RoLo

If you're getting blowups Rick, you're a leg up on the game 8-) When it comes to topwater fishing, there's bound to be frustrationg days when the bass make us to eat humble pie. But in fairness to us fishermen, it also has a lot to do with bass disposition and time-of-year. During the spawn for instance, bass often hit a topwater with a closed mouth or might just slap it with their tail. In fact, even when bass are intent on swallowing, they reportedly miss about 1 out of every 3 surface creatures they seize. So if you're hooking 2 out of 3 bass, you're not only enjoying a hot topwater bite, but you're batting a thousand! Nothing will destroy the hookup ratio faster than setting the hook on impulse, the instant the strike is perceived. Here's the problem, we cannot hear a bass close its mouth, but we do hear the splash that occurs while the mouth is still open. We're only talking here about 1 second or so, but one very important second. There are many ways to kill-the-clock, but more important than the method of delay is that some method is in fact used. If the rod is held high throughout the retrieve (e.g. cane toad), I'll usually drop the rod-tip to the water after a strike. This will waste a second or so, after which it's far less likely to pull the lure from the bass's mouth. If the rod is held low throughout the retrieve (e.g. weed demon), I'll continue working the lure after the strike as though nothing has happened. Then as soon as I'm met with resistance by the fish the rod is raised sharply overhead. If I never do feel the fish, I never do strike. Needless to say, there are other reasons for missing bass on topwater lures, even though the hook-set was properly delayed. Snag Proof Weed Demon The Weed Demon is tail-weighted which makes "walking-the-dog", a walk-in-the-park. The Boze ZZ Walker is another tail-weighted dog-walker but the hollow body is quick to take on water, and needs to be squeezed-out far more often than the hollow weed demon The weed demon weighs 1/2 oz and casts very well. Normally I choose colors for maximum visibility, but topwater lures that create any surface disturbance need no introduction. I go the other way with topwaters, and prefer a color that's hard to discern. I like the "Blue Shad" pattern, but only because that particular color scheme offers the whitest underside. The white belly blends into the lighted sky background, making it easier for a bass to make a mistake. Okay, let's go fishing: The key to walking the dog is making sure that there's some "line-slack" immediately before each jerk, and immediately after each jerk. This gives a crisp, natural motion to the lure, unfettered by drag of any kind. Like all things, there are many ways to walk-the-dog, but I'll only describe the method that I personally use: After splashdown, I hold the rod low with the rod-tip about 1 to 1.5 feet above the water. The lure can be activated strictly with wrist-action or by using a whole-arm motion that pivots from the shoulder. I switch back-and-forth between the two to prevent overuse injury to any one joint. Due to slack in the line, the rod-tip must move considerably farther than the lure. With an eye on the lure, I keep the pulls short, about 6 inches "at the lure". At the end of each down-stroke the rod-tip is almost touching the water. Then without any pause, the rod is immediately returned to its original position, etc., etc. The left hand operates on a separate brain, taking up slack line as it becomes available, while always preserving a little slack. From the angler's standpoint, the delivery is a non-stop series of rhythmic strokes that jerk the lure by snapping slack line. This causes the lure to zigzag about 6 inches to alternating sides without pause. The rod-tip must move further than 6 inches to overcome the line-slack, otherwise a short jerk would be unproductive. From the fish's standpoint, it's a frightened creature that's basically treading water with a lot of wasted motion. I believe the success of dog-walking is partly due to the fact that the lure never stops moving, making it difficult for bass to get a good look. In addition, the lure spends its time scooting back-and-forth with little meaningful forward progress, in other words, dog-walking offers deceptively slow coverage yet the lure is hard to identify. Gambler Cane Toad This is probably my favorite soft-plastic topwater lure. After much experimenting, I prefer a 4/0 Gamakatsu Super Line hook (744 not 584). The 3/0 hook is not enough ballast to prevent rollover caused by the powerful kicking action. With a 5/0 hook the toad can't be retrieved as slowly without sinking. The cane toad during a freefall has zero appeal, which is not a problem, because like the weed demon, I keep it constantly in motion. Delivery is the essence of simplicity: Start by holding the rod-tip high to keep the most line out of the water. Just crank the toad slowly and steadily, just fast enough to keep the lure on top, and to keep the feet active. The toad can be worked at extremely slow speeds, where the feet stay active until the lure is nearly stopped. By contrast, the horny toad will sink at this low speed. Inversely, the cane toad can be burned across the surface, when it literally becomes a soft-plastic buzzbait. In overview, the cane toad provides 5 noteworthy benefits: > Weedless (may be tossed smack into the salad) > Mouthable (soft-plastic may not be ejected as fast as hard-plastic or metal) > Noisy (one of, if not the noisiest soft-plastic topwaters) > Slow-Speed Action (feet stay active at very low forward speeds, rivaled only by the sizmic toad) > Buzzbait Capability (a cheap, totally weedless & mouthable buzzbait, with no steel propellers) Roger

