RoLo

Busy with other stuff, I've done precious little bass fishing this year, but did get in a couple trips during December. Like Hale, it's been a year of soft plastics for me, in fact my arsenal of hard plastics has been drying up since the turn of the century, while the soft plastics have been encroaching on the hard plastics (My tackle box weighs less now). For the year of 2006, the lure responsible for the greatest number of bass was the Bass Pro Paddle Stik. Hot on its heels were the Tiki Stick, Sizmic Toad (swimmer not popper), Zoom Critter Craw, Zoom Super Fluke, Yamamoto Kut-Tail Worm & Rat-L-Trap. On my way to the Clubhouse now, to bring in the New Year. HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE Roger

That about nails it. When I used to fish for stripers off Sandy Hook, NJ, I used 20-lb tackle with a 30-lb leader. Being a fishaholic, I bought an entire tube of 30-lb x 40" Long Straight Leader Material. Although it was pure nylon it behaved more like stiff wire, compared to 30-lb monofilament fishing line. Roger

In that price range, I too would go with Shimano Citica. Roger

It may not have been the snake that made you ill, but all the roaches and scorpions in its belly :-/ Roger

I've had too little experience with brown trout on artificials to recommend any lures for browns. From what I've read though, brown trout become almost totally carnivorous when they reach adulthood. In my experience, the best natural bait per trout species goes something like this: Brook Trout: Worms Rainbow Trout: Salmon Eggs Brown Trout: Minnows Roger

I've always believed that it's really not important what it looks like to bass, that it's far more important that it can easily be seen by bass (I can't visualize a bass rejecting food on the basis of color). In more than one study (Mepps among them) "chartreuse" was shown to be the only color that's highly visible in both clear and turbid water. Not coincidentally, chartreuse sits smack in the center of the color spectrum between green and yellow. Roger

This "Northwest Corner" thingy is a little overbaked. The sun arcs in the southern sky, and arctic fronts are normally accompanied by northwest winds. Consequently, the northwest corner of the lake is the most protected and the "first" section to warm up. The key word here is "first", and the first lake section to herald the onset of the spawn, is the first lake section to herald the end of the spawn, while other lake sections are still at peak spawn. In addition, the northest corner of a large bay located in the southeast corner of the lake, has no way of knowing that it's not in the northwest corner of the lake. Roger

I was going to surprise you Don, but you've called me to task. I bought a "Reed Whacker" for $273, a gaudy contraption that bolts to the outboard motor. When you backdown slowly into a bulrush bed, it whacks out a neat little swath 8-) : Roger

Unlike most snake-type topwaters, the head of Doug's Snake lure is relatively stable, while only the body writhes. Some lures take many years to catch on, the Senko is a good example. I will say though that Doug's original "Swimmin Worm" was already marketed by Burke in 1986. As an aside, when I lived in Georgia I had a tiny backyard pond that I stocked with bass to 3.5 lbs I caught in local farm ponds. Our tiny pond was only about 30-ft wide by 50-ft long, allowing me to observe everything that was going on. Whenever I found a small live snake in my yard (we had a 10-acre tract) I'd toss it into my backyard pond and watch the action. Surprisingly, the snake would generally make it to the opposite shore unmolested. On more than one occasion however, the snake was indeed slurped-up off the surface, but usually reappeared a short time later, obviously regurgitated. Although I have no explanation as to why, I'm an eye-witness to this behavior. Roger

Excellent point! Trouble is, my lake is infested with chain pickerel and they keep chopping off the shiny tip-top guide ;D Roger

I remember when the Rebel Ringworm was introduced and when Zipper worms were all the rage (before roboworm took over). Of course, Rebel claimed that the serrated fins produced a subtle vibration (I suppose that's possible), but what I liked best was the soft texture and mouthability of both the ringworms and zipper worms. To be honest, I never met a plastic worm that I didn't like :-* I invariably T-rigged both worms, and have only one objection. Beneath the serrated fins, there isn't much of a plastic core for Texas-rigging. For no other reason, I slowly drifted away from both worms. Roger

Roger

Luke had only 42 career entries, so he's definitely a fledgling (1 - 1st Place <> 0 - 2nd Places <> 2 - 3rd Places) Clausen Within Top 10 Within Top 20 Within Top 50 14.3% 23.8% 57% Iaconelli Within Top 10 Within Top 20 Within Top 50 28.6% 48% 68% Ike out-classes Luke at every turn. For an upcoming angler, it's a good idea to watch their number of Top-50 finishes. In his short career, Luke Clausen has definitely been a money angler. Roger

I own Helly Hansen, Goretex and Frogg Toggs. Helly Hansen is the toughest and most durable of the bunch (lobsterman-class), but they are also the heaviest and also the most poorly ventilated, at least mine are. Goretex uses a teflon membrane that breathes better than Helly Hansen and about as good as Frogg Toggs, which is just as well, because raingear that is too well ventilated not only lets moisture out, but lets water in. In an isolated study, Frogg Toggs were deemed the most waterproof raingear, but also the least durable of the three. Living in Florida though, I opted for Frogg Toggs because the whole suit weighs just one pound! I've been waiting, but so far the seams haven't ripped out yet :-? Roger

