RoLo

The best fish scales come from a carp, they make great guitar picks!

It's hard to imagine an angler who'd be impressed by another angler's gear, which might stand a better chance of stirring jealousy. Holding a $500 rod, adds more to one's state-of-mind, than to one's state-of-being. The most important fishing tool lies between our ears. Roger

With respect to yo-yoing bladebaits in coldwater (NJ, NY), my vote goes to Cicada Roger

Though I'm not enamored by its appearance, the culprit tassel-tail is a dynamite lure. For year 2006, the culprit tassel-tail has been my wife's most productive lure! That screwy-looking thing has often outfished my paddletail, kut-tail and tiki stick > Roger

If you run a simple water test you'll find that the senko falls slightly faster than the tiki stick and has slightly more tail-waddle. However, when you add 1/32oz to the tiki stick, you'd be real hard put to see any difference at all in their fall rate and tail-shimmy. To answer your question: Yes, I routinely fish a tiki stick with a 1/32 or 1/16 oz bullet sinker. Roger

It's my understanding that a 'jerkbait' is a Bait for Jerks, for some reason I've amassed quite a collection Roger

1) Hands-Down, any member of the In-Fisherman crew (Al or Ron, Csanda, Stange, Petros ~) 2) Iaconelli & VanDam are both excellent tutors (two more Snowbirds) 3) Though Chad Brauer is not high in the standings, I find him highly informative. (His dad's book, "Winning Tournament Tactics" is only so-so, ditto for Dance and Martin) (I've never learned anything of substance from Parker, Houston or even Clunn) Roger

Cedar Lake, Manitoba, drive-to fishing for Northern Pike. I'm sure it will become a reality, I'm not much of a dreamer. Roger

I totally concur. Roger

Bloody chicken breast

Well...someone who likes baitcasting tackle would definitely agree with that. On my boat, if you find a baitcaster it usually means we'll be fishing in saltwater. My spinning tackle casts all my bass lures better than my casting tackle, from 1/16oz to 1oz. The best tackle to use, is the tackle that you prefer, not what someone else prefers. Roger

If your wife is anything like my wife, she may now be hooked for life. You ought to hope that she is, because wives make the very best fishing partners. One other thing, get used to being outfished ;D Roger

Ronnie...you're a riot! Roger

If a sloooow falling jig is what you're looking for, you'll really like Charlie Brewer's Snagless Slider Head It's a wafer-head finesse jig available in 1/16, 1/8 & 1/4 oz, and it's weedless. Roger

My favorite two are the 80mm Rheingold in Barley-seed/Olive Flake and the 110mm Shaefer in Hops Mellow-Yellow Roger

SPINNING: Shimano (the one that suits your budget, there're all good) CASTING: Penn International 8-) Roger

Nah

Five Bass, I know this sounds crazy, but I've found that the trailer is more important than the jighead. If the trailer is a 'high-floater' (eg. strike king 3x), it'll standup with practically any shape jighead (round, flat, pointed, etc) If the trailer is not a high-floater (eg. trick worm), it'll eventually fall over on practically any jighead. Roger

Exposed Hook: I'd opt for the "Ball-head" jig. W/ Fiberguard: I'd go with a "Bullet-head" jig (arkie and banana heads are okay) Roger

In my opinion, the Bionic Blades are grossly underpriced (great little blanks) Roger

Actually, that was also what attracted me to the ringworm. Early on, I would T-rig the zipper using a texposed point by hiding it behind the serrated fins. Unfortunately, they didn't have the beef to deflect brush, and it wasn't much better than fishing with an exposed hook. Later on, I would bury the point in the center of the slender core. That was fine, but in heavy cover I was still hanging up too much. That in fact, was the only reason that I slowly drifted away from the ringworm and zipper worm, but I still regard them as "great" plastics. Roger

Two guys in the same boat may be fishing the same lure, in the same color, but one guy may catch all the bass. The fact is, each of their lures will be running on different paths, at separate speeds and at separate depths. All of those factors are far more important than color. Roger

Great going RW, and Happy New Year!! January is certainly your month for Hawgs 8-) Roger

In my view, the rod is far more important than the reel. Naturally, if either component is inadequate, then it suddenly becomes the most important component by default. =============================================================================== Manufacturers are in business to make money, and as long as anglers are willing to pay the price, manufacturers will continue to produce products that they know are the epitome of overkill. I've owned rods running the gamut from 12-million modulus (epoxy fiberglass) to 85-million modulus (graphite jacket). In retrospect, I now believe that tensile modulus greater than 42-million tends to amplify the disadvantages of graphite and exceeds the point of vanishing returns. In fact, when used in conjunction with non-stretch braided line, I've come to appreciate the versatility, durability and unmatched latitude of 40-million modulus graphite (IM-6). Roger

Left that one wide open, didn't I? Roger