RoLo

With regard to summer thermoclines, be wary of anglers who don't discriminate between fish depth & water depth. That is to say, bass 20 ft deep may be suspended over 100 ft of water. Roger

Looking at your photo reminds me of a story told by Roland Martin. On a practice day before a tourney, Roland boated a bunch of good bass. That same evening he dined with Bill Dance, but was determined to keep his secret. After some verbal prodding, Bill Dance finally grabbed Roland by the hand, and said: “Uh-Huh, you’ve been handling a lot of fish today! Roger

My first fiberglass rods (i.e. Conolon) ran between 5½ & 6 ft long. When graphite blanks stole the show (Fenwick HMG), rod lengths ran around 6 to 6½ ft. The longer rods presented a learning curve for me, because they didn't stow as nicely in the truck bed, didn't fit as well in the boat, and were a nuisance bank-fishing, when toting them thru trees & brush. Today, rod lengths jumped an additional foot, which really doesn’t light my fire. The advantage of a long rod is ‘casting distance’, plus a longer ‘haul stroke’ in heavy cover. Ironically, when I got into standup fishing in saltwater, my rod lengths migrated back to the 5½ ft range, where power was essential. The so-called ‘stroker rods' take leverage away from the fish and give it to the angler. Now, when it comes to freshwater bass fishing, the angler is free to choose any rod length he personally prefers. Roger

In addition to murky water and turbulent water, there are 3 reliable sources of Low Light in summer: 1) Twilight (+ nighttime) 2) Shade (pads, weedbeds, docks ~) 3) Deep water (open water twilight) Roger

That reel looks like a Barnum & Bailey Crappie Supreme, but I didn't know that Hulk Hogan was a fisherman. Roger

Absolutely, you'll be fine.

About 5 years ago, my wife & I spent a week in September at Sturgeon Bay, WI for smallmouth bass. It was during a tournament, and before we arrived at Robinson's Cottages (Do avoid that place), we heard on the radio that some pro anglers came in with empty wells. That made it pretty clear that we were in for tough sledding. Our first night in town, we met Mark Menendez and Bernie Schultz at Woldts restaurant. Mark reaffirmed the tough conditions, and said that the only bass action he was able to find was in shallow water, and he placed his hand at knee height. It seems that a certain subset of smallmouth always cling to shallow water. Roger

We haven’t been out a lot this year, but can't complain about size, though nothing to write home about. Heck, a month from now, we’ll both be looking at another ballgame ? Roger

Casting Distance: 7.0 ft Accuracy: 6.6 ft Sensitivity: Modulus is normally the bigger player (modulus = $) Power: Shorter rod (Though many believe the opposite) Roger

During summertime in the Great Lakes, there seems to be 2 separate populations of smallmouth. Most will be in the 20-40 ft deep zone, but a smaller faction may be in knee-deep water (1-3 ft). Roger

Anglers generally agree to use a slow retrieve in cold water, but seem reluctant to endorse a fast retrieve in hot water. There are exceptions that prove every rule, but the exceptions don't erase the rule. Fishermen are warm-blooded animals that may be uncomfortable on a hot summer day, but that shouldn't cause a sympathetic reaction. Fish are cold-blooded animals, and given adequate dissolved oxygen, fish are comfortable in most any water temperature. On the other hand, water temps dictate the fish's metabolism and behavior (slower in cold water <> faster in hot water). Roger

Punching heavy vegetation rests chiefly on the lure, followed by the rod. I don't hold my reel responsible for punching, which is little more than an innocent bystander. Roger

No administration has yet been able to hold the feet of Big Pharmas to the fire. Until such time, we will continue to grovel in the sands of lower prices, in an industry founded on: 'Whatever the traffic will bear'. Roger

As much as I'd love to offer a solution, I have no experience with knotting braid on spinning gear. You could say, I'm pretty much where you were, when you were puzzled by your boy's line issues. That said, I'm probably next in line Roger

Over the years, I’ve owned '8' different brands of outboard motors. Somehow, I was able to sidestep Mariner and Force (Just dumb luck). By far, my worst experience with any outboard motor was a 115 Chrysler on an 21-ft Winner. Chrysler was the major force behind Force...so just maybe, 'Force' is really that bad. Roger

I agree with the consensus. Whooper Plopper: Hook-up ratio <|> Buzzbait: Weedless excursion Most of my surface time is spent in gnarly cover, so the buzzbait gets the nod. Not to mention the forgotten Johnson spoon (Humph, I guess mentioned it). Roger

The tube is a staple for smallmouth, but not my favorite for bigmouth. Brands I like most are the Yum Vibra King and Strike King Coffee Tube. Roger

If you asked me to name one bad plastic worm, I'd probably come up empty. To be sure, summertime is prime time for big plastic worms. Roger

FLAT BOTTOM = Stability at Rest <|> V-HULL = Stability Underway (that's all she wrote) A jon boat in the Atlantic Ocean, wouldn't last 30 minutes in a sharp chop. In a 14-ft Modified-V Starcraft, I ran up and down the oceanfront, and motored offshore until the Coast Guard ordered me to motor inshore. My vote is Alumacraft (Drove from Florida to Kansas last year, to pick up a Yamaha-powered Alumacraft) Roger

Lake Kissimmee is a 35,000-acre waterbody. This March a boat anchored about 25 ft away from our anchored craft. He wasn’t there a full minute, when I set the hook and landed a huge bowfin. That was disappointment number 2 (I thought I had a big bass). In my peripheral vision, I was watching the other guy watching me, and at one point, I actually heard him grunt when the fish splashed. After releasing my fish, I raised the Talon anchor and departed from the area, all without a single word exchanged. At my next waypoint, Lois and I had a good belly-laugh. It's more easily said than done, but it’s usually wise to look on the bright side (silver lining). You might have been dealing with novice anglers who trusted your ability to select a good fishing spot. In overview, you might be giving these human events more attention than they deserve Roger

Like any other commodity we purchase, there's no pat answer. I've been disappointed by expensive reels, and pleasantly surprised by cheap reels. Roger

'Shallow' refers to water depth, whereas inshore and offshore is another metric. That is to say, you may be fishing 'shallow' on an offshore shoal, or fishing 'deep' on a shoreline drop-off. On balance, fishing in a natural lake tends to be significantly shallower than fishing in a manmade reservoir. Roger

I used umbrella rigs in the ocean, long before they were rebranded Alabama Rigs in freshwater. You can troll an umbrella rig on the end of a 'coathanger,' but a predator is going to burn in on a single fish in the pod (What coathanger?). Roger

"Line-burrowing" is typically a 2-part process (fortunately it’s easily avoided) PART-1 The line is spooled too loosely on the reel > This can occur at home, when the line was initially spooled on the reel (inadequate line tension) > More commonly, it happens when retrieving a lure with twitches or pops that lay loose coils on the spool. > It can also occur when fishing a lightweight lure on a rod rated for heavier lures PART-2 Heavy pressure is then applied to loosely spooled line > Heavy pressure occurs during a powerful hook-set > Fishing with a ‘locked down’ drag is NG, because it takes the drag out of the equation. > The most extreme pressure occurs when the lure gets snagged, and the angler gets angry. Roger

SOCIETY TODAY Thank God, the hole is on their end! Roger