senile1

I thought plaid was your style, Mike.

I think you made a very good point about catch and release being useful in many lakes and fisheries. And I don't think you meant to be disrespectful to other anglers. Sometimes we make posts and we only enter a small piece of our thoughts and others get the wrong impresson. I've done that many a time on these forums. As Speedbead and ww2farmer stated, you're good here. My remarks in my post above were addressed to everyone, and not specifically to your original post.

Very nice bass, Mike. I assume she was caught on one of your jigs and a Rage trailer of some kind?

There are a lot of good points here. We have no right to say anything if other anglers are obeying the law. We could be placing ourselves in danger if we criticize someone for keeping fish and he or she turns out to have a hair-trigger temper. Reporting the event to the authorities is always the best bet. We should take care of our fisheries. For some fisheries that means catch and release for the most part. For others, selective harvest is necessary to maintain good fishing. There is one other thing I want to add that some have touched on in this thread. Some, but not all, of these bucket fishermen are very likely poor and are one step away from being on the street. I think we should try to see the world through their eyes sometimes. If you've ever hit rock bottom you know what I am talking about. If your children were mal-nourished or you had to choose between food and Grandma's life-saving medication the decision to catch a number of fish over the limit to allow you to achieve those goals might be a very strong motivation. I'm not saying it is ok to destroy our fisheries, or that these people shouldn't be looking for a job, but often, things aren't as black and white as we like to see them. A little compassion and thankfulness that we aren't in those shoes is in order at times.

I suspect that this question can't be answered as a comparison between every pond and every large lake. It has to be answered based specifically on the pond and lake in question and the characteristics of each. Factors such as the size of the watershed, the physical characteristics of the land and soil in the watershed, the type of lake (highland, lowland, riverine), schedule of outflows through the dams, cover surrounding the lake, expected average rainfall, etc. all affect how quickly water-borne soil will settle or be washed through the system. Without that information I think one can only guess.

Very nice. Congratulations!

What a day! Congratulations.

Congratulations! Very nice pot bellied fish.

Kudos to you on getting your first double digit! That is a massive fish.

Very nice, JT.

That's not a stupid question at all. It is actually an excellent question. The people you see in the middle of the lake are probably fishing structure or they found a pod of baitfish with bass hanging around. The intersection of creek channels with the original river channel are one type of structure they could be fishing because creek channels lead all the way to shallow water and spawning flats. The best lake structures provide a path for bass to follow from deep to shallow water for spawning, feeding, etc. Other structures and structure/cover combinations in the middle of the lake include ridges with stumps or underwater cover on the edge of the main river or creek channel, humps, long points that lead to deep water, rock piles, deep weed lines on a structure, underwater tree lines, brush piles on a structure, deep holes, etc. Generally, you either need someone who knows the lake to show you these locations, or you need good electronics and time to find them. And yes, you could be missing out on something when the best bite is a deep bite.

I have a subscription. Though it is only 4 issues per year, it has a ton of articles per issue.

If you can see them, they can see you. I think slonezp mentioned in another thread that if you are bank fishing, mark where you saw them on the bed with a stick and then walk away to let them calm down. Sometimes you need to give them quite a bit of time to settle down. Then cast from a distance. Try to cast past the bed and then slowly pull the lure into the bed, or where you think the bed is. If you can cast up on the bank like Jeff mentioned that would be the best way to avoid a loud splash. Be stealthy.

Since the 15 lb scale is marked in quarters of a pound it shouldn't be too difficult to determine that half of that is 2 ounces. The scales are accurate and eyeballing the ounces in that 1/4 pound section where your fish weight falls should be simple enough.

It sounds like you had a productive trip. Those are some nice fish.

Those are nice looking fish. Congratulations!

Practice every chance you get. It will come to you, though once in awhile, you will still create an overrun. I don't find docks to be too difficult now, but skipping under overhanging brush can still be tough even though I encounter it the most. My eyes aren't quite what they once were and I can't always tell if there are twigs or limbs hanging down a bit lower behind the front edge of the tree or bush. It isn't fun to skip a lure and have it hang up two or three feet back in brush. So far I have been lucky and haven't encountered any snakes when freeing these hangups but it definitely crosses my mind.

To avoid spooking bass, I have found this tool to be very helpful.

I didn't know that this thread would even be allowed. This is one of those issues where many people quote only those facts that support their preconceived viewpoint. It is human nature to listen to and read sources of information that support our own opinions. It is unfortunate, but many debaters choose anecdotal facts to support their arguments, rather than listening to all of the facts and then reaching a conclusion. For that reason, issues like this one usually result in overheated debates. As Daniel Boorstin stated: "The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance - it is the illusion of knowledge." Anecdotal facts give the illusion of knowledge. I have an informed opinion but I am staying away from this one. Hopefully, everyone can keep it happy.

I'm still waiting for the F series. Actually I think they have an F series for saltwater. Isn't that what the Saragosa spinning reels are for? Sorry, back on topic.

On the surface this sounds like a good suggestion; however, as RW states this information already exists on the sight in a good format. While I am kind of on the fence with this one, I tend to agree with RW though it wouldn't bother me much either way. The wording of your responses in the poll above denotes a negative connotation for anyone who disagrees with you. Their ideas may have just as much merit as your idea. It might be a good idea to change the wording for the "No" response.

No way. Mike is right up there with Father Time. Happy birthday, Dwight.

Indeed. That's a very nice looking boat.

I'm a little late on this one and haven't read all the responses so I am probably repeating someone else's information. One of the best questions you can ask is what type of structure someone is finding the bass on. Answers such as, "I was catching bass off of secondary points in 8 - 10 feet of water" or "I was catching fish off of stumps back in the creeks" provide you information that will help you find the bass without giving away spots. Once you locate the bass you can experiment to determine which lure is appropriate. Otherwise, I would have no problem with you asking me what lure to use. The right lure doesn't matter if you don't know where they are. Of course, the exception to this would be if I were competing in a tournament.

Thanks, Jeff! I had forgotten exactly where he was located. So he is about 20 - 30 miles south of the St Louis metro area.