Not even close. Kevin VanDam turned pro in 1990 and has been competing for only 16 years. Clunn started his pro career in 1974 and has been in competition for 32 years, exactly twice as long as KVD. Clunn (in 32 years): 14 / 1st places <> 13 / 2nd places <> 11 / 3rd places VanDam (in 16 years): 10 / 1st places <> 8 / 2nd places <> 13 / 3rd places Let's factor out the discrepancy in their career longevities: Clunn had 318 career entries while VanDam had 183 career entries, only about half as many as Clunn! Following are the winning finishes represented as a percentage of their total tourney entries: Clunn Within Top 10 Within Top 20 Within Top 50 30.8% 47.8% 76.4% VanDam Within Top 10 Within Top 20 Within Top 50 36.1% 60.6% 86.9% Furthermore, the question specified present and upcoming best angler. Clunn's heyday began in the late 70s and fizzled in the early 90s, shortly after Kevin VanDam made his debut. KVD hit the ground running and zoomed to the top and dominated the late 90s and continues to dominate to date. Kevin's stats are nothing short of astounding! Iaconelli Within Top 10 Within Top 20 Within Top 50 28.6% 48% 68% Based on his 98 career entries, Iaconelli appears to be the most promising up-and-coming pro, but has a way to go. Roger

Admittedly, I fish mostly with Tiki Sticks (redbug/chartreuse tip), but when I do fish with senkos my favorite color pattern has been "Watermelon/Lemon Laminate (906). Basically a confidence thing, it offers both a dark and light hue with a subtle rather than harsh transition. Roger

Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap 1/2 oz - Chartreuse Crawdad Delivery is the essence of simplicity: Just wait for bottom contact, then reel the trap at a slow steady speed, the slowest speed that causes a visible throb at the rod-tip. Sometimes a faster retrieve is more productive, but usually not. The 1/2 oz trap may also be counted down at about 10" per second, and since it lacks a diving lip it holds the depth reasonably well. Rat-l-traps work year-round regardless of the forage that's present. Roger

When I lived in Jersey I mainly shopped at Rays Sport Shop (north plainfield), Greenbrook Sporting Goods (now defunct), Edelmann's Sporting Goods (now defunct), Charlie Brenners Sport Shop (an old friend) and Efingers. Rays was overpriced so Efingers was my favorite among them all, but I should remind you that my opinion goes back many years. I knew all the salesman at Efingers, but by now they are either retired or dead :-/ Roger

The 6-inch worm appears ideal in the north while the 7-inch worm appears ideal in Florida. Foot-long worms won't guarantee catching any larger bass, but they certainly guarantee that you'll catch fewer bass Roger

T-Rigged Plastic Worms (Paddletail, Ribbontail, Straight-Tail and Stick Worms) Delivered with a natural glide using little or no weight. Roger

Anywhere, Anytime. Soft plastics are my mainstay and their domination continues to grow. Roger

I would hope that you're either fishing a manmade reservoir or fishing for smallmouth bass. In a natural lake, if you limit your largemouth bass fishing to the 15 to 25 ft depth zone, you'll be fishing over a very tiny percentage of the bass population. Mossbacks are shallow-oriented fish that go no deeper than necessary. The controversy over deep-water versus shallow-water is hotly debated. However, the weight of the evidence suggests that the largest bass hail from shallow water, where life is in high gear. Exceptions are some deep clear lakes in California and deep impoundments that lack natural vegetation due to pool level fluctuation. In situations where largemouth bass are forced into uncharacteristic depths, the story is the same. They seek the "most vertical structures" in the form of bottom drops, standing timber, underwater ridges, submerged dwellings, sunken cars, artificial reefs, railroad levees. All that really matters is the abrupt change in depth, for example a point in the shoreline that is not associated with a drop-off in depth is totally useless. Roger

Largemouth bass prefer 'soft cover', whereas smallmouth bass prefer 'hard cover'. For largemough bass, the best weed types tend to vary with the seasons. Based soley on lake topography, sweet spots for largemouth bass of all sizes are places where emergent weeds come together with submergent weeds and both merge with a bottom drop-off! Roger

It appears to be a footrace between the two Northern Boys: KVD and Ike. In my opinion, KVD is today's most formidable contender, followed by Ike. I'll bet that in his heart, even Iaconelli regards VanDam as the most formidable contender. Hands-down, my favorite angler is Al Lindner, but he's retired today. As for AOYs, they flipflop like moon phases...anybody ever heard of Jay Yelas? Roger

As most of you probably know, I'm a full-time resident of Florida, but mom and I spent Christmas in our home state of New Jersey. Our trip was not planned, though somewhat expected. As it happened, my mom's sister had passed away just four days before Christmas, she died of 3rd degree burns she sustained during a home accident. Aunt Anna was 98 yrs old! During my aunt's funeral, I met aunts and cousins that I haven't seen since my wedding day, and I was married 42 years ago!!! Can you imagine how embarrassing this can be. I was confronted by relatives who I was expected to remember, but haven't seen in the past 42 years. It seemed like every few minutes a new hand was thrust into my direction for a handshake, but in several instances it was sheer guesswork, to identify the person on the other end of the handshake. Amazingly, some of my relatives hardly changed at all, but others had almost no vestige remaining of the image that I had stored in my mind's eye. Has anyone else ever been in this almost surreal situation? Roger