RoLo

Selection, conditioning and instincts work so well, that they create the illusion of intelligence. Furthermore, expecting a "cold-blooded animal" to have the capacity for deductive reasoning is really pushing the envelope. Roger

Kudos Raul, I like that Roger

How has fishing for bass changed for you since you first started? When did you start? > I began fishing around 1950 (catfish & bluegills), and by the mid 50s, I was heavy into bass fishing. > I believe that bass fishing today is much better than it was back then, certainly in my experience. Have you been plugging along (no pun intended) with the same gear you've always used? > Though the years I've been guilty of staying abreast of every new fangled lure and apparatus. Has technology increased your ability to catch fish, and if so, how? > The depth sounder and Loran-C (now GPS) have improved my success immensely, and I would be lost without them. Has bass fishing changed YOU in any way? Are you a "different person" because of it? Do you live your life differently now? > I've been very fortunate in finding a girl who enjoys fishing as much as myself. In 43 years of marriage, > we've never gone on one vacation that wasn't a "fishing vacation", scouring Eastern United States and Canada. > Owing to our love of angling, today we are retired in a lake shore community in central Florida. Are you fishing differently than you did when you first started, maybe using a boat now instead of fishing from shore? > I started off in a 10-ft Appleby rowboat complete with oars. Later on I sprung for a 5-HP air-cooled Eska motor ($100). > Throughout the years I've owned a host of boats that were all over the clock from 10 to 24 feet long. Very recently I downsized > from a 16-ft center console to 14-ft aluminum side-console. Based on my age I doubt if there'll be anymore upsizing. Are you a tournament chaser now, as opposed to being a "just for fun" fisherman, or has competing lost it's appeal to you and you'd now rather just take it slow, without trying to win anything? > I intentionally sidestepped tournament fishing and professional guiding for fear that monetary pressures would dilute > my own fishing pleasure. In any case, I have the utmost respect for those who do, it's a very tough road to hoe! > Take it slow? No never, the harder I work at fishing, the more I'm enjoying myself. The next time I hire a guide will be my first In general, has fishing improved for you, or is it not as good or as much fun as it used to be? > Fishing has always been a principle source of my enjoyment, but in all honesty I find angling the most fun > in the early-going, when I'm struggling the most and learning the most. For this reason I have fished heavily > in both freshwater and saltwater and have hopscotched through the species from Bluegills to Bluefin. Basically, how was this whole "bass fishing" thing for you when you first started, and how is it for you now? > When I first started fishing, dad outfitted me with a metal rod, a saltwater casting reel and nylon braid (I think it was). > So yah, fishing has REALLY improved for me. I was fortunate in being able to watch the formation of the whole tournament scene > (dad was gone by then). In the late 60s, the big names were Bill Dance, Ray Mursky (Bill's only threat) and M.J. Watkins. > Since Ray Scott industrialized bass angling, state DNRs have gained enormous knowledge about fish managment > and conservation. Though I'm very nostalgic about my past experiences, in my opinion the good ole day are here right now. > This isn't the case with all species, for instance, northern pike and muskellunge, but is the case with largemouth bass. > Naturally, we all have to take the good with the bad, and today I find myself sharing waters with large number of boats > that I previously had practically to myself Roger

Water Lilies are very vigorous and transplant best in water between 1 and 2.5 feet deep. Since they proprogate rampantly, they shouldn't be introduced into lagoons or waterways, but only in quiet backwaters where they will generally take off (make a pleasant appearance). Lily pads are BIG BASS magnets, but I have hunch you already know that Roger

In my opinion, the largest specimens of bass did not get that way by being smart. No bass ever had an original thought in its life. I believe instead that our largest bass are simply fortunate in having inherited a gene imprinted with a lifestyle that is less vulnerable than the average bass. The first thing that comes to most peoples' mind is some deep, dark abyss, but I don't buy that for a second. The largest of bass get to choose the best sweet spots without contest. Almost invariably they will choose a site that has immediate access to deep water (though they may never enter the deep water) as well as immediate access to "shallow water". From all appearances, most of their life is spent in the shallow-water where food is most plentiful, where life is the easiest, where they also spawn and where they may grow faster and larger. In my view, a bass that isolates itself in deep open water is far more vulnerable to anglers with electronics, than a bass deeply ensconsed in a tangled jungle on a 5-foot flat. I've spent (wasted) much time fishing deep water with disappointing results. I later learned that what I had read about deepwater bass applied to bass in "reservoirs" without natural cover :'( It would be interesting if we could elicit our own Doug Hannon to expand on this subject. Doug has spent a lot of his time investigating outstanding catches of largemouth bass weighing in the teens, not to mention those he himself has boated. His conclusions however are no different from anything else I have ever read, which all suggest that the Biggest bass live in and love the shallows. Roger

