RoLo

You can fish with a cane pole without any reel, but it would be mighty cumbersome to fish with a reel without any rod. In the crudest sense, the rod is the workhorse, and the reel is a line rack. Roger

Although the material was introduced as 'Cyberflexxx', it was simultaneously referred to as Cyberflexxx & Elaztech. Strike King who came first capitalized the "T" in ElazTech, while Z-man who came much later, capitalized the "Z" in ElaZtech. (Does anyone wonder why?) Meanwhile, the trade name "CyberfleXXX" (3x) had been lost in the shuffle, and during their power struggle, Z-man referred to Elaztech as 10x.

'True' floating worms can be quite elusive. For instance, the 'Zoom Trick Worm' was advertised for years as a floating worm but sinks without a hook. For reasons unbeknown to me, most of the true high-floating worms have gone belly-up! The highest floating worm in my experience was the "Strike King 3x Super Floating Worm". Sadly, that worm is no longer available, not even on Amazon. Hand-poured worms are generally neutrally buoyant, but the Roboworm tends to sink. If a Roboworm floats, rub off the bubblets and down she goes True Floating Worms That bit-the-dust (there are many more): > Strike King 3x Super Floating Worm > Owner 6½ “ Shaky Worm (may still be found on Amazon) > Big Bite Squirrel Tail (may still be found on Amazon) > Gambler Big Stick (gone) > Gambler Giggy Stick (gone) True Floating Worms Still Available Today: > Strike King 7" ElazTech Finesse Worm (As you can see, 3x comes from Cyberflexxx) > Strike King 4" ElazTech Finesse Worm > Z-Man Stuff (also made of Elaztech the same as Strike King) > Gambler 7” Floating Worm (grossly overlooked by anglers, which means it'll be next to bite-the-dust) Roger

I've never had the opportunity to target snakeheads, but bowfin are a super game fish, and more powerful than a largemouth bass of equal weight. Roger

That's a question that only you can answer, and I believe you already have. Roger

There's a better than even chance that the problem is behind you

I would put away the Q-tip and focus on my knot-tying.

Man-O-Man, you ARE ready!! The only thing I didn't see was a Jackall Crosstail Shad Roger

If your medium power rod has an extra-fast tip, you'll have no problem at all with hook-sets. With respect to jigheads, I prefer and often use the Owner ballhead jig. Roger

Good point. The shock generated by a fish thrashing in the atmosphere is far greater than a fish thrashing in the drink. I've had more than one terminal snap blowup from a fish thrashing in the boat, and even during water jumps Roger

I get a kick out of that empty old saw: "Let the fish tell you what they want". Quite naturally, if you're getting feedback from the fish you don't need anyone's help. On the other hand, when you cannot buy a bite, the fish are telling you NOTHING! Roger

The odds are that you'll never experience that again. Nevertheless, if you're really concerned about wire fracture, Terminator makes titanium wire spinnerbaits that will never crystallize (i.e work harden). Roger

I've owned over a dozen new boats, but if you're not my next-door neighbor you'd probably never know. As it happens, my next door neighbors doesn't fish

I'm not aware of any brand of oil or grease causing issues. As a result, the brand you're using is likely to become your favorite brand. The most significant variable is 'viscosity'. Roger

My search for the most accurate contour charts has taken me around Robin's barn a few times. This can only be done by comparing the highest quality charts from each cartographer. For several decades I ran Garmin sonar in both freshwater and saltwater, which I found to be the most user-friendly hardware (military contracts played the leading role). Although I was using Garmin hardware, I always ran Navionics software because their charts were clearly more accurate than Garmin's I was able to do this only because I held on to Garmin MapSource applet rather than upgrade to Garmin Basecamp. Though I still have the Garmin MapSource app, I no longer use Garmin hardware. After that I ran a Humminbird Onix for a couple years, but again loaded with a Navionics chip. I ultimately ditched the Humminbird Onix, which was an atrocious unit! I now run Navionics charts in a Navionics Elite Ti (touchscreen interface), it's the most satisfying sonar system I've ever owned. Are the charts precise? No, but no cartographer offers precise bathmetry, it's not even possible. Though I'm still waiting and hoping that some cartographer, any cartographer to offer chart accuracy that's superior to Navionics Plus with daily updates, it has yet to happen. Roger

Ditto

As it happens, I can't tell you one thing about the Whopper Slopper, except that I watched Dahlberg's show when he concocted it. I have a hunch that it's on 'both' our Buy Lists

SO, where are you & the bait monkey going to dine tonight? He had better pick-up the tab Roger

That's funny Darren, it's not my intention to encourage the bait-monkey, but have you tried the 'Whopper Slopper' yet? Roger

Tom, when reading your story I couldn't help but think of Jason Lucas. Among the many tidbits he shared, Jason suggested to always stop close to the launch ramp, and work the real estate that every other angler races past on his way to Eden. That was long before tournament fishing was initialized by Ray Scott in 1967. Today, we have yet another reason to stop close to the launch ramp. Today you can tap into bass released after every tournament, which tend to loiter close to the release site Roger

Absolutely true. Equally amazing are the many bass missed by the Ned Rig

When we allow words to lose their definition, we also lose our ability to communicate. Roger

VERY strange, reminds me of a 'stuffed olive'

The designated line-test range refers to nylon monofilament, whereas braided polyethylene is a whole other ballgame. The ideal line-test for performance depends on the goal you have in mind. If maximal casting distance is your goal then you'd opt for the light side of the designated range. If you want to tax the full flex range of a parabolic rod (heavy cover / big fish) than you would favor the high end. When there's no specific goal in mind, one rule of thumb adds the line-test limits then multiplies the sum by 0.66 Roger

Frankly, I don't think of a 1/4 oz jig as a finesse lure, which at the most would be 3/16 oz. Most jig trailers can be fished 'unweighted' in shallow water, which is the ultimate finesse delivery. Roger