RoLo

I've missed bass with every hook-style made, but I blame myself for that, not any hook. I use them all, but my best hook-up ratio (and confidence) comes from a straight-shank rebarb hook. In addition, a bait rigged on a Mustad grip-pin hook stays put, as though it's been superglued. I've never seen that mentioned by Mustad, I think they're missing a big selling point. Roger

Vote 5 for 'Pad Crasher Jr.'

Your point is well made, and I agree. As a side note, there are in fact truckloads of anglers who do truly believe that a longer rod provides greater power than a shorter rod. But in this case the word "leverage" is simply semantics. Just as you indicated, the same hand motion is going to move the lure 'farther' and 'faster' with a longer rod. For this same reason, I prefer a shorter rod with jerkbaits in cold water, because a slack-line twitch will impart a rapid darting action without any help from the rod. On the other hand, a large league of anglers prefer a longer rod for hook setting, because they put more emphasis on speed than power (Homer Circle was an advocate of speed). Roger

Welcome aboard Jonny Under 50 degrees the buzzword is 'slow', and that certainly describes a stickworm, particularly a W-rigged stickworm Roger

Below are 4 popular worm hooks: Gamakatsu EWG 58 series (Standard wire for monofilament) Gamakatsu EWB 74 series (Heavy wire for braided line) Owner Wide-Gap Plus (Triangular point) Mustad Grip-Pin Flipping Hook (Rebarb - conical point) 3/0 is appropriate for both 7" & 10" Berkley Power Worms Roger

I think you'd be hard pressed to beat a 'jerkbait' (hard or soft). Shad have nothing to do with it, a prey fish is a prey fish. Roger

You're correct. I never even addressed bass mobility (bass scooting away from under the hull) which further convolutes the snapshot image implied by 'new water' vs. 'used water'.

As long as I've been fishing from a boat (forever), I still can't buy into the notion of "New Water" vs "Used Water". First off, it's always a good idea for anglers in the same boat to fish different lures and in different depth zones. Of course, when a certain lure or depth zone dominates the action, then all anglers should concentrate on that pattern. But even when all hands are working the same lure in the same depth zone, there are a still a host of variables that separate one angler from the next (NO, not color). For starters, suppose the 'new-water' angler retrieves his lure a smidgen outside the strike window, but the 'used-water' angler retrieves his lure right down-the-pipe. In heavy cover and in dingy water, we're only talking about inches folks. Suppose the 'new-water' angler retrieves his lure a tad too fast for the present mood of the bass, but the 'used-water' angler offers the same lure at the same depth, but uses a different speed or action. Even when all things are equal, who hasn't seen instances when the first cast seems to wake up a bass, and the second cast elicits an explosion? Among many of my stale jokes, I'll often say to my wife: "You're wasting your time, I already casted over there". If I got a dollar every time she rubbed that joke in my nose, I'd never have to pay another launch fee. Roger

For the past several years I have a casting outfit dedicated solely to the 'Gambler Big EZ' It would take at least 3 strong men to wrestle it away from me Please bear two thoughts in mind: (1) Most of our fishing is in dense spatterdock (Lily pads held above the water surface) (2) We're dealing solely with Florida-strain bass (Few or no intergrade-bass south of Ocala) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ROD: Dobyns Champion 705C (7'0" | Mag Heavy | Fast Action) REEL: Shimano Core 101MG (6.2:1 ratio | 6.1 oz | 101 = left-hand | MG = magnesium) LINE: 30-lb Braided Polyethylene (No leader of course) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ If I were still dealing with northern-strain bass, I would opt instead for a Dobyns Champion 704C Roger

Gosh, it looks like a Timber Doodle spoon joined to an old Strike King fluted spinner via an outdated looped-eye KOOL! Roger

As jbw stated, stop in every tackle shop and marina you find, they're generally happy to assist. When I first moved to Florida I did a great deal of bank fishing. We fished municipal retention ponds and private ponds after obtaining permission. Finding ponds is the easy part, for example, east of Sarasota in the direction of Myakka City you'll find a bounty of ponds and small lakes. Roger

Well actually, the longer the rod the more leverage you give to the 'fish', and take from the fisherman. Would you rather battle a 500-lb tuna with a 5-ft rod or 10-ft rod? The 'length' of a lever is only half the equation, the other half of leverage is the location of the 'fulcrum'. When we want to pry a heavy boulder from the ground, we find a long lever then place a rock fulcrum close to the boulder. When it comes to fishing-rods though, the fulcrum is on the angler's end of the lever, where increasing the length of the rod gives the fish more leverage and power. The only reason a short rod may SEEM less powerful than a long rod is because short rods are generally offered with a thinner blank and softer spine. So in order to get a true picture of 'length' as it applies to 'power', we need to compare different blank lengths of similar diameter & backbone. Roger

