RoLo

Without bothering to read any responses, let me just say that "handheld" GPS is what most captains use who routinely venture 100 miles offshore (mounted of course). GPS is a very broad topic, but if you have any technical questions regarding same, feel free to shoot me a PM. If you don't feel free, stick with Garmin over Navionics. Roger

Here's a little better image of that Jersey pike ;D Roger

The beauty of the "lipless" crank is that they can be used like a countdown lure, and unlike a "lipped" crank, they won't dive any deeper during the retrieve. Roger

Bass love the shade that lily pads cast, but even a good thing can reach the point of vanishing returns. In ponds where lily pads literally "choke" the surface, it becomes important to concentrate along the pad edges, and especially in the pockets and holes in the pads. If surface lures aren't producing action, I'd head straight to the bottom of the stalks with your favorite bottom lure. Roger

My Long-winded PowerPro Story Most of you know that I predominantly use spinning tackle and that I'm a staunch advocate of braided line. For several decades, I spooled Trilene XL mono on all my spinning tackle, and though it served me very well, I felt that I was long overdue for a change. Shortly after joining Bass Resource in 2005, I posted a thread requesting recommendations for an alternative line to replace Trilene XL mono (some of you may actually recall that post). KU_Bassmaster mentioned braided line in passing, suggesting that braid is dead limp and a whole nother animal. That's when the light went on! It finally hit me that maybe braid was the missing chapter in my spinning experience. Shortly thereafter, I realized that indeed I was a 'stick-in-the-mud', and braid was the change I should've made years ago. At that time, PowerPro braid was the line-of-choice, and the brand that I choose. From that day forth, I used PowerPro braid exclusively for 3½ years with nary a glitch. Little did I know however, that this love affair was headed for the wall. Sure, I heard all the negative stories about PowerPro's mysterious line-breakage, but put my hands over my ears, and dismissed it as a scapegoat for angler incompetence. My wife and I had a decent season this year, but 2009 should have been a Banner Year for us. Let me explain: Every winter I re-spool my reels with new line, a habit I formed while living in the north. This past winter I re-spooled using a 'bulk spool' of 30 lb PowerPro braid. As it happened, our April Fools Day joke would arrive in early April. I felt a pickup and set the hook as usual, but simultaneous to the shock of the hook-set the line went slack! My wife asked me if I had a hit. Embarrassed, I answered yes, but added that my line must've been nicked. The line broke between the lure and the rod-tip, which ruled out toothy varmints and knot-failure, so I assumed it was due to a fray caused by angler carelessness (that's me). About an hour later, my wife set the hook on a good bass, but early in the fight her line suddenly parted! She looked mystified, and while shaking her head back-and-forth she said, That was a BIG fish, Rog. I knew that it was, but didn't want her to feel any worse. I asked Lois if the line broke next to the lure, but she said, No, it broke about ten feet in front of the lure. I told her that the line was obviously abraded, and that she should be more careful with her line (I was the pot, calling the kettle black). We landed several bass that day, but our biggest bass were never seen. The following weekend, we both checked our lines visually and ran it through our fingers in search of frays, then headed back to the same spatterdock fields. We landed a few average bass then about 1:00am, Lois hooked up with the first Big bass of the day. We both got a quick glimpse of the fish, which I jokingly said was definitely between 6 and 12 pounds. She wasn't amused by my humor, and for the first time this year, I resorted to the landing net, to assure that she boated this bass. As I made my way toward the gunwale, her line suddenly snapped and I stood there stupid with a big empty net. I was not only angry, but now reality was finally beginning to set in. Just maybe we are not to blame, and just maybe we're dealing with line failure. I've been fishing since the early 1950s, in both fresh and saltwater, and this would be the first time in my life that I'd actually blame the fishing line. Before the day was over, I broke off another big bass, which I said to Lois was probably a blessing in disguise. I told her that now I'm sure we are not to blame, and now I've got to do something about thisand I did At home, I got on the web and sure enough I found where PowerPro themselves admitted to having quality control issues with their bulk spools (Yeah...No kidding?). PowerPro offered a brand new free spool, but you know what they can do with that brand new spool, don't you? There are two reasons why I decided to go with Berkley Fireline Tracer Braid: 1) Reportedly, PowerPro consists of 4 bundled strands, whereas Fireline consists of 8 bundled strands. The greater the number of strands, the rounder the line, the farther it casts, the better it handles, and the less apt it is to form wind-knots and to burrow in the spool. 2) Berkley is the manufacturer of Fireline braid, which is the same line-company that produces Trilene XL, a line that I've learned to love and trust for decades. (Who is PowerPro anyway?) The day I replaced PowerPro braid with Berkley Fireline Tracer Braid, was the same day that line-failure abruptly ended. Since I've been using Fireline braid I have literally forgotten all about wind-knots and line-burrowing. I am much happier with Berkley Fireline Tracer braid than I've ever been with PowerPro braid. I had three bulk spools of leftover PowerPro braid, but derived perverted gratification tossing all three into the dumpster. I would hope by now that PowerPro has cleaned up their act, but to my mind, that's too little, too late. I take this seriously, because I've advocated PowerPro braid in the past, which puts me in an embarrassing position, a position I do not appreciate. In any event, I'm now back with Berkley, and I feel good about that. Past experience has taught me that it's always the same companies that tend to push the envelope. Differently put, Fool me once, shame on youFool me twice, shame on me. Adios, PowerPro Roger

