RoLo

You make a valid point: I made light of this query on my 1st pass, because no one makes a decision they don't personally support. Differently put: Who's going to ask you: "What made you stop here, it's just a waste of good time?" Who's going to tell you: "After you left, there was a big feeding frenzy?". Roger

Tom: There are 2 hard facts we both must accept: 1) Just yesterday, we were the youngsters among elders (Sometimes I STILL feel like that) 2) Today, our hourglass is very full at the bottom, but very small at the top (I'll NEVER get used to that). Roger

Yes Paul, we probably covered everything...as we know it Guys, I believe Fish Chris turned to other aspirations, but I'm still in the dark about LightinRod, Hootie, & Lund Explorer. I trust that "Rhino", the ole lobsterman is still kicking butt. Roger

Whenever I retrieve my boat, that's generally a good time to be launching ?

With respect to trophy-class bass, my most fruitful lure has been a soft swimbait (Gambler Big EZ, Keitech ~ ~ ~). Confidence and success are inseparable, so it naturally follows that I fish them more than other lures. On the other hand, my wife (who typically outfishes me), has landed most of her trophy bass on a skirt-jig & craw. If it were just a numbers game, I'd go with a T-rigged plastic worm. Roger

Deps 6" Deathadder Grub Roger

Being located in central Florida, I'm limited to the cantankerous Florida-strain bass. The parameters you provided point me more to smallmouth bass: > Keitech 3.8” Fat Swing | Gamakatsu 3/8 oz Round Jighead | 3/0 hook Roger

Back in the 70s & 80s, I often used a snell knot for saltwater fishing (Tied 'ALL' my own rigs). Since that time however, I don't see myself tying anymore snell knots (Been there, done that). Roger

DO YOU BOIL YOUR MONOFILAMENT LINE? Nah, I replaced it with braided polyethylene. Roger

If you don't remember Patti Page, Joni James, Jackie Wilson and Roy Orbison, you probably don't remember Little Richard. Though he was never a favorite of mine, Little Richard was a sign of the times, a free spirit who took more chances than your average bear. Roger

Owing to territorialism, bass beds are rarely less than 20 feet apart. In addition, carp frequently enter water so shallow that their dorsal fin may break the surface. Nutria and carp both prefer sedentary water, which I envision this pond to be. I'd be remiss not to add, I've been fooled by carp more than once ? Roger

Depending on the cover, I normally use 50-lb braid, but will often use 30-lb braid. As for 65-lb braid, almost never. Roger

I rarely know what the best producer is going to be, but you're asking a fair question. In June & July, I'll spend a lot of time throwing T-rigged worms, like the Power Worm and Cut-R. Roger

I start my leaders around 6 feet long (very rarely use a leader). This gives me ample retie lineage, and keeps the leader-knot out of the reel-spool. Roger

You are correct. When Creme worms hit the market, any color was good as long as it was 'purple' (1950s). The color 'pumpkin' is essentially brown, and the color 'pumpkinseed' is basically brown with black flakes. However, once they added green to pumpkin and branded it 'green pumpkin', the fishing world turned its back on pumpkin. The color pumpkinseed (one of my favorites) is just as good today as it ever was. Nonetheless, the lure manufacturers are telling us that other colors are better sellers (they never consult with the fish). Roger

When on the water, I tend to forget all about food until I'm overwhelmed by hunger pangs. My wife packs the lunch, and I always tell her that she brings too much. My usual mid-afternoon snack is a hard-boiled egg, PBJ sandwich or chicken leg. That will hold me until dinner time, when I'll make up for any shortfall. Roger

'Time-Of-Day' is largely influenced by the availability of prey, but is also influenced by underwater visibility. On balance, the eyesight of bass is superior to most baitfish. Not surprisingly, mainstream bass tend to exploit their advantage by feeding during twilight (1st & last hour of light). In contrast, belly-sagging lunkers are noted for exploiting the midday sun, which enhances their ability to ambush prey. Roger

There's something about that girl I like Roger

Kalin 5.0" Lunker Grub - smoke hologram Strike King 3½” Coffee Tube - green pumpkin Roger

That brought me to tears Roger

As Tom mentioned, air temperature is important only inasmuch as it impacts water temperature. Going further, the 'trend' of water temperature is at least as important as the numeric value. Roger

Many moons ago, I calculated the average weight of all state record smallies in the United States (all states that posted a smallmouth record). This was done many years ago, so I added: “pre-goby, perhaps” to justify the timeframe. In any case, a 7-pound smallmouth bass is a world-class fish, it’s a fish of a lifetime! Catching ‘three’ 7-lb smallies in one lifetime is nothing short of surrealistic! Roger

Charlie Brewer was my introduction to the “do-nothing” delivery (late 60s/early 70s). I still have many of his jigheads and many of Charlie’s grubs, which are made of neutrally buoyant plastic that I really like. I also have the book he published in 1978, called “Charlie Brewer on Slider Fishin”, the foreword was written by Ray Scott. Roger

Strike King 1.5 Silent Squarebill (NOT the ‘shallow’, ‘deep’ nor ‘magnum’ version) WHY? > It's a clumsy squarebill that bumps stuff > In mid-Florida, the predominant species is Florida-strain bass, where a 3-6 ft diver covers most bases > Small plugs tend to trigger more strikes (the 1.5 size is 2¼” long) Roger

WHO CARES ABOUT THE POPULAR VOTE I don’t believe that you nor the other fellow were 'out-of-line', but it's obvious that you share different opinions. The other fellow places more emphasis on informing fellow anglers than he places on sheltering a vulnerable waterbody (I plead guilty). Be that as it may, I don’t view this as the difference between Right & Wrong, but simply a difference in personal opinion. Now then...will interjecting your own personal opinion make any difference? Probably not. Roger