RoLo

Does a bear sleep in the woods? Chart analysis is by far the quickest way to eliminate marginal water and the fastest way to pinpoint the most promising water. Map reading is a thousand times faster than crankbaits and spinnerbaits. It's not about hocus-pocus, but involves a protracted learning curve. For any body of water, the first two questions are these: 1) What Species Of Fish? Throughout an annual cycle, Mother Nature utilizes practically every lake region throughout the lake. This is possible only through "Timing" and "Territory", where different species of fish use the same lake regions but at different times. Additionally, different species of fish seek different forms of cover, for instance largemouth bass favor weeds, whereas smallmouth bass favor rocks. Few contour maps provide reliable information regarding bottom cover, which must be confirmed onsite 2) What Seasonal Period? For example, during warm water periods most species of fish gravitate to longer tapers (e.g. inside channel bends - Deltas), but during cold water periods they gravitate to the sharpest gradients (e.g. outside channel bends - Drop-offs). And so it goes. Roger

The definition of a "topwater lure" does not limit the angler to HARD plastic. For a true stealth topwater lure, try T-rigging a Strike King Zulu. I use an Owner 4/0 - 5180 hook and rig the hook through the thickness of the lure rather than the height of the lure. Properly rigged, the zulu is a dynamite topwater lure, furthermore it's mouthable and it's weedless. Roger

Mom & I decided to fish down the afternoon today (02/09) on Lake Walk-In-Water (our home lake). We launched at 1:30 pm and fished until dusk. It drizzled on-&-off all afternoon but the surface was relatively flat which made for a nice day. It's been a while since we've been on the water, so I was pretty shocked to find the flats riddled with bass beds. A few of the beds were only about 6 feet apart, which is pushing the envelope for territorial dispute. We boated 11 bass and got cutoff twice (undoubtedly chain pickerel). All the bass came from water between 15 & 30 inches deep. There was no apparent lure preference, in fact I used 6 different lures and all of them caught bass except the Cavitron buzzbait. Fluke (albino): 3 Rat-L-Trap: 3 Shakin Worm 2 Tiki Stick: 2 Culprit Worm 1 Water Temp: 72 deg (cold for Florida-strain bass --- just kiddin') Wind: WNW variable at 1-10 mph Catch Depth: 1½ to 2 ft deep Key Plants: Maidencane (slang> Kissimmee Grass) Spikerush (slang> pencil reeds) Key Pattern: From the weed-line to 2 feet behind the weed-line If I were looking for numbers I would have stuck with the albino fluke, because they really walloped it hard! One bass actually launched himself into the air to pounce on top of the fluke, which he did with a loud splash!!! On the downside, we only caught buck bass, the largest measuring 19 (didn't bother weighing him). Roger

In the first place, I rarely bother to mimic preexisting creatures (what creature is colored "firetiger", "watermelonseed" or "clown"?). In the second place, if I were so inclined to mimic some baitfish species, it would not be a bluegill. Indeed, bass and bluegills share the same environment, but if a bass were given a choice it would likely pass up a "spiny-finned" baitfish like a bluegill or baby bass. Granted, bass are not always given their choice of baitfish, but the angler is, so in my opinion it might be better to mimic a soft-finned baitfish like a shiner or shad. Anyway, if you want a lure that resembles a blugill sunfish, simply do a Google search for "bluegill" then click "images" on top. Keep that window open while you're looking over the available lure patterns (none look like a bluegill to me) Roger

Actually bass are pretty cool customers and are not as skittish as trout for instance. The answer to your question depends on your approach and the underwater visibility (water clarity, cloud cover, time-of-day). In muddy water, I have often caught bass directly below the gunwale in 5 feet of water (Farrington Lake, NJ). Naturally, you can't drop your thermos on the floor of an aluminum boat and expect to do this ;D Roger

Okay, so in effect your lure rests on the bottom for a good 30 seconds, but only on every "third" hop. Roger

Welcome to the forum Scotty Denny Brauer once stated that the "Bomber 7A" probably won more money than any other plug. Roger

We humans call that "wham bam thank................ya' know :-X Most of the guys I fish with in Florida consider a pickerel a junk fish along the lines of a gar. Not a fair association, as I think they are fun to catch, and so tasty they compare nicely to a trout. (sweet white meat but bony) I'm with you Don. Many accuse the pickerel of hitting anything that moves (a gross overstatement), but isn't that the hallmark of a great game fish? Roger

Catt, I have a question for you: When you lift your rod from 3 o'clock to 1 o'clock in two movements, that places your soft-plastic into a "glide phase". While you're waiting for your lure to reestablish bottom contact (glide-phase) is your rod held parallel to the water surface (3 o'clock) or perpendicular to your fishing line (1 o'clock)? Roger

Guilty as charged x4

I use braided polyethylene for all soft plastics (PowerPro). No reason comes to mind, why I'd want to switch to fluoro (I hate that wire). Roger

BINGO! If you can do that one thing, you're already ahead of 95% of all fishermen. Incidentally, I'm a member of the 95% group Roger

The choice of jighead really depends on the shaky worm you intend to use. For instance, if you're using a Strike King Finesse Worm, the springback in 3X plastic might spring backward off that keeper barb. Roger

