Paul Roberts

Never thought of that. I have, with long fins, reacted on a small fish and sent it cartwheeling across the water. Guess I was a little "tense" ;D. Sometimes I hate spinning around to move and fish. Especially when I really need to be quiet. Spinning in the tube will send a pressure wake. If I can I like to fish with the wind, but can't always do that of course. Nothings perfect, especially in fishing. So many variables. Natures a BIG place. Good stuff.

I have wondered how those type of fins work. Yes, I do have to spin and then kick backwards to re-position, and it is a bit of a pain. But only a small bit. I can creep forward by pushing back, then very slowly bringing my fins up and forward and pushing again. It's very slow though; sometimes just enough, other times I have to just spin and kick like a crawdad to my next position LOL. I also use an anchor a lot. Don't know if others do. It helps keep position even in a breeze. Also, it's easy to lose position while fighting and unhooking fish. The anchor keeps me in place.

Tommy, there must be somthin' wrong with your camera. Or somehow I'm not seein' straight. John, ahhh, that's better, my eyeballs were starting to hurt. Nice bass, bro!

I'm not a "grass is greener" kind of guy. I love what I have, and wish I had more time to devote to it. And to really bring this sentiment home, I spent two years in urban industrial China. I loved the friends I made, but the landscape made me start hallucinating for home. The first morning back home (now in CO) I sat by a mountain stream and watched trout rise in crystal water to a chorus of robins. I then began bass fishing again (after years of trout chasing), and remember walking up to a marshy pond with my new son on my back, and letting out a long contented sigh. I found myself doing that often enough that my little boy, not yet talking, began to do the same ! Sure pleased me to share those wonderful "green" scenes with him. And still does. Let's just say I know where I'm NOT happy -where the grass is "browner". And I've got more green here than I can ever really cover.

Are we being "baited" here... Put the larger ones back. Keep only the smallest legal. Knock it on the head with a billy. Put it it on ice. But...there are a lot tastier fish out there.

Eventually you become intimate with waters enough that you begin to recognize individual fish. Then you realize that that world is far smaller than you at first might have assumed. My largest bass was also my friends largest bass -caught a year apart on almost the same lure on the same structure at the same time of year. He thanked me for releasing it the previous year. I caught a "big one" a few springs ago and a group of kids crowded around to ogle. When they saw me putting her back they said, "You're not gonna keep it?!" I said, "Absolutely not. You know, she's probably as old as you guys are. Fish like this is what makes this pond such a great pond. And you know what? ... She's still in here. I sure hope when you learn how to catch her, you'll do us all a favor and put her back too." I've actually caught her several times for a couple years -then, I think, she disappeared. I've caught her on a jig, but she had a mean streak for a Mepps #3:

Ooooooooohhh...I like the thought of that!

"Teach a man to catch a fish and he'll eat for a day. Teach him to fish, and he'll eat for a lifetime." (Or something like that) Your students would get a lot out of it and you'd get a lot of personal satisfaction. Can't beat that.

;D ;D I'm really good at fighting fish too. Agree with you on both points, except for one part of #1 -drag. I don't use drag on a spinning reel. I never have, and just can't let a mindless box of gears give line for me. That's my job. I can take the line as far to the limit as I choose and give only when I need to. I can relax tension some when I want to put a stale-mating fish off balance for a moment. I also love fighting fish on fly tackle. At first it feels like you have less control, until you get used to it and realize you have more control, especially in moving water. Lessseee...I'm a die-hard fisherman, until I get hungry. But give me a sandwich and LOOK OUT! I'm back in business. 8-)

I'm using long (divers) fins, and my boats FAST -in a relative way LOL. And yes they are very maneuverable. Stay with it. It'll get easier. When I first put mine in the water I couldn't do a thing! Felt very strange. But you'll get the hang of it. I began learning to turn by leaning off to one side, but eventually discovered I simply need to just take a swipe to one side to spin like a top. I can make subtle adjustments by rotating my leg in a circular way. Pretty soon you pretty much become part of the water and subtle motions will move you. A couple things might help. Fold your legs beneath, not just splayed out in front of you. And I remember early on it helped to look and slightly turn your shoulders in the direction you want to go; You then tilt a bit and your legs are pointed in the right way to move you to where you're looking. Anyway, play around some more. You'll get it, and develop excellent control.

