RoLo

Unless things have changed since I left New Jersey, some of the better waters for big smallies were the Delaware River, Round Valley and Canistear (Pequannock). For numbers of smallies, we did best in the South Branch of the Raritan River and Monksville Res (soon after it opened). Roger

Some years back, I had a house built on a 10-acre tract in Georgia, and paid the bulldozer-operator to scoop out a small backyard pond. The maximum depth was only 3 feet so I could see nearly everything that went on in that pond. I stocked it with bass I caught in local waters, and intentionally withheld food so the residents did not depend on me, but fed on the natural smorgasbord offered by the pond. Although supplementary food wasn't necessary, my wife and I would occasionally feed the bass for our own selfish enjoyment, and the bass busted everything and anything we tossed into the pond. To the angler the difference between a frog and a toad is the difference between hollow-plastic and solid-plastic. To bass however, the difference is far more significant than that. Every species of frog we tossed into the pond was seized and eaten, but toads were another story. Every toad we tossed into the pond was promptly engulfed, but would invariably be regurgitated a short time later. Depending on the toad's condition, it would either fight its way toward shore or just float unmolested. A couple years later I read that the encasing membrane of toads contains a toxin, and I have every reason to embrace that statement. Roger

I've ice-fished for white perch in the brackish water of Collins Cove, Mullica River, NJ. We've also caught white perch as a by-catch in several Jersey lakes. Roger

IMO, you might be moving in the wrong direction. Several years ago, I moved away from looped-eye spinnerbaits in favor of R-bend wire. During the cast, the line would occasionally get wedged between the wire loops of the looped eyelet. With R-bend wire I use a 6-twist uni-knot with braided line, and wire slippage is not a problem. Roger

In saltwater, downriggers and planer boards are commonly used, but on inland waters the most common trolling method is "flatlining". Oddly enough, flat-lined lures such as spoons, spinners and non-diving plugs will ultimately reach a maximum depth. After the lure reaches its maximum depth, if more line is paid astern the lure will rise increasingly higher in the water column. If enough line is paid astern, the lure and trolling sinker may ultimately be running just inches below the surface, sometimes unbeknown to the captain. This phenomenon is caused by cumulative line-drag that forms a U-shaped belly in the line. The bottom of the "U" represents maximum depth, which is closer to the boat than the lure. Line-belly is made worse if the boat speed, distance astern or line diameter is increased. Roger

Yes, I had a voluntary vasectomy. I said to my wife, "Do you realize what this means?" Now "I" can fool around, but "you" cannot! ;D Roger

I have no experience catching saugeye, but can tell that they're a cross between a female walleye and male sauger. The nice thing about saugeyes is that they reproduce, unlike most hybrids which are sterile. In fact, they'll reproduce with either walleyes or sauger. According to what I've read, they're more tolerant of discolored water that walleyes (a trait from saugers) but may be taken with all the standard walleye techniques. Roger

I'm less than an hour from that same store, and good luck with your new outfit. BTW: 20 years is only halfway to the original Gomer Pyle-USMC (ended in '69) Roger

got plenty of them ;D its just that darn beach bum in me, Don't even worry about it, because you can't win. First they'll tell you to invest in a shirt, then they'll poke fun at the shirt you're wearing ;D Roger

my mistake...I should've mentioned that the field is wide-open for the ambidextrous iron-pumper ;D Roger

"Clark Spoons" Geez, that takes me back...I can almost taste the brine. Off the Jersey coast, the No.3 Clark spoon was numero uno for Atlantic bonito and little tunny (false albacore). We used a trolling speed that created the most white water, put one spoon on the front of the second wave, and another on the front of the third wave. I'll bet Rhino remembers. Roger

Are your photos linked to winsock_FTP? If so, it may be a refresh issue, rather than a web browser issue. Roger

Andy Varipapa was billed as "the greatest one-man bowling show on earth", but in spite of his fame, Andy used a 3-step approach and a two-fingered ball. Despite Andy's tremendous success, most pro bowlers, then and now, use a 4-step approach and a 3-fingered ball. All that said, I have a sneaky suspicion that Andy Varipapa designed the first baitcasting reel ;D I'm a right-handed person, so I insist on a "left-hand" conventional reel, and I like three-holes in my bowling ball too. If a reel that I'm interested in buying is not available in a left-hand version, they lost a customer. Small fish can easily be winched to the boat using a revolving drum or for that matter, any spinning reel. Try that with a powerful game fish on the end of the line and the reel will often be humiliated. We've all heard expressions like, I couldn't budge her, until I got her head turned around (that is 'real-world'). When a large fish is still facing away from the boat, her entire body and all her fins are working against the angler. It feels little different from being snagged to a fat stump, and the reel, even a 5:1 revolving drum would offer little value. You're only hope is steady, heavy pressure on the rod, to pry the head of the brute slowly around. Once a large fish is facing the boat, its body and fins are no longer in opposition to the angler, and now she can be pumped to the boat using the rod, while the slack line created is taken up with the reel during each downstroke of the rod. A likely response would be, "yeah, but I don't fish for mako shark". True enough, but what's best for large fish, can't be wrong for small fish. Furthermore, even with the fish out of the equation, getting hung-up on a bulrush stalk is more of the same. Are you going to reel the lure out of the stalk? I don't think so. You're more likely to pull the whole boat over to the snag using rod pressure. The power arm is a terrible thing to waste. Roger

