RoLo

If I had access to those images, I'd have posted them to make the case against xmas trees. Turn around twice in life, and ten years has gone by. If I go to the toil of fabricating a manmade reef, I want it to last "forever" Roger

Christmas trees are readily available and free of charge, but their effective lifespan is disappointing. Although the tree trunks will last for several years, coniferous foliage wastes away fairly rapidly. The final insult is having to vacuum all the needles out of the boat carpet > In my opinion, the simplest, cheapest and most effective manmade reefs are constructed of 4 Leachbed Corrugated Pipe anchored with Cinder Blocks. URL> http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=24142-124-CF321040010&lpage=none In lakes where lush weeds and woods are both found, bass will almost invariably gravitate to the lush weeds. This would suggest that reefs with movement are preferable to starched reefs. Furthermore, the best reefs create the most shade, and four-inch diameter pipe casts a broader shadow than components of smaller diameter. In addition, reefs that support aquatic life are superior to slick surfaces that discourage barnacles and aquatic life. The rough corrugated surface coupled with the perforations in the pipe support infestation by aquatic life. By weaving the cheap lightweight corrugated pipe in and out of the cement blocks, the hidey-hole configurations are limited only by your imagination, moreover, the reef will last indefinitely. To get the best return for your efforts, it's wise to situate the reef on the the ledge of a drop-off, and ideally more than one reef would be anchored on ledges in different water depths. In this manner, the reefs will accommodate fluctuating pool levels throughout an annual cycle. Roger

When I used to fish with nylon monofilament I was a big "line-watcher", but braided line has made me lazy. By limiting the line-sag to about 3" per yard, very few if any pickups will go undetected with braided line. The least perceptible pickup is when the bass moves toward the angler, but this removes all resistance from the lure, which raises the odds that the bass will still be holding on when the slack line is mended. As soon as I perceive a pickup, the first thing I do is lower the rod to remove all resistance from the lure. You know what the next this is. Roger

I don't target white bass per se, but fish for them opportunistically wherever I see a breaking school or working birds. The same as Roadwarrior, all we've ever used was a 3-inch "white" single-tail curly grub (1/8oz ballhead jig). I'm the last guy to get hung-up on color, but for some reason white bass show a marked preferrence for "white". I suppose it's because they spend their lives looking upward at the "white bellies" of baitfish schools. Roger

I wish you hadn't posted that link, it'll probably cost me money ;D Roger

The boys before me covered it well. Spinning and casting both have their place, and which you choose would depend on where you set your personal parameters. For instance, not many anglers would use casting tackle for bluegills, but even fewer would use spinning gear on bluefin tuna. As much as I love spinning tackle, I use conventional tackle when targeting bluefish over 12 lbs, and when targeting trophy pike, which often exceed 20 lbs. Largemouth bass do not grow as large as pike and aren't nearly as powerful and long-lasting as bluefish. For ole mossback, I'm quite comfortable with spinning tackle, even in waters that might yield the next world-record bass. Of course, I don't using 8-lb class spinning tackle, but most of my spinning gear is 14-pound class (10 to 18-lbs). Once displayed on my den wall was a dark-purple portrait of a storm-at-sea, and the focal point in the foreground was a 20-ft breaking roller with runaway spindrift! Beneath the poignant portrait was the following passage: "Even in the same sea, every man has a different horizon" Roger

The Netbait McDaddy is a soft-plastic craw that never got it just due. Oddly enough, the Netbait paca craw has stolen the show, whose action I'd describe as the flippers on a "dead" turtle. The McDaddy craw displays more compact subtle action that I believe is better suited for water under 75 degrees. You'll find that you can't fish the McDaddy craw wrong, but I'd begin with the standard bottom-hopping retrieve you'd use for any other jig & craw. Roger

I for one would be delighted if they eliminated that silly coffee odor. By the time I'm on the water, my caffeine tank is full and I'd rather not smell anymore coffee beans As for coverup scents, what exactly are we trying to cover up I can smell some lures from several yards away, but fortunately I've never smelled any angler in my boat, even 2 feet away. So if we must cover up scents that we cannot smell, why are there no coverup scents that we cannot smell? (Deer hunting for many decades has taught me that it's impossible to obliterate source odor using another odor) Roger

The "standard" Stanley Ribbit is neutrally buoyant, and does not float at rest. You need to specify Stanley Ribbit "Floater, which will float with a Gamakatsu 5/0 superline hook, which weighs 26 grains. I rig the Ribbit on a Zoom Horny Toad 5/0 hook (with coil-retainer), which weighs 23 grains and stays afloat at rest. Roger

With respect to sight-feeding game fish, I've never believed that scent makes a lick of difference. My wife tried using scent a couple of years ago, and since I never use any fish scent, we had a friendly competition. She no longer uses scent ;D Roger