A buzzbait will often outproduce a popper for the simple reason that it covers the ground far more quickly. If your pond consists of clear water, that would be another plus for the buzzbait, which gives bass less chance to scrutinize. Yet another benefit of the buzzer is that it that it takes passive bass through reflex reaction, whereas a popper is not a reaction bait. Okay, there's one more advantage, the buzzer is normally more weedless than a popper. When I say buzzbait I would include any steadily moving topwater that makes a commotion, it doesn't need propellers. I guess the surest way to find out it to give your favorite buzzbait a shot Roger

Weeeeellll, Yes and No. The Paca Craw at rest reminds me of a "Pop-Top" from a soda can (just kiddin) ;D Roger

Like you Chris, I have an equal respect for any "trophy", where size is relative to the species. One time on a smallmouth trip to Canada, I spent an entire day of my vacation trying to beat my personal record "pumpkinseed". They're one of the smallest members of the sunfish family, don't laugh, but to me anything over 9 inches (8 oz) was equivalent to a 5-pound smallmouth Roger

Those diagonal wire-cutters pictured on top have saved the lives of many fish (cut the hook fore & aft, pull out the segment). You can usually tell when a fish is going to make it. When there's heavy bleeding &/or serious damage, I agree with Muddy_Man's skillet. Roger

30 to 40 Bass Per Hour??????? Oh Wait A Minute.......You must be using one of those Cenkoe things :-/ : Roger

Yes, but that can also happen if you cast the same color twice to the same fish (e.g. 2" difference in line-of-retrieve) In my opinion, color is very important but only inasmuch as it affects "lure visibility". Once the lure has been noticed, I believe that more important criteria will determine whether a strike is triggered or not. Factors such as lure action, lure depth, lure shape, lure size, speed-of-retrieve, line-of-retrieve, etc. (no two casts are identical). Roger

Pitching> GAMBLER UGLY OTTER (Zoom Big Critter Craw) Swimming> SUNRIZE BIG HAMMER SWIMBAIT (4 or 5") Dragging> STRIKE KING 3x 7" FINESSE WORM (nip off tail for a stocky 5" trailer that stands vertically upright) Roger

Ditto Roger

Well, there must be 100 variables that enter into every cast we make (speed change, line-of-retrieve, sun behind cloud, lure bumps object, depth change, baitfish move in, baitfish move out). I'd like to know how it can be proven that "color" ever made a positive or negative difference. It's important to remember that "some color HAS to win", but the win doesn't HAVE to be the result of color, and usually isn't. Once we think we've found that color, we won't give any other colors a chance, so now that color will claim 100% of our catch. It really doesn't matter what color or colors we marry, because the intangible is "Confidence". Here's another instance of "some color HAS to win": The highest percentage of auto fatalities took place in a Dark Blue car. Do you suppose that Dark Blue had anything to do with those fatalities, or was it due perhaps to one of more of the other 100 variables Roger

Russ, I really enjoyed listening to your interview with Billy on "BassFeed". It's so nice to listen to grass-roots speak, because no matter where our angling ventures may take us, we're just like the apple that never falls very far from the tree. Roger

It should be indicated at the onset, that everyone doesn't enjoy eating fish, my own brother is a good example. As for my wife and myself, we both love eating fish, which is to say, we don't want our fish to taste like chicken and we don't want our chicken to taste like fish Among my favorite freshwater fish are bluegill sunfish, yellow perch, walleyes and bass (both largemouth and smallmouth). I'd have to say that the best tasting freshwater fish I've ever eaten were indeed "bass" (High in Omega-3 oil to boot). I put catfish near the bottom, which taste like the mud from whence they came. As Dan pointed out, I never scale my fish, but fillet-and-skin those we choose for table fare. In saltwater, I believe that blackfish (tautog) would be my favorite, but I put them no higher than freshwater bass. Roger

