desmobob

I like to find a big patch of mature oaks and sit down in the midst of them with a Thompson/Center Contender pistol with a scoped 10" .22LR match barrel. After you sit motionless for 15 minutes or so, they'll start appearing everywhere. A squirrel-skinning gambrel makes it a lot easier to skin them without getting hair on the meat. And a good parboil changes the meat from being like rubber to being like... slightly softer rubber. ;-) The other guys are right: rabbits are MUCH better! Tight lines, Bob

Steve's right... it's very easy to do. You can buy whatever hackle colors you like and don't need any special tools (assuming you have a pair of ViseGrips at home). Just be sure to buy feathers sold for fly tying. You might find some very inexpensive hackle at a craft store, but the odds are the dye is probably not waterproof. A small package each of black and white hackle will probably cost you less than ten bucks and will dress a LOT of trebles! Tight lines, Bob

I got both of mine for $92 each on the big auction site last spring. It's a good place to look for reel bargains... I just bought another new Lew's Tournament Pro (left hand retrieve, 7.1:1) for $139, shipped. Tight lines, Bob

Congratulations! The Johnson 9.9 has an almost legendary reputation around my parts. And Alumacraft makes a nice boat. Sounds like you got a GREAT deal. I hope you have lots of fun with it! Be safe, Bob

All of the above, with the emphasis on research. I'd hate to spend a bunch of money on a lure that wasn't proven to be effective. Just know that buying something like one single Megabass bait will invariably lead to more. And more. Once you see the action of a Vision 110, you'll want to try another type of Megabass bait. Then, once you see the molding detail/shape/finish of an XPod, you'll want to get a few more in different finishes, and then maybe try a PopMax or PopX. And on it goes.... ;-) Tight lines, Bob

+1 I rank northerns up there with walleye, though I rarely take home fish (other than some crappies now and then and panfish during ice fishing season). I have a couple of fishing buddies who prefer northerns to walleyes for eating. I don't know anyone who likes to eat smallmouths or largemouths.... Tight lines, Bob

I have my most consistent frog action at dawn and dusk. I always start an early fishing day in the summer throwing a frog. Tight lines, Bob

I have two or three Shimano Sedonas, which I like, but are feeling a little "loose" after a season of hard use. So this spring, I bought a Symetre. I have an older Aero Symetre which has been an outstanding reel. Well, after less than a season, my new Symetre is getting stuck or hung up when I pause a retrieve. I'm sure it will be an easy fix, but it made me wonder about the quality... I'll be trying one of the highly-regarded Pfluegers next. Tight lines, Bob

I don't think "soft mouth" is the trouble... I use heavy braid and a 7'6" Heavy action rod for frogs. I reel down until I feel pressure, then set hard and don't let up for an instant; rod high and cranking hard on the reel, like it's a race or something. I use the cheap, regular Scum Frogs. I find that the double hook most often ends up in the roof the bass' mouth, so I make sure I set the hook hard enough to be able to get that big ol' no-name double hook sunk in past the barbs. Like lecisnith, I went three for four on frog fishing this morning. I also had two bass that exploded on the frog, but missed it completely, like matrix mentioned. You just have to accept the fact that some of them are going to get off... it's part of the deal. It's worth all the excitement! Tight lines, Bob

One of the bass fishing books I have has the results of that study and I remember being amazed to see that the craw with no legs, claws or antennae out-fished the other crawfish imitations, and by a good margin. And I'm still probably the only guy on the planet who hasn't tried the Ned Rig. BUT... the heads and worms came in yesterday, so I'm ready to try it! Tight lines, Bob

I have two of them (I got in on an excellent Kistler deal last year: buy a KLX and get a Carbon Steel for free!). I think they are an excellent rods. I have the 7'6" Heavy "All Day Power Tool" and the 7' Med.Heavy "Worm-Jig-Carolina Rig" rods. I have fished them heavily for almost two seasons and have no complaints at all. Tight lines, Bob

A fishing buddy and I did a comparison test one afternoon. I fished my usual Yamamoto Senko and he fished another brand (I don't recall what it was, but I know it wasn't the Bass Pro product). We both agreed that the Senko seemed more effective. Tight lines, Bob