Lure makers sell lures to fishermen, not to fish. They include rattles in most jigs and crankbaits simply to stay competitive. I for one believe that rattles make for an unnatural delivery. Does any baitfish come to mind, that rattles when it swims? ;D Roger

Perhaps due to their vibration, I find "Paddletail" lures to excel during fall. Anything from paddletail worms to paddletail swimbaits. Roger

I cannot name a single lure that will not catch bass, but I can name a bunch of lures I'd rather fish than a chatterbait. Needless to say, that's only one man's opinion. Roger

Below are a few vintage photographs dating back between the early 1970s and the late 1980s 1970s This 'was' the legendary Buglight at the point of Sandy Hook, New Jersey The viewpoint is Raritan Bay facing eastward over the ocean (note the rip current beyond the shipwreck. Early 1970s Winter Flounder Navesink River, NJ A doubleheader on a tandem rig using bloodworms for bait (April). Early 1970s - Striped Bass - Sandy Hook This is Lois's first striped bass, which weighed 22 pounds. By Jersey standards (which holds the world-record), this fish is just above a "schoolie". We did best at the "Can Grounds", but the C-1 can was pulled about 30 years ago, and it's now called "Officer's Beach". Late 1970s Black Seabass Shrewsbury Rocks, New Jersey (off Monmouth Beach) Seabass and Blackfish (tautog) are exceptionally tasty (but no better eating than largemouth bass) Early 1980s Weakfish (northern seatrout) Cow Buoy of Ambrose Channel, NY My daughter Dawn with her largest seatrout. She had a little trouble suppressing her pride...LOL To my knowledge, our boat was the first "Predator" on the Jersey coast. We participated in the 1979 Shark Tournament out of Manasquan, NJ., and when the MC announced our boat he pronounced the name Pree-DAYter and nobody flinched. We were a tad ahead of our time, because many Predators promptly followed, including the "Predator" boat line. Early 1980s Bluefish & Bonito Out of Shark River, NJ On this day I was trolling umbrella rigs on the "Klondike Bank" off Belmar, a spot familiar to every Jersey salt. Mid 1980s - Bluefish - "Mudhole" (The "mudhole" is a bluefish hotspot fed by Hudson Canyon currents) Bluefish are the piranhas of saltwater, and when you hook-up with a blue weighing in the high teens it's like being hooked to a scuba diver with frog fins! (Time to lose the spinning gear) When we moved from Jersey to Florida we knew we'd be leaving the "slammers" behind (Florida is chiefly "chopper blues") For comparison sake, this is our daughter Dawn with a small "chopper" blue. Late 1980s Summer Flounder (fluke) Elberon, NJ A pair of doormat fluke from the Elberon Rocks, a spot locally referred to as the Pink Church (probably long gone) Roger

Direct Tie One exception is during vacation. For instance, many Canadian lakes offer multiple opportunities (e.g. largemouth, smallmouth, walleyes & pike). When I get tired of cutting & retying, I'll sometimes use a No.2 Duolock Snap (Offshore Angler) without a swivel. Roger

I used to live on Goldenrod Rd in Orlando, and visited Bass Pro Shops whenever I needed tackle. Frankly though, the BPS store was very disappointing, because they frequently ran out of stock. Even though the BPS store was only 20 minutes from my house, I often had to go online to get the tackle I needed > Roger

Thanx NewAngler, I'm glad you enjoy a blast from the past. Don't encourage me though, or I'll break out the 'real old' stuff ;D Roger

"Frankly my dear, I don't give a d**n" Clark Gable in "Gone With The Wind" Roger

Was it a Green Sunfish? Roger

Starter kit ? Roger

No fish ever had an original thought in its life, because fish lack the power of reasoning. To help compensate for their lack of intellect, low forms of life are typically endowed with highly developed instincts that lend to their ability to become conditioned to positive and negative stimuli. Since humans beings lack highly developed instincts, the behavior of low forms of life might create the illusion of intelligence. Roger

I've lived on waterfront property a couple times in my life, which is about as local as you can get. However, I'm afraid that locals get their information in the the same manner as everyone else. About 90% of the lakefront landowners had sketchy or downright erroneous information. A reliable source of data regarding the status of gamefish, baitfish and vegetation are the extension services (Dept of Conservation <> Dept of Natural Resources). It's your license dollars at work, so why not exploit the benefits? Roger

Though I'm far from a casting pundit, I agree with Roadwarrior's recommendation. The Shimano Citica E would not be a mistake. Hot on its heels is the ABU Revo SX, but the Citica E is about $50 less and about 1oz lighter. Roger

You gotta luv the stuff. I've got hydrilla growing in my car radiator, and that water reaches 180 deg F But no bass yet Roger