RoLo

There's no two ways about it, a bass that jumps triples his odds of escaping. What can you do to prevent a jump? I've tried everything and have found no reliable deterent, especially if it's a smallmouth bass. What can you do to prevent a jumping bass from coming unbuttoned? I've tried everything here too, and have not found any reliable preventive. It's like I tell my wife...the fish have to win once in awhile too Roger

I'd rather not divulge my vote, but it wasn't quantum ;D

Water clarity is only one variable, so by itself it usually doesn't decide my lure. In clear water, if I were fishing shallow I might go with a Zoom Fluke (jerkbait), but if I wanted more depth I might try a Tiki Stick (trick stick, senko or other stick worm). A Strike King 3x Finesse Worm is another good choice in gin-clear water. Roger

Who would you recommend? George, I hope he's not thinking about Hugh Crumpler, because he's in retirement ;D

Tough question, because bass don't always want the same thing. I'll usually start with a Twitch - 10-15 sec Pause - Twitch - Pause - etc. In clear water I try to keep the pop pretty quiet, but use a noisier pop in murky water. All the hollow plastics eventually take on water (a possible exception is the Snag Proof Weed Demon) I much prefer the Sizmic Pop'n Toad. It's solid plastic, never takes on water, and POPS like a Pop-R 8-) Roger

Transparent (clear) - Translucent - White - Pale Chartreuse - Pale Yellow Roger

The act of nest-building is fueled by a strong hormonal drive, and every sexually mature buck will fan out many beds, not just one. It's the same with some species of birds. They'll build a half-dozen nests but will only nest in one and abandon all others. The last time I was out (over a week ago), I seen hordes of bass beds in Lake Walk-In-Water, but something caught my eye. Many of those nests were within 6 feet of one another! Parent bass in an active bed may claim a territory that extends up to 20-feet. When I see nests crowded together in February (too early for bluegills), it tells me they were made by the same sex-driven buck (like buck rubs in a sapling grove). Keep an eye on those light-colored discs and you'll probably notice that most of them will begin to slowly silt over. For the pre-spawn period, this is pretty much business as usual. Bass cannot change their spawning depth at will, it's dictated primarily by water clarity (27" mean). During inclement weather, bass will definitely move off an active nest. During the first opportunity however, they will pickup where they left off. Whether or not consecutive days of adverse weather can cause a missing year-class is debatable, but in my opinion it can. Roger

Now THERE'S an intuitive lineup! Roger

The G.Loomis posse is old hat, but a quantum posse??...I don't think so. I heard that even the sheriff bailed out (jk) Roger

I don't know of a better rod for the price, though I keep on looking. I like my Team Daiwas better than some rods I own that cost me twice the price. The cast-weight latitude is an unbelievable 1/8 to 1 oz, and it's realistic, not some promotional hype. Although the light & tough blank is very light, it has uncanny backbone. I own several 6-foot L & T Spinning rods spooled with 30-lb PowerPro and I use them like WINCHES PS: It occured to me that there's two light-&-tough rods in my avatar (1st & 3rd) They're legible if you click on "Profile" Roger

Warmer, I kind of doubt that it's either of those scenarios. Each buck sweeps out many nest sites, I think it's like eating popcorn to a sex-driven male. Anyway, based on years past the post-spawn in Lake Kissimmee should not reach a peak before April, at least I've never seen it. Roger

Nice catch FivePound!! I may be wrong, but I always assumed that "Other Fish Species" is primarily a format for "discussion", where photographs are kind of secondary. Whereas the emphasis on this forum seems to be more on binaries, where members can post images & videos of ANY species. Roger

T-Rigged Plastic Worm, either a paddletail worm or straight worm. A ribbontail worm might lose some appeal in cold water and a stick worm would be too boring. Roger

BARKEEP...This Round's On Me

Submitting a trace of Ande Tournament line with your catch, removes the pain from line-class certification. Although Ande is extremely tough line, it's very wiry which I believe is the reason it's not popular in freshwater. In saltwater, I used to use Clear Ande for "everything" (with the exception of monel and lead-core line). Roger

I hope you don't think I was doubting your word Roger. I just don't understand why any rod builder with a decent lathe for shaping cork would have trouble with foam. I also like foam because I can use my "Fordom" wood shaper on foam, it destroys cork. You get ready for another tuna rod, you just let me know. I won't complain about the foam grips. Ronnie No, I never thought you were doubting my word, but I'm genuinely curious about the disappearance of foam grips (I love them) As a retired tool-&-die maker, I can't say that I'm surprised that you have no trouble turning foam. I have never turned Hypalon or EVA per se, but I have turned foam products in a lathe that displayed very annoying springback (the apparent rub). In most cases, increasing the back-rake of the cutter and stepping-up the RPMs gave the material enough rigidity to control the diameter. In any case Ronnie, it's good to learn that there's still one source of hypalon grips Roger

