senile1

How can you not like, or at least highly respect, Brady as a quarterback if you are a true football fan? The man plays the game hard, is extremely competitive, seems to always come through under pressure, and has the stats and championships to back up an argument that he could be the greatest to have ever played. Having said that, I am tired of New England winning all the time. It is time for some new blood. That is the only reason I have rooted against New England lately. I also think if Aaron Rogers had Brady's supporting cast and coach he would surpass Brady as he is the better athlete. But things being what they are, Rogers won't come close to exceeding Brady's championship work.

I hope it works out for you, Ben. If you do have to move it, the SternMate link I posted above is some of the best information I have found. It is very precise and explains why old rules of thumb such as "15 inches" really don't apply any more with the different transoms that exist. I don't think you can go wrong following their instructions.

I have caught the most with a finesse jig and subtle craw trailer, followed by a jerkbait, and then a flat-sided crankbait. Our lakes have been frozen solid for the last 3 weeks so there has been no fishing for me since December. I need to get a Kansas license and hit the power plant lakes over there from what I have seen from @Bluebasser86. He has brought in some hawgs over there though it is an hour and a half drive for me.

If you wait for a good report to go fishing, the conditions will have changed by the time you get there.

I agree. It would be right behind the prop. I was thinking he needs to go further starboard but to pick a spot I would want to see the rest of his transom.

You want to keep the transducer away from any strakes or anything on the bottom of the boat that will cause disturbance in the water, while positioning it where it will be in the flow of water when you are on plane. Without seeing the rest of your transom all the way over to starboard I can't be sure of a better location, but I would be concerned that you are too close to the keel on the left and then you have your drain just to the right of your transducer. Both of those may create disturbance. There are some on this forum who have a great deal of knowledge for transducer placement. I found these instructions from SternMate to be very helpful. http://www.sternmate.com/Where.html

It looks like someone else already posted about this. See the thread below. It definitely reinforces the idea of paying attention to your surroundings.

Geez. Such incredible negligence by the driver of the cabin cruiser. That is hopefully a lesson he will not soon forget. Everyone is very fortunate to be alive in this one. Yes!!!!!!!!!!

Tom, My condolences to you and his family. It sounds like you had a number of great trips together.

If your cover (the vegetation) ends at 13 feet more or less, the structure (point, ridge, hump, channel, etc) typically continues beyond that and bass do use that structure beyond the cover. Not to belabor the point, but structure consists of the different projections, humps, etc that form the shape of the bottom of the lake. Cover consists of the trees, stumps, vegetation, docks, etc that are on the structure. Breaklines are lines formed by a sharp change in depth, outside line of vegetation, change in bottom substrate, etc. You might want to research these in depth as it will help you in your search for bass and I am only providing a cursory explanation in this post. Your vegetation will end where the turbidity of the water and the depth no longer allow enough light for it to grow. If your lake is deeper than where the vegetation ends, bass will use a structure that extends beyond that depth. As for exceptions to the rule, if bass are not the apex predator and some other organism exists that will feed upon them, bass will be less likely to use the part of the structure that is in open water with no protective cover. Also, during the summer when a thermocline develops if it forms at a shallow depth bass will not go deeper than that depth because there isn't enough oxygen to support them. It is likely you are missing out on some good fishing if you don't fish beyond the vegetation, but then again if your lake bottoms out at 17 feet you may be fishing most of it anyway.

These comments are based on the assumption from your post that you have had stable cold weather for the last couple of weeks. If you are going to have a few days of higher temperatures I would expect more bass activity by the second to third day of those temps even though that activity may not be significant enough to notice much difference. A few days of stable warmer temperatures can make a big difference. For water temperatures in the low 40s to the 30s, and for Northern Largemouth I typically use the following with the first three being used 90 percent of the time: Jig and subtle trailer in holding areas near the deepest water Jerkbait when they are not hunkered on the bottom around the same areas, as well as shallower areas near deep water Spoons Flat-sided crankbaits when they are active in shallower water (less than 10 feet) Others may use different, or additional baits like bladebaits, A-rigs, swimbaits, etc. but I just listed what I have the most confidence in.

