RoLo

You've listed 4 of my favorite rod brands on your candidate list, something I very rarely see. I have a strong suspicion that you'll select the correct blank for you Roger

I wasn't quite sure what Raul meant when he said:"Dillo on the half-shell" NOW I get it. Allow me to provide the Don Julio

Hard To Say...look like terrible batting averages to me

The Culprit 'red shad' pictured above is all I've seen for the past 50 years.

I don't recall any instance when I wasn't carrying a valid resident or nonresident fishing license. In fact, I sometimes hope that someone would ask me to produce my fishing license, but it's yet to happen. So in theory at least, I could've fished in FL, GA, SC, TN, NJ, PA, NY, WS, MI, Ontario & Quebec without ever buying one fishing license On the other hand, I've been asked for my boat registration a number of times, my boat numbers have been run, and my safety equipment has been requested on many occasions, but no one ever asked to see my fishing license. Roger

Oddly enough, no one has heard anything from the float-tube salesmen

It's a shame, because when we first moved to Florida (1998) the state was infested with armadillos. We seen armadillos virtually everyday, shortly before dark, but I haven't seen a live one in years (roadkills, yes) They love to excavate under homes, so those in developed areas were ambitiously exterminated, and those living in our wooded areas are an easy meal for cougars & coyotes. Roger

It might sound unusual, but the first thing I normally do is subtract 10 to 12 years from the peak or banner year, which represents the mean age of trophy-class bass. For instance, Dale Hollow Reservoir is the home of the world-record smallmouth bass. Dam construction was started in 1942, and Dale Hollow was declared a new impoundment in 1943 (took a year to form a substantial shoreline). Then in 1955, (12 years later), David Hayes harvested the new world record smallmouth bass, a world-record that stands to date. By the same token, the trophy-class bass landed in Toledo Bend during 2016 were most likely born between 2004 and 2006 (When many of us joined Bass Resource). The lion's share of bass do not reach their 8th birthday, while an infinitesimal percentage may live longer than 12 years, but don't count on it. In overview, the 2004 to 2006 period may have been punctuated by high water levels in the Big-T, which would maximize the number of trophy bass in those year-classes (That's the 1st half of the equation). On the flipside of the equation are the high-water levels during year 2016. Biologists maintain that every female bass does not spawn every year, but the greater the area of protected bedding flats, the greater the number of bedding bass (plausible to me) That being the case, high water levels during 2016 may have attracted a higher percentage of spawning females than usual. A higher number of spawning females would translate to more productive blind-fishing for pre-spawn trophies and more productive sight-fishing during the spawn. Roger

I didn't get into specifics, but Tom filled in most of the blanks. I'd say the major difference in old & new motors is 'carburetion' versus 'injection' (both fuel & lubrication) Back in the day, I used a Gas-to-Oil mixture of 20:1 and that's a LOT of oil. Today of course, the ratio is variable depending on need (might only be 1000 to 1). Then there's the difference between breaker points vs. electronic ignition, and generators vs. alternators and so on ~ ~ ~ ~ Roger

I'm chewing right now, and can't talk with a mouthful All joking aside, armadillos have been in a steep decline in central Florida. I'm not aware of anyone who eats them other than cougars (Florida panthers). In fact, our panthers are being held responsible for the armadillo's disappearance, but I doubt it. A local taxidermist is now paying people for road-killed armadillos in mid-Florida (I'm serious) Roger

The outboard motors of the 60s and 70s do not hold a candle to the outboard engines of today. Not surprisingly, the cost of vintage motors is commensurately lower than the price of today's engines. It's no different than comparing the cars from the 60s and 70s to the cars and prices of today. During the 60s & 70s I loved every outboard motor I owned, but today I wouldn't touch them with a 10-ft pole. Roger

The Swamp Cowboys of the Florida Glades are a wild bunch. They refer to boots as "moccasins" (water moccasins) and gather round for 'Armadillo Burgers' (inland lobster)

Depending on your goal, could also be 7 of one, and 5 of the other.

Fortunately a small child wasn't climbing that stairwell? Of course the 'Nutcase Zone' was obviously cordoned off

The angler who abandons the Texas-rigged worm, will be strongly encouraged to compete in local bass tournaments

UNDERTHINKING is riskier than Overthinking. As we all know, fluorocarbon line is denser than polyethylene, nylon & copolymer line. That's a fact that's been done to death, but the thinking doesn't stop there. Density struts its stuff "only" when the fishing line is hovering motionlessly in the water. As soon as you move your line forward in the water (cranking, trolling, drifting), 'line density' falls through the cracks and 'line diameter' moves center stage. Ask any accomplished troller which line material he uses to attain maximal depth, and "braid" will invariably get the nod, a line with smaller diameter & lower water-resistance. Roger

Wear ear plugs

Good Read Kyle! That sums it up Roger

Braid For Jigs? HUMPH, I'll have to try that

No, but a stainless steel skeg IS a good idea I just recently replaced my aluminum skeg with a stainless skeg to protect my stainless prop. Roger

During a single retrieve your spinnerbait may be riding in "deep shade" under a dock then running over a weedbed in "full sun". So regardless of conditions, I just keep it simple by throwing 'gold' spinners, which is a middle-of-the-road color. In the same vein, I prefer Indiana blades which are also middle-of-the-road (between Colorado & willow-leaf). Roger

Most of my bass fishing was done in north Jersey, but I often fished Union Lake and Menantico. I've done a great deal of fishing for chain pickerel in Wading River, Mullica River and Chatsworth Lake. Inspired by the fact that Jersey held 2 former world-records for Chain Pickerel (Green Pond & Lower Aetna Lake) We'd often vacation in the Cape May Canal, then depending on the wind, it was either Bluefish in the Atlantic ocean or Weakfish in Delaware Bay. If you have any questions Cy, drop me a PM Roger

Now post your animated avatar Russ, and it'll feel like 2005

It takes quite awhile to become proficient at a computer language, but once you know how to code, there isn't much you cannot do on your own. If graphics are involved, you might also want to learn Visual Basic (it all takes time). Roger

An application generally consists of several programs. Do you know any coding language such as C++ or Java? Roger