tnhiker44

It is also illegal to operate your automobile in an unsafe way, yet, according to the census bureau, your state registered 10% of all the traffic fatalities in 2006. 10% of the entire U.S. traffic fatalities. It makes one think that if they ever do get to the water they do not need to worry about drunk boaters... but need to worry about getting back home. The point is, making it illegal does not stop stuff from happening. There are gaggles of lawyers banking on it... emphasis on banking.

I drink like a fish. I just don't drink when I am fishing. Despite some number that states put on blood alcohol content for intoxication, you are influenced by a thimbles worth. Straight up, no matter how big of a fellow you are. I am not going to be influenced by anything while the lives of others are depending on my judgment and reflexes. That being said... lets obtain a designated driver and belly up to a bar... the drinks are on me.

This is crazy. If this fish was caught in off limit water during a tourney it is just not legal for the tourney... but legal in every other sense. The fish caught is actually the largest of its kind ever reported. People will do anything to discredit just about anything and everything. Water closed to fishing?? I vote California, Texas and Mexico.... and I suppose Japan too.

Let me get this straight... there are off limit waters in regards to a world record (tie) fish? And just who gets to make that call? If we get a vote then I say Texas, California and Mexico are hereby off limits. That is just silly.

I am going to guess that somewhere around 90% of urban ponds are never managed. That is a conservative estimate. And yet, based on the natural cycle of things I am going to make another guess... about 5% of these urban ponds do not recover from a catastrophic 'chemical unbalance'. With enough time I guess that 5% is a rather high estimate. And although I agree that there is nothing 'natural' about most of the urban ponds, I disagree about not counting on nature to take care of it. Either the conditions exist for the pond to 'live' or they do not. If they do not then you have obligated yourself to a lifetime of fighting Mother Nature. But, then again... I do not happen to be

I certainly am no expert, but in my experience a few degrees one way or another has not made a big difference. Especially right now, where I have seen temperatures as low as 85 degrees and as high as 94 degrees. I am pretty sure in the transitional periods temperature plays a much bigger role, but I have never discovered a magic temperature number.

Although our first reaction is to think someone or something 'poisoned' the pond, more than likely this is a natural event. And it does not make you (us) feel any better, but Mother Nature has been doing this much longer than we have been trying to 'rescue' these ponds. The pond management folks will sell you whatever they can to 'fix' this naturally occuring event, I can assure you of that. However, biologists not in the pond fixing business more often than not cite the natural cycle of things as the cause of most small pond fish kills. Assuming this is in fact a natural event I would not spend thousands of dollars for aeration products... Mother Nature trumps all that stuff. She always has and always will.

It is interesting how different people think so, uhm... differently. When the best bass fishermen in the world show up to an event and they call it the Three Rivers Dinkfest I cannot get excited at all. Of all the great lakes and waterways that are available throughout the country.... they choose 'dinkfest' waters. Yawn.....

First of all... that lake is in the middle of friggin' no where. I happened to be working in Martin, Tn. and took a drive up there just to look at the lake. It was wild for me to see Cypress trees that far north. Second... heed the advise about an aluminum boat or prepare to go very slow. I did not fish it but I walked out on a couple of docks/ramps and saw Cypress 'knobs' sticking up from the bottom, no where near any tree. Just jutting up from the bottom, waiting for a boat bottom to scratch/break. I saw nothing but flat bottom aluminum boats everywhere I looked... and very small motors to boot. If I remember correctly there were a few mom and pop fish camp type restaurants around the lake, but it was a long long way to any real civilization!

I have fished a lot of great eastern waters in my lifetime... but the place I most want to fish again is a local lake that I just recently had a bad outing on, Lake Oconee, here in Georgia. I have fished Guntersville, Okeechobee, Kissimmee, Dale Hollow, Table Rock, Bull Shoals, Eufala, ect., and they are all fantastic lakes. But the lake that tops my list is the one that just slapped me a goose egg during a club tourney. My next club tourney is on that same lake and I will not let that happen again.

For me it is bad luck... or simply dumb luck. Like a birdie on the first hole it sets the premise for the whole outing in one cast. As dumb as this sounds... I want to 'work' for that first fish.

Been a long time but be prepared for a clear deep lake. When the stripers are hitting top water it is something to behold. Nothing like 30 and 40 pound fish knocking top water plugs into the air... but I never did well there bass fishing. When I lived in the area my club fished it twice (the club was out of Watts Bar Lake) and I remember smallies and largemouth being weighed in. Again, I never did all that well there... but it is one of the most beautiful lakes you will ever see. It looks a lot like Dale Hollow with steeper banks. Good luck

Deep drop off is a relative term. I have fished the Harris chain and I would hardly call the deepest of those lakes deep. Ten to twelve would be very very deep. I do not know your lake but I would guess it to be similar. For some of us, especially this time of year, that is about as shallow as we would start fishing. Last weekend my boat was in 58 foot of water and I was casting into 15. I have heard of spots being caught in Lake Lanier in the 100 foot range. I think everyone gave you good advise for fishing your deep drop off... so I will not mention the DD22 method of deep drop off fishing.....

I am sitting out on my porch... it is 7:19 pm and it is 91 degrees out here. I am wondering why now, someone from Texas, would ask about 'too cold' ???? I am no longer able to tolerate the cold like I used to. It cannot be too hot, but anything below 50 degrees is just to darn cold. That is air temperature by the way, not water temperature... around here I doubt the water ever gets that cold.

Interesting. It seems to me that by using your theory that no one is born with talent. We are either born or raised with skills and attributes that help us achieve our potential. But, by definition, talent is a "natural endowment or ability of a superior quality". And the definition of skill is "a developed talent or ability". Basically, if I understand those definitions correctly, one is a gift given at birth, the other is learned and/or developed. Both of which are included in your theory. Interesting indeed.

