Paul Roberts

Ah! Thanks Wayne. No, I'm not familiar with imaging. Only 2D. And... how do I compare the fish with the depth? I see 9.8 feet, but...

Neat to see those shad all balled up there. Something's on them. Not sure I'm seeing the 3ft bass... Don't see a single gas bladder return. Could it be a string of shad?

Reminds me of some Jonboat crossings I've made. Or that old tri-hull a buddy had.

Thailand is an awesome place, and sportsfishing is big there. Nifty lures. They'll catch fish. Shouldn't be hard to make.

If you can fit all your stuff in a box that is not too unwieldy, then there are some good options out there. I've liked the Plano Guide Series boxes as they have variable compartment sizes that can make for a useful box. I couldn't possibly carry all my stuff so I keep it in an Umco "Possum-belly" box, several large duffle-style bags, and lots of spill-over compartmented boxes. I then use a box or a backpack for excursions. I've liked best: -Plano Magnum suitcase-style boxes. -A backpack. I couldn't find one made for fishing that I liked -with enough pockets and compartments- so I went to REI and found one there.

Over 50F I'm more apt to use horizontal baits. Under 50F I'm slowing WAY down and/or fishing more vertical. I like: -jerks -flat cranks (slow rise versions) Fats can work too though. -lipless -bladebaits -hair jigs, grubs; (w-w/o overhead spinner -slows things) -Float-n-Fly

Anything, up here anyway.

Fascinating thread. Well.. it ain't the lures. Nearly all mentioned have worked for me. Waters? Conditions? Confidence/concentration?

Bob Underwood, in his scuba diving with bass, said that electric motors did not spook fish as much as rowing did. He attributed the latter to the pulses of water movement created by oars, compared to the consistent beat of the motor. He also said that scraping the bottom of the boat got every bass's attention within 100 feet; they all turning to face the sound. But I'll bet that doesn't happen where boat bottoms are as think as lily pads lol. Bass are "curious" and what curious means is attentive to things in the environment that might spell food or danger. Thus, responses may vary.

Lotsa anecdotes/evidence on both sides. Sure you can startle fish, and some things are more apt to do this than others. Fish can also be attracted by disturbances. Both are influenced by context. Here's a quick anecdote: My very young son was with me on a pond and he started tapping a light wand of a stick onto the surface at pond edge, just watching the ripples he could make. Soon the bluegills got interested too. It wasn't long after that that some large eyes and striped sides appeared. Pretty cool. One thing seems to be consistent: Once you've spooked em, you can't attract them. Worth avoiding the former before trying the latter.

LOL

Problem is, the bass that are most apt to be killed are the big ones. That hurts.

So... a kit that will catch some fish. Baits that are easier to get results from than others. And you say four. Here are some options your students might choose from. Could do all this with two rods –a M spin and a MH casting: Finesse -Wacky’d Senko-type, or Jig-worm (what they call “Shaky” now), or jig-n-grub (what they call “Ned-rig” now) Cover: T-rigged worm Cover or open, warm or cold: jig-n-trailer -flipped (3/8 to 1/2oz) or swum (1/4oz). Choosing weights gets a little tough with cover density, depth and speed considerations. Power: lipless, buzzbait or SB (more versatile) Deep: C-Rig or DS Cold water: lipless, hard jerk, hair jig, blades I love Mepps Aglia #3’s (in open water), tubes, swimming worms, floating Rapala’s, wakers… OK… honed down : -Ned (or Wacky’d 4” Senko) -T-rigged worm -Jig-n-Trailer -Lipless --tough not to add the buzzbait/SB …

Every water is different, esp large ones like what your fishing. Generalities: In natural lakes esp, largemouth tend to move less -are more home-bodies- than smallmouth. So.. they will likely be not too far from where you are catching them now. By late fall bass are already zeroing in on winter habitat as it's comin' fast now. A few serious cold fronts will shut the door on fall. In winter they'll likely be deeper, and bunched up. Classic winter habitat is steep, deep (very relative), no current, hard bottom (if available). Weeds can still be very important. Being a big water with lots of potential prey possibilities, it could be that some prey species unavailable much of the year could weight in: alewife, gizzard shad, perch, mooneyes?... Keep your eyes and sonar peeled. But the LM will likely have to have the prey come to them, rather they pursuing them very far from 'home' structure/habitat. Check with your regional fisheries folks. They are often able to help, or steer you to relevant info.

Ultimately, you want a long, parabolic (slow), powerful rod with large well placed stripping guides (first two), enough guides, a wide-spool reel, and braid. DVT -do you agree?

Thanks Will. (I'm more hack than master though. Lucky fish are easier to please than fisherman, and that I'm not a pro tier.)

