RoLo

Catt, I don't think I'd be off-topic if I asked you, what specific properties of Ripcord do you prefer over PowerPro?

I might've known That's remarkable! The largest crappie I've ever seen was caught by my friend, we were fishing West Point Lake in Georgia. I weighed it for Jerry, and hated to give him the news, it tipped the scales at 2 lbs, 15 oz. So I can 'honestly' say that I've never seen a 3-pound crappie ;D Roger

I have an extremely high opinion of fluorocarbon line. Unfortunately or fortunately, I use spinning gear for nearly everything (except shiner fishing, pike fishing & saltwater fishing). Due to the memory of fluorocarbon, I've never made an honest comparison between fluoro and braid. It's indisputable that fluorocarbon has less stretch than mono or copolymer, but braid has less stretch than fluorocarbon. "Line invisibility" is the forte of fluorocarbon, but attaching a fluorocarbon leader to the main line, gives the braid user all the same benefits. As for durability, fluoro and braid are probably a dead heat, depending more on line formulation than line genre. BTW: I don't bother using a fluoro leader, and haven't noticed a decline in catch ratio compared to straight copolymer (I could be wrong). Roger

I believe the positives of braid FAR outweigh the negatives, mostly because the negatives are so highly elusive. I'm a big stickler for performance and very criticial of product malfunction (one strike and you're out). On the other hand, I'm not a nitpicker and don't complain about minor inconveniences. GUIDE-EROSION Damage to line-guides is a carryover fear from the original superlines, notably Spiderware Braid. If you weren't using Titanium Nitride or Silicon Carbide line guides, the original spiderwire braid would eventually erode a series of grooves in both your stripper guide and tip-top guide. PowerPro Spectra is not abrasive and even cheap ceramic guides or aluminum oxide guides will hold up indefinitely to PowerPro braid. LINE-BURROWING This is not a REAL problem, not unless you're horsing waterlogged stumps from the bottom of the lake. And even at that, I don't consider anything a problem that can be quickly and easily remedied. TIP-WRAP In my experience, tip-wrap is very unusual, and if I hadn't read about it, it never would've occurred to me. In any event, anything you can UNdo in your subconscious mind, is not what I consider a 'problem'. LINE-STRETCH Monofilament line sharply reduces our hook-ups when jig fishing and when fishing anything on a long line. This I consider a MAJOR problem, because line-stretch interferes with the most sacred segment of fishing, "the Hook-Set". LINE-MEMORY PowerPro braid has zero memory and is pure unadulterated joy on spinning gear. A Bird's Nest of wiry monofilament the size of a pineapple....NOW we have a problem!! Roger

Attaboy Baitmonkey, now that's the spirit. I was confident that your heart wasn't in that statement, but it's nice to hear it from you Roger

Humongous! :o What lake?

Years back that would've been my first choice. But I was happy to move away from uncle josh #11 pork chunks. I figure it's time for some new guys to wrestle with rock-hard pork rind ;D It seems like most of the tournament players have also moved to plastic trailers. Roger

Crupi was remarkable, and a legend in his own time. But I don't believe he can make a comeback without Castaic Lake doing the same. Roger

Excellent point, I forgot about pike. Shall we say, instant line-abrasion ;D As for knots, I use nothing but a 'uniknot' and I'm still waiting for my first negative incident (not going to happen). Further, the uni-knot may be used for tying direct to a plug with 3 treble hooks. Roger

It's funny, but we as fisherman want everything in our control, just right. When I set the drag, I don't target 25, 30 or 33%, I obsess over hitting 28%, but is that realistic? The answer is No, that's over-doting. In the real world, we don't fight our fish with the drag tension alone. The pressure placed on the fish is the sum of 'drag tension' plus 'line drag'. Line drag may sound insignificant, but it's possible to place 10 lbs of pressure on the fish using a 5-lb drag setting. Many years ago, Captain Robinson devised an unusual method for fighting powerful bluewater gamefish (billfish and tuna). Remarkably, he fought gamefish that scaled over 1000 lbs without any dependence on the reel brake. After the hookup, Robinson would run his boat away from the fish to lay down about 3 or 4 hundred yards of line on the ocean. He steered the boat in a wide arc to form an enormous loop of line on the ocean. The marlin or swordfish was forced to tow 3 or 4 hundred yards of line, broadside through the ocean. He just kept running abreast of the gamefish to maintain the giant line-loop until the fish wore down. Only then did his drag come into play, which he buttoned down to winch in the fish. This approach become known in the sportfishermen circuit as the "Robinson System" and was very effective. Just a little food for thought. Roger