I really love the Megabass PopX and PopMax. I really don't know if they work much better than a plain ol' PopR, but I can cast them easier.... Tight lines, Bob

I yanked the plug on television in 1995... 20 years TV-free this October! Tight lines, Bob

I carry five rigged rods on the deck and I usually use all of them in the course of a day. BUT... I tend to get hung up on one presentation or another and fish it 90% of the time. Last year, I fished mostly jigs and Senkos. This season, I seem to be hung up on a lightly-weighted, T-rigged Havoc Pit Boss or Missile D-Bomb. But I always start out the early morning hours throwing topwater stuff. And there are a few places that I just HAVE to throw a wacky-rigged Senko. I was just thinking to myself today that I need to change things up more often when fishing is slow... I don't know why I don't. Tight lines, Bob

I'm right-handed and use reels with the crank on the left. I never palm the reel. Tight lines, Bob

+1 I have a St.Criox rod with a full cork grip and it floats well with a Lew's Tournament Pro reel on it spooled with braid. I think it's MUCH safer to use a floating rod than a tether. If the stuff hits the fan, you don't want line and cord to get tangled in! I have a fully-serrated Spyderco Pacific Salt knife clipped into a pocket of the paddling PFD I wear whenever I'm in the kayak. Getting tangled in something on your own 'yak can turn a minor incident into a very serious situation.... Tight lines, Bob

Very sad, indeed. It's easy to point fingers, but I can think of PLENTY of times when I've done careless/dangerous stuff and have been lucky enough to get away with it. These kinds of incidents are heartbreaking, but a valuable safety lesson for all of us. Prayers to all involved and hopes that we all will remember to be safe. Tight lines, Bob

I've come close to ordering one a few times. I think the thing that holds me back is the thought of closing up my tackle box at the end of the night, knowing I just laid down a whopper plopper inside it.... Maybe a name change would be helpful! Tight lines, Bob

I have one of those... the smaller size with a single blade. I have a couple of the old in-line baits they made, too. One is pretty large with a distinctly "catfish-looking" rigged ribber minnow on it. It was one of the "Giant Killer" baits they made for pike. When I was a young spin fisherman growing up on Lake George in NY about forty years ago, the Mepps in-line spinners were one of my favorites (along with the Eppinger Daredevil spoons and the old Heddon hard baits). I still have a ton of Mepps stuff in my ultralight tackle boxes. Tight lines, Bob

When I fish, I like to be on the lake before daylight and I almost always fish all day; sometimes until after dark. No one I know likes to fish that long... I fish alone 95% of the time. Sometimes I go back to the dock to pick up a friend's 10-year-old girl to fish part of the day. Tight lines, Bob

Where on the lake will you be staying? Your best be may be to get up north as far as you can to escape the boat traffic on the busy southern basin. The smallmouth fishing is everywhere, as the lake has a rocky shore and is full of islands with rocky shores. There are also plenty of rocky mid-lake shoals. :-) You could hardly go wrong fishing the deep drops off the windward side of islands with lots of broken rock bottom. Enjoy your stay there... it's a beautiful body of water surrounded by beautiful scenery. I used to live on the lake years ago, and still spend almost every weekend there (when I'm not fishing). Tight lines, Bob

Hmmm... on a Mercury engine? I think that should be "inHg" instead of PSI... ;-) I think you're really looking for the foot-pounds of torque to tighten the prop to. I think the standard Mercury spec is 55 foot-pounds, but I'm not positive. Tight lines, Bob

I saw the bowfin of a lifetime in Lake Champlain last weekend. For one thing, it was big, and for another, it was melanistic (totally black!). It was cruising slowly over the grass bed I was fishing. It was traveling at about the same speed I was drifting so I was able to get my lure in front of it several times. It was not the least bit interested in the T-rigged Havoc Pit Boss I had on. I wanted to catch it so badly! :-( Tight lines, Bob

Learning the FG is on my list of things to do this winter. I'm very happy with the Alberto knot, but it does eventually get beat up by the guides. The FG looks like it would be a lot more resistant to that. Tight lines, Bob