I should start by saying that 'Line Diameter' means a great deal to me. About 3 years ago, I decided to respool my reels with Seaguar Smackdown braid because of its remarkable 'break test' to 'line diameter' ratio. A couple vacations ago we went to Sturgeon Bay, WI for smallmouth and our spinning gear was spooled with Seaguar Smackdown. Last year we went to Lac Seul, Ontario for northern pike and our casting gear was spooled with Seaguar Smackdown. In retrospect though, I discovered that the line on all reels appeared to be longitudinally frayed, it''s hard to describe because I've never seen that before on braided line. At first it appeared like a build-up of surface coating, but on closer inspection it appeared like separation in the braid strands. Though I never nailed down the exact cause, I replaced the line on all reels with another brand of braid. Credit where credit is due: Seaguar Smackdown behaved very well, and there were no surprise break offs. Owing to its fine diameter, Smackdown had great casting distance, and despite its fine diameter, line-burrowing and luff-knots were never a problem. Roger

We really need a price range. Sonar units run the gamut from $300 to $3000 Roger

For your intents and purposes, I think you made some pretty sound decisions. I have to agree with MassBassin508 though, a quad-duty rod will involve a lot of retying, but that is your decision. I also agree with lmbfisherman, a shorter rod might make a better round-robin As you suggested, I'd go with a 704C over a 734C, but it's not an exact science. Roger

Welcome aboard John: Santee Cooper is a fine destination. Roger

Does it have to be a jon boat, or can it be an aluminum modified-V?

I agree with Scaleface. Finding a compression point or expansion point in contour lines is child's play. But oddly enough, there's a high percentage of anglers who simply do not believe that it really matters that much. Even seasoned anglers I've known are easily distracted by primary points, chart-labeled hotspots and eye-catching cover "above" the waterline (i.e. Step 2, before Step 1). In any new spot, I spend a great deal of time sounding the bottom with 3D sonar before ever wetting a line. My wife can attest to the boring waiting periods while her husband is making figure 8s & tossing buoys. Trust me when I say, once you have found a site that you deem structurally superior, you have already located a holding site whether you make contact or not (keep coming back). More times than I can recall, I've been able to foretell the event well in advance. Needless to say, "Cover" is next in command, but since cover is much easier to pinpoint than structure, it doesn't carry the same importance. As Becker once said: "Too many people know where I live". Roger

I too believed it might be an inferno, but before I retired in Florida I did a fairly extensive study on meteorology. What I learned above all, is that a 'maritime climate' exerts a greater effect on overall climate than 'latitude'. The first 49 years of my life were spent in New Jersey, where the highest temperature on record is 110 deg F. In North Dakota, a much higher latitude but more 'continental climate', the highest temp on record is 121 deg F. Florida is over 425 miles long, a coastal lineage that would take you from Rhode Island thru Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware into Virginia. The southernmost latitude in Florida is Key West, FL, but thanks to a 'maritime climate' (surrounded by water), the highest temperature ever recorded in Key West, FL is 102.9 deg F, and the rare days when Key West hit 100 degs can be counted on your fingers. (As an aside, the lowest temperature ever recorded in Key West, Florida was 41 deg F.) Roger

Oddly enough, I just had my driveway widened, my yard hard-scaped with river rock and my wildlife pond re-lined. I'm sure my mason & landscaper would agree (Jan & Bret) that they were working in an unusually pleasant climate. During the pasts 6 months, central Florida has been immersed in Hawaiian-like climate (we do need rain however). Now then, the following 6 months are up for grabs, but Florida is not the inferno that some may envision Roger

Rod length is a relative value. When I fished bluewater off the Jersey coast, 6-feet was a long rod (5 to 6-ft was standard). Never forget, the greatest power comes from the closest thing to "handlining", NOT from a fly-rod. In a pond, a 6-ft rod offers decent casting distance and more than ample power to handle the pond matriarch. Roger

Speaking of which, how little are you willing to take for your "Ardent Champions"? I know some neophytes willing to take them off your hands (Kid'n of course, Raul is the King of esoteric reels) Roger

In the grand scheme of things, the anglers and the tours simply "follow-the-money" (Where is ESPN?). During the Jay Yelas era, the paradigm shift was from BASS to FLW, but now we're witnessing a trend reversal. Many things enter into the financial matrix, it begins with the 'payout' (bottom line), but also includes the 'field of competition', 'qualification', 'off-limit periods' and of late 'hostile scheduling'. It now appears like a food fight to the death, and that being the case there will only be one survivor. Roger

"You Know Spring Is Coming" Are you SURE? Hard to tell in Florida

I fished a red & white Crazy Crawler when I was a kid, the pike loved it, but my luck with bass was lackluster. Roger