RoLo

Actually, all of my lures never catch fish! Oh that's right, I haven't been fishing in a while :'( Roger

There's no comparison. To qualify as a shaky head the front hemisphere of the jighead must be "spherical". Brent's jig is a ball-head jig, but the Spot Remover has a broad flat that tends to steady the lure, making it an "anti-shaky" worm. With all due respect, the flat-bottomed Spot Remover is a great jig with plastic crayfish (yum crawbug, zoom critter craw, paca craw), but a finesse worm is mucho different. Roger I think I may have mis understood something you wrote, or maybe I mis typed something. I have no luck fishing a trick worm or anything else on a spot remover. I fish the ball heads from Brent just as I would in theory fish a worm on a spot remover, and have much more luck. The spot removers hardly ever stand straight up from what I've noticed.. Brokejaw, I was actually reinforcing what you stated by breaking it down and laying the pieces on the table. The original concept of the so-called "shaky head" began with a ballhead jig. The idea makes sense, because the distance from the center of the jighead to "any" point on the jighead surface is equal. Consequently, any rocking or rolling of the jighead will not be influenced or suppressed by the shape of the jighead. In stark contrast, any flat-bottomed jig would in essence be an "anti-shaky" jig, because the flat works to stabilize the jig and suppress any rocking or rolling. In short, the Spot Remover is not a shaky head, hence there is no comparison. By the way, as long as you're using a "high-floating" worm, a standup jig is totally unnecessary, because the tail of a high-floating worm is "always" pointing skyward, regardless of the jighead position (wag-ready). Understand that I'm not disparaging the Spot Remover or any other flat-bottomed jig, because I use them and love them, but not for jiggling vertically upright finesse worms. Roger

I would only chime in with the consensus here, Lucky Craft produces quality stuff. Are Lucky Craft lures worth the exorbitant prices they charge??? Well guess what, we the fishermen have already answered that question. No company can charge more than the traffic will bear, or they would price themselves out of the market. So in effect, it is "we" who set the price Roger

There's no comparison. To qualify as a shaky head the front hemisphere of the jighead must be "spherical". Brent's jig is a ball-head jig, but the Spot Remover has a broad flat that tends to steady the lure, making it an "anti-shaky" worm. With all due respect, the flat-bottomed Spot Remover is a great jig with plastic crayfish (yum crawbug, zoom critter craw, paca craw), but a finesse worm is mucho different. Roger

Way to go Flechero! A great testimonial and a compliment from a fellow rod-builder, it doesn't get much better than that 8-) Roger

When bass are really turned on, you will see the occasional gullet-hooked bass, unfortunately they're usually trophy-class fish with a BIG maw. On the other hand, if you're getting a lot of gullet-hooked bass, then almost certainly your hook-set is tardy. Roger

COLORADO Vs. WILLOWLEAF > The Colorado blade rotates at the slowest forward-speed, the willow-leaf requires the fastest forward speed to spin (Indiana is middling) > The Colorado blade produces the most "vibration", the willow-leaf blade produces the least vibration (Indiana is middling) > The Willow-leaf blade runs deeper than a Colorado, however, depth may be governed by lure weight instead of blade shape > The Willow-leaf blade navigates through weeds better than a Colorado blade SINGLE Vs. TANDEM > The single-blade spinnerbait generates less water, wind and weed-resistance (longer casts & greater depth) > The single-blade spinnerbait helicopters when killed, while most tandem spinnerbaits fall like a dead duck > The single-blade spinnerbait produces a distinct "thumping" sensation, while double-blade spinners dilute each other's throb > The tandem spinnerbait produces more flash than the single blade spinner, but not without a hitch: 1. In murky water, 'throb' is far more important than flash, because there can be no flash where there is no light 2. Bass generally strike the skirt before the spinner. The most popular spinnerbait is a double willow-leaf (search me) Roger

Given adequate vegetation, I'll always go with the shallower body of water. All other things equal, the shallower pond will support more phytoplankton, zooplankton, forage fish & game fish. All other things equal, the shallower pond will sustain a higher mean water temperature (higher growth rate). All other things equal, the shallower pond will have more discolored water (I like that). I hasten to add though, bass get very irritable when there's not enough water to submerge their dorsal spines : Roger

I can hardly think of anything that would cause me to choose the more heavily fished water. I use precious few metals and hard-plastics anymore, but whenever I'm faced with coffee-colored water, two lures instinctively pop into my head, a "spinnerbait" and a "Rat-L-Trap". Nuff said. Roger

Hey guys, this is wild! My wife knows what I look for in a sunscreen, and today she received a package from Canada. She received sunscreen called Anthelios L and when I read the contents, I couldn't believe my eyes: Mexoryl SX: 3.3% Avobenzone (parsol 1789): 3.5% Titanium Dioxide: 4.0% It's available in a variety of SPFs, the container holds 3.38 oz so including shipping it costs about $10 / oz. Below is the URL: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=011&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&viewitem=&item=320132415749&rd=1&rd=1 Roger

As already mentioned, the strike of a panfish is sometimes very similar to a bass. I will say this, whenever you get that repetitive "Ratatat" it's always a panfish, never a bass. Fish that I find most difficult to distinguish from bass are "bowfin" (mudfish to some). The bowfin lives where bass live, eats what bass eat, strike the same as bass, and fight the same as bass (frankly though, bowfin are stronger than bass). Roger

Order out a Daiwa Light-and-Tough

Roger

Mike Iaconelli's 1/8oz Weed Wacker (front hemisphere is rounded, the hook has an M-bend retainer) The Strike King 7" Elaztech Finesse Worm is by far my favorite shaky plastic (stands vertically upright). Strike King offers a 4" finesse worm, but if I want a shorter worm I just cut the 7" worm (provides more bulk). Roger

