Joel W

under 12 inches and or less then 1 lb.

Glenn, just outstanding. About as close to a professional effort as one can get. Great questions and great answers. Between your interview and Ike's City Limit show, I'm becoming a real fan of the guy. BTW, I couldn't view it using Firefox but as soon as I opened up the window with internet explorer, it worked perfectly.

Just a heads up. I've mentioned many times that I fish the NYC reservoir system, and under their rules it's rowboats only. The fishing is great, but it can be a real physical challenge. Anyone interested in seeing it 1st hand, just watch Roland Martin this week as he's doing a show on The Croton Reservoir with Marty, who is a fishing buddy of mine.

I've even modified my Berkley spooling station after finding this picture from a Google search. I had high hopes for this, but it didn't work either. The line just unspools on its own from the spool once you start to turn the reels crank handle. I'm assuming that the handle on the line spool is to keep tension on the spool but it was impossible to maintain.

I usually follow the rule of white or neutral colors for clear water. For stained water I go with Chartreuse.

I've been using the Berkley spooling station for a few year now. It's fine for baitcasters, but does a horrible job with spinning reels. You can supposedly turn the spool holder sideways and then spool your spinning reels with both spools being parallel. Unfortunately, it doesn't work as the line just comes off the spool due to lack of tension.

Fishing after a front moves through especially in the spring from shore can be a real tough nut to crack. Fish generally move deeper to the 1st break and tend to stay real tight to cover, where the drop in temps don't have as much effect on the water temps as it does closer to the shore. Reaching these areas from shore can be next to impossible, or even finding them. Try casting a 3/8-1/2 jig which is really compact and will cast further and last a lot longer then a wt'd plastic bait. Work it back to shore very slowly with a stop & go presentation. And don't forget to move the jig with a side arm movement of your rod, not with the reel. You wan to keep the jig on the bottom, and hopefully bouncing right into the cover where the Bass moved to.

While I don't smoke (haven't had a cigarette in 14 years), I've fished with many a fisherman who chains smokes and they have no trouble putting quality Bass in the boat. Personally, I don't think the Bass give a d**n one way or the other. Guys use WD-40, and now there is even coffee tubes being touted as the next hot fad. The bottom line is put your lure in the right place, at the right time, and you'll hook up.

I've seen a few episodes of City Limits, and I really like it. Iconelli still shows the same passion as he does while tx fishing, but it just seems more personal as he mixes up the shouting with laughter, and plenty of insights as to how he's putting together a working pattern.

Was at my local Wally World today, and the fishing department is a joke. It's nothing more then what's left over from the last few years. Sure seems to me that their getting out of the fishing business here on Long Island (NY). Stopped in at my Local Dicks, and they're finally restocking for the up coming fishing season. I literally bumped into the dept manager, and told him they were a month too late as most of my hard core fishing friends did the vast majority of their stocking and restocking Jan and Feb (myself included). Seems like so many of these stores are geared more towards the female sports clothing business then anything else. they claim to be for.

Been home a few days this week from work for time owed. I caught Fishing University again on Verses today, and I couldn't even get through it. Not only is the show if you can call it that a full fledged infomercial, but he even hawks the jeans he was wearing, and the segment on boats was nothing more then a plug for his boat sponsor. This sad excuse for a show makes Beat Charlie Moore look good. And it's not by a long shot.

I've got 5 more years to convince her.

You're one lucky guy. I'm 60 yrs old, and have lived on Long Island since 1957. My drive to the reservoirs average 1 1/2 hrs without traffic each way, and I take that drive every week during season. In 5 years I hope to retire, and I'm actively brain washing my wife that retiring to Hot Springs Arkansas is the place to be. .

Why does NY close their "season"? The Croton reservoir system is the backup water system for the NYC water Authority. The reservoirs are open to fishing all year long from the shore, with Ice fishing allowed on some depending on the thickness of the ice. Currently, the Black Bass season for region #3 which encompasses the Croton system is open all year long. From Dec 1st to March 30th it's strictly C & R. Since the rules call for only aluminum 12-16 ft rowboats now. Each boat must be steam cleaned, assigned a number on a open reservoir and a boat section. You must leave your boat(s) there, chained to a tree, and can't be moved to another reservoir without going through the same procedure. Right now the boating season is April 1st till Nov 3oth, as long as there is no ice. If there is ice on any reservoir, then that lake is still closed past 4/1. Although it's pretty hard to know that there is still ice on the northern end while you're on the southern end miles away. Only rowing is allowed, which makes it a real challenge with the wind, heat, and humidity. Needless to say, my cardiologist thinks it's a great cardio workout.

For me as a NYC reservoir fisherman, our season opens April 1st, and I'll be on the water on one of the shallower reservoirs on 4/3 (1st day off from work). I'll be fishing North East shallows of coves that should have warmer water for Smallmouth with hair jigs, finesse jigs, finesse tubes, and even a #8 X-Rap and a floating minnow.

It just makes it easier for me to find what I'm looking for. I also mark the inside of my spools with the test of the line that is spooled on. With 6 spools for 3 spinning reels, it just makes it that much easier to quickly find the right one.

You hit it right on the head. Unfortunately, I really can't justify shelling out the big bucks for Samurai, so I'll stick with Power Pro which is a 4 strand line or Sufix Braid which is a 6 strand line. The extra two strands makes the Sufix more rounder, while the PP is more of a oval. I've been using PP for years on my baitcasters. Going to respool a few with Sufix that really need respooling.

Exactly

As already stated, Horny Toads are a great topwater bait. I like to use them over weeds that are right at the top of the water, or as a alternative to a frog/rat.

The vast majority of my crankbaits are Rapala DT's, so I don't need to mark their diving depth. But the remainder of my crankbaits all have their theoretical diving depth written with a black permanent marker on the bottom of the bill. Personally, I haven't seen any difference in the number of fish I catch. I put a small black line on the back of my 1/2 oz spinnerbaits, so I don't mix them up with my 3/8 oz spinners. Again, I've seen absolutely no difference in the hookup rate one way or the other.

The only time I use a swivel is with a drop shot rig. it serves a few purposes for me. It allows me to pre-tie several DS rigs so I don't have to waste time retieing when I break one off. It does help prevent line twist to some extent since a DS rig is notorious for line twists. It's also an excellent way to DS really deep using braid for your main line, and co-poly or mono for the drop shot rig.

one other problem with being a back boater (not a regular tx partner in my case) is that I've had a hard time figuring out where to put my extra rods and tackle bag. I limit myself to just 4 of my usual 6 or 7 setups and have down sized my 6 box tackle bag to either a 5 or a 4 box bag. The bag isn't the problem, it's where to put the setups so that they're not always under foot.

I got use to tieing a Palomar knot with big lures when I tied on a spinnerbait. It just takes a little practice for it to become 2nd nature.

Just got my 3rd catolog from both of them yesterday. BPS sent their Bass Book, and Cabelas sent me their boating and Marine catolog.

Just went through all the pictures in this thread. Some of you guys have more tackle then the Dicks by me.