senile1

I have no superpower. Combining many of the traits mentioned so far such as persistence, patience, determination, casting skill, awareness of bass behavior, etc., I am able to catch bass on a regular basis and sometimes catch some big ones in the process. It took me a few years of honing my skills and the plan for the future is continuous improvement. It has taken work, though working to be a better angler is work I love. There is no superpower involved.

@islandbass We are very similar in that regard. I am using the following: One Chronarch 200 E7, Four Curado 200 E7s Two Citica 200 Es One Revo STX that I bought around 2014 One Stradic 2500 One Symetre 2500 I clean all of my reels on a regular basis and I have had to replace some minor parts on rare occasions. I will be replacing the Symetre soon as it is starting to feel worn. Additionally, I have a couple of Citica Ds but only one of them, the DPV with the 5:1 gear ratio, gets much use and that is for slower cranking. Other than the Symetre, all of these reels function like new, which is why I see no reason to replace them until needed. Of course, some of them do have a worn and scratched finish but that doesn't bother me.

The following verges on TMI but I thought it might be helpful to some. From approximately 2008 to 2014, I began experiencing issues with my digestive tract with extreme pain that would double me over for 4 to 8 hours at a time. It occurred about every 5 or 6 months. I had a number of colonoscopies and endoscopies and the doctors could find nothing. They diagnosed me with IBS, but they really didn't help me. I pretty much had to figure it out on my own. I discovered through trial and error that I was having tremendous gas pains but nothing would come out either through burping, flatulence, or bowel movement. The gases were trapped in my digestive tract. Also, when this would occur I would have a lack of motility. Nothing would move. I would have loose bowels like diarrhea but nothing would come out. As a short term fix, I learned how I was feeling the hours before this would occur and I would take a laxative to clear myself out, thus avoiding the trapped gas. Long term, I have experimented with a number of diets and it seems that the removal of chips, most pasta, sugary items like cookies and cakes, and most processed foods has helped a great deal. Also, avoiding overeating, even at holidays, has helped as well. I have also looked into and experimented with the FODMAP diet. (An explanation for this is too long for this post. Do a search if you want to know what it is.) That has helped too. Since making these changes, I have had only one or two episodes since 2014, and I was able to head those off at the pass, so to speak. I still have digestive tract issues but the pain is much less acute and more along the lines of normal IBS than it was before.

Different strokes for different folks, I guess. I am fine with the understated look as long as the rod performs its stated function. I don't dislike more beautiful rods either, but functionality always rules.

Do an internet search for "basics of running a bassboat." The search will provide videos and reading material that should answer your questions. The Idiot's Guide to Boating and Sailing, or Powerboating For Dummies are good books for beginners, although if you have been running a boat for a year you may be looking for something more inline with the internet search I mentioned.

I second @Jig Man's recommendations. Stockton Lake is simply awesome. At approximately 24,900 acres it isn't small, but to me it fishes like a smaller lake. Maybe it just fits the way I fish, but I have not had a bad day there in a long time. Having said that, it could just be luck of the draw because I am only able to get down there a couple of times a year. During week days traffic on the lake is minimal. Pomme De Terre is fun too. Although, I only fish it now and then the bass seem to cooperate there as well.

Very, very sorry to hear this. I hope the further testing discovers something positive for you. Best thoughts and wishes for a turnaround.

@Glenn As a Chief's fan, I agree that the referees blew it on those calls. But then again, when I watch NFL games objectively I see bad calls on all teams, including the Chiefs, and unfortunately sometimes they affect the outcome of games. And it is more irritating when it is your team that is hurt by the bad calls. I do wish the referees would do better. Of course, those 8 sacks of Stroud had nothing to do with the Chiefs win, right? 😉

These are both good rods but I am in the Kistler camp as well.

Very important on slow days, IMO.

To the OP, there are no rules. There are only tendencies that have resulted in "rules of thumb" that may or may not apply. The winter tendencies you read about are created by water temperatures in the 30s and 40s. If your waters don't cool below 50 or 55 degrees, the behavior of your bass will tend to be different from these rules of thumb. Use temperature as your guide.