In my view, that notion was incepted by old timers who resisted change. In truth, "kevlar" was about the only super line that required titanium nitride guides, but that was never the case with PowerPro Braid. Roger

Bill Dance advertised the Strike King Grass Frog about 15 or 20 years ago. Though it's a nice looking lure, I've personally done quite poorly with the grass frog. It's made of a horrific plastic compound, and if you let it touch most other plastics it'll melt or do something really bizarre (a lot like their Cyberflexxx 3x plastic). Roger

To my mind, Berkley is not a consistent company. I love their "Trilene" line, it ranks among the best monofilament lines in the world (XL, XT, Sensation and Big Game). When their Power Worm was in vogue, I was using Manns Jelly Worms, Mister Twisters & Culprits, so I kind a missed that one. To my knowledge they only make one jig, but it's not bad (Yelas won a tournament using the Berkley jig a few years ago) I understand their "Gulp" products are very good, but I can't get past the smell (i.e. stench) Currently I'm not using any Berkley lures (but I don't marry lures, so that's subject to change) Their rods? Well...Uh.... Roger

That's precisely my point. "Presentation" is Key, and an unweighted, do-nothing delivery may be applied to a myriad of soft-plastics with similar results. Roger

Catt, it may be that you and I have been around too long, and that makes us less impressionable. I'm not referring to angler-age, I'm referring to total years of angling exposure. The senko was not an overnight success, it took fishermen several years to adjust to the proper method of fishing a stick worm. In my opinion, the "unweighted, do-nothing delivery" is far more revolutionary than the senko itself. Today, the same unweighted, do-nothing delivery is applied to a myriad of soft-plastics which work just as well or better. Henry Ford invented the automobile, but progress is a great thing, because today we have "KNOCKOFFS' like Lamborghini and Ferrari. I throw a handpoured Paddletail Worm" and when it's fished unweighted on a slack line, the senko looks arthritic by comparison Roger

Plano Magnum Double-Sided Box (get him a couple) When you get fed up hauling that immense, heavy tackle box to every water, the Plano Magnums are a breath of fresh air. I take one or more small Plano Magnums to suit the outing. I labeled each double-sided magnum as per special-purpose, for instance, Shore Fishing, "Pike Fishing", "Shiner-Fishing", Redfish/Seatrout and so on. One double-sided magnum will easily accomodate a dozen lure options, along with a selection of hooks, sinkers, scissors, etc. I still have the big tackle boxes too, but they just serve as back-up warehouses for the Plano Magnums. Roger

Guilty as charged :-[ So many lures, so little time Roger

Although I can't agree with Catt's numbers, I can certainly empathize with his point. I too regard the stick worm (senko, tiki stick, dinger, etc.) as a Very Average Tool and not some unique revolution to bass fishing. Though I fish soft-plastics about 80% of the time, I find stick worms so boring that I normally fish them 'wacky-rigged' to spice it up. When I first moved to Lake Walk-In-Water, I was told that the barnburner was a C-rigged watermelon Senko. We quickly learned though, that a C-rigged "Trick Worm" was far superior in the submersed hydrilla beds. We have since lost our hydrilla beds to the hurricanes of 2004 and now a fluke or Ugly Otter in the bulrushes are better choices than a senko or trick worm. As for the Chatterbait, never bought one. Every bass that I might have taken on a chatterbait was taken on another lure instead. Never underestimate the power of "Herd Instinct", the breeding ground of every stampede (still have my Laminate Hula Hoop). The next time you're out fishing with your buddy, take note of which lure dominates the air-time at the end of his line. By the end of that day you'll be able to tell your buddy what "his" favorite lure is, and what lure caught most of "his" big bass. This doesn't mean that you're clairvoyant, but it shows that you understand that the angler himself has more to do with his most "successful lure" than he may care to admit. If this were not true, than each and every one of us would be touting the same best lure. Not to worry, the variables of bass fishing guarantee that this will never happen Roger

For a little faster descent and a little more casting range, I'll sometimes use a Tiki Stick with a heavy-wire 5/0 Gamakatsu hook (744) By itself the super line 5/0 weighs 1/16 ounce (26 grains). In addition, the heavy hook gives the tiki stick more end-waddle, almost too much in fact. Roger