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Very Interesting! Thanks for the info Senile1 Sheesh, I hate to wake the bait monkey when he's sleeping :-? Roger

WOW, Great website ReelMech

Before I retired, I had access to a Nikon comparator with 50x and 100x lenses . Though I've never inspected fishing line, you can rest assured that if you clamp metal onto polymer it's going to leave a visible nick the line. In fact, under 100 power lens the nick would look like a chasm and make you a little queasy! But like Randall pointed out, as long as you don't "crimp" the shot onto the line, line degradation should be minimal, probably no worse than fishing line that briefly contacts the side of the boat. Roger

Whenever your lure is difficult to see due to current lighting conditions, you're bound to miss out on some action. If a bass doesn't see the lure or even if he see's it too late, he's likely to pass-up it. In my opinion, once a bass sees the lure, color is no longer an issue. Can you imagine a bass rejecting a green plastic worm because he's waiting for something in pumpkin with red flakes ;D Roger

Avid, spinning gear is really all that I use, but even at that, there are many models that I've never owned. Over the years, I have owned several models of Penn, Daiwa, Garcia, Pflueger, Cardinal and Shimano spinning reels. Currently I'm using mostly Shimano Stradics and they treat me pretty well, better than I treat them. Roger

Proactiv Eh? I was wondering where she got those legs Roger

I definitely agree, it is not a black or white issue. The reason it's not black or white is because it's something that's extremely difficult to prove or disprove. Let's suppose that you're using an attractant and you're whacking the bass. That's fine, but now it's time to stop using attractant, otherwise nothing was learned. Let's further suppose that after you tied on a new lure, the same lure but without adding attractant, the action seemed to slow down. This is the break you needed, because now the addition of attractant should restore the action to its former level. I typically fish with my wife, so instead of comparing me to myself, I have a distinct advantage. Since I have a cooperative boat mate, I'm able to conduct a bilateral test simultaneously in half the time. Tested in that manner, I've yet to witness a time when attractant seemed to make a clear difference in action. I realize that this doesn't prove or disprove anything, nor does it fuel my enchantment for fish attractants. When we turn to Mother Nature, we see that bass do not possess barbels as do catfish, bullheads and carp, and I think that speaks volumes about their dependence on the sense of smell. In the meantime, the manufacturers of attractants are sitting pretty, because in effect they're selling "confidence" in a bottle, and proving or disproving its effect is extremely difficult. The placebo effect is very powerful, that is to say, we all tend to see what we want to see. Roger

Before entering this thread I thought that the answer was pretty obvious. But after reading some of the thought-provoking replies, I realized that I was wrong. I can definitely relate to the reply posted by LowBudgetHookers. In essence, if my outing is a selfish one, I'm thinking only of big, bigger & best. If I have a child along or a novice to the sport, then I want numbers, in fact maybe panfish over bass. Okay now it's time to come clean, completely clean. During a day when I can't buy a bass I start thinking about numbers, and the number is ONE. Roger

Those are the only three split-shot weights that I know ;D I've gotten into the habit of doubling or halving the weight, and those 3 shot sizes, halve downward under a 1/8 oz bullet sinker. I'm getting too old to mess with half sizes anymore Roger

The early reproductions lacked scale-definition and were very easy to identify as hoaxes, but today's repros are superb imposters. I've seen fiberglass replicas that were virtually indistinguishable from the real thing. After all is said and done, a replica could never substitute for the real McCoy, and here are two reasons why: 1. A replica is NOT you're fish, but a prototype reproduction of someone else's fish (a cast made from an actual fish). It will not be the identical Length, Girth and Shape of your fish, but identical to the fish prototype you choose. In other words, "your" fish will be identical to hundreds of others hanging on other walls across America, maybe your neighbor's wall, across the street. 2. This one disturbs me most of all. You will not be able to dictate the position and posture of your fish. With a skin mount, you supply the taxidermist with several hand sketches and photos of exactly how you want the fish to look. With a repro you're forced to settle for someone else's pose. After looking at practically every pike pose available in the US, I've yet to see a pose that doesn't make the pike look like a "fish-out-of-water", usually with some unnatural banana-bend. At least with a replica you'll never be alone, and might see that same silly pose on your neighbor's mount, across the street Roger

I'm not too big on mimicking the colors of baitfish but if I were, I'd sooner mimic the colors of a shad or shiner. Rare is the lake that doesn't support a population of shad and/or shiners. In accordance with the In-Fisherman, largemouth bass prefer to feed on shiners & shad over bluegills & baby bass. That is to say, they'd rather swallow a spineless baitfish than a spiny baitfish. Of course, largemouth bass are opportunistic predators, and during a beer party they're liable to binge on twist-off bottle caps : Roger