I break down, clean, and service all of my reels once a year. The last time I had someone else clean them I sent them to The Reel Mechanic in Park City, KS. David, The Reel Mechanic (username .RM.), was a member here and my reels were smooth as butter when he took care of them. Unfortunately, he passed away in 2014.

@newapti5 If your drag is set correctly the line should only break if the musky's teeth cut it. Rules of thumb for setting your drag range from 20 to 30 percent up to a third of the pound test of the line. I have always used approximately 1/3rd of the pound test of the line.

I haven't used every brand so I can't say I have a favorite. I have some I have used that I liked so I continue to buy them. Currently I have spools of Sufix Siege, Sufix Elite, Berkley Big Game, Trilene XL, and Trilene XT. Quite a few years ago, I used Stren but I had some batches that seemed to have more stretch than I liked so I stopped buying it.

I suppose I viewed this question as this: Is what I am doing while performing the act of fishing more science or art? We certainly study the science behind fish behavior, how to find fish, lures, fish finders, FFS, etc. and use products developed with science behind them. When we are on the water we are making decisions based on what we have learned, as well as intuition, and this learning does make us better anglers. But ultimately at the point where the rubber meets the road (when we attempt to catch a fish with a lure) numerous factors come into play that can only be processed through that imperfect memory of what we have learned and our imperfect intuition, while trying to catch a fish that we imperfectly understand with a plethora of techniques, lures, and lure cadence choices before us. After putting it that way, it makes you wonder how we ever catch a fish. LOL. Fortunately, perfection is not always needed to hook them.

We don't have the time to incorporate the full scientific method in our observations on the water, nor do we get to repeat the same experiment under the exact same conditions to confirm our results. Also, it is pretty much impossible to isolate and control for the variables we alter when it comes to fishing, nor can we ever know exactly what our prey's true motivations are when they bite or don't bite. Therefore, we use some science when we fish, but fishing isn't a science. We make somewhat educated guesses based on the relatively little bit of science we do know. Some synonyms for the word, "art" as a noun, are craft, knack, facility, talent, flair, etc. By this definition there is an art to fishing. Some people have a flair for it, while others have to really work harder at it. It is absolutely more of an art than it is a science.

@Columbia Craw I hear you. Like you, I also missed about 6 weeks in the spring because I had to get a new outboard for my boat. Additionally, the last few years have been difficult for our family. (See the post below.) In the past year it was discovered that my wife's 97 year old Mother has terminal cancer. We spend a lot of time driving to her town and spending time with her. Her husband, who is 96, has a bad back so I also take care of chores and maintenance at their house. They have both lived long lives, have their wits, and up until now had been physically capable so they don't like this new stage of their lives. I think they thought they would just pass away in their sleep, but unfortunately, life is full of surprises. Having said all of that, like @king fisher, I plan to fish every chance I get and see what bites. There will be a trip or two to Table Rock and quite a few to my local lakes within a couple of hours.

We moved out of the city onto rural acreage last year. My wildlife camera picks up coyotes now and then at night but our pets are in the house. When I was a kid on the farm in the 60s and 70s we had a lot of coyotes. I would hear the packs quite often, especially at night. We also had outdoor cats that lived in our shed. The males were never neutered so they would roam. Many eventually never came back. I am pretty sure a few of those became meals for owls and coyotes.

Good article. @J Francho's "Everything in moderation" signature applies in most things. Taking an extreme position on most subjects usually misses the best position lying somewhere in between. Leave too many bass and there isn't enough food for all of them. Remove the big ones to eat them and you take out the genes that lead to additional big bass. So eat a few, leave a few.

@Pat Brown Good advice, especially when the water temperature is in the 40s to 50s. I suspect this is as cold as the water gets in North Carolina where you are, but correct me if I am wrong. Further north, the water gets colder and when it reaches 39.2 degrees its density reaches the highest point. For any readers who aren't aware, as the water temperature continues to cool this 39.2 degree water sinks to the bottom and the cooler water between 32 and 39 degrees is above it. At this point, many baitfish prefer that warmer water near the bottom and this is the point where fishing on the bottom is probably your most high percentage location. I catch almost all of my big fish in the winter either in the deepest basins used by the bass or on the edges of those basins or underwater creeks per Pat's post. The biggest issue on a huge lake of a few thousand or tens of thousands of acres is finding the basins and creeks where the bass are congregated. It is easier to find them in small lakes that haven't frozen over. Having said that, I only have an idea of how cold the water gets in Connecticut since it is on the coast. If it never goes below the low 40s, fish the underwater channel banks or steep drops. Of course, no rule of thumb ever works 100 or even 75 percent of the time. I have caught a few good fish in basins and dragging a jig up the side of a drop into a basin when water temps were 40 to 43 degrees.