Gizzard Shad

It sounds like cover is not a problem in your pond, and that's good. To narrow down your search, you might focus more on "bottom contour". Somewhere in that big oval bowl there's bound to be a bottom step, channel or hole. If you've got a good contour map your work will be easy, if not, then you'll have to use your depth sounder. A steep slope offers bass several depth choices without having to travel. But more than this, a drop-off into deep water produces a weed line, the depth at which light becomes insufficient to grow weeds. In short, you're looking to merge contour with cover. Roger

OUTKAST STAFF JIG > Embedded Line-Eye (Eliminates a big weed trap) > Hook-Point on Line-of-Pull > Standup Head > Premium Hook (Mustad Ultra-Point) > Double Rattlebox (Removable) > Trailer Keeper (Double-spur) Roger

LBH beat me to the punch Tackle shop owners, fishing guides and fish camp proprietors are all motivated by self-preservation (I'd be too). With a little understanding on our behalf, there's no reason to take every glowing fishing report for face value. Case in point, Some time ago, I decided to hit Cypress Lake, an under-exploited gem and part of the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes. Searching the web for data on Cypress Lake I ran into a couple of very optimistic fishing reports (with a grain of salt of course). From the gist of the reports, big bass were jumping into the boat. After launching my boat in Lake Toho, I ran over to the lock at South Port Canal. The lock-operator lives right there on the property, and I might add, has no motive for coloring the fishing report. While waiting for the stall level to meet pool level, we had a short conversation. The lock op told me that the pool level of Cypress was awfully low, and barely navigable. Then he added that bass fishing was horrible, some of the worst in memory. He also told me that Ish Monroe was recently skunked back there. To make a long story short, Ish wasn't the only one :-[ Roger

My first guess would be "warmouth", but a 12-lb warmouth should be able to slurp a 6" senko I Give Up

That's always an interesting question, but there's two separate perspectives to "coverage". Like you, I'm also a finesse fisherman who believes that any area worth fishing, is worth fishing right. For instance, on a new lake that I've never fished before, I might have "10" preselected trial sites. At each of those 10 trial sites I'll fish slowly and methodically, changing depths, speeds and lures as I see fit. However, once my conscience tells me that I've spent enough time at any given site, I feel a surge of "run-and-gun". Now that big-mill bolted on the transom comes in handy, as it moves the boat quickly from Site-4 to Site-5. But the instant the motor is killed, the rush is gone! Now it's back to business as usual (thoughtful - slow - methodical). I have noticed though, on days when the fish aren't coming to the boat, I spend less time finesse fishing at each spot. Although I'm not fishing any faster, I'm wasting more time running from spot-to-spot, you could say, a malcontent finesse fisherman Roger

I doubt that rhythm has much to do with success, because dying minnows are quite spastic. The Zoom Fluke is the perfect lure for bridging the gap between a topwater lure and mid-water lure. I'd say that the "pause" is the most important phase, because without ample pause the fluke won't sink into the strike zone. Roger

I use a..LOT...of "Garlic Scent". I doubt that it has any affect on my fishing success, but instead of fish, my boat smells like an Italian Restaurant 8-) Roger

Oh wow, that jogs my memroy :-? I remember Sterling Forest, Harriman Park & Seven Lakes Pkwy "very well". I lived in Hillside, NJ then, and whenever our Sunday drive took us north, we usually ended up taking 17 north to Seven Lakes Pkwy (there was no 287 back then). We also did a lot of 9W to Tallman and the Palisades. Roger

