RoLo

Lake Jesup is best noted for its alligators and sunfish. Actually, it's recognized as having the largest population of alligators in the world. During 2002, electroshocking in Jesup produced the largest sunfish in Florida. For largemouth bass though, it's Lake Monroe and the St John's River north of Sanford. Roger

Yep, I also owned a boron rod in the 80s. Not only was it brown in color, but it was a Browning. As described above, my rod did EXPLODE, after which I hand-landed a "small" summer flounder (locally called fluke). That was the day that Browning and I parted company (although I do still own a 12-gauge Browning autoloader). Roger

Spinning gear and braided line is all I use (note the reel in my lap) My latest crush is on Berkley Fireline Tracer (I've tried nearly all of them). Realistically, the difference between polyethylene braids, pales in comparison to the difference between braid and fluoro (you're gonna luvit) Roger

Assuming that fish had the intelligence to associate an attached filament with trouble, why wouldn't they attach that same suspicion to bullet sinkers, weedguards, rattleboxes and treble hooks? Roger

So there you have it: Copolymer, Braid or Nylon Looks to me like the choice is your's Roger

DANG, that would be Kool as a moose! You, me & Greenwood Lake would never be the same ROLO

I don't ever remember a time when largemouth bass were actually spooked by the sight of line After all, bass are bold predators and if they can be alarmed by the sight of a fine underwater thread, then you had better remove that gaudy weedguard and both of those awe-inspiring treble hooks. On the other hand, predatory fish are turned off by unnatural lure action caused by line drag. This is especially true of keen-eyed trout, who understand current and know a natural drift from an imposter. Line drag is caused by heavy diameter line and/or excess line in the water, but polyethylene braid is a thin diameter line. All that said, I always tie direct. Roger

I'm ashamed to admit this, but if it's among the lures that I cherish, I already have a lifetime supply :-[ Roger

I like that

Paul, I purchase my Slider jigs direct from the Charlie Brewer Slider Company (BTW: Charlie died in 2000). Their website is convoluted, and descriptors like "Pro Head" and "Spider Head" are used redundantly on their site. To avoid getting jigs with rubbery hooks, I believe the key words are "Ultra Head" and "Classic Head". If that's actually true, 1/16oz with heavier wire hooks may be available under this Product Code: SPCH16-U WHERE: SP = Spider CH = Classic Head 16 = 1/16oz U = Ultra Point Mustad (That little U seems to be the key to heavier wire hooks) SEE JIGHEADS UNDER "J"> http://www.fishingworld.com/Slider/Details.tmpl?ID=10144845751626346&Cart=12488153305079665&SKU=Pro%20Heads%2020 Roger

I own specific fishing outfit for different major tasks, but certainly not for every lure type (you cannot be serious) I already own about 40 to 50 fishing combos, but most of them have many twin brothers. If I needed four combo outfits for every lure type, I'd have to purchase another 40 to 50 outfits Roger

When purchasing electronics, I try to leave economy out of the equation. I much prefer to have separate units on separate wiring, and have never owned a combo unit. I feel more secure assigning ONE job to ONE unit, moreover, if one breaksdown totally I'm still in business. Equally important to me, is that I'm able to stay abreast of leading edge technology by replacing them one at a time. Roger

Assuming that pike & muskies are exempt: > Dale Hollow Reservoir, TN (bronzebacks) > Falcon Lake, TX (mossbacks) > Secret Lake, FL (mossbacks) > Lake Erie (bronzebacks) near Dwight Hottle's home Roger

It's really not an opinion, it's a fact. Below 20 ft the dissolved oxygen content is too low on most phosphate pits. The 3-pounder you caught was probably suspended on the shoreline drop-off (very common). Roger

It's only fair...If bass can break all the rules, why the heck can't we? Roger

Phosphate pits I've fished were in the Bartow/Mulberry area. Some of the pits are well over 100 ft deep, but bass will rarely be found deeper than 20 ft. The pits grow big fat bass, but the water is usually crystal clear where small lures are best. Beside the venerable plastic worm, one of my favorites for pit fishing is a 4 or 5" White Kalin Lunker Grub rigged on a 1/4 oz jig. Though I normally use 1/8oz with that grub, the extra speed from 1/4oz is welcome in gin-clear water. Roger

Dropshotting/split-shotting is simply a delivery system. Large soft-plastics are commonly fished "unweighted"...right? So obviously they can also be fished with a light weight. For any soft-plastic lure, the choice of sinker weight is entirely up to the angler. Roger

True, and poor quality is evidenced by edge-keenness that's not durable (low-quality steel). I hasten to add that I too purchased XPS hooks, otherwise I couldn't make that statement Hooks are hugely important tools, and the best way to erase all doubt is to stick to premium hooks. Roger

That is one fine largemouth, and your daughter looks more than a little happy It doesn't get any better than that I know just how you feel about that submerged outfit. I have a Team Daiwa with a Shimano Stradic lying on the bottom of Cypress Lake. I have the coordinates, but my bottom dredging attempts were to no avail (we now call that spot, "Shimano") Roger

Nice work Russ, as usual Roger

I live in central Florida, but fish nonetheless throughout the summer and through the middle of the day. I did the same when living in Jersey and Georgia, where the summers are just as uncomfortable, in fact, Georgia was more uncomfortable than Florida. Although we hear a lot about the improving fishing conditions in September, I find the fishing in summer to be far more predictable and stable that fall fishing. Roger

WOWEE....You boys don't mess around Roger

Very nice presentation Paul! Thanks for taking the time to include those sounder shots and the vegetation breakdown. I can certainly relate to targeting pockets in the milfoil (Oddly, I use the same Charlie Brewer heads as you). That is one busy float-tube, buddy 8-) Roger

I totally agree with you, the rod is the most important component. Just for the record though, it IS possible to snap a reel. On a pike trip to Canada, my wife and I completely disabled the gearing of two brand new Quantum casting reels over a two-day period > Roger

In that same underwater test, you will also notice that the sinker and hook quickly slap together with every upstroke of the rod. In fact, only a T-rig creates the realistic scenario of a serpeant-like creature giving chase to an underwater morsel. In twigs and brush. where you want the sinker and hook to stay together, simply retrieve the lure using only the reel, without pumping the rod. Roger