Paul Roberts

I witnessed a really cool fish shocking event on Watts Bar Lake many years a go. The DNR closed off a small cove with nets and invited a few fisherman (one group at a time) to fish inside the nets. I think they were given 20 minutes each group. We were not chosen, but we watched nonetheless. They weighed and measured all the fish that the fishermen caught, which wasn't many. A group or two got skunked. They then went in there with the shocking equipment and the amount of bass that were in there was simply amazing. The whole experience did not make me feel like a better fisherman, probably just the opposite, but it taught me to not be so quick to give up on a fishy spot. Ditto. REALLY cool observation.

It's an infection of some type. Check this out: http://www.bigindianabass.com/big_indiana_bass/2009/06/intersex-fish-research-update.html#comments

Very nice. Nice pic too.

Welcome! Try the tackle craft section.

Check this out: http://www.bigindianabass.com/big_indiana_bass/2008/08/re-examining-holding-your-breath-guidelines.html

Ditto.

That's what I was thinking -line/point angle. I always snelled up-eye hooks -out of necessity. For fly-fishing, where there is a fly head (thread wraps) to deal with I used a Euro knot called a "Tweed Clinch" -essentially a clinch knot but the line is first run through the eye, under the head, then back out the eye again on the other side of the head. From there you just tie the regular clinch. It places the knot wraps inside the eye, and leaves the tippet in-line with the shank. Good knot -caught plenty of big browns and steelies with it.

Awesome story. Thanks!

There's no magic in it. They catch fish really well and were the body of choice before living rubber hit the market. I used 'em just like a jig-n-pig today -same lure really. Also used smaller heavier versions for deep smallmouths. Don't be afraid to experiment with body materials for jig heads. It's all good. Bucktail offers something special in one particular way; It is buoyant so it creates a wake -moves water. Tied dense it can really slow speed of the lure too. I used to fish a particular creek channel years ago that bass would stack up in early in the year. I caught them consistently when water temps broke 50 on grub jigs, jig-worms and then to twitched topwaters when water hit 55. But below 50 -nada. I discovered it was speed that mattered, so I devised a sssuuuuupppppeeeerrrrrr sssssllllllooooooooooooowwwwwwwww jig (get the picture ) I used a 1/16oz classic Slider head, a brush of good bucktail, a twister trailer, and a clip-on overhead spinner. This rig could be cccrrrrraaaaawwwwwllllleedddddd.... I called it a "Shaving Brush" and it caught bass really well in that cold water.

Wayne, what knot do you use with that hook -Palomar?

Such as....?

Probably have to get to a good fly-tying shop or a SW shop to get the Mason. I've also used single strand stainless. The stuff I have is .016 diam. The one good thing about rigid wire is you can adjust the tension. Lotsa wires out there now -some quite fine. Fly-fishing shops also have very fine braided stuff -might be what you have. Comes in pretty light break strengths now. Anyway, let us know what you come up with.

Good for her! Love the glasses too. It's ALL big at that age. btw: Welcome aboard.

Fluoro: Sub-surface, deeper than 6 feet. Mono: Shallower than 6feet, or topwater. Best for treble hooked baits, like crankbaits, for stretch it offers. Braid: Very versatile. Good for shallow water as it floats. Good deeper probing weighted presentations too, like a C-rig. Best thing going for dense vegetation for low stretch and ability to cut through weeds. Poor choice for wood as it can cut into wood. You can also knot on a leader of any length, say 20ft of fluoro to fish deeper, or 8feet of mono for topwater, or none at all for a frog over dense mats. Get to know the J-Knot.

Fun! No absolutes, but tendancies. I think of coverage speed, and fish activity/spookiness weigh in heavy. In general I like relatively clear water, except for waking type ones (like a big bladed buzzer crawled): When to select a popper? Generally when I want the bait to stay in place longer: It's calmer, luring fish up from deeper water, or I expect fish to be tentative. They can be fished fast and noisy -but if the fish want fast and noisy I'll usually use something else. IME they excel in calm waters where subtle twitches and that rolling boil they can make really interests fish. When to select a twitched Rapala? As above, but when flat calm. Also, in coolest of topwater temperatures. When to select a waked Rapala? Calm conditions when more speed is better than a twitched Rap. When to select a prop bait? I don't use 'em, but have been meaning to add one for choppy water. Just tend to get by with other stuff. When to select a dog walker? Ooooohh! A favorite. Anytime I think bass will break top. In calmer brighter conditions I use smaller ones (<4") with a chrome or translucent finish. few lures are more fun in that what you do with 'em can matter a lot. When to select a frog? Dense mats, otherwise I'm using something else. When to select a buzzbait? Darker conditions, esp with chop on the water. I fish both slow waking buzzers and fast noisy ones. I actually consider "bulged" spinnerbaits a topwater too, and bit more subtle than a buzzer. When to select a jitterbug? I like 'em at night of course. You can do a lot with them, but I always do better fishing 'em slowly, so I tend to consider them not the best choice for coverage. But I feel like I can almost always draw something with one -although sometimes they are only smalls, and I should be fishing faster, deeper, or in heavier cover. They are big bass catchers though. I have one that has caught some really nice bass for me, my father, and his father. It's hanging over my desk as I type. I'm waiting for my son to catch a good one on it. 8-)

Ditto above and what will follow -this is not a new problem. But there are some days that this is especially maddening. The only thing new I've heard on this is in this thread: http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1253405865/13#13 I think this explains at least some of those most maddening days.

