JohnF

I'm pretty sure that's a Dollar store special. I plan to give it new hooks before I try it this year. One thing I've noticed is that there are obviously a number of brand names that buy their blanks from the same supplier and just add paint and differing qualities of hooks. I've seen a lot of repeats. JF

Yeah. I'm having too much fun to narrow it down to top 10. But I figger if I can get y'all to help me with the winnowing it'll save a lot of time when the 4th Saturday rolls around. I've already started with the hooks. Actually I'm putting new hooks on the ones I use the most first, like the A C Shiners. If you look closely at a couple of them you'll see inward curved hooks now. JF

I forgot my new ChugBug. JF

There's nothing on tv and all these questions are popping into my head. Been meaning to ask some of these things for a while now. Seems a shame to waste all the knowledge available on this board. You guys would all just sit there with a beer in yer mitt if I wasn't giving ya something to do. JF

It has occurred to me that all the time I've been using Rapalas I've been tying a tight knot instead of a loop. I studied up on the rapala loop and played around in the pool on the weekend. There is a difference in the action. So how do I decide which lures should be looped? Or would I be safe in assuming the loop is good for all of them? Presumably the ones that come with a split ring don't need the loop. JF

As soon as bass are legal, my friend. JF

Could we train the Cormorants to love Gobies? JF

I use tubes, and worms, but there's something I like about using these lures in the evening out in the creek. I have pretty good luck with white tubes and wacky rigged worms in different colours. In fact my two best river bass have been on a white tube. Once, I'm ashamed to admit, it was on a wire leader cuz we were getting near a pike pool. JF

I had the Shad Rap you're talking about until I sacrificed it to the Walleye gods down at Dunnville a few weeks ago. I've got a couple of other colours but forgot to get 'em in the pics. JF

I've got a rod/reel set up with 4# but the rod's kinda whippy (cheap). I'm checking out a better UL now. UL is fun. I've gotta spend more time with the little guys because I haven't had much luck with distance on them. I'll give 'em another shot out at the pool. It's 36' long so if I stand well back it should be a decent test. JF

I hear a lot of talk about poppers etc at dusk. Anyone had much luck with any of these at any time of the day? I've had some luck with the little Heddon Torpedo in the evening.

Again, shallow clear rocky bottom creeks. The rocks make it difficult to bounce off the bottom without getting wedged between the rocks. On the other hand I discovered that some of these will move through the water with a nice little wiggle if you can maintain the right speed on the retrieve.

I've already tested some of these in the pool and the guys with the little stubby straight up and down lip really do only go down about one foot. The Bumblebee runs about 1' to 18" down and has neat action but I wonder if the fish may catch on that bees don't swim that well. Anyone recognize any bass killers in there?

I'm gonna show you some other styles as well but here's a starter. Hope nobody minds me getting my pre bass frustrations out this way. I'm still trying to get a consensus on which are the top-rated lures for my kind of fishing (shallow clear creek wading). I find myself swapping lures way too often and I really think I need to settle on a few and give them a good test. My problem is that I have the attention span of a gnat and all the bright colours dazzle me. HELP! The little guys in the top right are all Rapalas and really too light to cast far. There are A.C.Shiners in there plus an assortment of Rapalas, Daiwas and some real no names to keep y'all on yer toes. Any standout minnows for any of you? The Rapala third from the top right is very dependable for my buddy Rob. Doesn't do much for me. The two AC Shiners top of second row from right were pretty good for me last summer. Actually I think this one has already been answered. I like the AC Shiners and a couple of guys suggested the Rainbow pattern Rapala. Those should keep me amused. JF

I was told by a diver on Lake Erie that he was passed at 50' by a diving cormorant. Not sure what that means in terms of the damage they do but I found it interesting. JF

Just tell him it's not really a musky rod. JF

Perhaps just put a muffler on the gas passer. JF

Not from last night's show, but the same backup singers. JF

Dunno. I've got a gazillion Starchoice channels. I'll check it out tonight if I can find it. Probably one of those PBS channels. JF

Not saying that at all, at least not with the same meaning you're giving it. I'm saying that man is an evolving critter on this earth. If it's natural for critters in the wild to eliminate some of their neighbours at some point in their evolution then why is every bit of man's tinkering wrong? Isn't it logical that a certain amount of what man does will impact on other critters? Trying to second guess that process is therefore contrary to the natural course of things in some cases. Perhaps there are certain instances when man simply has to meddle, that it's preordained by Mother Nature and if man doesn't do it, she will some other way. Dunno how we know which times we should and when we shouldn't but are we right to always assume we're wrong about meddling?. Perhaps the eradication of cormorants is the best way for nature to accommodate evolving man, and by trying to make less of a footprint we actually do more harm in the end. I realize that's kinda convoluted thinking and probably off the mark, but who knows for sure? Perhaps it really just comes down to the survival of the fittest after all. JF

He did that. Great rendition. That show's been on a few times. Watch for it coming around again. JF

Spray 'em with something stinky? JF

The lures in the pics are what I've whittled my list down to so far. Now I'm looking for input on those ones for goods and bads. I've got a lot of others but not necessarily good for the 1 - 3' water I wade in. Snags are an issue in my creek. The bottom is almost consistently softball sized rocks crowded together so trying to bounce off the bottom generally is a surefire way to wedge the lure between two rocks. I usually get it back but by the time I do the pool is spooked. As for spinners and plastics I'll work on them separately. My experience has been that the pictured baits are consistently my best bets but catch smaller bass. A white tube or a weightless worm are my best shot at getting the biggest smb but for numbers the minnows are the trick in our water. The Rapala minnows also seem to attract pike in the spots where pike reside. Mostly I just like trying different things and having fun. Once I find a model that works, then I like trying different colours and presentations. It's part of the fun. JF

Let's face it, both teams' fans can rail on about the other teams dirty stuff with justification, and both teams have divers. Watch when a guy goes down. If the camera's on him you'll almost certainly see a sidelong glance to see if he's got the ref's attention. After the series is over I'll ask my neighbour what he saw out there. he may or may not tell me. I saw him yesterday and almost called him over but since he's got one more game I figured he'd be cautious about what he said anyway. He's a linesman, btw. JF

My son the bass player says that his musician friends are all saying the Cohen Tour going on now is awesome. We have to remember that Cohen fans favoured black before it meant goth. JF