Team9nine

Here's a screenshot of the water profile of one of my local reservoirs that the COE provides. This was just captured last week. What you'll see is the water volume above the thermocline, everything from the surface down to 20' in depth, is all within 1 degree F in temp. This upper layer of water, known as the epilimnion, stays separated from the lower, colder waters by the thermocline. As such, it tends to stay well mixed and is usually very consistent in temperature once surface heating is well underway. Things will by and large tend to stay this way all the way until cooler fall weather. The thermocline right now runs from 20' down to 30' where the water temp then once again stabilizes.

As already mentioned, there are a lot of variables involved. However, once you reach the more stable summer environment, and since you are only interested in the top 5-6 feet, it is probably a safe generality to say the temp reading across that small of depth range will be fairly consistent (similar to surface).

Barring abuse, I always want to see mine break at the knot (to lure) and not the connecting knot. This will vary though with type of knots used for either connection, as well as with difference in strengths between lines as Steveo mentions. My reasoning is this: A well tied connection knot using stronger braid main line should actually cushion the fluoro and maintain near its straight line breaking strength. No matter which knot you tie at the lure, your fluoro knot will likely be 20-30% weaker than the straight line strength. Hence, when all is right with the world, you should be breaking off at the lure

I wrote about this in the blasphemy post, as I've intentionally spent entire days doing things like this, usually to learn and prove to myself just what you can get away with. If you think not setting the hook was a learning experience, wait until you try things like tying on baits and leaving 10" of tag line, spraying bug spray or sunscreen on your lures, or forcing yourself to change bait colors after every fish, never repeating the same one. So many wives tales and theories, so little time

I think as long as you have other support help underneath, you'll be fine. I used a decent bit of 1/8" aluminum L-angle, both 1.5" and 2" in my boat rebuild. A couple examples below. I fished out of that boat (a lot) for nearly 8 years and never once had to mess with (repair) the L-angle used as bracing. Just use some good heavy stainless hardware along with the thicker aluminum.

Mobility and simplicity rule from the bank, IMO. One outfit, all the time, every time, and whatever fits in my pockets for tackle. Which outfit is based on season, as well as expected weather and water conditions.

I had to chuckle a bit when I read the title to this thread, as I was sitting at my computer reading an article by Buck Perry published in Feb. 1974 titled, "Learning To 'Read' Water Tells You Where To Fish In Any Body Of Water." Yes, the answer to your question has been around for over 40 years Buck wrote, "In the past, I have stressed "Structure" primarily. But structure, although very important, is only one of the Basic Fishing Facts that you and I must be concerned with...When the BASICS of fish behavior, structure, weather, water, and lure presentation is fully understood, the fisherman can then put this knowledge to work and come up with some answers to the many fishing conditions he is faced with." So, to answer your question, I'd suggest either picking up a copy of Buck's book, "Spoonplugging," or digging around the In-Fishrman site for the concept of F+L+P=S as your foundation. Either should get you started in the proper direction, and will provide more than enough info/pics to answer this, and many other questions. ...and yes, every point is a point, but the key is understanding which points will be productive, and why (not all are). -T9

I'm sure you could find something worthwhile in most issues, but like others have stated, advertising and promotion runs rampant, and there is only so many rehashes you can do over the years on any given technique or bait. Dropped my subscription in the early 2000s after more than 25 yrs. Had accumulated over 300 issues by then. I ended up giving them all to Jacob (Wheeler)

Anything is possible, but I'd be shocked if she was allergic to fluorocarbon. More likely either something in the water that she is coming in contact with via the line or simply irritation to line rubbing and use. Guessing it might happen no matter what line she used.

Sounds like a plan...because it's not about winning or losing, but whether you look good competing the fish could care less what color you have spooled on.

What do you want to know? Awesome piece of fishing history. I have two of them myself, one I keep for historical purposes and one I play with from time to time out on the water. Both still work great and are in nearly perfect condition. Many of us old-timers were raised on flashers, well before the first LCG/LCR units came on the market.