Good question. I too, like smalljaws, would like something with more action if its really turbid. I have done well in pea-soup water with bucktail keel streamers in the past -they pull a nice wake- but that's been fishing up in the shallows and up near the surface. Some waters I've been fishing lately have become turbid post-flood (siltation with carp activity, and phytoplankton blooms). These waters are mildly turbid (~18" visibility), but enough to put the fish close to cover. I've been catching some fish with large curly-tail grubs and thumper-tail swimbaits but thought I'd tie up some some dense bulky bucktail jigs (fished with action trailers) for the wake they can push. Will let you know how it pans out. Here's one:

Yup. You won't be able to cast the 14lb as far as the 8lb -more drag in the guides, more mass, and more spool friction. I own a few SuperCasters and can't say they cast further than the "long spool" designs also touted to cast long. But, I would think they should. Haven't done any measuring though. I get the longest casts using braid however.

Neat! Good luck with your designs. What fun. Hey... you also have illustrated one of the reasons why I do not use drag with spinning reels. I back-reel, and had even designed (sketched) a backreeler spinning reel. Of course, few would buy it. Too tough to wean people away from drag.

Matzuo... In general, they are a low end brand sold by chain retailers. Their hooks and jig heads have been fine. But I've found the hardbaits to be variable performers. That said, I've had good luck with their suspending jerks, and some cranks. And I had a bit of a love affair going with the "Huntin' Dog" -a small "walk-the-dog" topwater. That first one had a long dart to it that was just great. I bought a bunch before they disappeared altogether. But they were SO inconsistent: Some floated nose up, some level, some lay on their sides! I took to doctoring them up -drilling them out and adding weight to balance them right -a bit nose up. They work great, but not worth most people's time, and they appear to be discontinued. I get a kick out of cheap plugs. Many work great. Others need help, and being so cheap can be fun to tinker with. I get a kick out of fixing them; making cheap, even ridiculous, stuff catch fish. I bought a number of cheap Cabela's store brand cranks a while back -both fats and flats (shads). The fats work great; I still happily throw them. The shads (that look a lot like the one in the pic above) didn't; they barely shimmied on retrieve. Never did tinker with those. Here are some Matzuo's, (except for the bottom left topwater): The popper needed a lot of help, and got it; works fine now. The Huntin' Dogs all needed balancing and work fine now. The jerks worked great out of the box. The lipless work well too and are 1/4oz making them able to be fished high over submerged veges. The fat cranks on the right, I loved the translucent colors -great for clear water- to which I added immature bluegill accents. They were dirt cheap and worth the risk. They fished fine right out of the box, despite the thick lips on them. That's one thing that get's my attention is that Matzuo has some very good colors and finishes. If you have the time and inclination, they can be fun tinkering baits. That bottom left topwater I've had for, gosh, 40yrs?! It was a cheap prop bait with aluminum props that didn't turn. I took em off and found it dove, slipping and darting like a subsurface Zara. Worked VERY well. It's present condition was due to further tinkering -a semi-weedless darting bait.

I haven't found much difference between public and private water in terms of bass behavior. The exception might be waters where bass are fed -I've seen bass lined up to get their rations. Fishing pressure is the only thing that tends to be different, and you just have to learn how to work around that. It comes in two flavors: Generally educated fish -general exposure to angling (and it doesn't take all that much fishing pressure to edify a population of bass.). And the short term effects of others fishing the water in front of you. One can learn to work around either.

This can be very true. I haven't thrown BIG lures in enough waters to say that it's particular to out-sized lures, but lure size can matter a lot. Some waters bass can be keyed in on small prey and going small -even super small- makes all the difference. Many waters though don't give the bass opportunities to be selective. And in such waters, it's amazing what bass will try to stuff in their mouths.

"Hair" can mean any number of things. Beyond the manipulations you make, what hair jigs offer in terms of triggers are speed (they tend to able to be fished slow), and the wake (water moved) they make. Bucktail is great for both bc of its buoyancy. "Craft hair" is quite soft so it can move in the water and being a synthetic offers more and brighter color choices. If you are fixed on material's movement, you need really soft hair such as rabbit or, the best, marabou feathers. A heavier jighead also allows the material to move more when you pop, jig, or shake. Otherwise, the addition of a trailer is what gives the movement. Bottom line I guess is, hair jigs work great, esp in colder water, bc they can be fished slowly, and if tied fairly bulky, can pull a meaty wake -which bass always appreciate. If you want movement in the jig materials as a trigger, and it can be helpful at times -esp when the fish don't have all that much get-up-and-go- try a marabou jig with a pork strip (pre-softened). I tied my own marabou jigs, fished with a pork trailer -the Uncle Josh' "Spinning Strip". It was killer.

I was going to say the same thing. Another thing, all that terrestrial growth will likely increase nutrients, which in many reservoirs can be a good thing. This might show up in your seeing stained water (dissolved nutrients) and some phytoplankton blooms (green suspension) next summer. No guarantees of course, but all together this is a recipe for some boom years ahead.

Birds, moles, mice... what's next? You seem to find an inordinate amount of terrestrial critters in your bass catches. Are you fishing small waters? Or shoreline oriented bass? Marshes, swamps? Curious.