RoLo

My all-time favorite angler is "Al Lindner", hands-down! (including Jason Lucas, Buck Perry & KVD) Al was essentially a non-tournament angler, and did not do well in the tournaments he entered. Regardless, no fisherman has taught me more than Al Lindner, therefore my opinion of Al is selfish. Few among us could choose the best tournament pro without interjecting personality into our opinion. Statistically speaking, the all-time best tourney pro is Roland Martin Martin and Clunn ran statistically neck-&-neck, where the victor would depend on how you weight each statistic Bill Dance set more BASS (and All-American) tourney records than any angler, and was the pioneer of professional angling and the first tourney master in my life (late 60s). However, Bill's career was during a completely different era (i.e. boats, motors, limits, tourney regs), his records were set in a very narrow field and his career was relatively short-lived. Today, the best tourney pro is Kevin VanDam (kind of a no-brainer) Roger

The original gitzit was often imitated but never duplicated. If I'm not mistaken, the demand for gitzits eventually dried up and Bobby Garland stopped production. But then due to popular demand, the production of the original bobby garland gitzit was reinstated. Roger

You might have a little trouble finding a "smokey joe" fluke

In my opinion, that's good advice. "Bubblegum" looks like a flashlight under the water, making it easy to observe every dart and glide of a subsurface lure. The dubious difference between any two colors will pale by comparsion to a sloppy presentation versus a well-presented lure. Roger

2 COUNTRIES: > United States > Canada 2 PROVINCES: > Ontario > Quebec 11 STATES: > Ohio > Massachusetts > Connecticut > New York > New Jersey > Pennsylvania > Kentucky > Tennessee > South Carolina > Georgia > Florida Roger

Realistically, I'd tie a hard jerk to any rod that might be available in my 6-place rod-holder. Given a choice however, I'd go with a 6-ft rod, because I mostly use hard jerkbaits during the pre-spawn, when water temperatures are low (the longer the rod, the higher the speed of the jerk). As for blank power, nearly all my tackle is Med-Hvy spinning, but this is dictated by the potential size of bass and the heavy cover that abounds year-round (I use braid of course). Roger

You want a SPINNERBAIT to look like a PERCH?? Good luck with that...I doubt that Houdini could make a spinnerbait look anything like a yellow perch. Bass are the masters of their domain, but even a plastered fisherman can distinguish a spinnerbait from a yellow perch. Fortunately, bass are opportunistic feeders with a short memory; if the lure looks like an edible creature we're home free Roger

ZOOM < Don't Leave Home Without Them > > Zoom Horny Toad > Zoom Fat Albert > Zoom Critter Craw > Zoom Brush Hog > Zoom Super Fluke > Zoom Trick Worm To fill the bill, I'd add three other soft-plastic manufacturers: > Gambler > Strike King > Berkley Roger

"Snap-swivels" have been phased-out of my angling arsenal many years back. I'll use a "snap" alone on occasion, when there aren't enough fishing combos onboard and I grow weary of retying. For freshwater fishing, my favorite snap is an Offshore Angler Duolock No. 2 (30-lb) Black (No. 3 for pike) For inshore saltwater, I prefer a Rosco Coastlock No. 33 (75 lb) I use a barrel-swivel alone with some spoons (not Johnson spoons) with some in-line spinners (not keeled) & all Carolina rigs. For freshwater fishing my favorite swivel is a Spro Power Swivel No. 10 (35 lb) black stainless (simply the best) For saltwater fishing, I use Sampo ball-bearing swivels. Roger

Super suggestion! Instead of belly-aching about someone else's litter, just round it up and haul it off. One day after work I took a fellow worker along to do some deer hunting with bow & arrow. As we were suiting up to go on stand, I noticed a candy wrapper in the fallen leaves behind my car. I didn't actually see Jim ditch the wrapper, so I simply tossed it into the trunk of my car without saying a word. Then the next time I opened my trunk Jimmy noticed the candy wrapper and said, "Oh, did you pick that up Rog?". I said, yeah of course Jim, that's the least we can do after getting permission to hunt this man's land (he got the message). Roger

