a buzzbait. Roger

In clear water I prefer plugs without rattles. In muddy water I've gone both ways, and can't say I've ever noticed a meaningful difference. Roger

I used to live in a lakeside community on the north shore of the Walk', which had its own private ramp. Around the turn of the century, there wasn't a single lake in Florida that produced more bass over 8 lbs than Walk-In-Water. During the late 90s, the fabled offshore hydrilla bed was situated 6/10 mile off the northern shore (off Walden Shores). If you go to the same coordinates today you'll be sitting in 8½ ft of water with a clean bottom. In 2004, the hurricane-trio uprooted all the hydrilla, and to this day emergent vegetation still hasn't made a noteworthy comeback. Pickerelweed. water primrose and cattails are found along the shoreline, but they thrive in very shallow water, and are only valuable during the bedding season. Maidencane (K-grass) is plentiful along the western shore, where you'll also find the only steep sloping bottom in Lake Weohyakapka. In any case, the key plant by a long shot is bulrushes (buggy whips). Bulrush can be found in various places around the lake's perimeter varying in size from patches to broad fields. The most popular bulrush drift (and the most picked over) lies a mile south of the public ramp, and is locally known as Southwest Bulrush. Another productive bulrush field is Southeast Bulrush off Magnolia Dr in Indian Lake Estates. On balance though, the best bassing today is still along the northern shore. Bass Alley is a large bulrush field (can't miss it) near Weohyakapka Creek, the lake outlet. Some of the most consistent fishing was at North Island, a smallish bulrush island off Nalcrest. Unfortunately, the crappie fleet decimated about 50% of the original bulrush canes. Use all the same lures you'd use anywhere else. Roger

Between the Panhandle and the Keys, the state of Florida spans a distance of about 400 miles. For this reason, I normally specify central Florida when making a Florida-related post, which lies in the subtropical zone. Similar to New Jersey where we used to live, the bass fishing in central Florida undergoes ALL the seasonal periods. Mother Nature took care of the climatic differences ions ago, when she created northern-strain and Florida-strain bass. Northern-strain bass respond more negatively to the summer doldrums, while Florida-strain bass perform extremely well in water between 75 and 85 degrees. On the contrary, Florida-strain bass (and the intergrades in Florida) respond more negatively to cold fronts. We've lived in Florida since 1998, and in our experience the slowest bass fishing of the year is during the winter, especially the months of December and January. Due to Florida's moderate climate, the transition between pre-spawn, spawn and post-spawn is obscure and undefined. Happily, this causes a generous overlap in the three spawning phases, as a result, the "trophy season" in central Florida lasts about three months. It normally extends from around New Years Day to around April Fools Day (Jan Feb Mar). While the average size of bass tends to decline after April 1st, the hottest fishing of the year is about to begin. In our experience, the months of April and May provide the best bass fishing activity in central Florida, and this year it didn't slow down until June 20th. In addition, the April/May post-spawn period usually provides the best topwater bite of the year, followed by another topwater bite in fall. So when ya cum'n down? Roger

The Mojo on your list is "extra-fast", so it will also feel whippy. Rod selection is a very personal thing, but if it were me I'd be looking for a fast-tip on a med hvy blank. Roger

The jitterbug is a far cry from "underrated". Especially for use after dark, the black J-bug is probably Numero Uno among all surface lures. Roger

By all means, yes. We've found that gar will strike just about anything that a bass will strike. Happily, their bony mandibles make gar difficult to hook, but those of us living in gar range are likely getting more strikes from gar than we might imagine. I don't enjoy handling gar, because in addition to a peculiar musky odor they have a dirty slime coat that tends to stain the boat carpeting. Roger

SShhhh, that's supposed to be a secret For those who never attempted to finesse a cow bass off her bed, it's a lot more difficult than one might imagine. After a while, you will indeed think about buying some dynamite, but those background checks are murder Roger

Hmmm, that's a tough call. Actually, pure "magnesium" is virtually corrosion-proof, but some alloys of magnesium are attacked by galvanic action, much the same as the sacrificial anodes on a saltwater vessel. I'ved used a Stradic MG in saltwater for many years without incident. Roger

EWG stands for Extra-Wide Gap and refers only to the hook bend configuration. EWG Gammies are available for several fish species and in several wire diameters. For example, a "Standard" EWG 4/0 hook (series 58) is made of 0.50" wire & weighs 14 grains A "Superline" EWG 4/0 hook (series 74) is made of 0.62" wire and weighs 21 grains. Pure and simple, you're not going to spring-open ANY gammy hook while fighting a bass. I've broken two gammies in my life, but both times I was removing a hook with pliers. Pliers exert an unnatural torque on a hook that isn't possible to achieve on the end of a line and off a reel drag. Incidentally, breaking a hook in this manner is not due to weakness, but is due to "hardness", a property that extends the lifespan of edge keenness (can't have it both ways). The "G-Lock" hook is actually a pretty neat idea. Unlike the EWG hook bend, the G-Lock configuration resembles slightly a Kahle bend. The G-Lock bend offsets the hook-point angle, so it's reclined inward toward the shank. "G-Lock" per se, refers to the Z-bend offset below the eye of the hook. The Z is 'overbent' so it runs parallel to the reclined hook-point, that is, "in the line of pull". By overbending the Z-bend, more pressure is required to slide the plastic lure down off the shank offset. Roger