RoLo

Today, most anglers would probably go with 7:1. I always lean toward power, and prefer 6:1 Roger

I rarely find it necessary to go under 15 lb braid. For deep trolling though, 10-lb braid may get you another 5 ft deeper. Roger

As Scarpacci would say: Geh TOUT!

Do not feel left out, she just asked me about the best Mosquito Net ☺️

Most would agree that GLX is an excellent choice Rod length is a lot tougher though, because it tends to be a personal choice. Though I'd prefer a 6'8" blank, the recipient might prefer 7'5". Roger

This reminds one of the question: Do bear dump in the woods? If bass weren't cannibalistic, bass wouldn't be predatorial and the "Baby Bass" pattern would be fake news. Roger

The earliest buzzbait was probably the "Arbogast Hawaiian Wiggler" (followed by Al Foss Wigglers). During that era, Arthur Godfrey, ukuleles and Hawaiian culture were popular (and a lure called a Hula Dancer). When I was kid, buzzbaits were called 'Buzzspins' and the delivery was called 'skittering', not buzzing. I didn't do much damage with buzzspins, until Roland Martin popularized the Lunker Lure Buzzbait in the 70s. To this day, the Lunker Lure has little competition, with the possible exceptions of the Booyah Buzz and Megastrike Cavitron. Roger

When we miss a hookset, the fish loses interest in our bait, the angler and his boat Roger

Get Out! ☺️

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Lois & I were on a smallmouth bass vacation in Parry Sound, Lake Huron, Ontario (Glenn Burney). I was using my own pre-tied rigs that included a walking walleye sinker and 1-inch cork float to suspend the bait above bottom (you know, like a dropshot rig). I was getting bite, after bite, after bite. I was setting the hook repeatedly, time-after-time like a kid with a canepole, but could not stick a single fish. I've never encountered such a perplexing situation in my life. Finally, the mystery was solved by a small pod of smallies that followed my rig to the boat. The bass were not at all interested in my bait, instead, they were totally enamored by the 1" cork float, which they repeatedly attacked with abandon. That's a lesson coming directly from the fish, a lesson forever etched in my mind. It clearly demonstrates the sharp division between the angler's mind and the mind of fish. Hey, we're all welcome to our opinions, but don't take them too seriously ? When strikes are hard to come by, the rush to judgment generally involves 'lure color' and 'line visibility', stuff that a 90yr old angler can still see. We can only wish it were that simple. Though it flies in the face of conventional wisdom, I place lure color and line visibility at the back of the line (the caboose). Not to anyone's surprise, I use straight leaderless braid all the time. Roger

Booyah Poppin Pad Crasher - (1/2 oz - shad frog) Roger

The 'buzzbait' is a topwater spinnerbait that can go where many topwaters fear to tread. Solid toads have been nicknamed 'Buzz toads', which flatters the buzzbait but doesn't replace it. Roger

It's pretty much like reloading your own rifle cartridges, where saving money offers little incentive. After the cost of my RCBS reloading press, resizing tool, priming tool and RCBS powder scale, I'm deep in the red. You might say, in both cases it's about "Pet Loads" Roger

Dad & I fished for carp with homemade cornmeal doughballs. Since that time though whole kernel corn has been found to be as good or better than tailor-made doughballs. Pickup a can of "whole-kernel sweet corn" and some No.6 short-shank forged hooks. Thread on about 4 niblets to hide the hook. Allow the bait to lie motionless on the bottom. When carp are approached in shallow water, the only sign of their presence may be hovering puffs of mud. But if you have the patience, they will likely return. To improve your chances, you can chum the area the day before carp fishing. Breakup stale bread into small pieces, and soak them in water so they'll sink. It's okay to chum the flat, but when you're actually fishing, you want to target the edge of the flat where it drops into deeper water. I'm not sure how they measure the intelligence of a fish, but carp are considered the most intelligent freshwater fish, and in Europe, they're treated as gamefish. In short, carp are a joy to catch Roger

Huge for sure! The only other bird I’ve seen that size are swans. When I hear them trumpeting in the sky, my reel hand stops, and I'm hypnotized by their awesome flight Roger

JJ, you're a real schmoozer, but I agree with you ?

Actually Dwight, based on the FWC, 8 lbs designates “Lunker” class, whereas 10 lbs designates a “Trophy”. Nevertheless, I don’t agree with 8 lbs or 10 lbs. Based on broad-based statistics (not just Florida), 9 lbs probably offers the most realistic benchmark for a trophy bigmouth, but we humans prefer nice round numbers like “10” ☺️ Now back to "good" fish. I'm thrilled with a 3-lb bass, be it Ontario or Florida Roger

'Lure action' is frequently more influential than 'lure shape' What that shape & action might represent, is privy to the bass. Roger

I agree, Jitterbugs stopped working decades ago. Now, I only throw them at night, when no one else can see me Roger

IMO, even the first Metanium fell short of the Shimano Core which it presumably replaced. Roger

The shaft length will depend a lot on whether you're fishing a Great Lake or a millpond. The top of my powerhead starts ~10" below the surface, and may be adjusted deeper for wave action Roger

The Arbogast Jitterbug was introduced in 1937, and in 1984 they totally stopped working In the real world, 'no' lure stops working. Roger

I can't speak for central U.S., but here in mid-Florida, you'll almost never hear Ned Rig mentioned. Shaky-head worm? All the time. Roger

Did you say Early Morning?