Sensitivity and Density go hand-in-hand, but sensitivity and strength do not. The Loomis GLX is 65-million modulus, which is a high-modulus blank, i.e."HM". An IM-8 is an intermediate modulus blank, i.e. "IM". A scale "8" IM blank will fall between 43 million & 47 million modulus, depending on the rodmaker, which is significantly lower modulus than the Loomis GLX. The higher modulus GLX (naked blank) is denser, more sensitive and has a faster recovery rate than IM-8 The IM-8 however is a stronger and more durable blank, because the coarser weave of intermediate modulus is more pliable (less brittle) than a dense weave, and also because the lower the modulus the heavier the blank wall. If you were in pursuit of large gamefish like billfish, tuna or muskellunge, the IM-8 would be the clear winner, otherwise the GLX is the clear winner. Roger

My favorite rod under $200 is the "Okuma Concept C3" (a real standout) My wife's favorite rod under $200 is the "Johnny Morris Signature". Now matter which rod you choose, be sure to couple it with the correct reel for best overall balance. Roger

Bass and gar coexist side-by-side, and the only disadvantage to gar is that they'll often cut-off the lure. Most land points provide "two" side pockets, one on either side. Since you caught a striped bass, which are largely pelagic, you might do better to back off from the tip of the point and work in the pockets closer to the main lake outline. Although most anglers favor the point of the point, the "inside corners" on each side tend to "converge" plankton, baitfish and game fish. Finally, when fishing a slope with rapidly changing depth, the lure is apt to lose contact with the bottom. To assure that the lure remains tangent to the bottom, you might bottom-drag a T-rigged jig or plastic or use a Carolina-rig. Roger

The best fishing lines are the most visible fishing lines, because bass follow the line to home-in on the lure ;D Roger

I don't use a separate hook and sinker in dense cover. For mat-punching I use a heavy, spire-nosed jig with a screw-coil retainer, then thread on a streamlined plastic with few appendages. It's the surest way to get the lure in harm's way. Roger

Good advice Paul, about a tough seasonal period There are a combination of conditions that make summertime a difficult period. Although bass metabolism is at peak levels, the forage base in summer is also at an annual peak. The whole ecosystem is in high gear and food is very plentiful, so in spite of an elevated metabolism, bass may actually spend less time foraging, a time when there may be fewer hungry bass (esp. in clear water). In spite of conventional wisdom, bass are not uncomfortable in warm water, provided there's ample dissolved oxygen. During midsummer, the depth of bass in natural lakes will rarely if ever exceed the depth of the outer weed-line. In an artificial impoundment..well..you're on your own Roger

Dating back to the 60s, I've owned a throng of 2-stroke outboard engines from 4hp to 200hp and from Eska to E-Tech. Though I may be an old geezer, I'm not one to resist change, and today I own and prefer the 4-stroke engine. The 4-stroke has virtually every advantage over the 2-stroke engine, with two exceptions: The 4-stroke engine weighs more and the initial outlay is greater, but beyond that it's all good news. Roger

As a charter member of the "Noon O'clock Club", I rarely get an early start anymore, but I'm typically on the water throughout the noonish timeslot and luv'n it. The plankton hypothesis is very plausible. In addition, I believe the enhanced vision during midday is another credible theory. While young bass tend to exploit their rod-and-cone vision over preyfish by feeding during twilight (dawn & dusk), mature bass seem to exploit the enhanced vision afforded by maximal light levels (10am to 3pm). A third possibility, especially during the cooler months are gradually rising water temperatures, which can never hurt. Roger

The ROD is more important With only a reel in your hand, you cannot cast a lure; but with only a rod in your hand, you can still retrieve the lure. The flyrodder only needs a reel to store his line, and the canepole fishermen doesn't even have a reel. For many decades, commercial fisherman pitched lures using a strong rod without any reel, then heaved each fish over the gunwale directly into the hull box. Roger

Good to hear, I am glad someone likes that POS color. It's a good looking bait but I've never had a strike on it. Hmmmmmm, whenever I read a post that is critical of what another raves about, and refers to it as a POS, it makes me wonder why it works for one and not the other. I like the *** tomato core worms, and they produce well for me. If they don't for another, is it the bait or the person? I cannot get a hit on rattletraps or similar crankbaits. Does that make them all pieces os? Or is it perhaps that I don't know what I'm doing with them? If it works well for others, but not for me, the problem can likely be seen in the mirror. Good point. A critique on lures is good, but a tutuorial on technique is better. Roger

