RoLo

Welcome to the forum, TomInFlorida You can keep us abreast on lakes Orange, Lochloosa, Rodman and George 8-) Roger

Not being there, I can only guess what happened, but the odds overwhelmingly favor "line abrasion". Depending on the extent of abrasion, the line-test can be reduced to near zero, regardless of its stated breaking-strength. In addition, the clinch knot is a notoriously poor knot and for several reasons (I won't get into that). I use nothing but a "uni-knot" for both braid and mono, which is quick & easy to tie, very strong and easily tied to plugs wth trebles. If you use a uni-knot, I doubt very much that you will ever see the line break at the knot. Roger

That's really funny ;D RW, I can believe that your bronzebacks have been acclimated to beer and tobacco, but "jumping around in the boat"?? You're going to be a Big Hit on Lake Fork ;D ;D Roger

I don't care for manmade music on the lake, because it clashes with the sounds of nature, but that's just a personal choice. In any case, air is compressible and for this reason air waves are not transmitted to water, which is basically incompressible. Your wife's radio is fine, but your aerator is suspect. The most offensive boat noise that comes to mind is dropping a hard plastic plug on the bottom of an aluminum boat. When that happens, it wreaks havoc with my confidence and it's hard for me to fish with the same enthusiam. If it's a key site, I'll probably move off the spot then return to the same site a little later (with greater care) :-[ Roger

It's painful to pass up this opportunity, because I'd just love to put some real people and real faces on the many names I've come to know and enjoy. As ya'll know, I've just come back from a vacation in Canada (pike). But more than that, I wait all year for the month of 'March', it's my favorite month in Florida for big bass, I'm sure Avid and George Welcome would agree. Fellows, have a safe, happy and productive trip, I'm looking forward to pictures of some real Texan Hawgs Happy, "Running & Gunning" Roger

Have you considered the Boga Grip, it may be another option I'm new to this tool and I found it quite difficult to use with pike (they're reluctant to open thier mouth). But used for bass, the Boga Grip works really well and doesn't remove any antiseptic slime. (by the way, the bluefish in my avatar is on a chatillon scale, before the advent of the Boga Grip) Roger

Bingo! A foul-hooked fish is like fighting the broadside of a barn. Hooked in the mouth they're coming or going more parallel to the line. Roger

Very Interesting! Though I've heard about the oscars in Florida, I've never caught one. They look a lot like tilapia, but you'd never get a tilapia to strike a spinnerbait. That's really kool 8-) Roger

Welcome to the forum StansDrarf Lake Wales here, you're just a piece down the road. Roger

I can't explain anything.........I just wanna know, WHAT COLOR was that cap??????????? Roger

I didn't realize that the Color Selector was making a comeback. I can still see Orlando Wilson dunking the sensor into the drink, then trying to match his lure color to the readout (Oh Holy One)

Fin, I hope you understand that I didn't use the phrase "seat-of-the-pants" to describe your project, on the contrary, it was used to describe an angler "without" a system, just like a trader "without" a system. That statement is probably more accurate than you realize. To digress, when I coded the stock timing strategy, the first thing I created was a monster (took about 5 years) It was comprised of overly intricate and complex algorithms, then the light went on. If other investors aren't willing or able to think outside the box, then I'm acting in a small minority and my system is destined to fail. In a nutshell, I was trying to measure human emotion, while you're trying to do the same thing with animal reaction (quite similar). By the way, when I speak of Nuts-and-Bolts, I expected you to say: Tandem Exponential Moving Averages Roger

In my initial post, I said that I cannot comment on your study without seeing the nuts-and-bolts. Now were up to post #33 and I see nothing on the board but opinion-after-opinion (we're going to factor that out...right?). If you were looking for additional variables to factor into your program, you've got a great start (some really fine input). Is it possible to devise a "system" that enhances your ability to catch bass? Of course it is! A slow-steady aim is usually better than shooting-from-the-hip. The best analogy that comes to mind is the stock market. It seems that most investors trade from the seat-of-their-pants, believing that it's impossible to time the stock market. Before the Internet, I spent several years developing a "Stock Timing" program. At the end of every day, I'd grab reams of tractor-printer paper off the floor, but not in vain. It enabled me to retire well ahead of schedule. Most any phenomenon can be quantified through trend analysis, because all natural events tend to move in trends. Though I'm not a skeptic, I need to be a realist. When it comes to developing a "Presentation Model", the variables are overwhelming, but even worse, they're in constant motion! Since you're attempting to hit a moving a target using trend analysis, your most invaluable tool will be a "Trend Reversal" indicator. I mean that sincerely, because the sooner we recognize a trend reversal, the sooner we're back in the game. Nothing is impossible ('impossible' is a mindset) but one thing is sure, you certainly have your work cut-out for you Roger

That is Sooooooo funny Luck definitely does come into play, but it's usually the bass who get lucky, not me :-/ ;D :-/ Roger

