Marty

Two thumbs up to Sears, that's above and beyond the call of duty.

Absolutely. Maybe "probability" would be a more appropriate word than "possibility."

I've never been a match-the-hatch believer for reasons mentioned by the others. I recently bought the book, Knowing Bass, by Keith A. Jones, PhD. I don't recall the exact words, but he said basically it doesn't have to look or act natural, it has to grab the bass's attention. Analogous to Raul's rainbow example is the fact that most bass never see a worm, but they are highly attracted to their looks and scent if and when they do come into contact with one.

I bought a spool of 15# because they didn't have the Power Pro I was looking for. Now I'm wondering whether to keep it or return it. Would appreciate comments from anyone who's used it.

You might be able to cut down on the number of those nasty nests by trying to prevent loops in the line by making sure that your retrieve is under tension, such as lifting the rod tip when starting the retrieve to take out slack. If you do see a loop in your spool, don't try and cast your way out of it, pull out the line past the loop and then retrieve it under tension.

One thing I'd ask is if you're catching fish on other topwaters in the areas where the buzzbaits aren't working. If the answer is yes, then I wouldn't know what to say, but if it's no, then it's not the buzzbaits, it's probably because you're not fishing them in the right time and place.

I don't know what kind of bird, but a house finch, for example, and her brood might leave the nest from 10-18 days after hatching.

The whole idea behind backing is that bass don't make long runs and you don't get down to the backing, thus, it doesn't matter. Backing's purpose is to occupy space.

I've always loved using crankbaits and will try them anytime the cover (or lack of cover) will permit their use. As to type, there are many types and styles and they all work. Pick a couple that run at the depth you want to fish, and stick with well-known brands at the start. Cranks are great fish attractors. Good luck.

I agree. I like both spinning and baitcast equipment equally well. For me, it's a matter of baits/ lures and technique. Finesse = spinning tackle; power fishing and fast retrieve = baitcasting gear. But that's just me. Every technique can be used with either type of equipment. RW, I'm sure you're aware that baitcasting doesn't always provide faster retrieves. Many spinning reels take up more line per crank than baitcasters with higher gear ratios.

A year ago I switched to the Ribbit as my buzzing amphibian of choice. Last fall I noticed some of the Grigsby Toads at Dick's, so I went out to the car and brought in one of my Ribbits for comparison. Holding them next to one another it's difficult to notice the differences. If Ribbits became unavailable I wouldn't hesitate for one second to buy the Grigsbys. I'd be absolutely shocked if there was a whit of difference between them. I would guess the reason you're not hearing much about them is for marketing reasons. The Ribbit came first and is much more well known in that design. You refer to them as a knockoff, which is probably right, but other knockoff products, like the many Senko imitations, usually offer the buyer something, like a big price advantage. I seem to recall that both these Toads are similarly priced and there's no reason I can see for switching, other than availability.

I agree with Chris; I only check my scale against items that were weighed on certified scales in the supermarket. It can be anything, a bag of apples, six-pack, gallon of anything, or whatever.

Very few things are predictable in advance, so you should probably try both, just as you should under other conditions. In my experience, windy with chop on the water is no deterrent to catching fish on topwaters.

No. The mechanics of the reel have nothing to do with casting. Casting distance is a function of the lure's weight and profile, the line diameter, how full the spool is, the rod length and other characteristics plus the reel spool diameter, and, of course, the person's casting technique. All other things being equal, a bigger diameter spool will cast farther.

I'm having a hard time figuring out how a slit can help with detecting a strike. I don't believe they make a difference with these baits on the hookset either. As far as I know, there has been no mass exodus from slitless Senkos. If I may be blunt, yes, I think it's in your head, as you suggest as a possibility. But we know how important confidence is, so if the slit gives you more confidence, then by all means use them. Good luck.

It is critical to be a line-watcher when fishing soft plastics, so don't give up your ability to do that. Most of my strikes with soft plastics are detected by seeing the line move off to the side before I feel anything and I set the hook when I see that line movement. Trilene XL is considered to be a line with above-average stretch, so that could impair hooksets. However, I've used that line and executed hooksets OK. There are also people who think the fluorescent blue might deter strikes due to its visibility. I don't believe that, but others do. Maybe the best thing is for you to continue what you're doing if satisfied, if not, ask for recommendations for other lines. I'd personally use at least 10#, but again, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Was the Gamma you didn't like the fluorocarbon or copolymer? I've used the latter on a Daiwa 2500 size reel with no problems. Original Stren, Trilene XL, Berkley Sensation, and I'm sure others, are all spinning-friendly.

"Bass fishing is a Science!" Perhaps so, but not 100%. It's an art in addition to a science, because there are many, many things about bass fishing that don't conform to the "book", or the conventional wisdom. So when things aren't going as well as you'd like, don't be afraid to "think outside the box" and do things that are different from what you learned from books, TV shows, etc.

4/0 or 5/0 extra-wide-gap.

Based on those conditions, I'd position the boat as close to shore as possible and try to simulate what you do from shore. You probably couldn't duplicate it exactly, but maybe cast out as close to your shore pattern as possible and bring the lure back to shore.

Brad, I do like the Swim Blade because of better features than the Chatterbait or Boogee Bait, at least better in my opinion. I'd use them more if they would stay down like the others. It's not intuitively obvious to me how you bend the blades. Could you describe it in some detail? Thanks.

The only Yum I've used is the Dinger, which is fine. I've used a few more Zoom products and never noticed any quality problems.

We agree on that Brad, it has good action and draws strikes. I got a Gambler this year and haven't used it a whole lot. It seems to me that it has a wilder and more erratic side-to-side action. It also seems that it needs to be worked slower or it tends to break the surface. Much easier to use Chatterbaits or Boogee Baits deeper and faster. I presume the difference is because the blade is attached to a split ring which attaches to a loop on the lead head. The other brands have blades attached directly to the loop. Have you made similar observations? Are you using a trailer hook?

I think Chatterbaits are good lures, based on my experience with them last year and thus far this year. I'm very disappointed with the components used, but that doesn't change the fact that these baits attract fish.

There are length-weight charts that can be used to estimate weight, but fish vary so these charts can be accurate or way off. New York uses the term "weighing fish with a ruler" in an attempt to get people to actually weigh fewer fish because of possible harm to them and to estimate weights instead. I personally weigh only the fish that are "big" by my standards and use length for the rest. Here's the New York charts: http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/9222.html