Paul Roberts

Wonderful thread.

Boil the tails.

Ditto. Same even for a lot of fishing articles. The thing that always got me was the statement "depending upon conditions". I would holler "What conditions!" Now, I know its complicated, but that's the important stuff. Now trying to produce my own I realize how much real time goes into producing content -esp truly educational content. It's like the difference between reading the book and watching the movie. The book may take a week to read -the movie 2 hrs. Movies/video require a focus, not bite off too much at a go. If that focus must include selling a product or some other thing, the educational content gets short shrift. I understand the needs of commercial interests, and adding in the time it takes to get nature to cooperate, I can understand the challenges. That said, it's a slippery slope, and it appears some slip easier than others.

Defintiely opens up tons more fishing water to you. Everything is now reachable, and all angles are open. I use a float tube and have not added a yak bc the waters I fish are small enough that a tube does just fine. I will add a yak as my range, and water sizes, expand. If your waters are small, or you are content to fishing smaller pieces of larger waters, a tube could suffice. Since you travel a lot, a tube can be deflated and packed pretty small.

Looks like 70s stuff to me.

Oh man... I can still picture: Bill Clinton looking silly in a duck blind, HW Bush casting off a dock holding his spinning rod upside down, and Dick Cheney with a guide-caught brown trout. At least Cheney's reel was in the right orientation. BS meters pinned.

WTG!

These are tough questions, in general -bc bass ponds are complex places despite all the "pea-brain" talk that goes on- and specifically bc I'm not there to actually see. Questions: 1 - Why were the fish in different moods? Not all bass in a population are doing the exact same thing at the same time. "The spawn" is not a one shot event. Each bass goes through the same basic behaviors, but at different times, through the spawn period. And, apparently, individual bass don't spawn every year, it's physiologically too taxing. Some percentage -males esp- spawn every other year. Bass are also real biological critters, not machines. They are individuals and no two act exactly alike. 2 - Why did the aggressive fish stop biting? Best guess here -and this is pretty normal- is that they learned that your jig was not food. Also, just the act of fishing to them switched their circuitry from willing to chase food to self preservation (i.e. they became alarmed. You flipped the switch, dude. ) Each bass does not have to bite either; They can learn by watching others. 3 - Were my lures too big at first? Maybe. In clear water a big bright (white) lure could be intimidating, or too unnatural, more easily putting them off. 4 - Where are the big fish? Catt said it. Females are usually separate just ahead of spawn time. They will be deeper, but not far. When spawn is imminent, or during, females will hold closer to surface (at spawn depth) but over deeper water than the males at bed depth. That said, while females can get bigger than males, in waters with poor growth rates males and females may be pretty similar in size. 5 - What other baits should I be using? Clear water, spooky fish. I go subtle: 6" straight tail worms (drop-shot can be great), tubes, jigs, ... Switching baits, and resting fish, can bring them back into biting mode. 6 - Why were the fish in groups? Bass are social, esp coming out of winter. Sounds like your spawn is just beginning. 7 - Why was my hookup ratio so bad? Dunno. Possibly the fish were tentative: Bedding males as Catt said, and/or aggressive but spooky fish. Mechanics of what you were doing? And... is that hook dangerously sharp? If you could see the strikes, or they were happening on a short line, you may have been popping the lure out while they were still handling (hadn't crunched and begun to swallow yet). 8 - Were the fish's jaws weak or something? No. 9 - Anything else? Lots! It'a a big world out there full of ... quarks and uncertainty stuff. Fishing is a matter of chipping away at probabilities and hoping the stars/gods are shining on you. Days goes by mighty quick don't they?

One of your comments to me about my videos was that you wished I'd done less editing; the loss of potential insights. If everyone was like you A-Jay, we wouldn't need to edit. Sure would save me a heck of a lot of work.

Agreed. But... three plus hours? I think a little editing and production might be helpful in that case. One would have to be dire-hard -angler or screen watcher, I'm not sure which.

