RoLo

Obviously, those who sell fish attractants give them rave reviews. All the same, my favorite fish attractant is still a Paddletail Worm Seriously, the last time I used scent was many years ago when deer hunting with bow & arrow. The deer's world revolves around their keen sense of smell, but the bass's world revolves around their eyesight. Roger

I for one would be over-joyed if they ran out of cork. Then maybe they'd revert back to "Black EVA Foam". Hypalon wears like iron, doesn't soil like cork and never gets slippery. We've fought bluefish in saltwater while our hands were drenched in fish-slime and blood, and never had a problem with slippery or soiled rod grips. Roger

I tried them all, and there's only two knots I ever use (save wire knots), the Uni-Knot and the Rolo Knot : Roger

Gamber Cane Toad (any white-bellied pattern) Although I like the horny toad for "subsurface" work, the Cane Toad can be cranked very slooowly without sinking, and those lobed feet make quite a commotion Roger

Based on your pictures and your description, it's my guess that you're dealing with "alligatorweed" The botanical name is Alternanthera philoxeroides. Alligatorweed has pinwheel foliage and clover-like blooms. It's a highly rampant plant that forms floating blankets, which may become dense enough to support a heavy animal. Roger

Ghoti makes a good point, it's best to work with every faculty available. You have to wonder how often the fourth scenario takes place, when we niether see nor feel the pickup :-? Roger

Looking at all the answers, it would appear that your question was asking for the best "monofilament" line. Anyway, if you're asking for our favorite "All-Around" line, mine is "PowerPro" (braided polyethylene), hands-down. Roger

Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap - 1/2 oz Chartreuse Crawdad Roger

"Skirt-Forward" is a little less provocative than "Upskirt" : 8-)

When in doubt, "punt". In bass fishing, "watermelon" makes the best punt. Green lies in the center of the color spectrum, so it caters to the most lighting conditions. Roger

Fish Chris nailed it. Bluegills and baby bass are supra-abundant, so largemouth bass don't have to worry about starving to death. On the other hand, the most abundant baitfish isn't necessarily the most desirable baitfish. Bluegills and baby bass have spiny rays, and even fish with sharp chopping teeth like northern pike are not thrilled about eating "spiny rayed" baitfish (but eat they must). If you eat enough spiny rayed fish you're gullet is bound to get skewered by a sharp spine. In-Fisherman did a stomach-content survey of northern pike and found that yellow perch (a spiny rayed fish) was the most common foodfish. However, yellow perch was also the most prevalent forage fish. When it came time for a hook-and-line showdown, yellow perch used as bait for northern pike did very poorly, while soft-rayed baitfish like smelt, ciscoes and whitefish walked away with the show. The same holds true for largemouth bass, who don't even have a set of chopping teeth which means they must swallow their prey whole. Field studies comparing baitfish for bass found that soft-rayed forage like shiners and shad handily outproduce bluegills and baby bass. In California, largemouth bass that have access to trout, another soft-rayed fish, lose their interest in bluegills and baby bass. Roger

Clinically speaking, whichever you chose (Jig or T-rigged trailer) there are still 4 parts: Weight - Hook - Trailer - Weedless System With a jig, the weight and hook are attached, but with a T-rigged trailer they are separate. With a jig, the weedless system is provided by a fiber weedguard, but with T-rigged trailer, the hook-point is embedded in plastic. Though I use spinning gear, I use braided line, therefore hook-sets with T-rigged trailers are never a problem. The T-rigged trailer is significantly more weedless than the fiber weedguard, which is only as good as the tension on the fibers (not too good). In addition, with T-rigged trailers, it's much easier to fine-tune the exact weight needed, by carrying bullet sinkers from 1/32 oz to 1/2 oz (that would be a lot of jigs). Roger

Truthfully, I cannot relate to your problem. What is Super Glue? Roger

There's nothing unusual about fishing swimbaits with spinning gear. Baitcasting gear is nice to have when live-bait fishing or when trolling. But wherever casting is involved, I invariably use spinning gear (saltwater too). The baitcasting reel is a revolving drum and unexcelled for winching. But the biggest fish are never fought with the reel, they are pumped with the rod. The reel is merely used to wind-up the slack line, each time the rod is lowered. As Randall suggested, 40-lb PowerPro is perfect, and only 0.012" in diameter (equivalent to 10-lb mono) Roger