Using a Zoom Critter Craw, Preston Clark snatched the all-time B.A.S.S. 4-day stringer-record (115-lb, 15oz) Roger

Largemouth bass that live and grow nearest the 'equator' typically enjoy rapid growth and a year-round growing season. As a result, bass waters in the lowest reaches of their range normally produce impressive numbers of trophy-class bass. There's a world of difference however, between trophy-class bass and world-class bass. To produce a world-class bass over 15 pounds, the ecosystem must provide PERFECT conditions. Rapid growth must be supported in two ways, it must be accompanied by a prolonged growing season AND it must offer the bass a prolonged lifespan. The only bass that stands a chance of setting the new world-record will be a freak bass growing in world-class waters. Bass living in Cuba and southern Mexico provide two out of the three prerequisites, but do not provide an extended longevity. Similar to plant species, every species of fish has a confined range where the most magnificent specimens may be had. Plant specimens found to the north of their ideal range may be suppressed by hard frosts, and those found to the south of their ideal range may lack the necessary chill-hours. The same is true for largemouth bass, and those living in the southern extremities of their range, tend to die prematurely of metabolic exhaustion, commonly called thermal burnout. The St. Johns River in Florida around latitude N30 degrees is clearly within the world-class bass-belt. The river stretch near Green Cove Springs, FL has yielded innumerable bass over 15 pounds and two uncertified bass over 18 lbs. Now if you travel just 200 miles south to Lake Okeechobee, Florida you will be below the optimal range for world-class bass, probably on par with northern California, which is too far north (the opposite problem). The Big-O is a 720-square mile Fish Factory, but the odds of boating a 15-pound bass would be much better on Lake Fork, Texas, despite it's northerly latitude. For several decades, the lake-record on Lake Okeechobee sat unchallenged at 13.5 lb. It was finally broken by one bass weighing 15-lb, 5 oz. With regard to a new world-record bass, it's my opinion that the probabilities wane progressively as you travel south of central Florida and also wane progressively as you travel north of south Georgia. From left to right (west to east) that would embrace southern California, Texas, northern Florida and southern Georgia. For various reasons, I'm really not expecting the world-record bass to be broken any time soon. Roger

It's easy to forget that the fish we call 'bass' is not a true bass, but is a 'sunfish' (bluegill family). Barring the chain pickerel, the 'sunfish family' fills the shallowest natural niche of any gamefish. In Canada, where I fish for pike, the bass practically climb up on the bank (pike are the dominant predator). Although bass prefer to cut their living in shallow water, they live in so many diverse ecosystems that it's very often impossible. This is particularly true on many deep manmade lakes (impoundments). There's no doubt that bass will adjust to any depth necessary that provides Food & Cover. It looks like bass not only determine what lure, what speed and what color, but they also dictate 'what depth' (hate when that happens). To answer the thread question: I guess I have no max depth for bass fishing, they won't let me > When I lived in Georgia, we routinely fished 10 to 15-ft deep in West Point Lake (mostly spotted bass). Since moving to Florida, the lion's share of bass from natural lakes are taken from 2 to 5 feet of water. Before the hurricanes of 2004, the bass were DEEP (that's a joke). The magic depth was 8.5-ft, because that's where the hydrilla crop was most dense and lush. Since the hurricanes denuded the flats of hydrilla, the bass are once again scattered in 2 to 5 feet of water. I'm not complaining though, they're more fun to catch in shallow-water. Roger

Big T, You're right, their color change is fast and sad. As soon as they hit the deck, the chartreuse light goes out. MDangler, I've encountered every local moniker that you mentioned Let me throw in a couple more, first the Local Moniker followed by the Correct Name: SALTWATER Squeteague = Weakfish Fluke = Summer Flounder Ling = Red Hake Whiting = Silver Hake Sand Shark = Dogfish Moss Bunker = Menhaden False Albacore = Little Tunny FRESHWATER Speckled Perch = Crappie Stumpknocker = Spotted Sunfish Shellcracker = Redear Sunfish Bream = Bluegill Sunfish Pickerel = Walleye Jack = Pickerel Roger

