Paul Roberts

Thanks Tom. I bookmarked that one.

Two suggestions: -Figure out how the hook went in, then back it out exactly the same way. Figuring how it went in makes a BIG difference. -Go barbless. Seriously. I've even gone barbless with my hardbaits. They hold just fine and are SO easy to remove.

Start further out and ripple a tandem SB parallel. Then move in and flip.

Just curious: What were conditions like? Weather trend, sky, and water.

"Hammer'd 'em." or "Put the hammer to 'em." Now I'm more apt to say, "I'm on 'em."

Welcome Bass love large lures. Oftentimes lure size is a major trigger. Don't be afraid to lean toward larger rather than smaller.

Good thread. Even KVD gets his butt kicked. And it has less to do with his confidence or ego than the complexity nature can dish out.

As it stands now, I've honed major influences (as far as fishing results) down to frontal systems and predator prey interactions. Focus there and you'll have the major influences covered. If you get a moon too, great -maybe.

Doesn't sound very otter-like to me. Are these muskrats?

-Get the work off my desk (banner spring and summer so far). -Tile the mud room floor. -Get the electric fence back up and running before the bears get the chickens. -Restart bee hives (bears got 'em last year). -Build and install another raised garden bed. -Weedwhip the soccer field. -Replace bathroom sink. -Get the bamboo down in the office (adjoining mud room). -Put a stair case on the lower deck. -Ty-Vec and blow insulation into the windward side of the house. -Build a desk/workspace into my son's bedroom. -Get the transducer bracket mounted onto my float tube (As you see this not at the top of the list). - .... Ooooops! Didn't read the title. Rain? Put on a rain jacket and go fish.

Statistically it just doesn't hold up -at least for angler catch data. Haven't seen much else. Dig up the thread on the Texas Share Lunker program started by Catt a while back if you want to see how statistics can tease out the value of a data set. It'll at least give you pause before jumping on a band wagon. I was once a lunar believer because of things I saw on the water during moons. But then I started paying attention to the times when the moon wasn't involved, and I started to question things. So...I started observing and documenting the spawn. I just finished my third season. I hope to have something to say after I crunch through things. Another year and my wife might leave me LOL. Roger's comment addresses the opportunity for spawning behavior to fall during a "moon phase". He's pointing out that it's 50:50 right there. So far I can tell you that I have seen all ranges of spawning behavior inside and outside the full and new periods. But even this doesn't preclude influence. I've got more crunching to do. Nature just isn't simple, as Catt brings up. How important is the moon? I intend to find out as best I can.

Thanks Tom. There are papers that show lunar influence on spawning for many fish species -all saltwater as far as I've seen. Most are tides related -grunion for instance. There are others that appear not to be tide related -rabbitfish for one. But these relate to the full moon only, which has me wondering if this is simply light related. With freshwater bass, neither tide nor moonlight are a factor in spawning.

Tom, can you offer a citation? I'm genuinely interested.

Love to see that kind of smile!

Roger is correct. I went out and found some too. I've been mistaking Nitella for Chara, in places -I do have both. The Chara I have is the deepest "weed" I've got. The Nitella I've found was shallow -carpeting the shelf out to the where the milfoil wall starts. I took a couple pics: This species is different from Burley's, but there are many. The granules you can see on this one are spores. Burley's isn't producing spores at this time it seems. Here's a site with images showing many species -from the UK but showing the diversity of form. http://www.darwincountry.org/explore/001750.html

I've tried to do this. Since I follow the spawn on a series of ponds I look at flowering trees and shrubs. I especially paid attention to wild plum bc they are so common. The facts were: The different ponds spawned at different times within the same year, varying by about a week and a half due to differences in volume mostly. The plums? Depended on the individual clump I looked at. They varied as much as 3 weeks! Some were on there way out while others were just starting to blossom. No help there! Each water is slightly different and each year is slightly different. Plants may show individual variation that makes them, as a species, not very accurate in making predictions about what the fish are doing. Now, pick an individual tree and maybe. But...which one? :-/ Apparently TX dogwoods are a lot more consistent, and tied to the bass spawn, than are Colorado plums.

The electronics offer a signal. Your interpretation is only as good as what you actually know about what is producing those signals. Good post.

I've heard it and experienced it. Hit by bluebird weather and I'd head to the creeks for trout or smallies. I always assumed it had to do with the simple fact that current allows me to cast a lure without scaring the hell out of the fish. Can't see how that fits into your scenario though.

I think Roger's got it: Nitella. I don't have that here -just Chara -unless I've overlooked it.

Congrats Dwight. Fun idea 'Daddy! I have a suggestion: I've always noted that while SM and LM exhibit nearly the same average weights, the max size is much greater in LM. This skews the result toward SM (since you factor in state records). I do think a separate species ranking is appropriate.

I've got one fishing weakness right now -work! My strengths -I don't remember! I'm sure it'll all come back to me -some day.

Chara can be really strong or very weak in odor. You may have to crush it some.

http://www.ppws.vt.edu/scott/weed_id/chara.htm Looks similar, but different. :-? I wish I could have gotten a better photo. I drug a big clump of it into the boat and decided to take a photo. Left the camera out of the case after snapping a photo and the lens got fogged up. One sure way to tell: The next clump you pull up give it a sniff. And rub between your fingers: Chara is gritty. You'll know right away.

Really nice photos Roger. I like it when a scene shot is added to take us there. Thanks for that nice little addition to your story. And your wife can handle a camera. Thanks to her too.

Looks like Chara. It's a macro-algae. Also called skunk grass (smells skunky) or sand grass (gritty texture). Often the deepest "vegetation" in a lake. Can carpet the bottom. Might reach as much as 3 feet high in places. Crayfish love it. Often tough to fish through later in the season, and hooked bass can burrow into it. Despite the clear waters that tend to support it's growth I end up going up to 10# when I'd rather be fishing 6#.