Can't think of any. Hmmmmm... I guess brilliant skies and flat calm...no, no, I take that back. Hmmmmm....lessee...mmmmm....Ya got me there! Ah! Sharp temp drop in winter; when even remotely horizontal presentations fail. Gimme a bladebait. Probably could rig up a SB design that would work though.

Huskybass has a gorgeous replica mount. http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1235930514/all If they can be done that well, there are no "good" excuses anymore.

This is a really good question. And from what I can piece together from the research literature (so far), and my own observations, I can't argue with Randall's assessment. Two feet might not be giving bass a fully fair shake, (they don't need to be exactly neutrally buoyant when active), and who knows really what the real limits are when sufficiently motivated. But most telemetry studies show bass maintaining a pretty constant depth. BUT...these studies are just mostly average observations over a period of time, not constant observations. Since bass are not actively chasing most of the time, and conserving energy, one would expect them to be neutral in averaged observations. These studies really don't say much about what bass will do when actively feeding. Divers rarely see this too it seems. Most studies show bass making parallel movements when active, not making major depth changes, although there are some that did show regular changes of 8 to 14 feet. This however was to move up to feed, and down to return to resting water. It appears that the gas gland in closed-bladder species studied is surprisingly efficient, with compensation for modest depth changes occurring within an hour or two. Perch have been shown to make regular feeding movements as much as 20 feet (up to feed). But, this work hasn't been done for bass, as far as I know. Bass do feed on bottom, but whether this is really commonly a vertical movement is still in question. It appears, from my limited understanding at this point, that bass probably do not feed on suspended preyfish and crayfish on bottom, at the same time. Likely different groups of bass focus on their own level, unless the suspended feeders move somewhat parallel to intercept bottom cover for crayfish. This is speculation on my part at this point.

I'm a tuber now. (Gee, sounds like a song title!). I sold my boat a while back and now live surrounded by small waters. So, a tube works for me. I do miss the speed though. But, I've adjusted and simply need to think ahead a bit more, fish more thoroughly, and sometimes just kick like hell! No questions right now, but would love to talk tubes. Not that many of us on here it seems. Great to have your expertise on board.

Anybody know a good website to learn about and talk about bass fishing?? :

GO!!! Never look back.

farmpond, you are in IN. You've got fishin' now. Don't let the temps bother you. Pick the nicer days and get busy. The bass are happy! GO!!!

Very pretty fish, and nice sharp images. But, please, re-size to 500pix wide.

Nice!

Absolutely! Pix add a lot. Where'd you fish? What did you find?

Welcome Keukaguy, great to have you on board.

Can't see the details but you lucked into the "Rule of Thirds". You divide the image in the viewfinder by thirds and place your subject there -not dead center. Works vertically and horizontally across the image. It works by providing some background that also leads the eye to the subject. In the case of your pic, the muskie runs across the bottom horizontal third and leads to your handsome mug at the right vertical third. Even better, your face falls at the intersection of the right side 'thirds'. It's a lot simpler than I explained; not the first time LOL.

Great metaphor: I can actually feel it. ;D

Hey Copen, I like your avatar -nicely composed shot, and a pretty fish too.

Wait, I get 97.889gr. OK...seriously, I do understand the question. You want to fish a light bait, a 1/8oz sinker and worm, on a rod rated for something a bit heavier. Shouldn't be a problem with the rod. Might be with the reel though. If it's a casting rig (levelwind) and you aren't a good caster you are on the light side if you expect distance, or have to deal with much wind. Worms types vary in weight a lot. I buy some types for this very reason a heavy worm to cast weightless a long ways, say, when bass are spooky. Or for sink rate. Longer, and fatter, worms are heavier, of course. Also plastics vary in density, and salt added adds weight. Original Senko/Kinami stickbaits are among the heaviest. But, individually these vary surprisingly in weight. Here's a short article in which Brian Waldman actually weighed some popular worms for consistency, since density can matter: http://www.bigindianabass.com/big_indiana_bass/baits_and_lures/page/2/ see: April 29, 2008 More Bait Analysis Info So...maybe more than you wanted, but, I'm not shy about overkill. A Trick worm is a slim relatively light worm. If you have trouble casting it then try a larger, thicker, denser worm.