RoLo

RIFLE APPROACH (spots of shade) Cricket Fly (No.10 - black) Bubble Float (clear oval) (Position 2 feet above fly) SHOTGUN APPROACH Worden's Rooster Tail 1/24oz No.11 (black w/green body) (beetle spins are killers but during the cast the line tends to foul in the looped wire eyelet) Roger

LAKE? Oh, I thought it was a Delta :-[

Just this past Saturday, my wife & I were drifting & casting in the rain, when I suddenly noticed a steep slope on the sounder. While babbling to my wife about the great spot I just found, she boated a bass (3 lbs even). Then as I was entering the "new" coordinates, I was embarrassed to learn that this spot was already a named waypoint in my route. This underscores the importance of scrutinizing the depth sounder, and although we did a lot of drift fishing that day, every bass came off predetermined coordinates (i.e. rapid depth change). Tom, I had to look up "lagniappe", and I concur Roger

Make no mistake about it, we all learn from one another, and even at the end of the road, no one knows it all. I read all Buck Perry's articles in Fishing Facts magazine, and during the 70s, I bought his book called "Spoonplugging" before the ink was dry. I'm older than most of you fellows though, so I go back farther than Buck Perry. I cut my teeth on a book called "Lucas on Bass Fishing", published by Jason Lucas in 1947. Lucas was a brilliant, free-thinking pioneer of bass fishing, whose tenets still hold true today, right down to color selection. You can rest assured that Buck Perry and Jason Lucas learned a great deal from one another, and so it goes. The very day I came to Bass Resource, I included my motto at the bottom of every cover page, which I feel strongly about: "It's not about 'WHO' is Right, it's all about 'WHAT' is Right." Roger

"Big bait, big bass" is just too obvious to be gospel. It stands to reason, when a lure is large enough to intimidate small bass, it is guaranteed to increase the "average" weight of bass harvested. But reducing the number of small bass, is not the same as increasing the number of large bass. In the not too distant past, hawg-hunters in Florida touted the use of live golden shiners between 8 and 14" long. Ask any bait dealer today the length of his best selling shiners and it'll probably be closer to 4 to 7". Kevin VanDam's boated an 11 lb plus bass, but it was a forgettable event that slipped through the cracks. I suppose it would've been more newsworthy if Kevin were using a 10" swimbait, but he was fishing a 4" fry worm Roger

Which do you think is more conducive to back issues & elbow problems, 50 years of spinning or 50 years of casting? (food for thought) Roger

Shimano Symetre hands-down, it's the best value in the Shimano house. Roger

I agree, a clear lure would be more difficult to see in any water color or any lighting condition. Obscuring the lure is most beneficial in clear water, but it can be counterproductive in muddy water and at night. In very low-light situations, it's usually better to pull the other way by making the lure 'more' visible. For muddy water and at night, Opaque black is favored because it offers the best silhouette (sky contrast). Roger

Well, different anglers, fish different waters and are faced with different situations and cover. "Favorite Jig" is a generic question, and doesn't address the criteria that caused each angler to embrace it as his 'favorite'. For instance, the jig I pictured satisfies most of the things that I like in a jig, but places the emphasis on "weedlessness". However, the fellow who spends most of his time in stumpfields would probably favor an "arkie head", and the rock-bouncer might opt for a "football" head, and so it goes Roger

And vice versa: sometimes the smallest lure will catch the largest bass

Tom, your angling strategy describes my angling strategy to a T. On my boat, every day is a "throw away" day. A typical day on our boat finds my wife fishing diligently (and catching), while I'm writing some stuff in a field guide that's lying in my lap, while my rods are socketed in their holders. It occurred to me that maybe this is a common syndrome among us elderly anglers, but I was the same when young. When entrenched in thinking, learning and experimenting, catching becomes kind of an anti-climax. Even while I'm still cranking a bass to the boat, I'm already thinking about what I've learned by this catch, and if it's noteworthy it goes down in my log. The thinkin' and learnin' is my favorite parts of fishing, and if you took that away from me, you might as well take my boat and tackle too ;D Roger

Very good Jeff. And therein lies the most significant message of this thread Roger

The benefit of a transparent topwater lure is to downgrade visibility. Though this doesn't apply to murky water or night fishing, a transparent or translucent lure in clear water, makes it harder for bass to get a good look. For this same reason, it's also good to use extra speed in clear water. Roger

Stanley Ribbit Floater The Gambler Cane Toad being a close-second. At the speed I usually fish topwater toads, the Horny Toad is a subsurface lure. Roger

Exactly. In addition, a "year-round" holding site would also provide a spawning flat and nursery area, thereby offering optimal population dynamics and recruitment. Buck's ideas were new in the 60s, but archaic by today's standards, and have since been upended by In-Fisherman telemetry. Before man created the first artificial reservoir, natural lakes were devoid of submerged bridges, culverts and roadbeds. All that stuff came later with the advent of manmade impoundments (e.g. TVA). More importantly, there has never been a single radio tracking study evidencing bi-daily migration of largemouth bass, from deep water to shallow water and back. Alternatively, different populations of bass live simultaneously in different depth zones. Assuming that all bass in every depth zone do not feed at once, it's very plausible how this would create the illusion of migration. Roger