I was just a kid in Jersey, when I was first exposed to frog fishing (the real McCoy). My dad took me to Lake Owassa, where he was using a split-bamboo flyrod and bass bugs for bull frogs. He would drop the bug within a couple feet of a frog, twitch it once or twice, and the frog would pounce on the bug. Well..apparently frogs have high acidic saliva, because the following year when my dad opened up his fly box, all his hair bugs had fallen apart Roger

There is really no wrong way to fish plastic worms, spoons & bucktail jigs. Deer-tail hair is "hollow" and has a unique natural action that's very effective in both fresh and saltwater. Like SirSnookalot pointed out, the Naval Survival Kit from WW-ll included the Upperman Jig, a laterally-compressed jighead originating from New Jersey that looks like a lima bean. Even in the age of high-tech lures & swimbaits, you'd still be very hard pressed to beat a bucktail jig dressed with a fresh-cut belly-strip Roger

Same here, except SHE has the costly relationship with the bait monkey! A woman's need to shop paired with the bait monkey's unrelenting temptations...Holy moly!! I came <this> close to making that same comment. I have a hunch that Keri and Lois would get along fabulously 8-) Roger

With respect to inshore fishing (as opposed to offshore tidal influences), the best of the incoming tide is roughly from 1½ hours before high water until 1½ hours after high water (high water needs to be calculated for your location). Fishing during the flood tide is generally more difficult than fishing around low water. Near the top of the tide, fish will be scattered on the flats, pretty much like fishing a lake with an unusually high pool-level. Although they're scattered on the flats, fish tend to aggregate on flooded shellbeds and grassbeds (sand holes therein). About 1½ hours after high water (depending on your location), the tide will go slack and the bite will normally fizzle. Due to flow momentum, fishing the ebb tide (outgoing water) is a little different. We usually focus on the time-slot from about 2 hours before low tide to about 1 hour after low water. Slack tide does not occur at low water, but depending on your location, roughly an hour later. Low water provides much easier fishing than flood tide, because the fish are concentrated, and tend to gather at bottlenecks, creek mouths and straits which funnel the forage that's flushed off the flats. Roger

My wife is an avid fisherlady, and for the past 45 years she has encouraged my costly relationship with the bait monkey. Although I'm in a very good position, it does get prohibitively expensive :-/ Roger

I can't help but visualize that scrumptious pile of stacked fillets Bon Appetit Roger

Both the size and color suggests a carp Roger

Bingo! Fresh-frozen baitfish can be hauled anywhere, even to fly-in lakes. Many will tell you that bait isn't necessary for pike but that isn't the point, the theme here is "best" lure. In the first place, I'm not referring to the snot-rockets in the shallow bays, but gator pike measuring 34" and up. In the second place, when pike are on the bottom in deep water, the jig & minnow is worked slowly in the strike zone, more thoroughly than any spoon, spinnerbait or jerkbait (jerkbaits are great right after ice-out). Pike are not scavengers, but are accustomed to feeding on fresh-dead baitfish, which is particularly true for trophy-class pike. During early spring for example, pike wolf-down tons of winterkilled baitfish every year. Roger

Then it's gotta be...bacon! ;D ;D Pretty close...but it's neither bacon nor rind.