7 = ~1/16 oz 3/0 = ~1/32 oz BB = ~1/64 oz Roger

RW, the critter craw works real well in Florida, and Preston Clark made history with them in South Carolina. If anyone can make them work in Tennessee, it would be you Roger

The two best attractants I've ever used are the right depth and the right speed, but sometimes they're just so hard to find Roger

It is true that some fisheries have been severely degraded by over-harvest, but in most cases this was due to commercial netting rather than recreational fishing. Paradoxically, many fisheries have been degraded by insufficient harvest, rather than over-harvest. In Canada, lodge owners at are odds with provincial conservationists who oppose no-kill waters. While lodge owners envision trophy fish everywhere and better business, conservation officers have a better understanding of population dynamics. In spite of all we hear about the biggest bass being the best breeders, such is not the case. A large old cow lays about the same number of eggs as a young cow, but her eggs will be larger, though not necessarily superior. Bass are no different than deer, dogs, humans or any other living thing. Once an animal or plant has passed its prime of life everything begins to decline with advancing age. It has been stated and is probably true, that over 90% of the largest fish we release are dead within a year. To be sure, releasing a large fish induces an overwhelming feeling of self-gratification, and I'd be the last to discourage that practice. I'm merely stating that we shouldn't let that feeling carry us into fantasy land. Roger

This is an image of a Zoom Big Critter Craw This lure has large pincer-like appendages that float upward at rest. This is the very lure that boated the heaviest stringer of largemouth bass. This record was not a fluke, not a one-day record and not even a one-year record. The Zoom Big Critter Craw set the all-time heaviest "4-day" stringer in B.A.S.S. history. In a scenario of professional angler versus wild bass, this feat has never been paralleled by any plastic worm, plastic lizard, plastic tube or any other bass lure. In my opinion, action speaks louder than words. Roger

I believe it is "motivation" that keeps you focused, and the more success your efforts enjoy, the more "confidence" you will build. It's a beautiful cycle, where motivation may lead, and confidence may follow. Roger

Back in Jersey, those little boston whalers were all over the ocean, and in most of them was an angler wearing a yellow helly hansen rainsuit, holding on to a tiller extension ;D Roger

It's a 16-foot Key Largo center-console, but the best thing about it Russ, is the 75-hp E-TEC!! Roger

I agree with Alpster's take. I chuckle inside when I hear someone say, "You've got to have confidence!". That to me is like saying to a starving man, "You've got to feel like you've just finished a meal". Simply put, "confidence" is something that follows, it does not lead. Roger

I'm ashamed to admit it, but we've been on dry dock for the better part of two months (work's getting in the way of fishing)! It sure felt good to be out there again, and even though today was Black Friday, there were only a handful of boats on Lake Walk-In-Water, so we basically had the lake to ourselves. Fishing was slow, but we did manage to snag a couple bass and one chain pickerel. BASS http://64.226.208.65/scans/LMB-20.jpg PICKEREL http://64.226.208.65/scans/Pickerel-22.jpg Roger

For the record, according to an article I read, the water current that's produced by wind is surprisingly little. I tried to locate that article but failed, but from what I recall, a 10 MPH wind produces a water current of about 1 MPH. It's hard to appreciate this from a boat, because our boats ride on the surface of the water where the wind's work is most violent. Be that as it may, I'm not disturbed by wind until it insults my Boat Control, then even if bass are biting it becomes difficult to exploit Another type of wind that I do not like is a cold wind, when the air is colder than the water and the wind is driving the air temperature into the water. This normally but not always means a noreaster or norwester, in short, an arctic front. Winds that I look forward to are warm winds, typically out of the southern hemisphere. Oh and one other thing, the wind blows the bioplankton and the forage fish follow the.........................never mind In truth, I don't even believe that bass follow the baitfish, I believe that the bass are already there, and when the baitfish move in with the plankton, they trigger a feeding spree, which ends as soon as the baitfish move out. Maybe one day we'll learn the truth. Roger

Your question (a very good one) gives birth to another question. Let's suppose that two anglers were fishing the same lures, in the same place, at the same time. However, the angler using 4lb line handily outproduces the angler using 8lb line. Would you attribute the difference in their success to 'line visibility' or to 'lure action'? I personally would side with the latter, because the finer the line, the lower the 'line drag' the more natural the delivery. This isn't terribly important with largemouth bass, but it's more important with smallmouth bass and "very" important with stream trout. Roger

Thanks Raul, that's extremely interesting! Now I've got a better understanding of the childhood diseases that were commonplace names in my household. I'm referring to Small Pox, Chicken Pox and Measles. The key to immunity of any disease is "exposure". It was Dr. Salk (founder of the Polio vaccine), who actually made the statement that sexual promiscuity could never be sufficient to eradicate sexually transmitted diseases. Roger