Vanish is a perfectly fine fluoro. BUT...it was designed for open water use (with walleyes in mind). Manageability is a key feature -it's soft so it shreds easily. The 100% was designed more as a bass fishing line -it's tougher. But it's also thicker per lb test. All 100% fluoro's are stiffer, more wiry, than mono. So they have a tendancy to jump off the spool. And they don't absorb water like nylon monos will which softens and tames monos. I dunk my mono loaded reels before I start fishing which helps in line handling. This helps only a very little bit with fluoro. The trick with fluoro is to be extra careful in your regular line management. It's simply more apt to "misbehave" than monos. -Load the reel carefully, then hang it out behind the boat to relieve all twist. Depending on techniques your using you may need to do this occasionally as you fish. I do this with monos too with certain lures/methods, but it's more critical with fluoro. -Watch and feel for loose loops down in the spool as you fish. Fluoro being wiry and non-absorbant doesn't lay down evenly with varying tension as you retrieve, or fight a fish. Loose retrieves (as in soft plastics) load line loosely, even causing it to puff up' on the spool. Fighting a fish can bind the line down into the puffed' wraps. After a good fish, I'll make a long maintenance cast' to lay the line out and reload it under even tension. -Check for nicks and frays. This seems to be a bigger problem with fluoros than monos, especially a soft fluoro like Vanish. Nicks can occur down in the spool if you get a tangle, or the line gets bound up some after you've fought a good fish. -Knots should be carefully tied. Seating the knot is the critical step. Be careful not to friction burn a fluoro, or nick or crush the line. -It helps to be well versed in spinning reel use the second nature stuff like maintaining tension at the first turn in a retrieve when most loops occur. Keeping a finger down there to maintain proper tension and feel for trouble is a good skill to acquire. And I simply keep an eye on the spool for how the line is laying and for loops. - Because of its wiry nature, fluoro doesn't cast as far as mono's, and esp braid. So far, I've found I can cast with reasonable distance with a wide spool spinning reel design, with fluoro's up to about .012 diam. about 12lb Vanish or XPS, or 10lb. 100%. Above this and casts are shortened too much for my use. Above this, heavy lures help. And this may also have to do with the guides on older rods. Maybe a larger stripping guide and concept spacing would help. Anyway, just something to keep in mind. Fluoro has advantages in fishing. But IME it takes more diligence in line handling. It's main advantage is in deeper water. In water less than say 6feet, I prefer mono or braid. If anything, for the ease in line handling.

Tom, The design is called a U-Tube. It's open at the front and has high flotation for a tube, that seats my butt just above the waterline. Here's a pic of my boat w/o sonar. Sonar unit sits on front of left pontoon. It's not difficult at all to deal with most fish. They rarely move me, but I purposely rotate a lot with a large fish to keep "leading" it. This helps a great deal in keeping hooks in as I get the fish into position to lip 'em. Cats are different in that they don't have ready handles. I will lip mine but you have to hold the jaw wide open where they lose the strength to clamp down on your thumb -that hurts. They are slippery, well muscled and with those spikes I don't want to wrestle with one in my tube. It's not a dangerous situation, as my tube has 4 bladders -just would be an major inconvenience to lose one. So I just kick to shore with a big cat. It's pretty easy to keep my legs out of the way. I can move them remember! I always worry a bit with my anchor down, but haven't had a problem. I can steer fish and I can reposition the boat relative to the fish easily. That's one beauty of a tube, you can maneuver so deftly. My anchor was out with the two largest cats the other day and it was no problem, although I did worry about a tangle. One thing I can't do is tuck a short-handled rod into my gut to relieve my arm, and still steer the fish well at boat-side. I'm sitting, as in a chair, so there isn't much room in my lap for the reel, with the rod butt lengths I own.

Great report. Nice pics. Snazzy jerseys. And that's one one really nice looking bass! Sounds like a great time.

Tom, I've had to deal with an enormous bass hatch this year -thousands of 2inch bass everywhere. The bass wouldn't hit regular sized lures. My friend who fishes this water a lot was in despair. I brought an UL spinning rig, 4lb line, and 1-1/2" Sassy Shad grubs on 1/16oz jig heads. Worked like a charm. Might be with a shot amidst your herring. Would love to know the outcome of that.

Buy it back!!! ;D Would be interesting to follow this story into next year.

Funny how fishing, and other outdoor stuff, can cure a lot of ills. Fun story. Thanks for sharing.

Nifty. Love to hear of your experimentations Tom.

Dunno. Can't make out many details. Cell phone camera? Does it have a macro-focusing feature? Roger?

Great post ffd. Really like it when someone who's done the work shares such details. Not only saves us time figuring stuff out but also allows us to problem solve as we go.