RoLo

Whenever I fish in a thunderstorm I never take any chances. I will NOT pick up any rod over 7½ ft without first donning my rubber gloves. Go ahead call me a chicken, I'm just not a risk-taker Roger

Well, I don't know about anyone else, but before I'd pony-up that kind of money, I'd want a guarantee that I can cast it with my Roland Martin Rocket Rod Roger

The tone of the discussion has dwelled on the negative, but I'm not sure that phytoplankton should be thought of in a negative light. Most algae and protozoa cause no problem, in fact they're the foundation of the forage base in every body of water. Phytoplankton is like money, it's a necessity, but too much of it can cause a problem. Yah I know, everyone wants that problem Golden algae are actually steeped in mystery, because scientists really aren't sure of anything yet. They believe that associated fishkills may be due to asphyxia, but also believe they're the result of bacterial involvement that releases a neurotoxin. Here's the upshot, to my knowledge Texas and Arizona are the only two states in the union that ever experienced a fishkill caused by golden algae (chrysophytes). Roger

You're wise in feeling threatened by crystal clear water, it's can be like fishing after a cold-front. The first stumbling block is that enhanced visibility usually means "well fed" bass. By contrast, bass in muddy water always seem to be feeding (beggers can't be choosers). In gin clear water, imperfections in "lure action" are overtly displayed. Though many fishermen believe that bass are frightened by the line in clear water (what about the hooks?), I believe that thinner line is more productive in clear water because it provides more natural, unfettered lure action, particularly when working soft plastics. When all else fails, turning to reaction lures that create an impulse strike can save the day In crystal clear water, it's best to use cranks that are a tad smaller, conservatively colored and retrieved at a higher speed. Good Luck Roger

Water current is what truly separates the largemouth bass from the smallmouth bass, which require more dissolved oxygen. I fished the Delaware River in New Jersey for many years, and there's hardly a riffle or pool without smallmouth bass, but largemouth bass are conspicuously rare. Though I've never targeted largemouth bass in the Delaware, we've caught them by accident. Without exception, largemouth we have caught by accident came from one of two backwater lagoons, far removed from the main current. Oddly enough, largemouth in manmade waters in Florida are turned on by water release currents, notably the Stick Marsh. You can rest assured though, that the bass is behind or alongside a "current break" like a stump, hump, coquina chunk or anything that creates a low-pressure back-eddy. Roger

That's true of course, but I don't credit bass with the ability to reason. I'm basing my color choice on contrast and visibility, because I believe that once the lure has been noticed, color has already done its job, and plays no further role in triggering a strike. Roger

Good question. With deep-running lures, I prefer the darker color to be on the underside, and the lighter color to be on top (impossible to find). Mother Nature uses counter-shading to "hide" her creatures from predators, so I'm looking to reverse the natural pattern to produce more contrast and make the lure more visible to predators, whether they strike from above or below. The first thing a sick minnow loses is its equillibrium. It appears that it's nature's way of increasing the exposure of an unfit minnow & hastening its elimination (survival of the fittest). Reverse counter-shading makes my minnow look unfit (easy). With topwaters though I do just the opposite. I feel that the surface commotion is the attention-getter, and prefer colors that obscure the lure and make it difficult to a get a good look, for instance, translucent white. Roger

Working lily pads from shore can be tough on lures but it sure is a blast. If the surface is flat, I'd probably work the top with a Gambler cane toad (+ PowerPro). If the surface is roily, I'd try a zoom super fluke and work it about 2 ft deep. Lily pads rarely grow much deeper than 4 ft, so any bass hugging bottom would be met halfway. Good luck Roger

Never mind looking to the "other" guy to step up to the plate, that's something that each one of us should be doing. I've been remiss in that regard, but from now on I will sift through the Bass Resource banners before placing any online order. Thanks for the prompt Kent, that's the least that we can do Roger

They work best with a pair of matching nose-clips :

If a Shimano Symetre were out of my reach ($80), I would resound the consensus, Shimano Sahara

To my knowledge, there's no teflon in PowerPro line (it's slippery enough). In any event, if you're willing to give it another go, I'm willing to bet that even if you abuse your equipment, your rod will likely break before your PowerPro Roger

