Paul Roberts

The tail and teeth look like bass to me. The tissue has just dried away from the teeth. (Those "big" teeth are how we get ripped up thumbs). It's not a bowfin (round tail, wider spaced and larger teeth) walleye (fewer and much longer teeth), or cat (no maxilla or pre-max, and pectoral spines). You C&R wusses wouldn't know a dead bass -unless it bit you! ;D The second is a pumpkinseed.

Hmmmm... I've caught carp on lures, but not grass carp. Grass carp are commonly stocked in reservoirs here. They are east to see, and do get HUGE. But, I do have to wonder if the fish actually took his crankbait, or he fouled it. Anyone here catch grass carp on lures before?

OT risk again. I'll leave it at this... It's about refinement of the challenge. In FF for trout, "presentation is 90% of the game". But, after you have presentation down (no small feat), the right fly becomes HUGE. I've seen grown men, MD's and CEOs, cry at repeated refusals. "Are 'dose itty bitty twout (OK...20inchers) boddering you??" Mid-life crisis usually follows. ;D

I found it to be very strong, and nice handling. It's a "low stretch" line, so it likely reaches break point quicker. Any time you try a new line to you, realize you may not be used to the properties. Also, if you are expecting to compare different lines (like a line you were previously used to ), purchase by diameter, NOT break rating. Ratings are all over the place.

One thing I do is walk a pond first, before I start casting. Make at least one circuit before you start pitching. I often make several. Since your positioning is limited I find long casts can be important. Max your casting distance.

I'm excited to fish new water. But I may find that, as I refine a pattern, I may not have what I need. But, LOL, that happens on waters I know too bc a calendar is just not very accurate in terms of biological events. I tend to, most practically, start by choosing the rods I'll need, then techniques, then terminal tackle, then lures, then colors/finishes, ... What I do is take what I expect will fit the bill (and I like some info on that particular water ahead of time), and make the maiden voyage(s) exploratory. If I don't kill 'em -I've learned something. All my fishing trips are about adding to my knowledge base of individual waters and bass in general. I love doing this. If I'm in the mood to kill 'em, I choose the best water for the conditions I have in front of me. I had to do a lot of exploratory voyages to get to know the waters I have in my circuit. So, go have fun exploring. Don't put pressure on yourself. Go have fun. Bass waters are just great places to spend time on.

Man, you beat me to it. ;D X3 Often, bass hitting baits as they land are due to the fact that they can see the lures in the air, and move to intercept them. I've seen this a lot.

;D Ever heard of velcro fishing? Some (I assume ultra-PC, or ultra-sporting) fly-fishers have gone to tying flies on velcro loop strips. It hangs in the trout's teeth. From what I remember landing rates aren't very good, but the idea is to get the fish to take the fly. The rest is anticlimactic.

Ah! I responded to your PM, before seeing your post. I've read that FL genes tend to end up naturally culled out of the northern systems they are planted in. I asked bc I was wondering about body length for northern strain LMs in different regions. Thanks.

Very nice. That looks like one busy boat. Wayne, Curious...How many have you seen over 25"? And I should also ask, do you have any FL largemouths where you fish?

Mebbe. But not as much as you might think. IMO: NEVER go barbless with a jig however.

Great post Wayne. Maybe I should readjust my expectations for my "couch-time". That bass' mouth looks huge compared to your hand. And it is further from the lens . That's the opposite of the way it's 'spose to be. ;D At least in my neck of the woods.

Makes sense. Good post Tom.

My waters are shallow too. When the water gets into the mid-80s here, daytime action slows. I try several things: -Fish at night, or crack of dawn. I've found an amazingly strong first-light bite on some of my waters during hot spells. Unless the issue is simply around bright sun and spooky bass, evening pans out less for me during hot periods -at least in terms of notably strong bites. -"Couch-Time": Time to find an area you know/suspect holds bass and fish plastic worms slowly. I've done well this way, although during such periods I also reduce my expectations during daytime. -Fish using a herky-jerky retrieve. Some over-heated bass respond to erratic baits. I like a SB, a rapidly jerked swimjig, or a crank bounced off stuff. This is hard work in the heat of the day, and results in such heat have not been spectacular for me -but it has shown that there are fish there and willing to bite. If it doesn't pan out, it doesn't take too long to find out. -Springs, if there are any, could be a really great find. I have several ponds I fish that receive ground water: One has a lot of it and it can be actually 58F at the 10 foot bottom in mid-summer! The bass are excluded from much of it and are found under shoreline vegetation, where the slop bite is usually very good. You'd never know all those great offshore weedlines would be better suited to trout, if you didn't drop a thermometer down. Another pond is shallow and weedy and gets hot in mid-summer, shutting down the daylight bite during hot spells. But there is a small spring seep (I found while fishing in a float tube I could feel the cool water on my legs) that gives up big bass at mid-day. Finding springs: -Mist on the water esp in early AM. -High banks that might seep ground water -ponds near stream beds -topographically low areas. -Find new water -- that are either cooler, have enormous preyfish populations, or offer deeper fishing. At your latitude you'll need to be deeper than 15ft to hit cooler water probably. And the lake should not be too productive (fertility) or it may be devoid of 02 in the depths.

