RoLo

When I lived in Edgewater, Florida (near Daytona Beack) I used to fish Woodruff and Dexter Lakes. I would put-in on the west shore of the St Johns River, directly across from Lake Dexter. In season, Lake Woodruff is shared by both anglers and waterfowlers, and though I've participated and love both sports, they don't mix very well. As in all central Florida lakes, there's a vigorous ongoing spray campaign. I wouldn't mind if they could confine the kill to hydrilla, but gorgeous stands of American Lotus are wiped out in the process. In my opinion, the best fishing on Lake Woodruff is in the southeast corner, near the ole historic fish camp. Here you'll find the deepest holes in the lake and oddly enough, "pennywort" is one of the key plants. The idea is to target outside bends in the creeks where pennywort grows out over the water like miniature willow trees. Roger

Congratulations Raul, and thanks for your long-standing contribution. I always enjoy conversation with you, and not the least of which your witty humor Roger

As already stated, you'll want to use nylon monofilament backing so the braided line doesn't revolve as a unit around the reel arbor. The amount of nylon backing is not at all critical, furthermore the overall sponginess of nylon varies as per line diameter (line test). Hell will freeze over first. Back to number one. Okay, suppose you hook a sunken stump about 1-foot across. You get angry like I do, and you rear back on your rod just short of exploding the blank. More than likely you've caused the braid to "burrow" into the spooled line. Before making your next cast, simply peel off a few yards of line and it'll be business as usual. By the by, you can kiss bird-nests goodbye 8-) I'm sure you'll be real pleased with PowerPro, in fact, you will have joined an elite and growing rank of CHEATERS ;D Roger

The chain pickerel spawns soon after ice-out, just like northern pike. In Florida, where it never ices up, pickerel are spawning right now. As a sidenote, unlike bass who build a nest and defend it, pickerel are free-spawners who drop their eggs on flooded marshland (last year's vegetation) and keep on swimming. Roger

WOW...You're giving me goose-bumps Dom! I can't help but think that way back when, your boat and mine came within easy casting distance of each other 8-) Roger

6' 1" Roger

My striped bass experience has been in saltwater, so I won't taint your poll by voting. In saltwater we used a wide array of natural and artificial lures. My favorite natural bait for schoolies (net fish) was a "sandworm", but for big loner cows (gaff fish) it was a 8 to 12 "menhaden" or "herring". As for artificial lures my favorite for schoolies (bass to ~20 lbs) was trolling an "umbrella rig", but for old loner cows (gaff fish) it was trolling a "rigged eel" or "big white bunker spoon" (Tony Acetta) When casting (more fun than trolling) we used rebels and pencil poppers on top (twilight or birds working), diamond jigs when deep, but the best all-around artificial was a big white bucktail jig dressed with a fish-belly strip (alternatively pork rind). I'd imagine that a striper is a striper, so for landlocked striped bass you might incorporate those same lure concepts adjusted for mean size. Roger

Sounds like Jack's Slough Roger

Before this thread goes dead, I feel obligated to say one more thing in defense of my ole friend "Chainsides" (minor pike). Many anglers believe that chain pickerel will hit anything that moves, but most anglers do not specifically target pickerel. It's true, when pickerel are aggressive you may catch more pickerel by accident, than you catch bass on purpose. This is bound to leave the impression that pickerel are suicidal, but when you target them specifically you quickly learn that pickerel are not "always" aggressive. When we specifically target pickerel we're not looking for 18" spikes, we're in search of record-class fish (For example: 6.25-lb pickerel = 12-lb bass). In our experience, when chain pickerel get lockjaw (as they frequently do) they're harder to catch than bass with lockjaw. As an aside, you might find this interesting though hard to believe. Back in the 1950s (pre B.A.S.S.) the state of New Jersey conducted a statewide poll. The unexpected result found chain pickerel to be the most sought-after gamefish in New Jersey, usurping largemouth bass. Needless to say, since the formation of B.A.S.S in 1968 that's no longer the case. Roger

I haven't been fishing in a while, but I speak with several bassaholics who live in my community (Lake Walk-In-Water). They're seeing very little in the way of "active" beds and the fishing for them has been unusually slow even with live shiners. I suspect that's about to change REAL soon. Roger

T-rigged 7-1/2" Ribbontail Worm (Culprit: black shad -OR- YUM: red shad) Roger

I concur We can only dream that fish were motivated by color, "half" as much as fishermen Roger

I'm using 'moss green' PowerPro and because polyethylene tends to float, it's rather easy to line-watch. As for fluorocarbon leader, I think that's more of a confidence thingy. I've tried it both ways (with & w/o a leader) but now I simply tie the braid direct to everything. Should the day come that I feel it's hurting my action, I'll promptly switch back to using a leader. Roger

It would be great if there were one jig for all occasions, but it doesn't work like that. The answer hinges on "where" it's used (open water - around rocks - dense weeds - in current) The "trailer" also has a bearing on jig style (plastic craw, plastic worm, dead minnow - swimbait - trailerless) Finally the jig may vary according to "delivery" (hopping, swimming, crawling, shaky head, etc) Roger

