RoLo

#1 Since both lakes are known to yield 12-pound bass, I'd probably go with lake #1. A low ratio of old-to-young bass is often due to low water fertility, while lakes with high water fertility generally have a healthy recruitment of young bass. This reminds me of the difference between East Toho (low fertility) and West Toho (high fertility) Though both lakes produce 12-lb bass, I'd much rather fish in West Toho. Roger

The 3 lures below will often catch numbers of bass, especially when bass are in a neutral disposition (which is most of the time): > Strike King 3x Finesse Worm (4") > Zoom Finesse Worm (4-3/4") > Gambler Ziggy Stick (5") The nice feature about finesse lures is knowing that they're also capable of taking your Personal Best. In a tournament, Kevin VanDam boated a bass weighing over 11 pounds on a 4" fry worm 8-) Roger

You said it...and I hate when that happens >

Granted you have that privilege, that's an excellent idea. Manmade reefs of cinder blocks and 4 slotted corrugated pipe will last indefinitely. The hidey-hole configurations are limited only by your imagination. Corrugated pipe is availabe at Lowes: http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=24129-124-CD321040100&lpage=none Roger

If your little pond lacks conspicuous contour, it'll be subtle nuances that hold the most bass. It may be a mild change in bottom gradient or just a change in soil composition, which is why it's always smart to study the bank terrain. If it's a sunken culvert or a discarded bicycle, one of your retrieves will eventually give it away. I guess I'm the lone wolf here, because I would never call any bass smart. On the other hand, bass are very adaptable and readily conditioned creatures. For that same reason, it's my guess that the pond lord would sooner fall for a small lure and a finesse delivery rather than a large lure. Roger

Like any other lure, bass don't always respond to a subsurface jerk, even though you may be fishing it right. I prefer to fish on or close to bottom myself, but as soon as I hear any surface activity, I'll grab the pre-rigged fluke out of the holder (or johnson spoon with twin-tail grub). With respect to fishing the fluke (any jerkbait), the best I would offer is "begin" and "end" each jerk with a little bit of slack line. This will produce the short crisp twitches that will reverse direction most of the time, not unlike walking-the-dog. Roger

> Zoom Super Fluke (5" - Bubblegum) > Gamakatsu series 54 Round-bend 4/0 Hook I've tried every color fluke and all work equally great. This gives the angler the opportunity to choose the color that benefits him most. Bubblegum is highly visible underwater, and when it disappears it's time to set the hook. I stopped using line-of-pull O'Shaughnessy hooks that everyone refers to as "EWG". The sharp corner locks in the fish's mouth, and removing the hook causes more damage to the fish than the round-bend hooks. What the round-bend may lack in LOP they make up for in point exposure. To negotiate the salad, hook the fluke upright so the hook-point is buried in back plastic, rather than lying in the hook slot. With a series-54 gammy 4/0, the super fluke descends about 2 feet in 3 seconds. Consequently, I wait about 3 seconds between each double-jerk to keep the lure always between the surface and 2 1/2 ft deep. When the bite is on, 3 seconds is a long time to wait and is usually the hardest part of the retrieve. BTW: Very often, short easy pulls are better than those long beautiful darts that hypnotize the fisherman more than the bass Roger

Paul, distribution is a tough nut because it's in constant transition (chronological). I usually refer to several distribution maps then lean to the more modest range. Don't mind me...I have a penchant for botany. Then again, anyone who responds in "P.crispus" syntax has the same penchant Roger

Actually, P. crispus is not native to North America, and transplantation within our continent (accidental or intentional) involved introduced plants. P. crispus is endemic to Europe, Asia, northern Africa and Australia. http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=200024690 http://www.invasivespecies.net/database/species/ecology.asp?si=447&fr=1&sts= Roger

Way to go Deermaster, I don't know one angler who wouldn't be happy with a 3-lb bass Roger

THAT'S what I'm talking about! Great going Matt Roger

Predominate forage differs from from lake-to-lake, but bass are opportunistic in every lake. I can honestly say that my favorite lures and techniques for Canada, are the exact same lures and techniques I use in Florida and anywhere in between. If I were limited to a single plug (anywhere USA), it would have to a lipless crank, more specifically a Spro Aruku Shad. Roger

