Paul Roberts

So true. When I moved from the country to the suburbs around 1980, I slung my rifle and headed down to the tracks. An officer saw me and stopped. We had a nice chat about guns and how much he liked my customized Mossberg target rifle. The stock was re-worked, inlayed, glass-bedded, and had 3x-9x glass. He was impressed. Just before he drove off, he stuck his head out the patrol car window and said, "Oh yeah, next time maybe put it in a case." Now that's news. Sounds promising. A few years ago I spotted some black locust trees along a road. I make archery bows (self bows) and here in CO hardwoods are hard to come by. They were along a busy road so I contacted the city. I told them they were an invasive species, could I take a few. They put me through channels -don't remember how many people contacted me, but a week later I got a call from a Ranger. I met them at their office with a bow saw and two Rangers followed me around while I assessed and selected three smallish trees. They squirted an herbicide on the stumps and we said goodbye. I did ask them why everyone bothered with my request. They considered it part of public service. I felt a little silly about the whole thing and wish I'd found enough good wood to present them with a bow in the end. Regardless... you just never know. Squeaky wheel -with a genuine smile.

Yes, some reel and line combos you have to adjust line lay/spool height. Otherwise you can be in for some hassles.

Of course, what would be better would be to get permission -be the only one who ever asked- and you could watch that 8lber become a 9lber.

No... I don't mean sneak in. I mean ask. Ask more than once. You may get to know someone there. Ask about a waver. A while back I worked near a large set of ponds and got to know the manager, more or less, just in passing. Eventually I asked for permission to fish and eventually I got a key to the gates. There were two sets of ponds -52 ponds in all. And I had them all to myself. Even got to duck hunt back in gorgeous flooded timber, all by my lonesome. There was a large tract of land down the road from my home that was managed as a pay to play hunting club. I went and asked anyway. I hit it off with the owners and they granted me permission, the stipulation was that I prioritize spike bucks, and secondarily, a single doe. Perfect. Who'd a guessed. Oh, this is kinda cool... Just a couple weeks ago I put some field time in collecting willows to plant for a wetlands restoration project. Turns out the collecting location has a series of large private bass ponds/lakes. The guy I was working for has keys and said, "Maybe we can fish it sometime." And the restoration project we were supporting just happened to be one of my favorite bass quarries that was breached during the big floods here and access closed. Guy has keys to that one too, but he tells me that it'll open to fishing by the end of June this year. I'll probably be the only on there too. So.... who knows.

I only use a T-Rig now in dense cover. Open water I'm apt to use a jig head. Jig worms ("Shaky" among them) are esp good in clear water/high vis conditions.

Try everything. The only way things happen is if you try. Nothing to lose. Everything to gain.

There will be resident bass all over a given lake -upper, middle, and lower. It's just that seasonal cycles, that define what bass are doing when, are basically temperature dependent. The KVD seasonal guide should help you get in the ballpark, and give you some ideas as to what to read up on. Lotsa articles on seasonal events on this site. Then there's the In-Fisherman Handbook of Strategies books (old and newer editions) that provide a good basic framework to start understanding how bass operate. More immediately to your last question, if I understand it right: On large sprawling waters, the bass living in the warmer upper lake may be mostly in post-spawn, the bass in the middle lake mostly right in the spawn, and those in the lower lake mostly in pre-spawn. I said "mostly" a lot bc not all bass spawn at the same time, in any of the sections of a big lake -or even in one tiny pond.

Straight braid will catch fish but, as NYBasser said, it is prone to shredding on hard cover. It also has a tendency to slice into waterlogged wood. So... I use a leader. Length does not matter much of the time. In shallow water, esp with soft plastics, I'll use a very short leader (about 4-6ft), taking advantage of the fact that braid floats making a good strike detector. Otherwise I tend to use about a 10-12ft leader. I strongly recommend the FG-knot for braid to leader. Tiny slim knot and very durable. It can run in and out of the guides, lay on the spool, cast and handle virtually as if its not there. All companies make good braids. The only one I haven't liked is Fireline. Currently using -actually never left behind- Spiderwire Stealth, have used PowerPro and most recently am liking Daiwa's J-Braid. Suffix 832 has a great reputation too. I use 20# for M rods. 30# for MH. I also have 6# on UL rigs, 10lb on ML rigs, and 50# and 65# on heavy casting rigs. Hope this helps you make a decision.

spencer12, it sounds like fishing to me. You'll figure some things out. There will be places and times that produce best. Keep looking. Talk to your fisheries folks. Talk to other anglers. Fishing can start to feel a little foolish when you aren't catching. Hang in there.

