RoLo

Can bass be taken during fall and winter with buzzbaits? Of course. Is it my favorite lure during coldwater periods? Of course not. Roger

You guys sure have a handle on the Sweet-Spots (unbelievable). Roger

Based on some of the complaints, it appears as though the type of braid may have some bearing on knot performance. I use PowerPro, which is spectra braid, and the Uni-Knot is the clear winner. It couldn't be easier to tie, it doesn't require any glue or pre-wetting; and it never slips, never breaks and may be tied direct to any line-eye, including a lure with 3 treble hooks. Normally I use only four lousy wraps, and because it never failed me, I'm not motivated to add any more. Roger

I've had my eye on that trailer too, it's a good looking bait. I was thinking of giving it a go on a weedless skirt jig. Roger

Any crankbait would work, because in essence, the motion of the boat replaces the reel crank. There are two basic forms of trolling: "Forward Trolling" and "Back-Trolling". When you want to cut down on your trolling speed, but you want to use the main mill (not the electric) trolling backwards against the transom will do the trick. Splashguards are real helpful for back-trolling, otherwise many waves will hop over the stern in a choppy sea. Roger

This is the first time that I actually entered this thread. I've been skipping over it because, first of all, it doesn't apply to me, and secondly, it's all common horse-sense. I've never had the need to "coerce" a female fishing companion, it was always a built-in given. My mom fished, my wife and daughter fish, and I've fished with several fishing buddies who's wives were fisher persons. I'd venture to say that my wife is a better fisher person than most male anglers that I've had the pleasure of fishing with. After reading through the thread, I must say that objective and informative data is conspicuously scarce. Most of what I've read merely expresses personal feelings based on one's own success or failure in this area. Before I met my wife she was already a fisherlady, as she did a lot of saltwater fishing with her dad. I was doing a lot of deer hunting with the bow & arrow when Lois and I met, and I was very intriqued by her earnest desire to go deer hunting with me. She told me that she loves nature and the outdoors and would really enjoy being outdoors with me, but would not want to hurt a deer. I assured her that she'd experience a lot of nature (I intentionally put her on my best stand), but would not hurt any deer, not with a bow & arrow. I was right of course, but after several years of unsuccessful bow hunting, my now-wife was just as determined as me to get a deer with the bow & arrow (which she did). And so it was with fishing. If I gave my wife a choice between going shopping or fishing, she would laugh at me, and would have the lunch packed before I could get the fishing gear together. In truth, I feel sorry for the guy who can only enjoy fishing with other male companions, they will live and die and never realize what they've missed in life. My wife and I have a quiet enjoyment for nature, without much noise or high-fives. Roland Martin has fished with more men than most of us, and I've noticed that he is now fishing with his wife more than ever before. I admire Roland's priorities, because he's enjoying the company of someone who not only loves fishing, but someone who loves his company. Roger

In the real world, you can't. Roger

I believe that weedless soft lures are the wave of the future, but as always, fishermen tend to resist change. The soft popper that I've been using is the Sizmic Pop'N Toad. It has the critical advantage of being "weedless" and because it's soft it's also "mouthable". It's just as loud an any hard popper and costs less too boot. What's not to like? Roger

It's not Winter per se that matters, it's all about water temperature and the direction in which the water temperature is moving. Here in Florida, the water temperatures in winter are warmer than the water temperatures in New Jersey during the fall. If the question is: "Are bass catchable in cold water?", the answer is Yes,. If the question is: "Does cold water reduce the activity of bass?", the answer is resoundingly Yes, and below 44 deg the catchability of bass drops off DRAMATICALLY. Prove it to yourself, during the ice-fishing season take a walk on the ice and visit every tip-up on the lake and you may see one or two bass, maybe none, but you'll see hundreds of pike, pickerel, walleyes and yellow perch. Like all things in nature, nothing is cut-and-dried and Mother Nature throws a monkey-wrench at bass fishermen during the winter. Even during cold water temperatures, when the trend of water temperatures are "rising", the activity level of bass will likewise be "rising". On the other hand, when the water temperature is below 44 degrees F. and the trend is down, you can have my spot in the boat (unless we're pike fishing) Roger

Some days a rapid retrieve is best (reflex response) and other days a dead slow retrieve will be best (feeding response). In my opinion, a great confidence builder for topwater fishing is the Rapala Original F-11 Floater (in your favorite color) Use abrupt but faint twitches, separated by loooong pauses. Worked properly, the lure will make very little forward progress. Roger

Yup, that looks like it.

