Now, as much as I dislike even seeming to agree with Skip, I must admit my fondness for SmallMouth. One of the few positive contributions to our Quetico voyages made by the large fleshy anchor which I keep in the aft portion of my canoe (and to which I refer as 'Troutman' as it accidentally snagged a Lake Trout one year) was his bringing a nice large beefsteak tomato (how it survived is one of the many Northwoods' mysteries). A thick slice of the tomato, a slather of butter, a SmallMouth fillet on bread is the nearest thing to Heaven on Earth I can imagine (although a little red-haired girl I knew in High School comes awfully close).
Insofar as Skip's experience with barbless hooks, I can attest that the year he went barbless, my shirts and hat had many fewer end-of-trip rips and quite a few more punctures.
Rockhead

Posted by ROCKHEAD on March 02, 2000 at 15:53