The lure action of plugs and spoons is categorized according to the magnitude of "wobble", ranging from Tight to Wide. Although spinners are said to spin', they too are categorized according to the included-angle of wobble, ranging from the willow-leaf to the Colorado blade. There's a quiet but ongoing controversy among anglers as to which wobble is best in cold water and which is best in warm water. Throngs of anglers hold that a wide wobble, which is activated at lower forward speeds, is better suited to coldwater periods. Along comes a Jerseyite called Ike who maintains just the opposite, that a faster narrower wobble is preferable in cold water (think bladebait) It's hard to dispute the 2006 angler-of-the-year, but I thought it would be interesting to beg the input from an even higher authority on bass fishing, I'm referring of course to Bass Resource Below I delineated the known variables of "wobble" to help in the decision-making process: WIDE WOBBLE (wide spoon wide spinner fat plug) Low Frequency Large Footprint Short Range Low Activation-Speed Murky Water TIGHT WOBBLE (narrow spoon narrow spinner thin plug) High Frequency Small Footprint Long Range High Activation-Speed Clear Water Thanx in advance for all input Roger

Some fishermen would have you believe that the Bait Monkey is just an imaginary being. Don't Believe That For A Moment, the Bait Monkey is just as real as Santa Claus! The Bait Monkey is a go-between, who governs all arbitration between your "desires" and your "better judgment". I might add however, he's a powerful lobbyist for unrestrained fulfillment, in spite of your better judgment. Roger

To my knowledge ReelMech, the predecessor to Berkley Sensation was Berkley Sensithin (same line, new name). Supposedly the only lines outside the Berkley house to surpass the tensile strength of Sensation were Remington Ultra & Australian Platypus. Roger

If I were in the market for another copolymer line, two lines I would have under the scope are Berkley Sensation and Sufix Siege. Berkley creates lines for every taste and for every whim, in spite of the manufacturer's own view. To avoid a conflict of interest, Berkley must promote all their fishing lines with equal enthusiasm (different strokes for different folks). About two years ago a Berkley salesman made a statement on the QT that found its way out of the box. The Berkley rep stated that in-house testing concluded that "Trilene Sensation" is Berkley's "best" line, but that could never be published. It's tested better than Trilene XT and better than Trilene Big Game. HHmmm Roger

Team Daiwa Light-and-Tough $130 To get an honest and objective opinion of a rod I compare them two at a time. As one blank is eliminated, I'll add another candidate to make the new pair. The only way to obliterate brand loyality (the enemy) is not knowing which brand is in which hand. (I usually ask my wife to hand me the rod, and if necessary I'll close my eyes momentarily) That said, I've yet to experience a rod for $130 with better feel and backbone than the Team Daiwa Light-and-Tough (I own a slew) Roger

On a really good day, sheesh who'd actually bother to count fish? Okay, if I were forced to guess I'd say one...maybe two ;D ;D Seriously, like Daniel said, "It only takes one bass to make a good day, but it's got to be the right one". Whenever you hear about a "100-bass" day, you've been given the template of the average size. Roger

BINGO! (it's a no-brainer) For walleye use the same stuff you'd use for bass. For pike you need wire, otherwise you'll land every pike except your Personal Best! I've tried every wire leader available and would only recommend one: TERMINATOR TITANIUM LEADER 30 lb x 0.014 Dia Smoke Black (BPS) ADVANTAGES OF TITANIUM > Kink-Resistant (In contrast, stainless steel wire is kink-prone and breaks when kinked) > Thinner Diameter (18-lb Sevalon = 0.019 <> 20-lb Titanium Wire = 0.012) > Cut-Proof (Titanium is more cut-proof than stainless-steel) > No Sleeves, No Crimping Pliers (Unlike other wire leaders, titanium is joined with a knot) > Shock-Resistant (Incredible but true, titanium wire actually stretches like monofilament nylon) > Never Corrodes (Titanium is more corrosion-proof than stainless-steel braided wire and never corrodes even in saltwater) Roger

Ronnie offered very good advice. I'm currently using PowerPro braid and am very pleased with its performance. I might switch to sufix braid next month, but right now I have no motivation to change, because I really couldn't ask more from any fishing line (If ain't broke, don't fix it) The difference between braided polyethylene and monofilament copolymer is "enormous", but the difference between brands of braid may be mostly illusory. Roger

Yup, the key ingredient in any terminal grease is "petrolatum" (petroleum jelly).

I fail to see the stupidity :-? In my opinion, I believe that slitting the tail will give you more action, but leaving the tail intact may give you more vibration (thump) but it really depends on how you work it. Roger

My favorite by a long shot is In-Fisherman, I wouldn't mourn the loss of any other show (save Lindner's Angling Edge) The In-Fisherman is extremely informative, and they employ the latest techniques and state-of-the-art photography. I appreciate the fact that they're not stuck in a rut but cover all worthy fish including sturgeon, giant catfish and carp. Once you've tangled with a 35-lb carp you gain a whole new respect. Incidentally, if I'm not mistaken (may T-rig correct me if I'm wrong), I believe that the carp was rated the number-one game fish in parts of Europe. Roger