Paul Roberts

What baits sold on the market advertise this weight as to increase depth? That weight is counter balance, it helps load the bait during the casting for distance, not depth. I'm sure if you add enough weight to anything it will sink, and thats max depth for sure. Dunno really, but it appears density would weigh in. Despite lip angle, really buoyant balsa doesn't run as deep as denser plastics -at least for the same amount of speed. Plus, most really deep divers weigh a lot more than shallows -partly for casting distance, but maybe for density too?

Have you ever seen a squared bill used for deep cranks ? Got one too -Bomber Dance Fat Free Shad Deep -older version perhaps.

Ditto. But, I have wondered about the scooped head shape too. I'm also wondering what strategically placed and angled canards would do.

Raul, that is the way we ALL look when on the water. You must be some kind of 'seer'. Didn't know the bait monkey could be photographed.

I know that mug! Congrats! Now we know your REAL secret -Powerbait.

Bubble gum's for kids! ;D Real men stick with earth tones. 8-)

That's gotta be a typo.

That's a well written article.

Me too... lesseee... Cabela's *** Brewer's Slider Co. Bubba Jack's Jewel Bait Co Buck Perry

Tom, ya got me. I have no defense. I can make arguments for clown lures and recognize they work. But..I...just ...can't do it! Someday I'll lighten up and say What they hey... For now, I'm feedin' 'em a PROPER diet of earth tones.

I don't have a single pink bait in my (rather large) tackle collection -except for my steelheqd stuff. I...just...can't...do it!!! I've even stopped carrying chartreuse, and actually have scraped the orange off the bellies of my cranks, replacing it with a nice NATURAL pearl! Although my waters are relatively clear, it's more than ...practical. I just seem to have less respect for a fish that will hit something painted up like a clown LOL. ;D Give me earth tones, and realistic baitfish colors, whether the fish want 'em or not dammit! >

Good report -would like to know more particulars of the locations though. How high were the fish suspended? Were you marking fish and dropping to them watching sonar -or just fishing the general areas? Awesome learning, gaining confidence in new techniques -like money in the bank. Congrats!

Well..you could also do it yourself..call it the "out-crowd". Instead of pre-testing, you could do re-testing. There are more lures out there than anyone could ever make use of in a lifetime. Lots of them have been forgotten (by the marketers for instance). These would probably do as much for you (in terms of catching fish) as any new baits -I mean how many creature baits do there need to be, for example. Go retro ... Be a "WAS" -a Rebel Without a Sponser 8-)

Come fish Guntersville in the summer Paul, I'll show you how easy fishing can be! I lost a Curado and St Criox rod a few weeks ago. I grabbed my ledge worm rod and took the worm off and tried to use the weight and the hook as a dredge to see if I could snag it by some miracle. We were in the middle of the usual schooling actiivty and I actually caught 2 fish on an empty hook. That's ... unheard of in the small public ponds I fish . I earn each and every fish. A run is 3 to 6 fish. At peak periods I can get runs of 6 to 10. Then...I've run out of water, and re-visit spots for diminished returns. No complaints though. Plenty going on to keep me interested. And maybe I just suck lol. But I bet if KVD was turned loose on one of my ponds, he'd find he'd rather be at Guntersville, or ...

Skeetermike wrote: That's the answer provided by IF (likely through Ralph Manns) -that baitfish popns, hatched in spring and summer, have become cropped down by winter. That is likely some part of the answer in some waters.

Both. Depends on who has what I want. And Cabela's customer service has won me over several times. They are also close enough to me that shipping is 2day Priority. I on-line order to many places, again to get specifically what I want -sometimes it's the manufacturer itself.

I was in a village in Thailand where a 14 year old boy was eaten by a reticulated python. It lived under a shed and he'd tried to catch it as they will fetch some money in the pet trade. The guy that told me about it (we caught a small one together) said a large one can bite like a dog. And that if the snake's head is as big as your foot, it can swallow you. I also remember a news story of a reticulated in Florida that had lived under a trailer in a trailer park. They finally caught it and the pic showed about 6 men holding it -it was over 20feet long. A resident said that it "would eat raccoons like popcorn".

Guess it's time I shutup and read. :

OK...I get the question now. Phew! If it's the filamentous algae that I have here that forms puffy light green mats...it grows on the bottom in the early summer then appears to die and lift off bottom in large sheets. My guess is it lifts due to methane production by bacteria. It's possible it produces the gas itself, but my guess is it just dies. Anyway, it can cover the majority of some ponds I fish. If it's shallow enough I fish a frog or worm and target pockets. Bass seem to be willing to blow up from beneath but often miss. The pockets give the bass a chance. I've have raked it too, in small areas, as bigbill suggested. It probably stays clear bc new stuff isn't re-growing below. Windy periods will push most of it to one side of a pond leaving an open side too. Good luck with it. Let us know how what you figure out. Hey, welcome aboard BTW.

Absolutely! Up until recently, I thought everyone knew what a "Big Kahuna" was! I'm serious! Isn't that a pineapple, standing tall next to a pair of Kiwi's?

Ah...I see. Went back and read Rhinos post. Michelle43 is it true one can "unedit" a jpg image?

Well I'm fishing a big grass flat in the main channel. The two spots that I found were basically holes in the grass. The holes aren't big, maybe 25 feet across. The grass around these holes is thinner than much of the grass so that the bigger fish have more room to move around, yet still enough cover to ambush pray. I found one of these spots by accident as I was drifting with the wind that was present when the sun first came up. I looked down and saw three 5-6 lbers sitting in this hole and a bigger one cruising the edges. I marked a waypoint and left them alone for a little while since they had seen me. Eventually I spent most of my time trolling between these 2 holes in the grass. The area is almost like a cove. Three sides of it had grass scummed up on top like a land mass. The area in the middle is bowl shaped. The grass isn't as high because the water is deeper there. It goes from 4ft to 8 ft deep. Its within a couple hundred yards of the main channel and some good ledges so there is deep water close by. When they are pulling current, the fish come up on these grass flats and eat. When I first drifted over the area you could see why the fish are there. There was so much life, from small minnows to bluegill all over the place. I saw a couple of nice bass jumping bluegill on top. Nifty. What a spot. It's got everything -including the big bass. Next time you pass over it -if you do -check with sonar to see if it's got a harder bottom -or anything else down there. Just curious. Did you catch/see big bass in both holes, or just the one? What was different? Always makes me wonder if big fish find these spots, or they develop into big fish because of spots like this.

Yeah that's Osage Orange, aka Boi d' Arc. We just called 'em cheese trees. When those cheese balls fall into the water they can be tough to fish through... Before tungsten we'd tied a chipmunk to a cinder block, and haul it back in the next day. Never caught nothin though.

Very nice. Congrats. Hard earned I'm sure. I'm confused though -don't understand the issue brought up here. It's his fish and his spot. Congrats and move on. Does he owe anyone more than that?

Never fished the moon. Then again I never believed it was made of cheese either. But..again...I've never been there.