Interesting Question: Pondweed happens to be one of my favorite weeds for largemouth bass and northern pike. In Florida, our most valuable pondweed is "Illinois Pondweed" (Potamogeton illinoensis), locally known as "peppergrass". In Minnesota, your most valuable pondweed is "Broadleaf Pondweed" (Potamogeton amplifolius), locally known as "cabbage". As it happens, "curly-leaf pondweed" (Potamogeton crispus) is the only potamogeton I tend to avoid, though I actively seek all other pondweeds. Curly-leaf cabbage was introduced from Europe, and among nearly 100 varieties, it's the only problematic pondweed. More importantly, it's the least productive pondweed. On my last trip to Ontario (going again this year), the deepest weedbed in the lake supported lush stands of curly-leaf pondweed. Though I was excited by its great depth, it was the least productive weedbed in Pakashkan Lake. Roger

A map without contour lines is like a platter without food Having lived in Georgia for a few years, I did a little fishing in West Point Lake. West Point offers both largemouth bass and spotted bass, but if you're targeting largemouth, you might try the headwaters around New Creek and Potato Creek. Roger

I've been bass fishing for over 50 years, but have also been into many other sports. From my teens to my mid-40s I'd have to say that my first love has been waterfowling followed by saltwater fishing and deer archery. Also in the mix were drag racing, bowling, small game hunting and woodchuck hunting. Today I no longer hunt and only occasionally fish saltwater, so freshwater fishing has been Number One during the past 20 years or so. Roger

I certainly wasn't implying that live bait is the only way to catch smallmouth bass, I'm sure we can all fill a truck with smallies we caught on lures. My post was meant only to remove some of the mystery as to why techniques that take largemouth bass, might not take smallmouth bass weighing 4 lbs or more. I purposely noted that smaller bronzebacks are suicidal. The only real difference between the 70s and today is GPS. Although Loran-C was available long before the 70s, I doubt that Ron and Al used Loran-C. As for more sophisticated lures today, I'm afraid I'll need an example or two. During the 1970s we had ready access to hair jigs, tube lures, plastic craws, you name it. I'm not aware of any recent smallmouth studies and unfortunately, In-Fisherman was sold to Primedia in 1998. Their 5 to1 ratio is highly debatable, and I too feel that it's a bit rich, but that's their number. Numbers aside, I'm pretty sure that even today, Ron and Al still maintain that natural bait is more productive than artificial lures for large smallmouth bass and large walleyes. Roger

Lake Underhill, Orlando, FL: 2 Stick Marsh, Fellsmere, FL: 187

At a Sportsman Show in New Jersey, I visited the Gouin Reservoir kiosk and was very impressed (Barrage Gouin Lodge). An unaffiliated third-party ranks Gouin Reservoir among Quebec's top three pike fisheries, placing Gouin midway between Lac Trevet and Lake Evans. Gouin is an oligotrophic lake that abounds in pelagic forage, and that's both Good and Bad. It's good because pike grow fast and large on a diet of ciscoes and whitefish. It's bad however, because during the summertime, pelagic prey migrates offshore where they're unrelated to vegetation, and most of the largest pike will be in tow. All the same, summer pike fishing in Canada is usually red-hot in every cabbage bed of every bay. Pike metabolism is highest in July and August, so they're usually vulnerable to trolling. Most pike trollers favor the red-and-white Dardevle, overhead spinner or a gold-and-silver Williams Wabler (not a misprint). It's a matter of personal preference, for instance I prefer the 1-1/8oz silver Johnson Spoon dressed with a 5 pearltreuse Reaper Tail (pure dynamite!). From what I'm told, East Bay is the best lake section on Gouin, but that's hearsay only. Hey, if you get a second-shot at Gouin, bump your stay up to September (I believe the lodge closes mid-September). The gators that suspend in 20 to 40 feet of water throughout the summer will have moved up into the cabbage beds...need I say more? Roger