When the surface water temperature is in the 30s or the low 40s catching a few fish of any size is a good day.

Keep 'em coming! Those are some amazing bass.

I would use a similar type of lure - the Rapala floating minnow. For the most part though, I would be looking at other presentations.

I get your point about confidence, Tom (@WRB), but I also get the point of those who don't say they are "good." Some of these people realize that "good" depends on the person defining it, and to think about it beyond your own definition is just worrying about semantics unless you are competing in a tournament. For example, you gave this definition in an earlier post: "This being a bass fishing forum I will assume the OP is inquiring about becoming a good bass angler. The definition offered is consistently having the ability to catch a few bass without regards to size. So I think size is a factor so let's add keeper size bass of 1 lb or more. A good bass angler needs to be able to catch keeper size bass in multiple lakes, ponds and rivers, not just one." By your definition, I meet the standard of a good angler. In my mind, however, your definition would be a fair angler, not a good angler. I think a good angler can not only determine how to catch a few keeper fish everywhere they go and do it often, but they can also put together a medium to good sized bag of keeper fish at least some of the time with an occasional trophy. Of course a good-sized bag is relative to the lake and some lakes yield far less trophies than others. I am not a tournament angler but I do like to use the 5 fish bag as a measurement. By this definition, I would say I am on the low end of good or the high end of fair. Part of the reason for this is because of lack of time to be on the water and cutting trips off at 4 or 5 hours, again, due to lack of time. I suspect that when I am on the water a few times a week, which should happen relatively soon, I will become what I deem to be a good angler quickly because I do have the knowledge and the skills and I am able to catch fish everywhere I go, deep and shallow. I just don't bring in a good-sized bag as often as I think I should. So . . . . I have confidence and I catch keeper fish on many different waters, but I still don't believe I meet the bar that I have set for being a good bass angler.

That is a very nice fish , and catching it through the ice must have been a real surprise. Congrats!

As stated previously by others, to attempt to determine if one is a good bass angler is a subjective task. And while we all want to be good enough to obtain maximum satisfaction from fishing, the desire to always be better than the next angler can evolve into an egotistical undertaking which is something I choose to avoid. I am not saying that competing is a bad thing, but I am saying that if your only reason for improvement is to beat the next angler, at some point you will tire of bass fishing. I have improved over what I was before. Every time I think I possibly have arrived, something happens on the water to show me I can be better. All I can do is strive to become better and the fact that the process never ends is what I love about bass fishing.

If you look at any Buck Perry diagrams for lakes he analyzed they always had a lot of detail. I don't think you can make it too detailed when you are talking about the bottom of the lake as there are specific tiny structure features that you may not be aware of that could be very important to bass. Your diagram is one way to begin breaking down a lake and I don't find fault with whatever method suits you. However, I would carry your analysis further as it currently does not provide enough detail for me, though I could work from your diagram to add those details. Your lake breakdown should eventually show you where the bass are likely to hangout in each season, or as @Catt stated the structure that connects shallow spawning flats to the deepest water. Bass will be found somewhere along this path, depending on the season.

That's terrible. It sounds like you need to go back to 1 - 3 lb fish that have some fight in them. Right?

Amazing! Those are some extraordinary fish! I am curious what is the main forage that these bass are chowing down on. The post above mine arrived while I was typing. I think maybe I have my answer on the forage?

I am a good swimmer; however, as some have stated that will only get you so far in a boating accident. Wear the PFD and be aware of your surroundings at all times, especially on a busy body of water. You want to avoid mishaps if at all possible. Cold water spills can lead to hypothermia quickly. For dangerously cool water, always have dry clothes nearby - preferably in your boat.

Nice work!

Awesome bass x 2! The two monsters you caught would make any day a good day. Fishing in the temps you were fishing in just makes it that much sweeter. I'm sure the two flatheads didn't roll over and play dead either.

Thanks to all of you for the kind words.

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