I've begun some video production myself and have had to consider how to entertain viewers long enough to get concepts across and the best ways to demonstrate things that are not often easy to see. I understand the use of "artistic license" but that's a potentially slippery slope -esp where there's ego or money and advertising involved. The use of private or other guaranteed fisheries to look like a "big time fisherman", to sell a product, or even demonstrate a concept -without acknowledging that the viewers "results may vary"- is disingenuous in my mind. Nobody likes to feel duped, or BS'd. I think the popularity of reality shows and Youtube is the authenticity, while many canned shows are becoming less appealing. We all are curious and want to learn, and we all have BS meters wired in. So, at least for me, the trick is demonstrating content while maintaining authenticity. I would never be comfortable pretending, much less cheating or lying. Hey, I know a big budget show has to produce fish, but private managed waters, guaranteed fisheries, or fake catches, don't necessarily, or even often, address the fishing most of us do. They can, but an important part of that demonstration is often conveniently left out. I will use "artistic license" for illustration purposes. In a piece on fishing a swim jig I catch a large bass on an acceleration in the retrieve. I edited in a clip of the same jig underwater, paused and then accelerating way from the camera -a bass's eye view. Now, that jig shot was shot a few days later. I'll also use artistic license "to take you there". A neat part of 1st person video fishing is feeling like you too are there. An example was in a piece during which I talk about choosing where to make your first cast, and cut away to a bass underwater holding in a brush pile. I cast to a brush pile and catch a bass. Not the same bass, even the same brushpile, but the cutaway breaks up the scene and makes it more interesting. Gotta balance content with entertainment or viewing interest. I enjoy watching vids of people fish, but must admit that viewing can get a little slow watching someone casting and retrieving from one angle for very long -the time it takes to catch fish, much less a bunch of them. I like to show retrieves -how I'm retrieving a lure and why. So the viewer has to watch one or more complete retrieves at times. And I want to show a number of fish caught, to show that the technique or circumstance is not an anomaly. Can't make everyone happy I guess. There are those who want the details and those who just want to be entertained. It's tough -or takes extra work- to do both. But for me it's important to honestly address the reason viewers are watching in the first place. If that's pure fantasy entertainment, they can always flip the channel.

I've not had any issues with the FG. Not had one leggo yet. Got to tie them well, keeping tension on the leader end in particular. I use three half hitches at the end, trim the leader butt, then three more half hitches. Then I apply superglue. I can have one ready to go in minutes.

I've done well in both lakes and ponds. Ponds can be a double-edged sword. They are right in front of you, but if you're not catching you can't use the size of the water, or location, as an excuse. Seasonally speaking bass often move away from shorelines -into more open water, or deeper edges of open water- during summer and winter. So bass in lakes of course have the opportunity to move out of reach of shore bound fishers. But many, if not all, lakes have either bass that remain shallow all year, and/or places that allow you to access deeper habitat. Habitat is the key though. You are looking for diverse complex bottom and cover make-up (structure, cover), and the presence of prey. On a lake, it might take some driving and exploring shorelines to find the good spots. On ponds, it often takes some walking; Bass are not equally distributed -or equally catchable- all around a given pond. On lakes, I've done well in coves, arms, lagoons, rip-rap, bridges, and marina's. Marina's, if you can fish legally, offer cover and relatively deep water. They often hold fish all through the summer.

Swim Jigs, Tubes, Swim Baits -thinking about fishing around spawning colonies. Not all that confident with "imitation" in general though; Not that I don't attempt it. Seems other things take priority -not spooking them, getting it to them, depth, speed, visibility, action/triggering. Hatch matching is at the end of the line. Not that I don't go out of my way to get close to what I think suggests "bluegill" to bass. I've repainted cranks and choose color schemes on my lures and skirts thoughtfully. I'd like to think it makes a difference. But I cannot say and have seen plenty that would make me think otherwise. But, I do gain a charge of excitement/confidence when I tie on a carefully chosen, and tweaked, bluegill-esque lure.

Shouldn't be too much to worry about. You are now seeing them bc they are heat lovers. They will then spawn in those shallows. The majority of young carp get eaten by the bass. Large numbers of surviving carp can muddy waters some from their rooting. Almost all my waters have carp in them but they never reach numbers that seriously impact the bass. Except in one pond in which the only cover was vegetation until the managers introduced too many grass carp, which decimated the vegetation. That was a bummer.

I don't. I do have a casting reel with a reverse switch but I certainly don't use it. No idea what its for actually. Too risky of backlash for me. That risk is virtually non-existent with spinning gear. In back-reeling, I don't palm the spool (or rotor actually). No need. From the other side of the fence, I guess, I've always ended up feeling like I'm having to defend BRing as some kind of inferior vestige from the stone age. Which it isn't. I see a thread on BRing now and take a deep breath and wade in. Or not. I don't really care how someone else has their fun.

Well, I've been a back-reeler for over 40 yrs now. Never once used drag on a spinning reel. If it were me, every spinning reel would have a reverse/anti-reverse switch, NO drag, and extra spools. Lucky for the majority I'm not in charge of such things.

Spawn is imminent. Stealth and a wacky-rigged stick-worm is my best bet.

The old Lunker City Shaker is a good soft swimbait.

I use two in my bluegill-based waters: black for dark days and dingy water, and "pumpkin"/olive for bright high vis conditions. If I had shad I'd probably add a pearl-ish kind of thing in my swim jigs. That kind of does it for me. Oh yeah, and like some and unlike others , I like a matching trailer.

