RoLo

Deadbeats are a dime a dozen, but since you work with this fellow, I have a hunch that you knew what you were in for. I worked with a fellow who had four kids and was quite poor. Although he was not a deadbeat, Jimmy was the stingiest, grouchiest man in the world! Regardless, I happened to like the guy, because he had other redeeming qualities. A bit of a soft-touch, I often invited Jim on my boat, because I liked his company. But all I ever heard at work was, "How can you possibly spend a day with that guy?". DW, this was completely different than your case, because Jimmy was not a user or a deadbeat, he was just poor. It was my car, trailer, boat & motor, but he eagerly split all gas and tolls...Right To The Penny. ;D Roger

OOH SON!! That's not just a big bass, that's a MILESTONE! The next milestone is 12 pounds, but not to worry, you will enjoy those 10s & 11s along the way Roger

Whether buzzing the surface' or crawling the bottom' produces the most large bass depends first-&-foremost on whether you're talking about Natural Lakes or Artificial Impoundments. In Florida for example, potbellied bass may be found in four feet of water year-round. In Toledo Bend, bass are routinely found in water deeper than the maximum depth of many natural lakes. After we know what class of water we're dealing with, then two other factors come into play: 1) Seasonal Period (fish's viewpoint) 2) Weed-Line Depth (2 ft or 8 ft) In short, if you lived in Hemphill, TX, I'll bet you'd agree with #3 Roger

I'm sure with talent like that, those fellows are booked solid.

The jitterbug, mepps and johnson spoon are just as good today as they ever were. Bass are also the same today as they ever were, but they don't have a choice...Whereas we do. In any case, thanks for the memories 8-) Roger

I don't believe that either theory is the culprit. I believe that your blank was previously ruptured, and that it took that stressor to indicate the flaw. If you said that your rod broke right behind the tiptop guide, I would've answered differently Roger

I think I saw a few at an antique store Roger. ;D I never seen that coming ;D

The day that Roland Martin retired from bass tournament fishing, he used Mike Iaconelli as an example of anglers that he was no longer able to compete against. Even though my disposition on the water is diametrically opposed to Ike's, I find the man amusing though a tad obnoxious. In the final analysis, controversial anglers like Ike are good for our sport of angling. Does anyone remember the "I Like Ike" lapel buttons when General Eisenhower ran for president? Never mind, you're just a bunch of kids ;D Roger

Adi, those are some HUMONGOUS yellow perch Ahemmm...somehow "Perca flavescens" got converted to "Perca fluviatilis" : ;D On average, European perch (P. fluviatilis) weigh about twice as much as American yellow perch (P. flavescens). The American record yellow perch weighed 4-lb 3.5-oz and was taken in Bordentown, New Jersey. However, Dr Abbott's historical record is highly disputed today (yet another bashed record). On the other hand, I believe there's a well-documented European perch weighing over 6 pounds. Roger

In my experience, the Daiwa Zillion blows the doors off a Kistler LTA and is even superior to the LTX Helium ll. The rod in my lap is an LTX Helium ll (in my avatar) Roger

My latest crush is Fireline Tracer Braid, I absolutely love the stuff! It consists of alternating bands of line; 30" of Hi-Vis line then 30" of Lo-Vis line and so on throughout the spool. Happily, it solved the unexplained failure problem that my wife & I both experienced with a bad batch of PowerPro. Roger

"Dynamite" The great thing about the Aruku Shad is the way it may be worked along the bottom. During the pre-spawn and spawning seasons, the aruku shad can be retrieved with its nose scraping the bottom, while the body remains vertically upright (the others fall over). Roger

Although the actual weight of this bass is unknown, that's a good thing in my view. The lesson learned from this post is far more important than who was close, and who was not close. In retrospect, the visual estimates ranged from 3lb 8oz up to 7lb 13oz, a deviation of 123 percent! (not too kool) This drives home the point that visual weight estimates are infested with rampant inaccuracy. If you finally land that Big Toad that got away last week, it may prove to be a very humbling experience :-[ Roger

Yes, braided line has near-zero memory and "limp" is its middle name. For spinning tackle, braid is the clear winner. For casting gear, braid is also an excellent choice (thin & low-stretch), but many anglers prefer fluoro or copolymer line on their casting gear. Speaking only for spinning gear, bird-nests are virtually non-existent with braided polyethylene. Roger

Seven-pound bass that we've had in our boat all looked huge, no matter how they were held. Three of my fingers would never cover that much of a seven-pound bass. I still see a four-pounder, either that or I need a new scale (Oh that's right, my scale is new). Roger

That's a photo of two nice catches...WTG My wife and I have been fishing together for 45 years. There's no better fishing partner in the world, but you already know that. Roger

Ikas Beavers Tail Less Grubs Yamamoto Kreatures Senkos Senkos backwards? Okay Raul, it's on my "To Do" list Roger

That Does It...you are now blackballed from the Shimano Posse!! ;D

I'm currently a braid addict, but most of my fishing years (fresh & salt) were spent fishing with nylon monofilament. 1) Berkley Trilene XL 2) Berkley Trilene Big Game If I were ever to return to monofilament line, I'd want some of the attributes of "fluorocarbon", but not too much. That is to say, I'd move from Nylon Mono up to Copolymer Mono...namely: 1) Sufix Siege 2) Berkley Trilene Sensation (formerly 'sensithin') Roger

If you fish in Florida, you're familiar with the Florida gar. They're a big nuisance to the angler, and their dentures can quickly sever a soft plastic lure (it's either a gar or a pickerel). These musky-smelling, toothy varmints are difficult to hook, which suits me fine, but we still boat the occasional gar that was accidentally lassoed by the bill > You can minimize your exposure to gar by avoiding shallow, weedy, sluggish areas, but bass like those area too (gulp). Garfish are not considered harmful to bass populations. They're piscivorous so naturally they'll devour some gamefish, but in the main they feed on minnows and young rough fish like carp and bullheads. Roger

Well...they did get the color right, but to mistake a bass for a trout sounds like way too much Corn Mash Roger

I well remember when David Hayes broke the incumbent smallmouth record, it rocked the whole angling world. For the record, the former world-record smallmouth (10lb 8oz), hailed from Wilson Lake in the tailrace of Wheeler Dam. Roger

Without differences of opinion, there would be no forum ;-) As you probably know, some anglers believe that bait that is spoiled and rank is best for catfishing. Catfish guides disagree on a lot of things, but they all agree that fresh bait will outperform "spoiled" bait. Now then, when we hold fresh chicken and beef livers up to our noses, there won't be much of a difference in aroma. In any case, the air-breathing nose of **** sapiens does not simulate the subaqueous barbels of a catfish. When I lived in Georgia (1992 to 1998), I received the state publication called Georgia Sportsman. In an article published on catfish baits, the state claimed that chicken livers emit "three times" the olfactory markers as beef liver (i.e. barbel-receptors). Though I feel that their 3 to 1 ratio may be guilding the lily, at the least, it has boosted my confidence level in the use of chicken livers over beef liver (who really knows?). I find it interesting that you've found that beef livers are more hook-fast than chicken livers. Granted, both are a pain in the butt, in fact, many anglers incorporate mesh to attain a better hook-hold. In any case, I've worked with beef liver that was only a little better than working with jello. It may be that the advantage you've experienced has to do with freshness, or water-toughening over time. All the same, if your confidence level is highest using beef livers, there is no point in changing anything. In the grand scheme, fresh liver is the best bait for channel cats, no matter who the donor is. Roger

Thank you kindly....Appreciation makes it all worthwhile Roger