In the normal order, lures for the target species are selected first, then a rod is chosen to handle the lure selection. Roger

My most successful lure for northern pike is neither an artificial lure nor live bait. Roger

That's brilliant! Roger

Poking fun at inexperienced enthusiasts is okay, it's a lot of fun, and is something we all can do (I plead guilty). Nevertheless, I just wanted to add that lending a helping hand to that same newbie, provides an even bigger boost to the ego. I couldn't help but notice that this thread which elicits a negative response, has attracted a greater number of replies than the informative posts that surround it. Things that make you go: Hmmm Roger

Among the cheapest, most nutritious foods is a peanut butter & jelly sandwich (very tough to beat). Utilize 100% peanut butter, unsweetened jelly and whole-grain bread. Roger

Glad you did well in Brahma Pass, but too bad about the fuel pump (it's always something). Philly Point is pretty good, but is very popular and well picked over (they're released at Camp Mack). Jacks Slough holds many hawgs but it consists of a myriad of hidey holes and they can be real tough to come by. (Jacks Slough is where Luke Clausen fished to win the BASS Classic Tournament). Also, don't neglect the boat trails along the main river channel (Kissimmee River) near Grape Hammock. Roger

Unless fishing is your livelihood, I wouldn't be too concerned about a pullback in enthusiasm. On the contrary, getting involved in a broad range of interests is the sign of a healthy mind. The only time for concern is when your interest in all your hobbies seems to be waning, and you have no interest in anything, but even depression tends to wane with the passing of time. If your love for fishing is deep-seated, you will return to the sport when your spirit is ready, but don't treat it as an obligation. If your spirit is not deep-seated, so be it, there's a litany other of interests that bring just as much joy as fishing (I realize that's a dangerous statement on a fishing forum). Examples of other great interests are vegetable gardening, wildlife gardening, bird nest boxes & feeding stations, waterfowl hunting, deer hunting, archery, photography, astronomy ~ ~ Roger

It's nice to know that someone else has discovered heaven...Georgian Bay is as addictive as a dry martini It's obvious from your descriptions that you were certainly there. Oddly enough, the 30,000 Islands is one of the few places where I've found bronzebacks relating to weeds, and they did so religiously every evening before dark. BTW: After trying many lodges, our favorite outpost is the Moon River, which offers superb angling for northern pike and largemouth bass, and is the home of the Ontario record musky (hailed from Blackstone Harbor just north of Moon River). Roger

Based on muskie club results (Wisconsin & New York), the most productive method for summer and fall, is trolling bucktail spinners followed closely by trolling plugs. The most critical factor is keeping the lure on the outer weed-line and near the bottom. Roger

If I were going to spend a Summer Vacation for largemouth and smallmouth bass, my choice would be a no-brainer: The 30,000 Islands, Georgian Bay, Ontario, that is, the east shore of Lake Huron between Port Severn & Parry Sound. Georgian Bay's 30,000 Islands comprise the greatest freshwater expanse within the Bass-Box as defined by In-Fisherman. The catch-rate through July & August is equal or greater to the catch-rate in Florida during the spring peak. Although Canada cannot produce the trophy bigmouth found in Florida, the number of 3-pound bass is remarkably similar to Florida. The 30,000 Islands district consists of thousands of square miles of water, where the angler has access to hundreds of lakes, bays & backwaters with unparalleled diversity. As a sweet bonus, you'll never be forced to fish any location where one other boat may be seen, and you'll always be surrounded by scenery to die for. Though I live in Florida, my wife will tell you that my heart lives in Ontario. Roger

I'm afraid there's no answer to that question, because "Best Presentation" is a moving target. There'll be times when no delivery seems to work, and times when every delivery seems to work. Roger