You can safely rule out spawning smallies. In the first place, the smallmouth spawn in Texas should be finished. More importantly, smallmouth bass do not offer the same sight-fishing opportunity offered by bigmouth bass. Smallies typically nest "just outside" the angler's depth vision (thank god for small favors). In all likelihood, you're dealing with NOP (Normal Operating Procedure). Runt smallmouth bass are suicidal, but the older puppies quickly develop an attitude. Although smallmouth are stronger battlers than largemouth, they are less disposed to seizing an artificial lure than bigmouth bass. During the 1970s, In-Fisherman conducted a smallmouth study and found that natural bait out-produced artificial lures 5 to 1. The notable exception is during the pre-spawn in spring, when smallmouth respond to the same "chunk-&-wind" techniques we use for bigmouth bass. Roger

Your question is well structured because it focuses on lighting conditions rather than mimicking prey. Unfortunately, we're all predisposed to certain pet colors, and the colors that spend the most time on our lines always catch the most bass. The only way to factor out prejudice and predisposition is to change lure color after every third bass, monitor the results, and do this every time for a few years. Roughly speaking, where underwater visibility is very good it's usually best to downgrade the image of the lure by using light, translucent colors such as white, yellow or smoke gray. Where underwater visibility is poor, it's usually better to ignore hue and maximize contrast by using dark, opaque colors such as black, brown and dark green. By the way, water clarity is not the only factor that determines underwater visibility, which also hinges on sky clarity, time of day and lure depth (regardless of water depth). For this reason, lures fished on or near the surface are generally lighter in color than lures fished on or near the bottom. Roger

Hmmm....I see SOMEBODY has been kicking tires. In 2007, the record stringer for both Winter Haven Chains plus the Hamilton Chain was set by not-so-little "Lake Winterset" at 34lb, 4oz! Roger Worms indeed

Largemouth bass are known to spawn in water temperatures between 55 and 75 deg F, which is not exactly sticking-a-landing. Although water temperatures need to be supportive of spawning, they do not provide a reliable time-line when observed in isolation. At best, water temperature is a coincident symptom of the bedding cycle, probably on par with forsythia in bloom or the appearance of nests built by red-winged blackbirds. In any case, coincident indicators have their limitations. For example, many believe that goldenrod is the cause of hayfever, but the true culprit is ragweed, whose blooming season happens to coincide with goldenrod. Water temperatures during the peak of the spawn can vary widely depending on local weather patterns. On balance though, bedding is usually in full swing between 60 and 65 deg F., when the likelihood of a fatal trend-reversal is very low. The spawning cycle also appears to be tied to "photoperiod", the same as our vegetable kingdom. This would make sense, because the trend of day-length is a more stable yardstick than the yo-yo trends of water temperature. Roger

Thanks a lot fellows, you sure know how to make a guy feel welcome Browsing the post-boards, I've come upon many excellent posts. Though I'm chomping at the bit, there'll be plenty of time for that ;D Roger

I'm still on the map guys, and everything is fine. I didn't want anyone thinking that RoLo made his Last Cast. As many of you know, Lois and I moved into a new home about a year ago. It was basically a business move (20 mbps access) and the new house has been the focus of our attention. We're still in Lake Wales Florida, but moved from Lake Walk-In-Water to Lake Pierce. My new email address has been added to my profile. Lois and I have done very little fishing this past year, but we've been back in the game the past couple of months. After a year of radio silence I finally accessed my PM box, and was pleasantly surprised. Thank you for your concern, it means more to me than you might think. I apologize for not maintaining contact, but again this is my first log-in since April or May of last year. I see many new names on the roster, so the BR forum is still enjoying robust growth. There's probably a bunch of folks wondering, What the heck is a RoLo?!? In any case, I'm looking forward to sharing thoughts and ideas with my ole buddies and making some new friends along the way. RoLo (Roger)

Whenever casting is involved, I use spinning gear exclusively. The only time I may use baitcasting gear is to cast bait (shiner fishing), trolling and certain saltwater chores. Roger