RoLo

How bass cut a living in perennially muddy water never ceases to amaze me. I believe the ability of bass to subsist in low-light conditions is grossly underestimated. Don't ask me how they do it, but I've frequently caught bass in muddy water on a quiet lure (I never use scent). Moreover, bass from muddy water rarely look like they've missed any meals. Color tests conducted by Mepps have found chartreuse to be the only color that's highly visible in both in clear and murky water. Nonetheless, in very dark water it's probably wise to abandon the hue approach and go with the contrast approach instead. Since the color black absorbs the most light, it produces the greatest contrast in low-light situations. Red isn't far behind because it quickly turns black in low light, about as fast as brown turns black. Even a subtle lure like the strike king anaconda moves enough water to be detected in low-light conditions. All the same, a spinnerbait would be a better choice because it produces far more vibration. Though I'm not a fan of spinnerbaits, I had a bunch of spinnerbaits custom-made strictly for bass fishing in low-light situations (murky water muddy water nighttime): Overhead Spinner - Single Colorado No: 5 Gold Blade 3/8 oz Red/Black Skirt Overhead Spinner Overhead spinner refers to the Safety Pin design, as distinguished from in-line spinners, tail spinners and belly spinners. Single Single refers to one blade rather than tandem blades. For use in muddy water, it's wise to avoid tandem blade spinners. A single blade Colorado produces a Distinct Pulsing Throb. However when a second blade is added, the blades tend to dilute the vibration of each other, which destroys the distinctive thumping that only a single blade can deliver. Colorado This feature is a no-brainer because the nearly circular Colorado blade creates the most water resistance, produces the most vibration and revolves at the slowest forward speed No.5 Now we have a problem! It may be difficult to find a commercially available No.5 Colorado blade in conjunction with a 3/8 oz weight, which may have to be homemade or custom-made. Roger

You'll never go back Braided line floats, only a line that sinks could dampen the action of a topwater lure. Roger

I'd go with an Arbogast Jitterbug - 5/8oz x 3" - Black For trophy bass, go with the musky size (1-1/4oz x 4.5") Give bass every advantage for homing in on their nighttime target. Use a SLOW, STEADY, NONSTOP retrieve (soothing burble). Roger

Gotcha...thanks

If I'm just looking to get the skunk out of the boat, I'll normally bottom-crawl a finesse worm on a 1/8oz T-rig Jig. Among the finesse worms I might choose would be a strike king 3x finesse worm, Roboworm zipper worm or gambler giggy stick. Roger

RW, My next rainsuit may be Guidewear, but my only concern is hot weather. Is Guidewear lightweight and breathable? TIA Roger

PLASTIC WORMS Straight Worms: e.g. Zoom Trick Worm Paddletail Worms: e.g. Gambler Flapp'n Worm Ribbontail Worms: e.g. Strike King Anaconda Skirt-Tail Worms: e.g. Gambler Big Stick Stick Worms: e.g. Strike King Ocho Roger

When living in Jersey, I used Goretex apparel for most of my hunting and fishing (Goretex is simply a Teflon membrane). Since most of my northern apparel was insulated with northern goose-down, it is now in mothballs. In Florida, I find "Frogg Toggs" to be adequate. Roger

I can't say definitively that the surface disturbance created by weekend warriors has a negative effect on fishing. On the other hand, I can say definitively that their surface disturbance has a negative effect on my disposition. There are at least two ways to avoid the summertime splashabouts: 1) Fish on weekdays 2) Fish at night Since I don't care for night fishing, I fish the large popular waters only during weekdays. During weekends, I focus on smaller quieter lakes, if only for my own sanity. Roger

That's a great shot! Here in Florida we have an isolated population of cougar dubbed the Florida panther. It seems that there's more of these big cats than the state agency realizes. During the past two years, two cougars were road killed in Lake Wales, Florida alone (minutes from my home). There were no telemetry collars and the state admitted to being unaware of their presence. Roger

Nylon is great for bungee jumping Roger

Garmin Navionics might require both the "north" and "south" SD cards. Roger

"White Crappie" White crappie generally display indistinct vertical bars, while black crappies are usually blotched in black. White crappie are said to prefer dingier water than black crappies, but since the white crappie in the picture displays lots of color, I'd guess it came from fairly clear water. When I was a kid, crappies were commonly called "Calico Bass", so we'll let you slide Roger