Yup, you got it Catt, that makes my heart thump Roger

Muddy, I thought about Greenwood Lake too, she's a beauty! (Remember Jungle Habitat?) DeLee36, Dale Hollow Res, TN, that was another one that crossed my mind (about 5 miles above the dam). In Canada the most beautiful body of water is probably Lake Huron, Ontario, but it's a tough call. The water is crystal clear, the woods are a pleasant mix of conifers and hardwoods, the lake is studded with islands of all sizes (In the "Thirty-Thousand Islands" region of Georgian Bay). You can run out for miles and find excellent fishing for largemouth, smallmouth, walleyes and pike, where there's not another boat in sight (well, back then anyway). In the United States I'd have to go with the Withlacoochee River, Florida. It was back around 1970, when Lois and I first set eyes on this Floridian semitropical heaven. Similar to Catt's image of Toledo Bend, the area was cloaked with bald cypress, palm trees and giant live oaks festooned with Spanish Moss. We observed countless ospreys, kingfishers, bald eagles, anhingas, bitterns, herons, ibises & on & on. Lois & I had our camera bags open the whole week shooting pictures, and did precious little fishing. On a sad note, encroachment by mankind, his structures, channelization and boat traffic have reduced this paradise to a vestige of its old self :'( Roger

I use braided line, and always bury the hook (no texpose or texskin). Roger

Holy Smokes...you're a tough man to please Ronnie! I wouldn't mind breaking a couple of rods, if it meant getting a couple of bass in the boat Roger

In my experience, the late-prespawn offers some of the best "topwater action" of the year. When conditions are unfavorable for surface fishing, the Zoom Fluke is killer! Roger

I've come pretty close a couple of times...but just the thought that Jimmy Houston may have kissed that same bass, pulled the plug on that idea Roger

It's largely a matter of personal choice, but a 6-ft, 6-in rod is close to ideal for most sitations. For several reasons, I prefer a 6-foot rod for nearly every situation, but again, it's a personal choice. Roger

I haven't purchased a Quantum reel in about 15 years, so I'm a far cry from updated information on Quantum reels. Around 1990 I purchased two Quantum casting reels for pike fishing in Lake Huron, Ontario. While pumping a good-sized pike to the boat, the thumb-bar lost communication with the reel handle, as a result, the spool would not properly engage (I wound-up losing that pike). Granted, the reel was still under warranty, but I wasn't interested in being the unproud owner of slapdash workmanship (As a tool & die maker I know that failure of this nature is not excusable). So instead of making one trip back to the manufacturer, that Quantum reel made two trips. It made one short trip to the dumpster, and another trip to my Lifetime Blackball List. As it happens, Quantum was the only reel to ever make that elite list : Roger

If I don't like a reel, no price will lure me in. If I truly want a reel, no price will scare me off. Roger

Ghoti, I get a boot out of your list. Mine list used to be about six times that size, but now finally it's a little smaller than your list. It's a strange disease isn't it, with strange symptoms Okay, I'll limit myself to just 2 lures in each depth category: SURFACE Gambler Cane Toad Snag Proof Weed Demon MID-WATER Zoom Super Fluke Wave Worm Tiki Stick BOTTOM Zoom Critter Craw Culprit Original Worm Roger

I use Power-Pro braid on all my spinning tackle, but if you spool-up with 'any' braided polyurethane (spectra), I think your "line-twist" problems would be too few for discussion. Polyurethane braid is thinner than nylon, casts great, cuts through many weeds, is virtually non-stretch, has zero-memory and lasts as long fluorocarbon! Roger

Very often, I'll fish all day without ever touching the drag. But if I'm lucky enough to hang a really good fish, I might "back-off" on the drag as the fish gets close to the boat (more often in saltwater). Tight drag-tension promotes three mishaps, particularly with big fish that make a boat-side lunge on a short line: 1. A fray or nick in the line may 'pop' 2. A lightly-hooked fish is almost certain to 'break-off' 3. A very strong fish may 'straighten the hook' or simply 'rip free' of the hook. I know that it's rarely addressed, but backing off on the drag can work wonders on preventing the loss of big fish at boat-side. Roger

That Does It! Raul IS the Bait Monkey Roger

Raul, I realize that you claim that you did not invent the Bait Monkey, that you merely gave him a name. For some reason......I'm having trouble buying into to that notion > Roger

Well...it's abundantly obvious that you're not a tackle salesman ;D If you believe that you fish more diligently with a spiffy lure, then by all means it matters. Beyond that, I believe that a rusted 40-year old spoon will slaughter bass, if it's well-delivered in the right location. By the way, when I say "spoon" I'm referring to the eating utensil :-? :-/ Roger