In a knot test using fluorocarbon line, the common knots fared quite poorly as well: Palomar Knot 72% Uni-Knot 69% Trilene Knot 67% With regard to braided line though, knot strength is much less critical, because due to its fine diameter, most braid users are over-tackled (myself included), in addition most braided lines overtest (getting braid to break is the bigger problem). Many years ago I conducted my own little knot study, and I strongly suggest that each of you do the same. There's no better way to erase any doubts, and the results will be quite enlightening. I used two giant tuna hooks (heavy wire hooks that served as handles). To compare any two knots, I tied one knot to the eyelet of one tuna hook and the other end of the same short length of line to the other tuna hook. Then I pulled both tuna hooks apart until one of the knots failed. I repeated this test several times until I was convinced of as to which knot was stronger. As it happened, this inspired me to devise my own knot. Although the rolo knot proved to be stronger than all others, I use the uni-knot because it's so much easier to tie ;D Roger

Actually that's a very important observation! I've watched the palomar knot blossom in popularity, then I watched it fade into relative obscurity (NG with trebled plugs). Low-&-behold a Super Line manufacturer included instructions for tying the palomar knot and BAM, it rocketed back to stardom (very strange). When I began fishing (before there were fossils), I like everyone else used a clinch knot (you guessed it...it was on the Trilene box). I finally retired the clinch knot after losing countless fish and ending up with nothing but a line-end that resembled a pig's tail. After I dumped the clinch knot they introduced the "improved clinch knot". Too little, too late, I already had my belly full of clinch knots. For several decades now I've been using nothing but the "uni-knot" for everything including braided line (hence the name "Universal"). It can be tied with your eyes closed, and the next time a uni-knot slips with braided line will be my first time. Roger

Exactly! When Gulp is in my home, I'm looking for the plunger to blow open the backed-up toilet. When Gulp is the boat, I find myself scanning the horizon for a sewage treatment plant. I'd rather forfeit 1 or 2 Gulp bass than forfeit the joy of breathing : Roger

For deep water work, I much prefer a jig or alternatively a T-rigged plastic and slip-sinker. However, it never hurts to run a crankbait through the school just in case they're in an aggressive mood. Otherwise you might hate yourself in the morning :-[ > Roger

Quote from Roadwarrior WOW...talk about a tough question! Frankly, they're both super-duper soft jerkbaits, but since the fluke is a little more fish-shaped than a slug-go, it probably appeals more to me, but necessarily to bass. I've had too much fun with Slug-Gos to give them anything but praise (with pike too). Roger

Zoom Super Fluke (5" albino) More important than how closely they resemble the real McCoy is how they sashay and glide after each twitch. As for "Gulp"...much too odiferous to store in a dwelling where humans reside ;D Roger

Very nice post, smallfry Roger

The 3/8 oz whirligig wears all hats. With the rod-tip held high, the 3/8 oz spinner can be fished like 1/4 oz; with the rod-tip held low to the water it tracks similar to 1/2 oz. In situations where 1 oz might be needed, the spinnerbait is fired. Roger

I voted rat-l-trap, but never expected to see such a onesided lead! Kudos fellows and gals for recognizing quality in the absence of high price. Now for the bad news, Bill Lewis is currently attempting to outdo himself. I'm talking about the new "Vibra-Trap" for about three times the price. I have a gut-feeling that the Vibra-Trap is going to be BIG (mine are currently on backorder). Roger

Finally! I cant believe thats been the only tube post. A tube is an excellent choice in heavy vegetation, and used to be our go-to weed probe (since retired). I should qualify my reply by saying that I never flip, but strictly "pitch" using spinning gear. Gambler 5" Flapp'n Tail Worm (alias: Weed Probe) It's a paddletail worm without any appendages that slips beautifully through the salad on a 1/2 oz Owner Sled Head Roger

I didn't catch that episode with Jason Quinn, but the hopkins shorty is one of the best metals we've used for jump fishing in fall.They modestly mimic the profile of a shad, but more importantly they cast far and sink fast, which jump fishing is all about (very short-lived). Roger

In my humble opinion, I believe that the 'spoon' is a highly overlooked lure today. When I was just a kid there were only five basic lure-types: Plugs - Spoons - Spinners - Jigs - Flies (and the subdivisions of each) Soft-plastics didn't really gain a substantial foothold until the early 1960s, beginning with Nick Creme's Scoundrel Worm introduced around 1950. When spoons were still enormously popular I tried as many as I could like a kid at a candy shop (they're gone too). Although this stuff makes me sad (I can feel the door slowly closing on my life), I'll try to recollect the spoons I've fished throughout the years: > Eppinger Dardevle > Johnson Silver Minnow > Hopkins Shorty > Hopkins No=Eql > Heddon Moss Boss > Acme Little Cleo > Bay De Noc Swedish Pimple > Mepps Syclops (pike, muskies) > Mepps Timber Doodle > Williams Wabler (pike, muskies) > Hoffschneider Red Eye Wiggler (defunct) > Acme Kastmaster (saltwater) > Luhr-Jensen Krocodile > Glen Evans Spoon (defunct) > Tony Accetta Pet Spoon (saltwater) > Huntington Drone (saltwater) > I'm sure I've overlooked a few Remarkably, one-by-one each of the above spoons gradually evaporated from my lure arsenal. As it happens, the only survivors today are the first three listed spoons: Johnson Spoon, Eppinger Daredevle and Hopkins Shorty (excepting bladebaits). The heavier gauge of the daredevle spoon is useful for working greater depths especially where a slower wobble is preferred. On average though, I prefer the Johnson Spoon to any other, due to its thinner gauge metal, superior flutter, weedlessness and outstanding fish-catching properties. Roland Martin and I are the same age, yet in his book he states that his dad's favorite lure was the Johnson Spoon, which later became his son's favorite lure as well. Roland's favorite bass lure was a "black" 1/2 oz Johnson Spoon dressed with either a black pork strip or black plastic worm. Following is an excerpt from Roland's book, "101 Bass-catching Secrets": Roger