A leadhead jig and fiber bristles is not as mouthable as a T-rigged soft plastic. When you finally feel the bass on a jig, his work may already be done. I once read that a bass can inhale-and-eject a jig something like 3 times in one second. Now that isn't how fast they normally pickup & blow-out, but that's how fast they can, if they wanted to. To confirm that tardy hook-sets are your problem, try this. Concentrate on a quick-stick, instead of wasting any time winding-up to "cross his eyes". A quick-stick will usually hang a sharp hook in the bass's mouth, so he can't blow it out. If you feel that the hook-set did not drive the point beyond the barb, or if you're using nylon line, simply hit him again. Roger

Wow, there's a beauty!

Senko77 covered it well. I would just touch on location. The wacky-rig worm is really effective over submerged weed beds. Work it as a soft jerkbait and those wacky worm-ends drive bass crazy, of course, some bass are already crazy Roger

Well, in Florida it goes more like this: 4 to 6 Minnow: 3/0 Kahle 6 to 8 Minnow: 4/0 Kahle 8 to 10 Minnow: 5/0 Kahle Because the shank of the Kahle hook is bent away from the business end it doesn't interfere with swallowing and gets a deeper hook-set in the mouth. Roger

I would imagine that the largemouth won by such a wide margin based on their wide distribution and also because they're the largest of the three. Smallmouth are gorgeous fish, and as many times as I've seen those two elephants that RW is hoisting, they still rock me back! The smallie is also a faster swimmer and a higher jumper than the bigmouth. Many bigmouths can't even get out of the water, they just hold their head above the water-line and rattle their gills, it's kind of humorous. But in favor of the largemouth bass, the quick-tapering snout of the bronzeback is just not as awe-inspiring as the huge bucketmouth of a largemouth bass, IMO. Roger

Happy Anniversary Roadwarrior and congratulations on a successful marriage Seems like last year was our 29th anniversary :'( DO IT NOW! Roger

How often have you read where someone was killed by a snake? How often have you read where someone was killed by another person? If it were justifiable to murder that which we fear, the human population in the United States might be cut in half. Roger

They're not a contender, too far south. Roger

I am one of the lucky ones, and don't I know it. I've got a long-term, reliable fishing partner, a teammate with the same burning compassion for the sport. My partner accompanies me in freshwater, saltwater, bank fishing and boat-fishing. Ah, who am I kidding, everyone knows it's my wife Lois, and my fishing partner of 43 years Roger

I have to agree with RW, braid can be nasty stuff to break-off, when breaking off is what you want to do. On irreconcilable snags, I've wrapped powerpro braid 5 or 6 times around my hand, then pulled with all my might, only to watch the line slice into the web of my hand. The alternative of course, is a line that breaks when you DON'T want it to. As for line-burrowing, that's not an issue for me. On the snag described above, the braid of course will burrow somewhat into the spooled line. Since I already know that, I'll simply strip off a few yards and retrieve the line before returning to fishing. If I forget to do that, no big deal, the burrowed line will shorten my first cast, but after that it's business as usual. I should tell you that I'm now using 30-lb braid on one of my spinning outfits and it casts 1/16 oz lures very well. I agree, but to a fault. All line materials are vulnerable to crippling line-abrasion, furthermore, the difference in line-abrasion between braided line & copolymer line is very small, and depends on the formula of both lines in the comparison. I admit it, I'm sold on braid :-* Roger

Jig fishing is definitely not as easy as worm fishing. I believe that every time I take the jig away from a bass, my strike was too late. Two things have improved my jig fishing hook-ups (still not what I'd like it to be): 1. Instant Hook-Set 2. PowerPro Braid. With braided line, a jaw-breaking hook-set isn't necessary and depressing the fiberguard is not a problem. A "quick" hook-set is important though, regardless of the line being used. If you're jig fishing with monofilament line, it will help if you thin-out the fibers in the weedguard and select jigs that use a fine-wire hook (sharp goes w/o saying). Just my opinion. Roger