BackOnTheWater

That's phunny, Philly! Mind their manners! I like the baby duck buffet better, though!

A: I usually have 2 top-water lures, 2 mid-column lures, and 2 bottom lures tied on...but yeah, that's the right idea. B: As I am still exploring a large home lake, and I don't like to fish tourneys, I spend a LOT of time when working new areas, whether I can any fish at all, big or small. And I'll work the same area with different baits on different passes. Now, on an established spot that I have gotten to know well and depending upon the size of the "prime" area, I'll give it 30 min. to an hour before I move on. As an example, this past SAT I went to a slough that I had only been to once before. I caught 3 fish in the first hour, then the guy with me (who had not caught any) talked me into moving. We only caught a couple of dinks in the next 5 hours. I went back on SUN with another guy. we stayed in the same slough for 3 hours. I caught 7, he caught 2, and we had quite a few that we did not get to the boat. AND, I learned one side of that slough extremely well. As to whether or not you can pull out larger fish after nailing a few dinks...sure you can. Most experts say that schooling fish tend to school with fish their same relative size, but that big bass (5 lb and up) are pretty much loners. I have found that when you are on schooling bass, most of them will indeed be the same general size between dinks and 4 lb. You can pull the larger ones out by pulling lures through the bottom of the school. Also consider that it's the smaller ones that move quicker and will out-run the larger ones to get to your lure. There are generally larger ones there, but they must expend quite a bit more energy to chase a lure than the smaller ones. I've pulled quite a few dinks off cover before I got to the larger bass...but they were there... But what do I know? Just my $.02...

I use several "keys" to locate bass. I'm not even close to being an expert. 20-25 years ago, we used birds and sight to locate baitfish on my home lake(s). For some reason the birds have gone away, but we now have better electronics. I take note of baitfish balls, which show up as "clouds" on my fishfinder. This gives me a general idea as to what depth is most comfortable for the fish at the time, based upon water and weather conditions. I then look for structure and/ or cover that intersect that general depth range. Other than that, 99% of the bass that I catch are never "seen" on my fishfinder. Other than vertical spooning/ jigging, they are not under my boat, which is where my fishfinder is looking. I've spent a great deal of time trying to catch "graph" fish, to little or no avail. I have spent a lot of time trolling around an area without seeing bass or baitfish on my electronics, but still catch fish with good casting patterns. Bottom line is, I use the fishfinder as a tool, and factor it into my patterns, but I catch more fish that I don't see than those that I do see. One good point that was made was to learn how to distinguish the various types of bottom and what various types of cover look like on the graph. This can be valuable knowledge when you start targeting pre-spawn and spawning fish, for example. Or to find smallmouth, for another. If you fish from the bank (as I do, quite often) or if you do not have modern electronics (I've just had mine a couple of months), you can judge depth by counting a t-rig down to the bottom. You can also get a feel for the type of bottom you are working and any cover that you might find there. Happy hunting!

BassMaster...end of story. I've learned more from this mag than any other resourse...other than time on the water, that is.

Tennessee - flat surface, closed mouth to pinched tail also. I'm pretty sure that this goes for most, if not all, inland lakes, rivers, and reservoirs. I keep a "Golden Rule" in my boat that also estimates weight, along with a digital scale, a "grabber" scale, and soft cloth tape measure. If I go out on the bank, I just take a tape measure and dial scale. You can lay the tape on the ground and, with practice, get a good measurement. Remember to get both length and girth so that you can calculate weight. If you forget your tape measure, lay the fish on the ground next to your pole...you can measure your pole later and use the photo to determine length.

What a gorgeous gator!

I've caught (or seen caught) cats on t-rigs, rat-l-traps, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, stickbaits, and even on pop-r's. A cat in the right mood will hit anything. And I lipped one once...ONCE...darn near lost my thumb. And they have spines on those fins that will make you cry for your mother! I net them and use my needle-nose pliers...I'm not gonna let them slime up MY boat!

Yup...that's the way to go!

