RoLo

Yah, I should've added...The lenses should not be larger than a pie-plate 8-)

My favorite bass cover by far is "weeds", and I'm not talking about grass, I'm talking about WEEDS, complex vegetation that resembles an underwater forest of trees. To be precise, my favorite bass cover is "Pondweed" (Potamogeton), a large family of weeds found from Florida to Canada. In the north, the most desirable pondweed is "broadleaf pondweed" (Potamogeton amplifolius) locally called CABBAGE. In the south, one of the most desirable varieties of pondweed is "Illinois Pondweed" (Potamogeton illinoensis), for which the local moniker is PEPPERGRASS. When a bass learns of the whereabouts of a lush bed of pondweed, he'll leave the ole stumpfield like he's late for dinner Other great submergent weeds are hydrilla, cabomba, coontail, eelgrass and milfoil. Roger

Fluorocarbon is far from the Holy Grail, in fact it's so wiry and kinky that I even stopped using it for leader material Roger

Living in Florida, the bulk of my bass fishing involves shallow waters. With the exception of punching through surface mats, the only jig weights I use are 1/8 oz & 1/4 oz Likewise, when using T-rigged plastics with a bullet sinker, I'll use either a 1/8 or 1/4 oz sinker. When Preston Clark set the B.A.S.S. All-time 4-day stringer record, he was using a plastic craw and 1/4 oz bullet sinker. Regardless, I much prefer the lazy hopping action created by 1/8 oz weight. Roger

I don't know their *** dates, but I would guess that Zoom, Yum, Yamamoto, Gambler and Wave Worm are relative newcomers when compared to Crème, Manns, Culprit, Gene Larew, Mister Twister, Lunker City, Charlie Brewer, Zipper, Berkley & Strike King. Roger

I agree with camofish. To capture the full color and detail, the fish needs to be front-lighted. Backlighting makes a nice effect with scenery as do long shadows, but have no place in fish photography. As for the angler, nobody cares about him or her, anyway most anglers look better with a pair of shades 8-) Roger

I admit to being double-biased on this one. Not only am I partial to shimano and daiwa reels, but I avoid quantum reels like the plague (not without reason). BTW: If you're looking to save about 40 bucks a reel without any tangible sacrifice in quality, opt for the Shimano Symetre. I own several of both (stradics & symetres) and I give the nod to Symetre. Roger

I couldn't vote because my line wasn't mentioned:UNCLE FESTER'S FIRE-TEMPERED CAT-GUT" > It's an extra-heavy diameter, wax-coated line that glows-in-the-dark. 8-) Roger

I have to go with Zoom for their sheer number of various lures: Horny Toad, Trick Worm, Super Fluke, Critter Craw, Brush Hog, Etc! As for Yamamoto...well if Gary's livelihood depended on me, he'd be walking around with his pockets turned inside-out ;D Roger

Although air is highly compressible, water is practically incompressible, acting more like a solid. For this reason, fish do not have internal ear-holes for hearing, but feel vibration in their body. Some experts believe that the vibes that bass feel may lack directional capability. If that is true, than bass would not be able to home-in on rattles and vibrating lures. In any case, I personally remove all rattleboxes if I can. In addition to being downright ugly, they add weight to the lure, and some tend to interfere with the hook-throat or crowd the trailer. Roger

I use EWG Z-bend hooks for the lion's share of my fishing and cannot report any major drawbacks. More than once, I've broken a Gammy while removing a deeply embedded hook with pliers, but brittleness is the price we pay for edge keenness. The configuration of most EWG hooks is ideal, because the hook-point is pointing directly at the line-eye placing the hook-point directly in the line-of-pull. Roger

There are endless examples of globalization, but one that stands out is Princess Diana's death: She was an English princess with an Egyptian boyfriend who crashed in a French tunnel, while driving in a German car with a Dutch engine, driven by a Belgian who was drunk on Scottish whiskey, who were being followed by the Italian Paparazzi on Japanese motorcycles! Roger

Nice post Kent, and I concur Roger

If you're planning on using a leader, then you might as well use the most visible line. I use moss green PowerPro for EVERYTHING, and never use a leader, but that's me. Roger

To me at least, mixing Manmade Noise with Natural Sound is profane! I believe that there's a time and place for everything. Roger

For quite some time the Bagley Bang-O-Lure went toe-to-toe with the Rapala Original Floater, during that era, lures made of Balsa Wood were hard to come by. Roger

Muddy, I think that's a pretty common occurence, because bass tend to school according to year-class...It's healthier that way On the good spot that you described though, bass of all sizes may use that same spot, but not at the same time. I remember one time I was fishing "at anchor" for smallmouth bass and catching runts that looked like they all came from the same mold. Then there was a very brief period where I didn't catch anything, followed by nothing but smallies between 3 and 4.5 lbs. That's a phenomenon they call "Timing and Territory". I just happened to be there during the shift change. Roger

Like Russ suggested, normally a honey hole will remain a honey hole, year-after-year. Two things come to mind though, that can nullify a sweet spot and they both regard "depth". 1) Seasonal Depth Change During a given season (temperature zone), bass might be relating to drop-offs that crest within a given depth range, but during other seasonal periods they may be deeper or shallower. Differently put, not all sweet spots are year-round holding sites. 2) Water Level Change Several factors such as forage, water temperature and water clarity tend to dictate the preferred depth range of bass. If the water level rises or falls by just 2 feet, it's possible that even a year-round holding site may be abandoned for another site with a more suitable depth (I hate when that happens). Roger

There's no "1" worm color that's best for all water depths and water clarities. While you might select 'Black Neon' for working the bottom in murky water, you might choose 'Bubblegum' for a topwater worm in clear water. Alternatively, you could compromise using a bicolored worm with a dark and light hue. Roger

A few years back, Al Lindner announced his retirement (one of the few angling editors to retire wealthy). I don't know the employment status of Ron Lindner but I'd imagine he cashed out as well. Not to worry, Doug Stange with the professional assistance of Jim Lindner, Dave Csanda and Matt Straw are sure to continue the class-act that we've come to expect from In-Fisherman. Roger

A few years back, I read something quite interesting about Trilene Sensation, something that gave me pause. A tire-kicker at the Berkley plant was interviewing a Berkley representative. The rep admitted on the q.t. that according to Berkley's rigorous inhouse line tests, "Sensation" is Berkley's finest line, even better than XT and Big Game. Berkley would never publicly make that statement as it would only downplay the hype and sale of their other lines. Roger

I have a favorite worm for every situation, from the surface to the bottom: > Strike King 3x Floating Worm (bubblegum) > Tiki Stick 5" (redbug / chartreuse tip) > Culprit Original 7.5" (black shad - red shad) > Zoom Trick Worm (merthiolate) > Manns Jelly Worm 6" (watermelon chartreuse) > Yamamoto Kut-tail 6.5" (pumpkin black fleck) Yep, that's my favorite worm : Roger

It's widely believed that bass are attracted to the flash and vibration (but hard to prove) but one thing is for sure, bass invariably strike the skirt and not the spinner. As for the head, it's only job is to provide the desired weight, it need not look pretty. Roger

It easy, just stuff the rod-tip through the stripper guide ;D

I'll drink to that