That appears to be a an old wife's tale. Unless WRB is right that females are more susceptible to tail damage/infections than males during the spawn. I just haven't seen that myself. It might just be larger bass in general?

Very nice interview. Really good straightforward advice to anglers who might be at all intimidated by bass fishing.

Yes it is. You are being smiled upon, for all that time you've spent on the water. Time to bask in the glory of NO MORE FISHLESS DAYS! From now on a bad day will be only ONE fish on your lure. You've earned it. Ah...we can only hope. I've fished hard too, but only have 40 years in.

OK...ya got me. ;D

Hah! Small potato's!! I once caught nine bass on one Rapala floater! I was hoping for the slam, but two were largemouth.

You PC too Wayne??? ;D

I had mentioned in the past that I had not seen seen/noticed tail wear on spawning males. This year I paid attention some and saw bloodied tails on some what I believe were likely tending males. One that did not have a bloodeid tail I believe was a female, the reasons I think this I'll share in a minute. I do not know if the bloodied tails were due to spawning activity directly. I sort of doubt it -that is from nest prep and egg tending. Most LM I've watched tend eggs with their pelvics and body rotations. This on good substrate. In muddier siltier locations this may be different. WRB is right that infections are an issue during the spawn. I've spent considerable time observing spawning bass (not fishing em) and Late in the spawn infections are noticeable -in my case it was fungal infections. But I mostly saw these as small spots on the body. I know Tom once caught a monster bass that was essentially missing its tail. Anyway, I believe I sexed a LM by "noticing sumpin"... (It's from a previous thread I posted) Spotting pattern (2008 fish) OK -noticed something else cool about those close-ups: In 2008 you can see the lower arrow not only points out a pigment spot, but a tiny scar too. In 2009 there are two more small scars just caudal (right) of the 2008 scar. Anyone know what these might be from? I think I do. Ah....the supense builds.... I believe they are from a male butting/nipping her during courtship. (Anglers have called this behavior "loosening up the eggs" -but I doubt that's the function.) The scars are in the right location. Some males are very aggressive with this. This tells me this bass is indeed a female. For those who like to "notice stuff" about bass, here's the thread: http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1251317530/0

With a net or not, you gotta handle em, and open the mouth, to get the hooks out. boga is out bc they can damage jaws, esp if the fish is feisty. Well... people are gonna roll eyes : And J Francho is gonna call me PC -I''m gonna roll eyes right back at that one : LOL. ...but... You can try going barbless. I, and some buddies, have done this and it works just fine -to the tune of several hundred bass now. Not only does it hold fish fine, but they are VERY easy to remove -from the fish or your thumb. Just my 2cents. Try it before you knock it.

I'm not aware of a way of sexing bass, outside of the spawn. There was a method developed by a biologist measuring anus size, but in the end it apparently didn't hold up. It's true that males do the nest prep. Dunno how long it lasts, haven't really made notes on it. But tail wear can come about another way. It's really common in large brown trout that hold in cover, so I assume that it could explain some tail/fin wear in LM too: Big browns holding in cover get worn tails from frequently getting abraded against hard substrate like wood, rock, or gravel. For trout this is most common on the tail, and the lower lobe seems more common. I've wondered if bass could get this.

I've seen years and waters that have had huge bass hatches, by midsummer filling the water with 1"-2" fingerling bass. Normal sized baits failed. Switching to tiny baits worked like a charm. Last year I had this happen again, and I tested things by gong to 1-1/2" paddle-tails (Sassy Shad) on UL spinning tackle, and the remedy was immediately made apparent! Got tired though of being towed around by bass on UL gear and moved up to regular finesse gear (8lb) and Slider's and did OK. Something to try anyway.

I personally don't want any distractions. This is most noticeable as a distractability problem, when deer hunting. Dunno know about you all, but it takes me some time to settle down and just connect my senses to the subtlties (sp??). After a week of sitting in traffic, too many hooomans, and music, it can be hard to drain the adrenaline from my system. When fishing I want to hear nothing but birds, bullfrogs, dragonflies, and bass surging on bluegills. I even set the ring-tone on my cell phone to a red-wing blackbird recording in the spring, and a yellow warbler in the summer. True! Then I leave the phone in the car!