That's right Fish Chris, the state of Florida refuses to accept Fritz's record. Here's the story surrounding that fish: THE LOST RECORD Most bass fishermen know, and many lust after, the Perry Record. Almost nobody every wondered about the record Perry broke. Bill Baab did wonder. While the old Field & Stream records -- from days before IGFA and NFWFHF handled this chore -- had been destroyed, Baab turned up a 20-pound 10-ounce largemouth. It was caught by Fritz Friebel and had held the record for nine years prior to Perry's fish. It reportedly came from Moody Lake in the Florida panhandle. Friebel's brother claimed the fish came from nearby Big Fish Lake though. This record is listed by Florida, but is considered "uncertified" under the Sunshine state's new, tough rules. In any case, Friebel, a traveling hardware salesman who always toted fishing gear, fished Sunday morning in May of 1923 with a couple of friends. Friebel took his fish with a Creek Chub Straight Pikie Minnow. It measured 31 inches long with a 27 inch girth. The girth might have been off. Friebel's daughter, in a later interview, noted, "A fellow accused Daddy of loading his fish with lead sinkers. So daddy cut the fish open and let the fellow feel inside." Like the Perrys, the family ate the fish soon after. =========================================================================== Florida's second largest bass is likewise "uncertified" 19.00 pounds; Lake Tarpon, Florida; Riley Witt; June 26, 1961. =========================================================================== I'm afraid the Florida state record remains at 17 lb 4 oz taken in Polk County, Florida (my home county) Roger

Just break down each leader material, then decide what leader-properties are most important to you: Lack of Memory: Nylon Abrasion-Resistance: Fluorocarbon Invisibility: Fluorocarbon I wouldn't get too excited about stretch-resistance or sensitivity. When you're using a 2-foot leader and make a 50-foot cast, the leader contributes only 4% to the stretch property! Also consider using no leader at all. I used to use a leader with braid but with my wife's cooperation, we found that the leader made no discernible difference in our catch rates. Bass accept the sight of three gaudy treble hooks dangling from a lure, so it's not likely that they'd flee from one fine filament ;D Roger

The "certified" Florida Record Largemouth Bass is only 17-lb 4-oz (17.27 lbs), taken in an unnamed lake in Polk County, Florida Roger

Actually that's a good question. Many believe that length is a useless gage of weight, but if the fish isn't noticeably fat or noticeably skinny, length is an excellent gage of weight. This has been my usual routine for many years (all species, not just bass): 1. Measure the Length of the fish 2. Estimate the Weight based on the Length 3. Weigh the fish More often than not, my estimate will usually be within a matter of ounces, but without the length I'll be about 2 pounds heavy (jk) Length is a more accurate gage of AGE, while body weight is heavily skewed by the forage base. For example, the bass in California are Florida-strain bass, yet Florida-strain bass don't reach those "weights" in Florida. To answer your question, if I were looking for a second replica of a preexisting mount it would have to be a "longer" specimen. Whatever you elect to do, I wish you the best of luck. Roger

At this point, I'm really not sure if you're asking us or telling us. If you're going for the "Moon Shot", then you'll have to raise the ante. In 1993, Randy Van Dam took a 9lb 5oz smallmouth from Lake Erie Roger

In my view at least, your 4.5 lb smallmouth is a "trophy-class" fish. I believe that your 7-lb target is unrealistically high, UNLESS you live near the Tennessee River or Dale Hollow Reservoir. Even at that, a 7-lb smallmouth bass is a real pig I'll give you an idea why I say that, below are five state records: Indiana: 7-lb 4oz Georgia: 7-lb 2oz Missouri: 7-lb 2oz New Jersey: 7-lb 2oz Arizona: 7-lb 1oz I did this study several years ago, so one or more of those state records may have since been broken, but the weight-ceilings are nonetheless revealed. The odds of boating a state record are phenomenally low. The smallmouth bass listed below are not trophies, they are "state records", again they may be outdated but still speak volumes: 6:14 NM 6:12 VT 6:7 IL 6:6 KS 6:6 MT 6:6 MT 6:2 SD 6:1 NB 5:12 CO 5:9 ND 5:1 NV 5:1 WY 4:15 DE 4:2 HA Adult-Class: 2 lb 15 Trophy-Class: 4-3/4 lb 20 Record-Class: 7¼ lb 22.5 World-Class: 10 lb Roger

Congratulations Chris that bass is AWE-INSPIRING! I'm very happy for you Chris, your perseverance has surely paid off...Big Time! You never cease to amaze us Roger

The very first, and sometimes the only thing you'll need is the best available Contour Map. Without exaggeration, 60 seconds with a good chart can literally save years of toil circumnavigating the bank. The chart answers vital questions like where's the inlet, the outlet, where's does the channel approach the bank, holes, ridges ~ ~ ~ The rest is easy, just visually locate cover, especially where two weed species merge with a drop-off. Roger

Burley, you might have better luck with these: http://catfishlogic.com/?gclid=CJaxxLmM54wCFQi9VAodFUiB6w http://www.lilyblooms.com/ http://texaswaterlilies.com/ https://www.pondmegastore.com/shop/pages.php?pageid=11 Roger

Gambler Cane Toad Fished like a soft buzzbait, this toad stays on top at slow speeds (dyn-O-mite) The cane toad has been doing extremely well in Florida bass tournaments (nationally too). Roger

Copy-&-Paste these two words into your Google search engine "Nymphaea cart" Roger