RoLo

My dropshot hook is the Gamakatsu Drop/Split Shot Hook My baseline hook size is #1, but I go to #2 for thin baits and 1/0 for fatter baits. Roger

Though I never play music on my boat, that's not because I don't love music. It's just that I'd rather hear a feeding bass break the surface and listen to the sounds of nature (A place for everything, and everything in its place). It was our generation who launched Rock-N-Roll, who propelled Elvis to stardom, who initialized Funk, Doo-Wap and later Punk Rock from England. We used to attend 'all-night' discotheques, an event quashed by today's DUI laws. Though I played drums in a band, I decided not to go to Woodstock with my friends. Generation Gap? Roger

Thanks Tom. That's quite different from what I envisioned, but I like the concept Roger

Tom, when you say 'Slip Shot' rig, are you clinching a row of split-shot to a dead-end line? Reason I ask, in the 1970s I devised a rig for perch fishing in rocks and reefs. I called it a "Slip-Shot" rig because the split-shot was sacrificial, when the shot got fouled it slipped off the tag-end. Also, what lure are you using? Roger

It was around that time when I first heard that as well. Above all else, it enlightens us to the remarkable adaptation of the black basses

I do indeed. Not only for your military service, but also your angling exploits.

In all honesty, I've never gave the Alabama Rig a fair shake in sweetwater. In saltwater though, I must say that the umbrella rig is pure poison for bluefish and bonito and for better trollers than me, striped bass too. Sorry for changing water salinity

For every bedding bass you find in 40-ft of water, you'll find 'multitudes' of bass spawning in 3 ft of water. The angler who accommodates extreme depths is obligated to monitor the "1 to 40-ft" depth zone. But the angler who plays the odds, will focus his game plan only on the high percentage depth zone. Roger

For anyone in search of a highly informative book regarding Smallmouth Bass, I strongly recommend: "Smallmouth Bass an In-Fisherman Handbook of Strategies" It's a repository of bronzeback data published by Al & Ron Lindner, Doug Stange, Dan Sura, Bob Ripley, Dave Csanda & Larry Dahlberg (it rocks the boat). Roger

I would begin by isolating the broadest shallow bedding flats on the waterbody with the greatest area, Additionally, pinpoint every manmade canal and natural creek (that would put you way ahead of the curve) Lastly, you'd need to evaluate bottom hardness, as muck and mire are unsupportive of spawning. Roger

If you're willing to drive to the lowest stretches of Ontario, you might well consider driving to higher reaches. Then we can talk turkey

We're still using those lures that hook 'one' fish at a time But maybe I should take the 'A-jay' recommendation and throw an 'A-rig'?

They had better be made of "genuine" cobra skin, because they're over a month late!

I dare say, Fishnkamp summed it up Roger

In the Thousand Islands in Ontario, I've often watched a group of smallies follow the lure to the boat, then congregate in the shadow of my hull (very frustrating). On another vacation in Parry Sound, Ontario, I often seen a school of bass follow my lure to the boat, but when the pod dispersed some of the bass remained in the shade of my boat. I realize that bass in gin-clear water are supposed to be ultra-spooky, but these renegades never read the guidebook. In any case, I seriously doubt that smallmouth know or care about the color of our hulls. Roger

Wow, that redear alone would make me happy Congratulations Paul on that 7-12 bass, she's a lunker! Roger

I'll generally include a punch skirt under two conditions: > When I'm looking to increase lure bulk > When I intend to deadstick the bait on bottom I only buy 'Skinny Bear' rubber punch skirts Roger

Looks like something you'd find in a drain trap. Although it has all the charm of a coat-hanger, I don't think it'll be too popular with guys concerned about the visibility of braid

I cannot get excited about 'invisible line', not until they invent 'invisible swivels', 'invisible weedguards', 'invisible rattleboxes', and oh yeah, invisible 'treble hooks'

You said a mouthful, Darren! If someone feels compelled to interject manmade noise into the natural music of the outdoors, that's their prerogative, but please don't abort my rapport with the beauty of Mother Nature, she plays a large role in my being there. Roger

I say this with the best of intentions: Turn that nonsense OFF, and you'll never again miss the unmistakable sound of a feeding bass breaking the surface, a suicidal bass that's the easiest fish in the lake to catch Roger

Call me loony, but the poignant cry of loons (and white-throated sparrows) takes me back to my native northland. Not the least of which are the wall-hangers boated by A-Jay Roger

Based on its unequaled success percentage, this is apparently the most sought-after forage in Florida: => http://rolo-1.com/Prey.jpg Roger

Food For Thought: Braid has a specific gravity of 0.97, in other words, braid weighs only 3% less than water. As a result, its more accurate to think of braid as neutrally buoyant line, rather than high-floating line. When you combine neutrally buoyant line with a very thin diameter, you've got a line that cuts through water just as it cuts through weeds. When a lure is allowed to freefall to the bottom, a lure tied to fluorocarbon will make bottom contact slightly ahead of a lure tied to braid. On the other hand, as soon as you move the lure forward, water-resistance supersedes the influence of specific gravity. When a lure is retrieved or trolled, the lure tied to polyethylene braid is going to run deeper than the same lure tied to fluorocarbon. This is due to the water-resistance generated by fluorocarbon's obese diameter, which handily overrides any difference in specific gravity. Roger

Thread a 5" Kalin Grub on a 1/2 oz Johnson Weedless Spoon. Cast the spoon into the best cover, then keep it coming steadily back to the boat with a moderately fast retrieve. If vegetation knocks your spoon around into an erratic, unpredictable path, your retrieve speed is correct. Roger