That is wild. Forty inches plus is definitely a tank.

I hadn't seen the videos but I just pulled up a couple of YouTube videos. My wife and I have fished in Baffin Bay Texas a couple of times and once in and out of Mobile Bay. We caught a few 34 to 38 inchers in Baffin Bay. We were using typical bass fishing rods and reels. You definitely have to let your drag do its job on these fish before you can get them in the boat.

I fish for whites and wipers on occasion, especially when I take family out on the boat. There is nothing like putting a kid on a group of feeding whites when almost every cast brings in a fish. I use Southern Pro Triple Tip white with chartreuse tail grubs for both crappie and whites. I have also had some big days with bucktail jigs. I don't use these as much as spoons but I probably should. Wizard Custom Tackle 1/8th oz spoons in silver and/or white are deadly when you find white bass. They have other colors that work as well but these two are my workhorses. These will also catch wipers but bigger spoons are better to draw in larger fish. I have loaded the boat a few times with 2 and 3 lb whites using Wizard Custom Tackle 1/2 and 3/4 oz double-header spoons in white color. This is typically a late spring, summer, and early fall bait but works especially well for me when whites are feeding aggressively in the upper 10 to 15 feet of the water column. These will also catch bigger wipers. Trolling the deepest running Shad Rap can also locate and catch fish. Bigger wipers will go for this as well. For large hybrids gathered on the bottom, my brother-in-law in Arkansas uses a spoon similar in color and shape to the War Eagle shown below in sizes up to 1 1/2 oz jigged above them. When they bite he has caught larger fish in the 5 to 14 lb range with these. I don't see any War Eagles this large online, but he gave me a custom spoon that looks similar to this in 1 1/2 oz but I have yet to use it. BassPro makes a RealImage Jigging Spoon that looks like it might work in this situation also.

@JHoss It is good to revisit why we do things and to re-evaluate why we believe as we do. Thanks for prompting that on this subject. When I started fishing in the waters of Missouri, the main fishing staples were crappie, catfish, bass, bluegill, white bass, and redear sunfish. There were the non-gamefish like carp, buffalo, etc. but the six listed above were what most people fished for. Bass were always more fun to me than the others listed for a few reasons. While pulling a huge catfish off the bottom is a hell of a fight compared to a bass, I miss out on the puzzle of finding a presentation to fool them into biting. I have caught catfish on jigs and other lures while fishing for bass, but it is rare. And the joy of seeing a fish bursting from the water skyward is another thing I couldn't get from fishing for catfish. Two to three pound white bass can be a load of fun to catch and for their size the fight is tremendous compared to a black bass. But again, once I find whites there isn't much of a puzzle compared to the black bass. As for crappie, bluegill, and redear they all have their time and place but the bass is larger and I enjoy the fight more than the smaller fish. Having said that, catching bluegill on an ultra-lite rod can be quite the tussle. Through the years Missouri has added hybrids to the menu. I have fished for them and they are a great deal of fun due to their tremendous fight and size, plus they make great table fare when prepared properly. However, I still think that the joy of the puzzle for black bass outweighs the joy of catching hybrids. If I had more lakes near me that contained hybrids, I might alter this opinion somewhat. To summarize, the reasons I fish for bass are for the combination of decent fighting ability, decent size for freshwater, and the puzzle of determining where they are and how I can entice them to bite with lures. The puzzle, as the OP stated, is the main thing. One final note: If I lived near the coast and was able to fish inshore for redfish all the time, I suspect that would be the fish that just might take over more of my fishing time.

@mcipinkie, I use the Stern Saver also and am quite satisfied with it. One definitely has to be aware of it in stumps and brush. I destroyed one a few years ago backing it into a stump. However, similar to @A-Jay, I scope water at slower speeds.