Rules/regs/laws: http://www.indianalakes.org/PDFs/IN_handbook_entire.pdf Horsepower restricted lakes will be much tougher. Anything under 300 acres that is state waters is supposed to be electric only, but there are a lot of restrictions, either speed or horsepower on smaller municipal or county owned waters. There are also specific zones within larger natural lakes up north with specialized speed limits and regs. Best bet is to contact your local DNR or CO person for the area. -T9

Don't overlook all the smiley faces in my post, as well as the disclaimer (jk, sort of...) I've experienced plenty of people on the water that fit all those categories, as well as a bunch that haven't. All just good sarcasm...though I think the etiquette trend line has a negative slope compared to many years past. -T9

That's what I figured...2 Power Poles and a jersey is the sign of a professional who thinks he owns the water, or at least has a more deserving right to be there on the spot If you had said he only had one, then that's a "wanna be" who likely doesn't know any better and was just emulating the behavior of the pros He can still be taught proper etiquette if intervention comes early enough, before he adds his second Power Pole. If you had said he had no Power Poles, then that is just an everyday angler like us, but with a p••s poor attitude No help for him - just the way he is... -T9 (jk, sort of...)

How many of those fancy Power Poles did this guy have on the back of his rig?

Something isn't adding up. I run two different outfits with 832, six pound and ten pound line, almost always with 4'-6' leaders, and can't say I've ever run into the issue you're describing....with any braid I've tried, actually. Almost sounds more like a rod issue - improper size or spacing on those first guides. Strange.

Generally speaking, no, but there are exceptions like everything else. If given the choice, nearly always select the stocked lake. Stocked lakes have the better chance of having a stronger population, and there tends to be a direct correlation between population size and catch rates. Additionally, new research suggests natural populations can suffer from "fisheries-induced evolution," simply meaning adding fish with a different genetic make-up can offset some biological characteristics inherent in native populations.

Yep - the faster you accept the fact that this entire industry is based on selling you something, amidst the smoke and mirrors, the quicker you can ground yourself by focusing on what really matters, and start catching more fish. Sadly, the game has devolved to one of rule bending, discourteous behavior, and getting your competition disqualified.

It's definitely headed that way, but as Tom pointed out, you can't change the business model too much. I believe you'll see a "happy medium" ultimately down the road, a hybrid format if you will. Exactly what it will look like is hard to say, but the talk I've heard are things like, rounded weights for BassTrakk, no final day BassTrakk, being able to bring 5 bass live to the scale on the final day, etc. Won't be a fast change, but look for some new ideas to be tested during the Classic bracket format event later this year. -T9

Got 3 days on before and will likely get one day after. Perfectly content to give the fools one day to be on the water. I've already seen enough stupidity to know I didn't want to be out there today.

I'm in good shape and already figuring out what I'm going to spend the money on, because as Buck Perry stated, "Knowledge is the key to success" - not tackle. -T9

Somebody better catch her quick then, because that fish is at the end of her lifespan and will be dead of natural causes in the next year or two Look, Jennifer's fish was a freak of nature. It didn't just break the state record, it shattered it. State record bass usually increase gradually, several ounces at a time. Hers beat the existing record by over 2.5 pounds. It is likely the 2nd or 3rd largest northern strain bass ever documented. Could it happen? Sure - maybe it will be me next week on my semi-private lake. Is it likely to happen? No. As just one example, thanks to the addition of Florida bass into Chickamauga, TN now has a new state record at 15.3 pounds. But the old state record of 14.5 pounds, smaller than Jennifer's fish, stood for over 60 years (1954). Jennifer's fish has stood for over 25 years already. I fully expect it to stand for another 25. Thanks to global warming, one day our record will fall, but it's more likely one of our neighbors (KY, MO, IL, OH) who haven't even reached the 14 pound barrier yet will go first.

It will never be broken again, at least not in our lifetimes, Or until they figure out how to genetically modify Florida strain bass to survive in Indiana

Pretty much agree with A-Jay...10# SE Mono on the MF and I'd go with the 8# Izorline Copoly on the ML (assuming you don't want to buy any more line). -T9

This guy let me get the boat right next to him