Needless to say I cannot choose for you, but if I were restricted to those 5 reels, I'd go with Daiwa Regal > Lifetime bail spring > 11-bearings > Infinite anti-reverse / Gyro Spin balancing Roger

I only throw spinners in murky water Single Colorado - #6 Gold (Throb City!) Roger

Holy Cow! And I used to think of spotted bass as a finesse fish. That's incredible Mike :o Roger

You're not a Sufix Rep are you? ;D Actually, a very common complaint with PowerPro is the "inability" to break the line. Other than a bad batch, line-breakage is a rare event with braid, even after it's been rubbing the hull and engine shaft. The first thing I would do is check the tip-top guide for a crack or ding, using an eye-loop and a cotton swab. Roger

Thanks for your response fourbizzle, it's much appreciated 8-) Roger

Spraying may not have an immediate affect on the health of fish, but as Senile1 pointed out, it may eventually cause a profound negative impact on the bass fishery. Even spontaneous weed-kills emanating from natural sources like drought, hurricanes and water spouts, can do tremendous damage to a bass fishery. Prior to the hurricane-trio of 2004, my home lake was Number-1 in the state of Florida based on the FWC Big-Catch program. Now it's 3 years later, and many lakes in Polk County, Florida are only shadows of their former selves. In my area alone, I know of boat dealers, professional guides and tackle shops that have gone belly-up due to the loss of hydrilla. On the upside, the vegetation will eventually come back on all the lakes, and as often the case, even better than it was before. Roger

Fourbizzle, Which soft-plastics do you prefer for drop-shotting? Roger

All that, and you've got your woman hooking her own worm I'd say, you're well on your way 8-) Roger

Yes, I base it on hook throat (bite), hook gap (gape) and descent-rate I use spinning gear but I also use PowerPro line, so hook size is immaterial to me. When you speak of a slow-fall, I know what you're up against, and that's why I nearly went with the 3/0 heavy-wire gammy. I did notice one other thing...I think. For reasons beyond my understanding, it seemed that the jerks where more random and enticiing with a 4/0 hook than any other size. But we all have ways of seeing what we want to see, so I don't put too much on that. Though I'm probably the only one who does, I hook the zoom fluke "upside-down"! I do this to put the white belly on top (contrasts against dark bottom) and the darker back on bottom (contrasts against lighter sky) The fluke supposedly imitates a dying minnow, and the first thing a dying minnow loses is his ability to remain upright. Since my fluke is inverted, I'm not using the hook-slot, but embed the hook in the back plastic which is only about 1/8" thick. Roger

I devoted the better part of a day experimenting with different size hooks with the Zoom Super Fluke. I finally settled on the 4/0 Gamakatsu Super Line EWG hook. Though a 3/0 hook seems like a good choice, I felt the hook-throat was a little too small for the 5" super fluke. With a 5/0 hook the fluke descended a little faster than I prefer (impairs that lazy sashay). Roger

To do justice to the subject of favorite structure, we'd have to segregate structure by "Lake Type". Our favorite structure on one lake type, may be totally inapplicable to our favorite structure on another lake type. The first love of largemouth bass is soft cover (vegetation). In natural lakes , a sharp drop-off will normally form a weed-line, the depth of which will depend on water clarity. The drop-off is a structural asset but is not a prerequisite. In natural lakes, bass will also aggregate along weed-lines that are unaccompanied by a sharp slope. Further, if the vegetation is perennial it will hold bass year-round. On the other hand, many manmade impoundments do not support lush vegetation, generally because of unstable pool levels &/or poor bottom content. In the absence of aquatic plants, bass do not rollover and die but are forced to adapt. If you remove those same bass from the vegetation of a natural lake, and thrust them into an artificial reservoir, you'll likely find them patrolling submerged gravestones, road culverts or a sunken junkyard. In the name of survival, bass will readily substitute soft cover with hard cover, which to us might appear like a move from "cover" to "structure", but bass don't understand those terms Roger

Those Are Two Gorgeous Gators Let's see, it's not Mille Lacs ahhhh.........Leech Lake how about...Lake Winnibigoshish oorrrr.........Lake Bemidji I give up......Lake of The Woods Roger

Your equipment will serve you admirably well in saltwater. Just be sure to flush the rod and reel with freshwater after each use. Trust me, there are pro-oxidants in ocean water that are far more corrosive than NaCl (table salt). Roger