Braking, not breaking. I do have one Shimano, an old Bantam Mag that I've loved for some 30+ years now. I have several ABU's and admit their magnetics scarcely work by comparison.

Thanks, guys. Price drop on Revo has me wondering. Been aware of Daiwa's braking reputation, but don't own any.

LM

Looks like a LH close-out.

Tubes catch bass. You can rig them lots of ways. If you are fishing open water -which it sounds like- then a 90deg jig head is best bet. Fish on light line 6-8lb. No more than 10lb. Great triggers are on the fall -esp the spiral fall you can get with a 90deg head on a slack line. Color? Anything that gets your heart to skip a beat when you tie it on. A favorite of mine of late has been a Z-Man tube in "The Deal". Oooooooo...

Yeah, when we get into the specific instances across waters, semantics can get in the way. The diff between "movement" and "migration" is probably generally best described as short range and long range in time and/or place. But the dividing line can be tough to find. I've come to this: Most bass "move" seasonally bc winter and summer most often have diff requirements. My thinking is that a seasonal shift from (usually) deeper, main lake, winter habitat to feeding habitat is the same basic behavior, across all water bodies. How far that needs to be, and exactly what it looks like, can sure vary. Even in my smallest ponds the general habitat areas are deeper main body areas (winter and summer) and shallows (to spawn, and often to feed). I see that as functionally the same basic behavior regardless of water body, although how it plays out in diff waters can sure vary.

How do they compare? What do you like?

Clunn's concept is basically this: Upper, Middle, Lower. The idea is basically a limnological designation in that a dammed watershed will be shallowest and usually warmest in the upper sections, and deepest and coldest in the lower section closer to the dam. So, upper heats earlier and fish start their year earlier there. They start their year latest in the lower. On large sprawling waters, the upper may be mostly in post-spawn, the middle spawning, and the lower in pre-spawn/just starting to spawn. Same can possibly be the same in individual creek arms, although here size (volume) of the arm really begins to weigh in in terms of the amount of difference in timing. In general, bass move from deeper winter quarters to shallower feeding and/or spawn locations as spring season progresses (warms -essentially). Winter (and often summer) locations are most often in the main lake or lower creek arm areas as adult bass seem to prefer larger water volumes and depths in winter and summer. Bass are "object-oriented" so they tend to travel from "object" to "object" as they migrate (travel deep to shallow and back again). How this is actually laid out varies with individual water body, or section of a water body. This also happens in natural lakes, and even in ponds. Factors include lake size, depth, clarity, habitat availability, prey type and availability, ... . Hope this helps steer you in the right direction.

iMovie is fun. It has its limitations but I'm getting what I can out of it. A-Jay, my wife nominated me. And I won!

I have been working on a couple documentaries on bass behavior. First one will be on the spawn. I was playing around with iMovie canned trailers and thought I'd share it.

40.

Same on trout streams. Those "wily", "leader shy", "scrutinizers", and all around "#%@&!" actually prefer a dragged fly (or lint wad on a hook) after darkness falls. Tells us an awful lot about what our fancy lures actually mean to the fish when they can actually see them.

I just buy my own, and some fancy colors too. This is a fishing town here (trout fly-fishing mostly). At the check-out counter at the beauty stores, the girls look at me and say, "Fisherman, huh?"

We're just breaking 50F in my mid-sized ponds. Some small shallow ones have hit mid-50s. I'm fishing now. Just dodging wind storms. Planning a "first topwater" trip here soon.

No need. I'd worry that the blank is cracked. Guide wraps are covered with rod wrapping epoxy.

I want a large spool for casting distance and retrieve speed. So I go over-sized. Reels can be pretty light now so weight/balance is less of an issue. I am using US Reels 230 and 240's a lot, and my most recent purchase was a Pflueger President Ltd. Ed. in size 40.