When I bought my first casting rig I worked in a tackle shop. Got to feel everything out. And despite being a righty I chose a RH casting rig. No, it doesn't make sense and I think -when thinking about it- a righty should be using a LH casting reel -just like for spinning. So, a few years ago now, I bought a LH casting reel (Daiwa Fuego -the red one). And before I could use it I messed up my right elbow -my Doc's first case of "bass elbow" ('tennis elbow' for tennis players). I've been fishing lefty ever since (but casting right ). I think this year I'm ready to switch back and see how it goes. And I'll finally get to use that LH casting reel. Wish me luck.

Might those bass in the first pic be post-spawners that haven't rebounded yet? The smaller ones look like males that have recently come off guard duty. The pike: Pike, esp older larger ones, are temperature sensitive. Unlike younger "hammer handles", big pike are nearly a coldwater fish. If that pike couldn't find cold water in that lake, or hasn't migrated there yet, it could be in decline. Looks healthy though, so it could rebound -but maybe not till late fall when water temps fall. You say early spring... possibly post- spawn? I definitely would not assume that those crappie wouldn't be cannibalistic if they had other choices. As far as I know, everything in the right size bracket, and catchable, is fair game in the fish world. Catchability plays a role for sure. And young shad may be easier to catch than cover-oriented young crappies. But that's a guess and appropriate cover availability would be important there. Just some thoughts. I'm going to take back my above statement that I haven't seen a good percentage of thin vs normal body condition in a bass population. Happened just this past summer. Here was my take: We had an unseasonably hot (record) June and into July here. 100F air temps and water in mid80s. Nearly killed the daytime fishing. Worked hard for few fish and those were thin. This is not uncommon when its really hot in mid-summer. But this began in June! Some of these fish may not have had the opportunity to regain body condition after spawning. Usually June and into July are ideal in temperature for bass growth here and they tend to be in excellent body condition. Forward a month to August and cold fronts brought relief, and daytime fishing rebounded. What was interesting was that while most fish were thin (but healthy) a few were porkers -one had a good-sized bluegill in it's throat, and another was simply a tank. All the ones in good body condition came from the same cove. I'd already walked the pond prior to fishing (from shore and float tube) and found a concentration of bluegills in this cove. There were appropriate sized bluegills in another cove across the pond, but the milfoil was much denser there. My assumption is that hunting conditions were different in opposite coves. The bass in the dense cove were sitting in a trophic false peak, while those across the pond were sitting pretty. Meager side of the pond: Fat side of the pond: The "tank" was not the only big fish I caught. I also caught another of the same length in a different section of the pond that was thin. I actually caught her twice: First in the thick of the heat wave and she was very thin. I caught her again after things had cooled down and while she was still on the thin side, she was rebounding nicely. This is all conjecture of course. I do not have the tools at my disposal to really be definitive about these things -esp concerning individual fish- in my small ponds much less lakes I've never been to. Energy flow is what we're looking at, but there are a bunch of variables involved in the works. Some are more important than others, and these shift around depending on conditions. For all I know, the bass on the one side of my pond are smarter than the ones on the other. But I kinda doubt it. I'd love to think that that tank was "smarter" than the rest, only able to caught by a cagey fisherman. She didn't have any other hook marks, so.. maybe!

I'm ambidextrous with my spinning and casting gear. But I prefer left retrieve with spin and right with casting. Dunno why.

I don't know the age of that bass. But, younger fish generally have sharper edged fins -like the one the young man is holding. Old fish do not regenerate tissues as quickly as young fish and this seems to show up in the fins, their being rounded and more apt to be ragged. Same is true for trout. I also catch plenty of skinny young bass. The possible reasons can vary. The most common one here is the combination of high summer water temps and dense vegetation. Body condition on my bass takes a nose dive during these times. Sometimes a certain size bracket tends to be thin, and my assumption is that there is a gap in the food chain. Similarly, in some waters I fish bass tend to peak out at a certain size, the larger fish then becoming thin. Then there can be sick fish. Caught one last fall actually that I could only assume was sick or injured -the most pathetic looking bass I've ever seen. "90% are skinny, 10% are normal"... Not sure I've seen that. It's more apt to be the other way around. Best guesses (and they pretty much distill down to "food". Why can't I say "food"?): -A trophic peak exists that only 10% of bass are able to make use of. Not terribly likely I would suspect. -A separate basin in with very different trophic status. -Warm water discharge where some fish avoid excessively heated water and others set up home ranges near it. -You ran from one end of a large lake for 90% of your catch, and to the other end for the remaining 10%. What are your thoughts?

The spawn is imminent.