A "steelhead trout" is a sea-run"rainbow trout", and includes the Great Lakes. Steelhead trout are sought by fishermen during their spawning run into freshwater. Roger

Graphite is just a polymorph of carbon, and carbon is an element. Graphite was and will always be more sensitive and more brittle than fiberglass. Even the oldest epoxy formulations are stronger and more shock-resistant than the latest graphite blanks. There's a good reason why Rhinos and Ugly Sticks are constructed of fiberglass composite, take out the fiberglass and it would really get UGLY Roger

Sure. You related an instance when you experienced good luck while using Light colors during a time when conventional wisdom recommends Dark colors. In the same vien as yours, I've experienced some of my best fishing when the color of my lure resembled nothing that lived in the lake. My question is this, when we encounter these contradictory episodes that fly in the face of popular belief, what is the message? Do these conflicting experiences undermine conventional wisdom, or do they simply diminish the importance of color? My guess is the latter. A day on West Point Lake, GA pops into my mind. My friend Jerry and I were crappie fishing, he in my opinion is a better crappie fisherman than me. He was doing poorly that day though and kept changing lure colors throughout the entire day. Every time I put another crappie in the box, Jerry repeated the same question, "What color did you get'm on Rog?" My answer was always the same, "chartreuse". Like most days, I never changed the lure color once that day. The best way to prove or disprove the importance of color is to exploit a positive opportunity and try to reverse the action by changing colors. Wait until a day when you're doing exceptionally well with a lure that matches the predominant forage. Then switch to a pattern that clashes blatantly with the predominant forage, and the action should obediently collapse. I wouldn't bank on it though. Roger

Brad, I like that plastic craw in your avatar, who is the manufacturer? Roger

Bubba's Magic Hawg'n Sticks and Aunt Sally's Composite Toad Poles Sadly, they have both been discontinued, so I've been forced to condescend, in no particular order: G.Loomis <> St. Croix <> All Star :'( Roger

Flattening the barb makes it easier to set the hook, but as nboucher said, maintaining line-tension becomes imperative, and if he "jumps" that would be good, then you may get the opportunity to release the bass without ever touching him ;D Roger

I don't know why you even bother to bring your scale

Rapala Shallow Shad Rap No. 8 - (3-1/8" x 5/16 oz) Hot Tiger Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap - 1/2 oz Chartreuse Crawdad Roger

Whenever I run into a contradictory situation like that (all too often), I always question the message. Does it downgrade a parroted tenet, or does it simply diminish the importance of color? Roger

18lb 8oz <> 4lb 1oz <> 3lb 5oz Roger

That's a fair question. Although I've never heard it said, I would imagine the E stands for epoxy (lamiglass fame). I should also add that I haven't been bluewater gamefishing in many years so by now I'd suppose there are materials with even greater strength than E-glass. Roger

Graphite offers superior sensitivity, but is not without a glitch. High-modulus graphite is more brittle than fiberglass, for this reason, the most popular rod blanks for bluewater gamefishing were made of E-glass. Roger

I'd venture to say, that fish get bored with this subject long before we do ;D Among all the many details and variables that go into fishing, I place "color" at the end of the line. I'll often base my color choice on what my wife is using, and pick any color, as long as it's not the same. Over the years, some of my wife's favorite colors became mine and vice versa. I guess all we've really learned is that color by itself rarely made the big difference. Thinking too much about color would cause me to miss more important matters that do make a big difference. I'm referring to matters like "lure depth", "lure speed", "lure choice" and oh yes, "boat position". My favorite color is "chartreuse", based solely on its remarkable underwater visibility. Mepps underwater tests found chartreuse to be unusually visible in both murky and clear water. For peace of mind, I tend to favor color patterns that offer both a dark hue and light hue that caters to all lighting conditions. That releases my mind to think about the meat-and-potatoes of fishing. Roger

The guesstimates this time around seemed a little more stable. Probably because that 3-pound weight plateau is so stubborn, we're all familiar with bass that size. Fourbizzle really hit on a winner with this thread Roger