RoLo

Okay, now imagine going toe-to-toe with one of those weighing about 100 lbs! (yellowfin tuna that is). Funny but I can picture that. With all that body area they must feel like a foul-hooked halibut ;D Roger

KOOL!!

It may be that we're not supposed to know I certainly don't propose to have the answer, but I sure wouldn't bet the ranch that sugarcane is not involved. There are several versions of the story, but there are a few things about Lake Okeechobee that we know for sure: We do know that for years, the biggest problem on the Big-O has been surplus phosphorus and pesticides originating from the sugarcane crop. We do know that the sugar industry is much bigger business than sport fishing, and that they "always" get their way. We know for sure that for decades the water level in Lake Okeechobee has been managed to provide optimum growing conditions for sugarcane fields in the Everglades Agricultural Area south of the lake. We know that during times of surplus rainfall, the sugar fields will backpump polluted water into Lake Okeechobee to prevent sugar cane from drowning. However, during times of inadequate rainfall you will notice that sugarcane continues to flourish...Hmmm Roger

Perhaps, but I wouldn't be the one to bet the ranch.

Hmmm, coming from a multi-species aficionado who knows his onions, you've just whet my appetite for a big sturgeon! Chris if you haven't already, you ought to give "yellowfin tuna" a shot using standup tackle (stroker rod, gimbal belt & shoulder harness) I've seen quite a few votes for musky, pike and striped bass, which I find a little surprising. Needless to say, a true heavyweight fish, regardless of species is going to overcome the drag-setting and peel line off the spool. It's really very hard to factor-in the weight of the fish when evaluating its relative fighting ability (to factor OUT emotion). Nobody loves pike and musky fishing more than myself, but based on their body weight I've caught too many pike and musky that disappointed me, ditto largemouth bass. I've also boated many striped bass (not all of them) that were a big disappointment, in fact a bluefish of the same weight could tow the striper around the ocean. Roger

It was Lee's iniative that kicked off the BR Shootout, so Lee calls the shots. All the same, I have a suggestion in the interest of fairness that might beef-up the participation. It would be nice if everyone could get a piece of the best month for big fish in their region. For example, the best month in Florida is arguably "March", but in Rhode Island's I'm sure the best month is no earlier than "May". It might be fairer if the fish-off ran from say March 15 to May 15. That way we'd all get a piece of the best action without centering on any one region. Waddaya think? Roger

Sometimes. Unless I'm fishing very murky water I prefer a stealth jig. I've a jar full of rattle chambers I removed from various jigs. Caveat: Some rattle boxes are cumbersome, change the fall rate and crowd the plastic trailer. Roger

Sugar Cane.

Yeah count me in on the Largemouth Division, now maybe I'll spend more time on the water By the way, I agree with the concept of basing weights on respective state-records...fairer is always better. Would it make any sense to pit a heavyweight boxer against a featherweight? Aside from the self-indulgence this post seemed to invoke, how about this fellow Lee, better known as Fishin Daddy. This guy is a relative newcomer to Bass Resource but he hit the ground running. Now he's heading up a forum-wide competition, has anyone gotten the impression that he LOVES competition? I like your style, Lee Gentlemen, START YOUR ENGINES! Roger

Ounce-for-ounce: Redear Sunfish Among those listed: Bowfin Roger

Well...I hope that's not going on a spinning rod Roger

Now that's an excellent question. Actually, I'm currently anguishing over the answer to that question myself. I've used the EWG-bend for years because the point is in the line-of-pull. Lately though, I've been leaning more in favor of round-bend hooks. It seems that they offer more trailer space, and may get a better bite on the bass. But you will notice that the point of the J-hook is above the line-of-pull (not a good thing). Roger

I'm confused...can you point me to an "EWG hook" that doesn't have an "offset-shank"?Roger Roger, I think we are at a loss for a proper term for a offset shank hook that is NOT EWG. LOL You know, a good old fashioned worm hook. I am betting that you will have one. Ronnie There are two genre of "offset hooks": Offset-Point (left or right) and Offset-Shank (used for plastic trailers but not necessarily worms). I am unaware of any "extra-wide gap" hook that does not also have an "offset-shank" (save a double frog hook). So are you saying that it's possible for someone to prefer offset-shank hooks versus EWG hooks?