Ghoti thanks for introducing a less than glamorous subject, but a very important matter for us guys who love the outdoors. I know it's not as exciting as a discussion on Retrieval Techniques, but I'd like to mention a few things every angler should know. Just before sending this off, I noticed that Senile-1 nailed it, but it bears repeating just the same: 1) For starters, let's never call them "sunblocks", because at their best they are merely "sunscreens". 2) Sad but true, the "SPF" (sun protection factor) has little or no bearing on cancer protection! The SPF only protects against UVB radiation, the ray in sunlight that causes basically "reparable" damage like sunburn and tanning. Marketers are a clever bunch though, and they realize that a sunscreen that prevents a bad sunburn will leave the user with the most lasting impression. By itself, even SPF-50 offers little or no protection against permanent photodamage, premature wrinkling and skin cancer! 3) The most important information on a sunscreen container is the "Ingredients" list, and not the Sun Protection Factor (SPF). All the rest is marketing hoopla designed to hook the uninformed consumer, who it seems is never in short supply. Tanned skin is not permanent damage, it's temporary pigmentation from melanin overproduction. You'd be safer to use a low SPF containing a UVA protectant than you would using SPF-50 with no UVA protectant. 4) UVA radiation, the most harmful and deadly, ranges from 290 to 320 nanometers. Although SPF provides no protection against UVA rays, there are 4 UVA protectants that do. Be sure that the label specifies one or more of the following ingredients: > Mexoryl SX (FDA Approval 2006 - Deemed the best UVA protectant but VERY hard to find - About $10 per ounce) > Zinc Oxide (Second most effective UVA screen, and much easier to find. The white goop that lifeguards use) > Avobenzone (AKA: Parsol 1789, an effective UVA screen, and very easy to find - Oxybenzone is not the same thing) > Titanium Dioxide (Good, but not quite as good as the others) If the label does not clearly specify one or more of the above UVA protectants, plunk it down unceremoniously like raw sewage and move to the next product. An effective & highly available sunscreen is Neutrogena Age Shield containing 3% avobenzone Roger

Cart, I really like that green Fish-Pen, the one with the Fast Taper!!!! I have the same Fish Pen in Fuego Red, but yours looks like a Med-Hvy! Roger

I live in central Florida & believe it or not "mid-summer" is an excellent season for bass fishing (Florida-strain bass are heat-tolerant) I've found that the best time-of-day is basically random, because it tends to vary from one day to the next. If I had to pick one best time though, I'd probably go with the period between late-afternoon and sunset. Now...if you're talking about the best time-of-day for Big Bass, then I'd have to go with midday. My favorite time in mid-summer is from 10 am to 3 pm, especially during a warm front 8-) Roger

That's about as good a summation as you'll ever find! (more there than meets the eye) "Semi-slack" line has become a household expression among fishermen, and as Avid suggested, even if the line is lying in loose coils on the water, it won't matter if you're watching the far end of visible line on the surface. Maintaining a slack line removes all line-drag and gives the lure the most seductive descent. In spite of that fact, I confess that I prefer to feel the bass strike, so I fish accordingly. Rather than use a semi-slack line, I normally fish more of a "near-tight" line, a subtle but importance difference. Try This: Tie on a heavy weight (say 1oz), step outside in your backyard, cast the weight onto your lawn, then slowly crank out all line-slack until the line is as straight as possible. Now drop the rod only slightly so the tip-top guide moves just 1-inch toward the weight. You will notice that one-inch of slack line has put about 8 to 10" of belly in the line, as measured from the original taut line to the bottom of the droop. It's not easy to do and takes a little practice, but as the lure is falling, if you stay just behind a tight line by limiting the line-sag to 10 inches, you will "feel" the vast majority of strikes whether it's windy or calm. Roger

There's really nothing to wait for. Bass do not have hands, so they flare open their gills to create a mini low-pressure system that sucks the lure into their mouth. That's the "bink" sensation that we feel. As Bill Dance once said, the second "bink" we feel is the bass spitting out the lure ;D Roger

When it comes to weather, authorities rarely agree on anything, but In-Fisherman and Doug Hannon both agree on this: The best fishing does not occur during a rising or falling barometer, but occurs during a "steady barometer". In addition to the barometer, which is probably a symptom rather than a cause, "subdued light" causes predators to feed. The theory as to why, hinges on the predators rod-and-cone vision which adjusts more quickly to light changes than bait fish. Several natural conditions cause improved fishing (subdued light): Dawn, Dusk, Overcast Skies, Broken Water Surface (wind - rain) Most storms are accompanied by cloud cover, wind and raindrops pelting the water; all of these positive events don't leave bass much time to check barometric pressure Roger

I watch the line at one place only, exactly where it disappears underwater (last visible vestige). At that point, the line is farthest from the wind and closest to the fish. As it happens, I feel the strike ten times as often as I see it. Roger

The answer would depend on one's definition of a "good thing" Roger

If you want to learn more about Golden Algae, just go full circle and read about it right here on Bass Resource: http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/golden_algae_control.html Roger

Now I feel like such a big dope, fishing with those clumsy old contraptions of mine. I would gladly sell them all, but after seeing the Fish Pen, who's going to buy them??

I think that would depend on where you find aggressive bass. If you were fishing on top, then you'd probably do well to stay on top. If you find aggressive bass while fishing on the bottom, then continue to mop them up. Looking for aggressive bass is a different story. If the whereabouts of active fish is not known, I like to begin in shallow water using an aggressive delivery. This way I'll find out real quick if they're active in the shallows, and won't miss out on a possible gravy train. But if I begin finesse fishing in deep water then find out 4 hours later that bass are aggressive in shallow water, then I probably lost 4 hours of prime fishing time > Roger