Although I understand where you are coming from, I think you underestimate the mental side of our activities. I am no expert or anything but I believe how we think and feel (emotions) play just as large part of our abilities as our physical capabilities. The phrase "mental toughness" comes to mind. So do the words 'drive', 'attitude' and 'spirit'. None of those words or phrases describe a physical attribute, but they are often used in describing the winner of some/any event. Not so sure about this statement either. On today's high pressured waters and the resulting need for the 'run and gun' technique... my money is gonna be on the younger guy, given a similar amount of skill and talent. But there in lies the dilemma... how does a young healthy man acquire the same skill (and develop his talent) as an older, more experienced man???

Interesting topic. I think we all have a finite amount of talent 'in' us, regardless of the subject. It takes practice to reach the plateau of your talent... but without an above average amount of talent you will never be above average. I realized this after years of chasing a white ball around a golf course. I floated for years around a 15 handicap and decided to dedicate myself to the game. I practiced four or five times a week and probably played 25 rounds a month during this time. I got my handicap down to 10.1... that is 0.2 stokes a round to become a single digit handicapper, which was my first plateau goal. I worked and worked and then worked some more and my next handicap was 11.3. It dawned on me right then that I was never going to be a scratch golfer... and that my talent level was somewhere around +10 strokes a round (give or take one or two). I think this applies to everything we do. There is only a finite amount of 'good' in you. Kevin Van Dam may be the best out there right now, but you can rest assured that somewhere out there there is more talent waiting to be practiced into discovery. By numbers alone the funny thing is that the most potentially talented person in fishing, golf, football, ect., probably never even participated in that activity. That is why I totally disagree with Mr. Colvin. Talent is everything... we can all practice... we all cannot be at the top of our activity.

It has been a very long time since I have fished West Toho, but the lake is a special place for me. I caught my personal best from that lake. That fish came from way up Shingle Creek... just before the bridge (in springtime though). This time of year those fish are at their laziest... you will find them in the darkest part of the floating Hydrilla 'islands', in "reel" deep water. Finding a shell bed or two wouldn't hurt either. Other than real early or real late you will not see a lot of activity... that water is darn hot. Well... I take that back... the Hydrilla gnats will be really really active. Good luck with those things. Flip and pitch to the holes in the mats. And then do it some more. It is a slow bite time of year...

Well, the tip about using any color (as long as it was green pumpkin) was a good one! I did a little experimenting and by far the spots prefer a darker, more natural color. I caught a few on motor oil and (brown) pumpkin seed, but the green pumpkin out produced all others. I fished five days on Logan Martin, never made it to Wedowee due to bad weather. I caught one large mouth all week, north of the I-20 bridge. I caught many spots from the 'loco' creek to the dam... my favorite part of the lake was the mid part, from Clear Creek to the Stemley bridge. I never caught any big spots that the Coosa River chain is known for, but I was overall pleased with my fish finding abilities. Thanks again for the advice, I really enjoyed the lake. It is a good one.

Am I understanding the highlighted line above... do you have to wear your fishing license like a badge in California? If so, well... I think that is wacky. Might as well make you wear a shirt with your license number printed on it like a prisoner number.... In my part of the country they let you carry your license where you keep your drivers license and credit cards... a pretty safe place for most of us. I guess the fish and game folks in these parts have a little faith that we are legal. If the badge display is correct I think that is a little over the top. Is your hunting license(s) hunter safety orange and the size of a legal pad??

Thanks, BamaNate. I have watermelon seed colored stuff, but no green pumpkin... I will add any color (as long as it is green pumpkin) to my arsenal!!! Thanx!!

Thanks jimmie0 for the response. I will skip Martin... but I am afraid those conditions will exist on all the nearby waters!! I have fished Guntersville many times... and it is a great lake... but it is probably just a tad bit too far for a one day outing. I will try Wedowee, just because I have been pushed that way by a buddy who fishes it regularly. Chances are I will spend most of my time on Logan Martin, so I can spend as much time as possible with a wet line. It will be a great test of my fish locating skills. Thanks again

I have read this thread from front to back and agree with most point/counterpoint discussions. There was one comment that was made that brought up a whole new point to me. In my opinion keeping one, two, even ten decent sized bass is way less detrimental to the fishery than sight fishing for bedding bass AND then releasing them after a weigh in. I had a heated discussion about this with my fishing partner years ago down in Florida. He would catch the protecting male, put it in the live well (legal size or not) then wait around for the female to come and guard the nest. As soon as the male was gone and before the female showed up the bluegill would attack the nest, eating eggs to the point of stirring up the water. When the female finally showed up and he caught her he would flip the male back into the water. But during the time that no fish was protecting the nest the smaller fish gorged themselves on bass eggs. Hundreds and hundreds of potential big bass were eliminated during the catch and release of one decent sized female. I realize that the survival rate of eggs/fry to maturity is very low, but, in my opinion, sight fishing for bedding fish is way worse for the fishery (and for "those who love the sport") than keeping a few mature bass. But during the spawn I see and hear about people doing this all the time. As you can tell, I am against it....

I start my long awaited first week of vacation on Saturday. I am staying very near the Logan Martin dam and am gonna see the lake for the very first time on Friday. Any lake specific tips out there? I know one day I am going to Wedowee... I am told that if you are in the area you should fish this lake. There are many lakes within a couple of hours drive from Logan Martin (including Weiss, Lay, Wheeler, Guntersville, Martin, ect.)... any can't miss lakes anyone?? Thanx in advance.