I purchased Charlie Brewer's Slider Fishing book, hot off the press in 1978. Sliding is a delivery technique that may be used with a throng of lures, and to this day I've never found a delivery that is more deadly on smallmouth bass than a Do Nothing delivery, Especially when bass are finicky (most of the time), the slider technique blows away a chuck-&-wind delivery. To my mind, the float-&-fly is merely a version of the do nothing delivery, where the cork serves as the fulcrum instead of the angler's hand (i.e. depth control). The advent of the senko was merely the reinvention of the wheel. The stick worm is essentially a vertical version of the do nothing delivery. Whereas the original do nothing delivery uses a horizontal delivery (natural arc) that simulates a minnow gliding through the water. Any T-rig Jig can be used for sliding, for example, the Brewer Slider Head, Owner Bullet Head Jig, Owner Sled Head jig and a host of other T-rig jigs not worth mentioning because they have RUBBERY hooks. If you're goal is a 12-lb bass, then opt for the Owner Sled Head, otherwise Charlie's Slider jig is arguably the best for sliding, IF that is, you order the correct Charlie Brewer Slider jig. To avoid a hassle, I order direct from the Slider Company as per following Product Code: SPCH8B-U SP = Spider CH = Classic Head 8 = 1/8oz B = Black U = Ultra Point Mustad (Confirm the "U" in the product code, otherwise the hook will be rubbery! Roger

Dink, I don't have the answer to your question (nor have I ever experienced bleeding line). In any event, I need to apologize in advance for ambling off-topic. Cork has come to dominate the market for rod grips, but alternate materials are making a strong comeback. When I was heavy into offshore angling (bluefish, stripers, tuna, shark, ~), I always specified "Hypalon Foam rod grips for all my custom-built rods, which offer several advantages over species cork: > Soft and comfortable (better ergonomics than cork) > Never gets slippery from blood or fish slime > Never gets soiled or sooty-looking (like an old cork butt) > Attractive and available in many colors To this day whenever I'm given a choice, I will always opt for Hypalon, EVA or Carbon rod grips. three examples>: http://216.149.215.9/scans/carbonGrips_w.jpg Again, I apologize for going off-topic Roger

I always thought that fish provide the "scales" Roger

About 4 years ago, I lived on Goldenrod Rd (Gulfstream Harbor) and Al's Bait was my source of live bait. Since I moved away though, I'm no longer abreast of the situation there. For what it's worth, I do know from speaking with Al that he's partial to Lake Kissimmee. In your situation I would recommend "Hart Lake". Just past the entrance booth, find the ramp on the right side where you can launch. Hart is quieter, prettier and less exploited than Mary Jane, and big bass live there. Roger

Of all the thousands-upon-thousands of lures in my arsensal, I place all my confidence in ONE lure, the one on the end of my line. Crazy, isn't it? I have no fishing superstitions Roger

Me some moons ago: the lake is two hours away, I 'll be up by 4 AM to be there at sunrise Me now: the lake is two hours away, I 'll be up at 8:00 ? ...... let 's make it 8:30 AM, we 'll be at the lake by 10:30 - 11:00 AM, we are in no rush. As Ellesar pointed out above, the best time period for "big" bass normally takes place during "midday" (that is a fact). I admit to missing the splendor of watching the birth of the day, but there's equal beauty at dusk, watching the day close out. Roger

After the Florida hurricanes of 2004, some of central Florida's best bass waters lost 99% of their submergent vegetation. Worse than the decline in the bass population was the total loss of submerged vegetation. For several years, I focused on two things, which may be something for you to consider: 1) Whenever the boat was moving, no matter where I was headed, my eyes were glued on the depth sounder in search of sudden changes in depth, however small (a 6" step will hold bass). Differently put, I was looking to replace cover with "contour" (structure). 2) In addition to looking in deeper water, don't be shy about looking shallower too. Even in New Hampshire (and Canada), largemouth bass are not averse to moving shoreward for emergent vegetation. In other words, you'll be substituting submergent vegetation with "emergent" vegetation (rushes, pads, reeds, etc). You would expect docks to become prime cover, but for some reason dock fishing offered poor results. Roger

Don't laugh, but any start before 11 AM is an early start for us :-[ And mind you, every lake we fish is within 30 minutes of the house. Problem is, I rarely cash-in before 2:00 AM, whether I'm going fishing or not. On the other hand, we generally fish till sunset, so we get in over 8 hours of fishing. Roger

With respect to "big" bass "nationwide", there's no doubt about that statement and it's been reaffirmed time-and-time again. Topwater fishing may peg the needle on the Fun Meter, but it scores pitifully low on the lunker-per-hour meter. From all appearances, bass become conditioned much sooner to spinnerbaits and crankbaits, however when it comes to soft-plastics (especially worms), bass behave as if they have zero recall. Roger

Exactly. For backing I use 25-lb Trilene Big Game, which fills half the spool real fast. Typically, a 300-yd spool of 30-lb braid will fill three spinning reels with leftover. Roger

You are using the word "heavy" to describe breaking strength, but "heavy" normally refers to line diameter. One of the biggest advantages of braided polyethylene line is its "thin" diameter (30 lb = 8 lb diameter). I prefer braid to monofilament for its Ultra Low-Stretch, which raises the sensitivity of your rod, and sets the hook with a flick of the wrist. In addition, braid offers Near-Zero Memory, which is a Godsend to spinning tackle (all I use). I normally use 30 lb braid (8lb diameter) to eliminate "line-burrowing" and to enhance "abrasion-resistance". While the high breaking strength isn't necessary, it's a free bonus. Roger

If the pier-gate opens on time, he shouldn't need a helmet :-/