RoLo

I agree with DVC, there's no acceptable reason for end-play in a new Curado

With respect to trolling rods, trolling reels and line-counters, you might consider giving Dwight Hottle a PM, he'd be more than willing to help. Roger

Exactly In addition to one less knot, I'd much rather fight a 12-pound bass on knotted braid than knotted fluorocarbon...but no one goes there. Roger

> When you want max 'sensitivity' at the cost of other features (e.g. finesse lures during non-crank intervals) > When you want quicker hook-set response at the cost of other features (e.g. jig fishing) > When you want quicker access to the blank's backbone (e.g. hauling bass out of heavy cover) Roger

I have a drawer dedicated to plastic lure bags, yet, half the time the bag I find is about 1/2" too short. Nonetheless, the ratio of kinked baits doesn't seem any higher than kinked baits right out of the bag. The situation in my tackle box is even worse, where I routinely pour loose plastic baits into compartments that are shorter than the baits. Of course, I'll discard a badly kinked bait, but that is very rarely the case (best not to sweat small stuff) Roger

Long story short, if you think of Sufix 832 as neutrally buoyant, you'd be doing yourself a favor. The lame buoyancy of braid is roughly on par with the lame sink rate of fluorocarbon. Roger

Why would a spawning bass that's cleaning house, decide that braided line is unworthy of housecleaning? For the record, I fish straight-braid all year round without any leader, but then again, I only target stupid bass with poor eyesight Roger

As WRB suggested, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I have used Tatsu fluorocarbon, and it is unquestionably high-grade fluoro (I'll endorse that statement). Problem is, I was already a devout proponent of braided line so my tolerance for 'line-stretch' was quashed! I kid you not when I say, before setting the hook with Tatsu fluorocarbon, I found myself taking a step backwards to compensate for line-stretch (not good) Roger

If you're concerned about the cost differential between commercial skirts and homemade skirts, you might also consider eliminating the skirt altogether. I often fish naked trailers, especially with swimjigs which are usually retrieved nonstop. Roger

Crooked guides end up in jail

Or just a dropped model (300 is already out there)

I'd be the last guy on earth to slam trolling, which comprised about 50% of my fishing on the Atlantic Ocean. I don't know when they were first introduced, but they were called "umbrella rigs" in the 1960s. The umbrella rig was the alpha dog off the Jersey coast, trolling for bluefish, striped bass & bonito. My first freshwater boat was a rowboat without a motor. Back then, I didn't have a solid understanding of fish location, when row-trolling frequently outperformed casting. Roger

Unfortunately, that's exactly right. Optima blue top used to be my brand of choice, but consolidation in the leyden jar industry ;-) has totally rearranged the hierarchy. Roger

Hootie, you are really banging them out I like that Siamese cat! Roger

It seems to me that the angling world has gotten a little carried away with line buoyancy. If you've ever fished with 'lead-core line' or 'monel line', then you know how a true sinking line behaves. Fluorocarbon is just a tad heavier than water, and just a couple of bubblets will keep it on the surface. Polyethylene braid is just a tad lighter than water, which is buoyed in large part by 'surface tension'. A couple grains of sand would break the surface tension and cause braid to sink. The small difference in specific gravity between fluoro and braid is only noticeable when both lines are immobile and hovering in the water. On the other hand, fluorocarbon is an obese line with a diameter that's twice as fat as braided polyethylene. As soon as both lines are moving forward in the water, the effect of 'water resistance' becomes a bigger player than buoyancy. Any lure-troller will tell you, when he's looking for maximum depth, he's trolling with braided line. Roger

The next time you get a Login panel, drag the URL icon onto your 'Bookmarks Toolbar'

Listen, I'm holding my knife and my fork. You guys can keep on talking, but I'm digging in Roger

'Shad' is just one family of baitfish that anglers collectively refer to as "minnows". From the anglers perspective, "minnows" include shad, shiners, chubs, smelt, dace, ciscoes, herring & so on Though every lake & river contains baitfish, the species involved will vary as to region and waterbody. Nevertheless, selecting a lure with a "fish-shaped" profile will accommodate all the minnows. With regard to color, even without the benefit of knowing the indigenous baitfish, you won't go far astray by adhering to hues like silver, blue & green. Roger

CHIRP is not two dimensional sonar, Chirp is 'multi-frequency' sonar. “HDI” (hybrid dual imaging) was the forerunner to Chirp, which was 2-dimensional sonar, but HDI is 'not' Chirp. Chirp sonar deploys a multi-dimensional range, whereas Non-Chirp sonar uses a fixed bandwidth. Why Multi-Frequency? Objects with a different hardness have different reflective values, therefore by deploying a range of frequencies you're able to optimize the return signal. That alone is what Chirp sonar is all about, there is no magic. In brief, CHIRP units produce more detail and separation than NON-CHIRP units. Low, Medium & High are bandwidth modes 'within' Chirp capability. The actual multi-frequency range of Low, Medium & High varies immensely from brand to brand, but the values below are a rough guide: “Low” Chirp: ~60 to 35 kHz “Medium Chirp: ~120 to 60 kHz “High Chirp” ~230 to 120 kHz Roger

I fully relate to your concerns, Al All I can offer is that 12 ft above sea-level is problematic in places, but I'm not aware of the cutoff point. I can only assume that 13.5 ft ASL would allow normal navigation, but this is hardly an area for guesstimates. Roger

Yes, Jeff Leonard & Betty Hartman were musky guides and a fabled husband & wife team out of Ogdensburg, NY At that same time, Arthur & Ruth Lawton were musky guides and a fabled husband & wife team out of Clayton, NJ. Both teams caught a horde of monster muskies on the Saint Lawrence River. Like the Hatfields and McCoys, both families feuded for many years on the St. Lawrence River, and the annual winner of the Field & Stream Contest shuttled back-and-forth between the dueling teams. Both husband & wife teams were indeed legendary musky anglers, but sadly both fell victim to the profit motive. Art Lawton allegedly boated a 69-lb 15-oz musky, later determined to be a forensic reject. Ruth Lawton allegedly boated a 68-lb 5-oz musky, later determined to be a forensic reject. Len Hartman allegedly boated a 67-lb 15-oz musky, which Len himself admitted to heavily weighting Roger

As I've mentioned in the past, I used Garmin hardware in conjunction with Navionics bathymetry for many, many years. I'm still able to do this using 'MapSource' software, which I still have, but is no longer available. I'm not aware of the accuracy of Garmin charts today, but if their anything like they used to be, the accuracy is laughable (horrific) As far as I'm concerned, the detail and accuracy of the bathymetry is everything to me. With regard to hardware, there are always walkarounds. I realize it can only exist in gingerbread land, but if it were possible to purchase charts with guaranteed accuracy, price would be no object Roger

Float & Fly is most popular in gin-clear lakes like Dale Hollow, TN but if you're not marking smallies, it can be very time-consuming.

Bluegill sunfish are pure joy on popper flies. Naturally, the largest gills I've caught were by-catches on lures meant for bass

Yes, I read that...incredible!