I was hesitant to respond to this post, because the line between Sincerity and Jest seems fuzzy in places. In any case, I can state with complete sincerity that I place "ZERO" faith in superstition. I've never owned a single good-luck charm in my life, my mind doesn't run in those channels (wasted energy). Like Roadwarrior, I too have never bought one lottery ticket in my life, and I kid you not, I wouldn't even know how. I'd be the last person to downplay the importance of "confidence", but never forget that confidence follows, it does not lead. That is to say, it's hard to have confidence in a lure than never caught a bass, but it gets real easy after 100 bass. I've always felt that it's my job as fisherman to factor as much "luck" out of my fishing as possible, We can't rely on "luck" for a repeat performance, that requires skill. We have control over one, but no control over the other. Roger

I really can't comment on your study without seeing the nuts and bolts. What is your baseline for "optimal" stimulation. More isn't necessarily better. I'd need to know how you quantified the reaction of a fish to various stimuli. I'd certainly have to know how you weighted and scaled the data, for both vision and hearing. Tweaking any one of your criteria or parameters could significantly rearrange the ranking. Roger

What He Said Roger

Welcome aboard, womanangler Always nice to see new members of the gentle gender Roger

O'Douls My favorite beer migrated from Schaefer, to Rheingold, to Keystone Light, to O'Douls. It's legal to buy alcohol and it's legal to sell alcohol, but when it comes to drinking alcohol, the jury-is-out Roger

Exactly, and I think that applies to most of our angling choices For example, I'm a little surprised that only 3 members mentioned the "Rapala Shallow Shad Rap" (3 to 8-ft) Roger

It's a foregone conclusion that there'll always be hot new lures and hot new techniques, but some things never change. Speaking just for myself, my learning curve may resemble a gradually inclining plane, but my 'versatility curve' looks more like a parabola. Let me explain. Beginning in my pre-teens and continuing to around age 50, the variety of my lures and the complexity of my sport has continually accelerated. I have since reached a crossroads where I now direct the lion's share of my thought and energy on "simplifying" my sport (an art onto itself). My mission is to master the few key lures and techniques with greater proficiency, the same philosophy I use with knot tying (a few good men). Roger

Cart, what you say is essentially true but another factor that determines the "cost of living" in peninsular Florida is nearness to the coast. For example, West Palm Beach on the Atlantic coast and Naples on the Gulf coast have a Sky High cost of living (coast of living). Without changing the latitude, as you move toward the interior of Florida the cost of living declines sharply. It's most reasonable along what is called the "Lake Wales Ridge". The Lake Wales Ridge runs from Clermont (NW of Orlando) south along US-27 to Venus near Lake Okeechobee. I don't say that because I live on Lake Wales Ridge, in reverse order, it's one reason why I do. To boot, you're away from the full brunt of hurricanes and you're in the thick of the nation's best bass and saltwater angling (psst...no state income tax). [ BTW: If you live in Panama City it's Lake Jackson and Deer Point Lake ] Roger

Reviving a bass and puncturing the swim bladder are two separate techniques for two different purposes (you may have to do both). We revive a fish to increase the oxygen level in his blood. We perforate the swim bladder to reduce the fish's buoyancy so he may return to his original depth. Roger

I'm thankful and appreciative of your service and we'll be here when you return. Best of Luck Soldier Roger

My bass fishing exposure does not include western United States, but I've fished extensively for bass in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, New Jersey, New York and Ontario. With respect to bass fishing ACTION, the lineup of waters from personal experience would go something like this (Ex-Canada): ACTION WATERS No. 1: Florida Everglades, L-67A & L-35B (During falling water in spring) No. 2: Thousand Islands, St Lawrence River, NY (Alexandria Bay & Clayton) No. 3: Lake Champlain, NY (Largemouth & Smallmouth bass) No. 4: St Johns River, FL (Lake Monroe to Lake George) No. 5: Lake Hartwell, GA (15 years ago) ================================================================= A list of lakes that regularly yield 9-pound bass (trophy-class) would be staggering and impossible to rank. Moreover the hurricane trio of 2004 (Charley, Frances & Jeanne), has temporarily reshuffled Florida's hierarchy of trophy lakes. In my opinion, the waters listed below are among the best bets for boating a trophy bass (9+), in ballpark order. TROPHY WATERS (9 lbs+) > Lake Walk-In-Water, FL (Lake Weohyakapka) > Stick Marsh/Farm-13, FL > Lake Istokpoga, FL > Santee Cooper, SC (Marion not Moultrie) > Lake Kissimmee, FL > Guntersville Lake, AL ========================================================== If we agree that any bass over 12 pounds is record-class, the list below is how I'd rank the top three "record-class" waters in the east: RECORD-CLASS WATERS (Over 12 lbs) No. 1: St Johns River, FL (Tocoi to Green Cove Springs) No. 2: Rodman Reservoir, FL (Eastern stump fields) No. 3: West Lake Tohopekaliga (aka: Lake Toho) Fallen from grace are Withlacoochee River, Lake Rousseau, Lake Lochloosa & Orange Lake If bass lakes to the west were included, Lake Fork, TX would certainly be on the list Roger