The weather sure has screwed up the bassin' here lately. With water temps in the 79-80 degree range, the bass have yet to get into the "fall feeding frenzy" that is sure to get started with the cooler weather over the next week. We are expecting highs in the low 70's and lows reaching the low 50's...yahoo! I caught 10 LMB, a couple of spots, and a couple of little white bass over the weekend. My backseaters landed 2 LM and a few spots. We had several lost on the way to the boat and several swing and miss our spooks, sammys, and frogs. I was out SAT between 7 AM and 1 PM, and SUN between 7 and 11. All of the LMB were caught in one slough that I started at on both days. We were working an area that ranged between 2 and 5 feet deep, with weeds at the surface in the shallower water and a foot deep in the deeper water. 5 feet of water with 4 feet of weeds, for the most part. I caught 8 LMB on a spook Jr. and 2 on a c-rig about 8 feet deep just off the weed beds. You just can't beat topwater action! The largest LMB was 2-12, and we had several keepers in the 2 to 2-8 range. Loads of fun, but the days of 100 in the boat are just around the old weather corner!

Unfortunately, I can't recall a specific event that "hooked" me. My Dad starting taking me fishing as soon as I could fill out a life jacket, and I have many fond memories of those early days (the '60's). Texas-rigged purple worms...that was all that I can remember using back then...I'm sure that the first solid hook-set after a tap-tap did it for me...that and a topwater hit are still the most thrilling moments for me even today. I also remember him teaching me to scull an oar behind the little boat he had to move us around. It had no motor, so I was proud that he let me "motor" us around. Even today, it feels like he's with me every time I go out.

I say that the bubbles are from catfish...they tend to "burp" (fish farts was close!)...I see them all the time.

As I understand it, black bass are optimally active and feeding at around 75 or a bit cooler. The water here (a large river reservoir.) has just dropped below 80, and I expect the fall feeding frenzy to begin in earnest when the water temp drops a few more degrees. During "transitions" between feeding trends and typical patterns, I always check my favorite deeper spots first, just to see if they are there, before heading to spots in skinnier water. Yesterday I spent an hour on 15-20' deep drop-offs and points, an hour on the same type structure at 10', and the last 45 minutes over a submerged grass bed at 4-7'. I caught zero the 1st hour, 2 the 2nd, and 10 (4 LM, 5 SM, and 1 bluegill) in the final 35 minutes over a 30' stretch of grass between a 14' small channel and the bank, with the main river channel (40+') about 50 yards away. All 10 at the last spot were caught on a Zara Puppy or a Pop-R. From what I've experienced and read of others' experiences in MY area, I would suggest that the bass are moving up to feed in more shallow water than a typical summer pattern...work the edges of grass beds with deeper water nearby with shallow crankbaits, jerkbaits, senkos, and your favorite top-water lures. And try what everone else said, too...keep at it with all you have until you find 'em and figure out what they want to hit. Go get'em and good luck!

I used just about every soft plastic I own on a C-rig. I've also used floating or suspending crankbaits and spoons!

A guy in my back seat had a fish break off a rat-l-trap one day, and we sat at watched him jump 3 times trying to shake it off...he finally slung it loose...what a hoot!

Most waters in my area's rivers, reservoir chains and lakes are dingy, so I chose dark water because I'm comfortable with the tactics and techniques.

It's been relatively slow here for the past couple of weeks as well. I attribute it to the high heat and lack of rain. My lake does not lower in elevation a lot until the end of October, and we have the "fall gorge" to look forward to over the next couple of months as the bass begin to fatten up for the winter. Days of 50-75 largemouth per man are not uncommon. Blitzes 1/2 the size of a football field! I've caught a handfull almost every time out, so I don't guess that's what I call "trouble"...plenty to keep me happy. They are still out there, though, and they have to eat. I catch them on top in the mornings and 15-25 feet deep as the sun gets overhead. I HAVE noticed a lot of fish that are suspended, and those can be tough to nab. Maybe all of your lake's fish are suspending...work that spoon and drop-shot SLOWLY (or even slower!) and maybe they'll knock you off the seat! Tight lines!