I'm confused...can you point me to an "EWG hook" that doesn't have an "offset-shank"?Roger

Bass love structure when they can find it, but if it doesn't exist they can live very well without it. During the summer I'd expect to find the bass tucked in the best weed beds available, regardless of depth. If the water is muddy all year-round, then it's not likely that good vegetation will be growing deeper than 2 or 3 feet. Actually this isn't a bad situation because it sharply narrows down location. During midday you'd probably have to fish right inside or at least very tight to the slop. During twilight (dawn & dusk) bass might be inclined to wander out in the longer shadows cast by cover. Roger

When I lived in Jersey I've done a lot of ice-fishing with my dad, which was basically a day of ice-skating flavored by fishing. We never thought about bass though, because bass in Jersey are quite dormant after ice-up. Our catch was always a mix of chain pickerel and yellow perch, but no bass. Nevertheless, a few bass are reportedly taken every year through the ice, and they're usually big bass (big fish = cold-tolerant). Roger

As a rule of thumb, Missouri minnows are best during the coldwater periods, but as the water warms up a little, you can do as good or better with jigs because of their greater coverage. During peak activity though (very short season), a spinner like the XPS 1/16 oz Crappie Spin might out-produce all else. Spot fishing the bulrushes can be very productive but to do it right you really need a long cane pole (a whole other game). I try to target schools over a suspended drop-off or brush pile, then use a 5.5-ft ultra-light spinning outfit spooled with 4-lb Yo-Zuri line. There are three basic crappie lures: > "Marabou Jig" a self-contained lure like Uncle Buck's 1/16 oz Crappie Bug > "Shimmy Grub" like a 1.5" Charlie Brewer's Crappie Slider Grub > "Curly Grub" like Kalin's 2" Triple Threat Grub As Daniel MB mentioned, my favorite crappie colors are also white, chartreuse and pink. Depending on the drift, a slip-float and stop might be best, or sometimes it's enough to peel off a specific shot of line before closing the bail. I'll often mark the school with a marker buoy, so I can accurately pick-up every new drift. When the drift is too brisk, then of course you're forced to anchor-up, or would that be anchor-down? Roger

The "lamprey eel" was the first drama to play out in the Great Lakes. In the late 60s, fully 2/3 of all the pike I caught had elongated sores caused by this parasitic eel. The DNR painted a bleak picture which in turn alarmed the fishing community. Long story short, we all over-reacted and today the lamprey eel no longer dominates the conversation of Great Lakes fishermen. As soon as the lamprey eel took a backseat, the "zebra mussel" scare was launched, introduced through ballast water. We were warned that this was far more serious than the lamprey debacle! But once again Mother Nature took the reins, and the grievous warnings slowly began to ring just a little hollower. The problem early-on was that game fish did not ingest zebra mussels allowing them to burgeon out-of-control. Eventually, game fish acquired an appetite for zebra mussels, which they now heavily consume. The Lake Erie fishery for smallmouth bass and walleyes is probably as good today as it's ever been. In May, 2007, the winning stringer for the FLW Walleye League was 28 lb 2 oz, that's an average 5 lb 10 oz walleye! Back to the point: I live a looong way from California, so I know next to nothing about their political aspirations. It is true however, that there's no shortage of instances where selfish interest groups will exploit an opportunity to champion their own selfish end. Over the long haul I'm sure that justice will prevail...it usually does. Roger

Way back in the 60s, I had a single-readout Texas Instruments "Loran-C", which I used to cross-fix junction buoys, fishing spots, shipwrecks, etc. [Before Loran-C I used RDF (radio direction finder)] The main difference between Loran-C and GPS is that Loran-C coordinates do not represent Lat/Lon directly, but use correlative coordinates. Whereas GPS reads out directly in latitude and longitude. Further, GPS is a global system while Loran-C is established using local masters and slaves with regional limitations. At that time I lived in New Jersey, so whenever I fished in Florida or Canada, I had to select new local towers for the respective region (what a pain)! My point being, electronic boat positioning is nothing new, but thanks to GPS it's a darn sight easier, cheaper & better. Based on what I've seen from Biosonix and side-imaging, they don't impress me much. They remind me of the RDF equivalent before GPS, in other words, I think they have a looong way to go Roger

FLBassMan provided an excellent link. I have once been to Appalachicola, Florida (on our way to Pensacola), and it's one of the most beautiful, most secluded fishing ports I've ever seen! Hurricane Lake and Deerpoint Lake have both gotten lots of press the past few years, and of couse there's ever-famous Lake Jackson and Lake Talquin. Roger

Why couldn't I think of that

Holy Cow, that is one GORGEOUS fish. Great job Bizz!! Roger

"Runt"

Chigger would be VERY hurt to hear that :-/ The guy went to all the trouble of threading 2-inch hoops through his earlobes and remodeling his teeth from a gold Silver Buddy. The least we can do is give him the recognition he desperately seeks 8-) Roger

SHEESH...the things you see, when you don't have a gun :