The only time I use spinning gear, is when I go fishing Most of my spinning tackle is 15-lb class (30-lb braid), which is great in heavy cover and ample for trophy pike. I also own about 25 casting outfits, but they usually watch the house while I'm fishing. Roger

Very nice work Tom! Eh, that's one hefty chain pickerel Roger

Buck Perry was well-meaning when he coined the term "structure", but he actually reshaped a preexisting word. Unfortunately, the reshaping of the meaning of "structure" did not stop there. With regard to fishing jargon, the word "structure" has become a catchall term, a blanket description for every positive lake feature. At one time or another, I've seen the word "structure" used in association with changes in bottom composition, mud-lines that separate clear & muddy water, flow-line cleavage between main current and back-eddies, and even thermal breaks in water temperature. The more meanings and senses that a word takes on, the more MEANINGLESS the word becomes. For my own personal edification, I prefer the terms "contour" and "cover", while avoiding the word "structure". "Contour" refers to the shape (contour) of the underlying terrain, while "cover" is anything that lies atop (covers) the terrain. For instance, a submerged gravel hump would represent "contour", while car-sized boulders resting on that gravel hump represent "cover". But if you asked an angler if those boulders represent "structure", be prepared for a labored response. Today, the word structure inspires more questions than answers, which is counterproductive. To err on the side of safety, whenever I see the term "structure", what I actually see is : " " Roger

RW, thanx for your response and that great story! Just days after I joined Bass Resource, you told me that story about Speedy's 10 lb mule, which I've never forgotten. I also remember FiveBassLimit asking why you guys released that hawg, a feeling that I share with FiveBass. I doubt that I'd have the fortitude to release a 10-lb smallmouth, because only SIX 10-pound smallies have ever been certified. Two of them in fact (20%) were taken by the late Billy Westmoreland from Dale Hollow Reservoir. Reading your story about that horse smallmouth which got away gave me gooseskin! Your description ignites da sha vue, and is remarkably similar to some of the largest fish I've fought & lost (fresh & saltwater). Phase 1: Yipes, this fish is far too much for my tackle.I'm in trouble. Phase 2: At the end of every run, she stops while facing away from the boat. Until you can turn her head around, you can't pump her toward the boat. Oddly, when you lay back hard on a big fish facing away, you can actually feel the fins pumping as she holds her ground. Phase 3: Rats...instead of beating herself up on top, she's bent on heading for the bottom where she can sulk' Phase 4: It's a stalemate, so now what? I can't possibly exert anymore pressure on her. Just then there's an abrupt sensation of weightlessness What hurts most is knowing that there's only one person to blame and that's ME! As you pointed out, if there's any flaw along the tackle train or drag-setting, your Personal Best will find it for you. Speedy and yourself have already paid your dues, and I'd love to see you boys set the next world-record bronzeback. Was Speedy's 10 and your lost monster both taken in the Tailrace of the Pickwick Dam (i.e. Tennessee River)? If so, why do you rate the Wilson Dam Tailrace as the best river section? Roger

Roadwarrior, I know that the Tennessee River is your home waters, and that you're highly versed in this great river. My question is: if you were in quest of a record-class bronzeback (all the time), I'd be interested in knowing which of the four river sections you feel is the best candidate (tough question, I know). > Wilson Dam Tailrace (upper third of Pickwick Lake) > Central Third of Pickwick (transitional lake section) > Lower Third of Pickwick (the deeper lake section approaching the Pickwick Landing Dam) > Pickwick Dam Tailrace (in the Tennessee River) I understand that smallmouth fishing in Pickwick Lake is highly dependent on water current. I was wondering, which if any of those four river sections are least affected by the release schedule. Thank you in advance, Roger PS: With regard to fishing guides on Pickwick, Roger Stegall is very well noted (5-fish stringer: 27 lb, 6 oz) Also Jim Duckworth.

The water is not too shallow until the bass's fins are protruding above the surface and it has to belly-crawl to move forward. In spite of all the deepwater speak, most of the time in Florida, when I've missed out on the best bite, I was fishing too deep, not too shallow. Roger

The poll choices were well thought out, but no choice really fit my situation. I voted nevertheless just to see the results, and was pleased by the consensus Throughout the years I have freely given away hundreds if not thousands of waypoint coordinates to both freshwater and saltwater anglers. In most cases, I've done the work of many anglers to nail down each waypoint, which I repeatedly tweak with each revisit. No one lives forever, so it gives me great pleasure knowing that other anglers are getting to reap the rewards of my efforts. I'm very lucky, because I enjoy pinpointing coordinates almost as much as catching fish. In addition, I have great confidence in my own ability to find new and better waypoints, faster than I can give them away. So far, I'm well ahead of the game Arched rods, Roger

Obviously not a replica, this is a skin-mount done by the master, Greg Stehling. You're planning on making a bluegill swimbait aren't you? Roger

There isn't much I can add to FD's post, he covered it well. If traps and J-spoons aren't working on top, you might try working a Big Stick along the bottom. You can forget about the spawn, which reaches full stride during Jan, Feb and Mar. Opportunistic spawning activity outside those months are only exceptions that reinforce the rule. Roger

Congratulations, 24" is one hawg chain! My wife and I spent many years hunting chain pickerel in New Jersey. Our motivation was the fact that Jersey set 2 out of the last 3 world records (little known fact). Roger