Roger, I disagree that foam is hard to work with, 3 of my personal rods that I built for myself have Hypalon grips. I love working with foam. I think it is easier to shape and manipulate than cork. When 4bizz gave me the specs for his giant swimbait rod, I was very pleased that he wanted foam grips. He gave me very specific dimensions for the split grips and the foam made it easy to make exactly what he wanted. I also like exotic burl cork. I don't do anything with conventional cork like you see on most rods. Light weight is it's only advantage. JMHO Ronnie I'm not a rod builder, I can only extend what I've been told by a rodmaker. The custom rod-builder at Mac's Bait in New Jersey came close to refusing to build my rod because I insisted on hypalon grips. If I'm not mistaken, Reel Mech feels the same way about working with foam grips. Back on point, If we agree that hypalon is superior to cork, then what is the real reason why cork grips have become more popular, I'd really like to know? Roger

Wrong!!!!!! If the consumer doesn't complain, the producer will always take the easy road. In my opinion, the popularity of cork grips is a case of monkey-see, monkey-do. Hypalon wears like iron, it makes a beautiful appearance and has a great ergonomic feel. By comparison, cork feels like a wax broom handle to me. The real problem is that hypalon and EVA foam are dogs to work with. I had a pair of standup tuna rods built in Shark River, New Jersey. I had to twist the rodmaker's arm to get blue hypalon grips, although he agreed that Hypalon is the way to go. Roger

The following is a quote from the Lee County Commissioner, Ray Judah: "Depending on which estimate is used, parts of the area will no longer be usable for sugarcane or any deep root crop in as little as 10 years" Roger

Actually there are a few. By itself, a "jig" is just a hook that's bonded to a hunk of metal needed to sink the lure. The actual "lure" generally alludes to the soft-plastic, silicone skirt, pork rind or cut bait that's attached to the jighead. In the very first reply I mentioned a T-rigged worm, which may be rigged with a bullet sinker and hook or may be rigged on a leadhead jig (I use both). The only difference is that the jig allows no movement between the weight and hook, and behaves like a pegged sinker Roger

Team Daiwa Light and Tough $120 Attractive, very sensitive, great backbone and incredible latitude (1/8 to 1 oz) http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10151&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&partNumber=61234&hvarTarget=search&cmCat=SearchResults

I'm with you. At one time nearly all my rods sported foam grips. EVA foam and Hypalon grips require a lot more work than turning out cork grips so they have all but disappeared (like finding jute backing in a carpet). EVA foam (ethylene vinyl acetate) or better yet "Hypalon", have many advantages over cork: > It's much more comfortable than cork. > It never gets slippery from fish-slime (real important when boating a barrel full of blues or mackerel) > It does not get soiled and sooty-looking like an old cork butt (here comes muddy) > To boot, foam grips are very attractive and come in many colors. In all fairness to cork, it has one important advantage. Normally but not always, cork will usually be a little lighter than EVA or Hypalon. Good luck in your quest Roger

PowerPro may not be the best braid, but it's certainly my favorite braid. Truthfully, as long as it's braid and not monofilament (nylon, copolymer or fluoro), I'll be a happy camper Roger

I normally begin by trying to appeal to any aggressive bass that might be vulnerable (get them out of the way). Since there's a fair ripple along the front face, I'd probably start by running a cane toad over the pockets and holes in the pads. If that were fruitless, I might go deeper by cherry-picking the same pockets and holes using a zoom super fluke. Finally I'd probably go to the bottom with a T-rigged worm, working as close to the weed line as possible and into every weed line pocket (straight worm, paddletail worm, ribbontail worm or stick worm). That's such a nice picture you submitted, that I'm going to sieze the opportunty to mention the "cover". Although many would call them lily pads that is in fact "spatterdock". Unlike water lilies which produces white, open-petaled lilies, spatterdock produces yellow globe-like blooms that never fully open. Roger

Hold on!!!!! ..... I need to make it official with the picture. I can't take that 5 point deduction ;D ;D ;D Now it's official UH OH! Competing against Fourbizz is bad enough, but now KU_Bassmaster. There's only one big bass in all of Kansas and KU caught her TWICE!