Whether we make a mountain out of molehill, or a molehill out of mountain, is always a personal decision. Every one's opinion is valuable to me, because it offers me a learning opportunity, even though it may be off-topic. People say lots of things that don't necessarily represent their genuine opinion, but may be seizing an opportunity to add momentum to something they feel strongly about. Instead of concentrating on whether you agree or disagree with their opinion, move to the top of the game, and ask yourself what inspired that opinion, and you'll probably come away a wiser man. Roger

Holy Cow...what heartstopping back-to-back weekends! Whenever we're fortunate enough to experience one of those supernatural days, it leaves us with the feeling that it maybe it'll be like this from now on. But then, several years down the road we realize how infrequently we actually get to live out a dream. My boating a smallmouth stringer like that is still just a dream. Kent, I realize that you're aware of this, but as an FYI for the Pickwick road-trippers: The Alabama state-record smallmouth was taken from Wilson Lake (tailrace of Wheeler Dam). When I was a kid, that same 10½ lb smallmouth was also the World-Record! (then along came Dave). Today however, electroshocking by the state reveals that if the incumbent smallmouth state record is ever broken, it will happen downstream (west & north) of the Wilson Dam; in Lake Pickwick or its tailrace. Go For It! Roger

Despite their claim, Zoom Trick worms SINK and Mann's jelly worms are Neutrally Buoyant (I still have about 20 lbs left). Now test the following three Floating worms, and enjoy their enhanced shaky-worm action: Strike King 7" finesse 3x worm (Elaztech / Cyberflexxx) Roboworm Shak'n Zipper worm Gambler 7" Big Stick. <DYE-KNOW-MIGHT> Roger

LURE: Johnson Silver Minnow 1/2oz x 2½ Black Nickel TRAILER: Zoom Fat Albert Grub 5.0 Watermelon Seed DELIVERY: Steady medium-speed retrieve that causes the spoon to rock seductively back-&-forth The Johnson spoon is a Big Bass lure, and although that statement has been done to death, it's not an exaggeration when applied to the J-spoon. Roger

My story is basically the same, and it's my opinion that Owner blows the doors off VMC. Roger

I like your style Jeff....I see lots of pleasurable bass'n in your future Roger

Good point Dwight, I encountered that same impediment in Ohio, when I put my Silverline bassboat on the ferry to Put-In Bay, Bass Islands. Even so, I still think you've got a legitimate shot at a record bronzeback stringer, and nothing would please me more. Roger

Roger, what do you mean "centrally (not in ht nose)"? I've often read where a member would refer to "nose-hooking" the fluke, which I'd assume means that the hook is confined to the head area. I rig the fluke so the hook-point is central in the lure, and the point is embedded in plastic. Since I use braided line, getting through the plastic is never a problem. Roger

The best I've ever done with smallmouth bass is with nothing on the list above. I was gliding a 1/8oz ballhead jig dressed with a 4-inch segment of live worm (threaded in a straight line). According to the lodge owner, our smallies were the largest he'd seen in 17 years After bottom contact, I'd crank the reel two or three times then allow the jig & worm to glide naturally back to the bottom. At no time does the rod move, only the reel. While the jig arcs slowly back to the bottom, the worm segment never stops writhing. Roger

Hark all ye Pickwick Road Trippers In years past, noted fishing guide, Roger Stegall won a tournament on Pickwick Lake with a five-fish stringer weighing 27 lb, 6 oz, that's an average weight of 5½ lbs!! When I was in my 30s, bass tournaments allowed 10-fish stringers. A local guide on Pickwick Lake won a bass tournament with an incredible 10-bass limit weighing 52.5 lbs. This translates to an average weight of 5 lb, 4 oz for ten bass, and his biggest smallmouth weighed 7 lbs, 4 oz. For the record, 7 lbs, 4 oz is the ceiling weight (plateau) for smallmouth bass, wherever they grow. Lake Simcoe, Ontario Canada During the fall of 2006, Lake Simcoe broke its own Canadian Bass Tournament record with a five-fish smallmouth stringer weighing 29.9 lb, just a tad shy of a 6-pound average, and mind you, Lake Simcoe is on the 44th Parallel. Lake Erie Until this stringer record is finally broken by Dwight Hottle, to my knowledge it still holds the crown. It was a 5-bass stringer weighing 30.50 lbs, a staggering 6.1 lb average weight Roger

I agree with you, from the picture it does look about 5 pounds. Take it from a guy who lived in New Jersey for 50 years, that's an ELEPHANT by Jersey standards...congratulations! In that same vicinity, we've done a lot of bassing in Hopatcong, Lake Muscenetcong, and Budd Lake through the ice (lots of hawg pickerel). Roger

That list looks pretty deadly to me! I might add "tubes" to that list, and to the jig listed I'd try a "curly-tail grub", "pork rind strip" and "live worm" (oh yah). As a side note, Billy Westmoreland caught "two" 10-lb smallies on a 1/8oz black hair jig dressed with pork rind strip. With regard to the next world record though, I'd have to go with "live minnows" As if you didn't know 8-) Roger