Be careful though, the lure with maximum action isn't necessarily the most productive lure. As often as not, a lure with natural subtle action will outproduce a more lively active lure. This is especially true in cool water, clear water and after a cold-front. But I can't wait till they're available either!! Roger I've been reading a lot about action and I was thinking about your point above recently. Good action is great at times, but when bass are sluggish it can be anathema to a fish. I had to look up "anathema" :-[ It has a very interesting evolution, and makes a good fit in that context Roger

Since I've been living in Florida, I don't remember a year with so much pent-up moisture in the atmosphere. Every single day in Lake Wales, I'm looking at a superabundance of cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds. On a nearly daily basis for the past several months, a thunderstorm has threatened the area almost every afternoon. The weatherman has been so off base this year that it's the first time in my life that I go out without even bothering to check the weather forecast. In the recent past, we stayed perfectly dry and safe during days with a 70% chance of T-storms, and were most threatened and most wette during days with a 30% chance of T-storms. Bedtime for me is generally between 2AM and 3 AM, so an early fishing start for us is around 11 to 12 o'clock. I have found the best bite this year in Florida to be immediately upon hitting water, and fizzling out about an hour or two later. Then around 4 or 5 o'clock we generally experience one more feeding period, or if not, we usually run into one more feeding period sometime before sunset. I've been lucky to have lived in Jersey with northern-strain bass, and in Florida with Florida-strain bass. It's clear to me that the bass in Florida are less affected by warm fronts and hot spells in summer, even in shallow water. Inversely, the bass in Florida are much more sensitive to cold-fronts, at least in my experience on the lakes we fish. I place zero stock on barometric pressure, because a fish has only to change its depth by a few inches to replicate the pressure change equivalent to a full swing in barometric pressure. Every angler knows that cold fronts have a negative effect on fishing, eerily similar to the fall turnover. It's my belief notwithstanding, that it's lighting conditions that makes the difference, and not the affect of air temperatures on water temperatures. On the other hand, long-term weather patterns that ultimately affect a change in water temperature, definitely have a profound effect on fish behavior. But this is getting into temperature "trend", which is the cause of seasonal periods, in contrast to transient fronts. In concert with changes in air temperature, frontal conditions also create two other changes on the fish's environment: 1) There's typically an increase in wind speed, and the refraction caused by wave action significantly reduces the "light level". 2) Fronts are typically accompanied by heavy overcast skies, which likewise reduce the "light level". The summer period is a little more complicated than most anglers may realize. To be sure, the metabolic rate of fish in warmer water is much higher. This means that fish need to eat more often, because what they eat is combusted at a higher rate. However, bass in water temperatures over 87 degrees instinctively conserve their calories, because in so doing they won't have to eat as often. You begin to see the monkey wrench that bass have to deal with in summer. They need to eat more, but they also need to conserve calories, which is typically achieved by eating less. Another monkey wrench is oxygen-deprivation which is most pervasive during the summertime. Anglers tend to envision bass seeking comfort from summer heat in deep water. However, cold-blooded animals are comfortable in all temperature, unlike warm-blooded animals that need to sustain a given body temperature. Furthermore, where oxygen deprivation exists, bass are forced into shallower hotter water in summer, not deeper water. Roger

Yeah, that was an easy call. I'm sure you know, but the largemouth fishing in and around "Lake Of The Isles" is nothing short of stupendous (Hill Island backwaters too). I used to have it all to myself, until Larry Nixon won the megabucks tourney there. As I recall, the pre-spawn peak for bigmouth bass occurs just prior to opening day and around the first 10 days of open season. Roger

1/4 oz Spinnerbait

Be careful though, the lure with maximum action isn't necessarily the most productive lure. As often as not, a lure with natural subtle action will outproduce a more lively active lure. This is especially true in cool water, clear water and after a cold-front. But I can't wait till they're available either!! Roger