piscicidal

I'm with you on that 100%. I try and max my color selections to 4 or 5 for each lure. Any more than that and it's just too many permutations to try and effectively dial in. I think it becomes self defeating at that point...

I have an old Field and Stream article at home...it's entitled "What bass see". In it, they detail some testing they did trying to characterize the frequency that different colored baits get hit by bass in a testing tank. I don't remember all the details of the testing, but there was a definate hierarchy as to which colors which got hit more. In the article there is also a chart where they show a bunch of crankbaits of different colors on one column on the left (the baseline)...to the right were columns of that same crankbait showing "how it looks to a bass" in different light/clarity conditions. I'll leave it to the biologists to determine the validity of trying to determine what a bass actually sees, but there was definately some science put to the test. I will try and scan the article tonight and post it here tomorrow (providing that is in compliance with forum rules)

I think it depends on the type of lake you are fishing. If you are fishign a lake with relatively clear water and structure, I think the better fishing will be had on points/banks on the downwind side, where bait congregates. On the other hand a shallow muddy lake like Okeechobee...the downwind side can get really muddy which will certainly turn off the fishing. When fishing Okeechobee, I will always target a portion of the lake which has the cleanest water, and start refining my search from there.

Yes, in general I think we agree. Where I differ is as to the degree that color matters. I think color matters far more often than the 1 in 100 or 5 in 100 (1-5%) numbers being discussed. In fact, I would almost flip those percentages for the reasons I mentioned earlier.

I'd rate the RI Skinny Dipper and the Gambler Big Ez at the top of the class. I have not tried the Kamakazee bait you mentioned, but I would put the dipper/Big EZ before any of the other three. That Keitech swimbait looks promising, but I haven't tried it yet.

:o Wow...that's scary. You were within the markers? Sheesh...guess we better be real careful out there.

I'm gonna disagree somewhat with the general sentiment here. I think color is fairly important. Let me give one recent instance...1/30/2011. I was fishing with my Dad on Lake Okeechobee. We were drifting a large open grass flat and were both throwing the exact same bait. I gave him the "favored" color to start out with, while I experimented with 3-4 different colors. After about two drifts he had me down 10 fish to 4. At that point I switched to the same "favored" color and the rest of the trip we caught fish equally. Now this is just one example, but one I have reproduced many times. Virtually any time I am drifting (not applicable if boat is moving forward, as the front person always has an advantage), I perform this experiment...I will mimic my boat partner, altering only the lure color. Invariably, I can "dial in" the lure color to the optimum pattern for a particular day. In fact, I can go to several prominent bass lakes around here, and know with near certainty what the best color is before I've even wet a line, because I've performed this experiment so many times. I think only under a controlled scenario like this (both casting to same targets, identical rods/reels/baits/etc) circumstances can one determine whether color made a difference or not...all other variables must be controlled except color. A person fishing by themselves (unless he is changing his lures every cast) or two people fishing different lures/speeds/techniques cannot determine whether color made a difference in his catching. Maybe he caught fish with the color he was using...but he does not have a frame of reference to determine whether he could have caught more (or less) using another color. If that person caught fish, and he doesn't have that fixed frame of reference, to him color didn't matter. There's no doubt that certain colors will be more visible to bass under low clarity/low-light conditions. And bass being primarily sight/ambush predators...being able to see the bait better HAS to have some positive effect on catching. Under high clarity/bright conditions, the more lifelike presentations will certainly get bit more. So in each scenario, it seems that color does indeed matter.

I like Scott Martin Challenge and Brauers Bass Battles. Good natured competition but very informative and entertaining. They fish a lot of the same lakes I fish also which is a plus...

I mark the spool a little more than 1/3 up with a thin sharpie. This represents ~50yards of line (all my bass reels have roughly 150yd/12lb capacity). Note...you have to go a little past the 1/3 mark, because the relationship between radial distance from the spool and amount of line released is NOT linear (C= pi * D. D changes as more line is spooled). So basically, fill the reel up to the mark with backer (old mono) and fill the rest with braid. It will be 100yards give or take...

I plan on making another trip to Big "O" around Tues/Weds next week...somewhat dependant on weather. I have my father with me so no backseat available...sorry. Anyone want to hook up tho, send me a PM....

I've been buying 300yard spools of Sufix and I put 100 yards on each reel (i.e. 3reels per spool).

I use a 5/0 hook. Weight varies according to how deep/fast I am trying to fish it...1/4 oz is a good happy medium.

There's a bass I've seen twice at Loxahatchee Reserve (affectionately called "Lox" by South Florida BR members) that is well into the double digits. I'm pretty sure it's the same bass as I've seen it in the same place and I've never seen another one even as close to this size. I call her the Lox Ness Monster.

The lightning rods are pretty good for a $50 rod. I got a BPS extreme (green color) rod for $49 on clearance a couple years ago. As I've upgraded my arsenal over the past few years, I've got rid of most the lower-tier rods. I continue to use this rod, though. in fact, it's my primary soft swimbait rod and probably caught more fish in 2010 on it than any of my Avids/Crucials/Dobyns/Veritas/etc...

That happened to me at the BPS store, also...I was buying a fairly decent reel and I was unaware that the trade in was going on (I didn't have a trade in reel). I ended up buying a new shimano spininng reel (IX----??) for like 10 bux, trading it in at the same time and saving like $15 on the new reel. I saved $5 and some kid got a brand new shimano, still in the package...

You nailed it....skinny dipper and owner swimbait hook. I love those Owner swimbait hooks. That keeper is the best out there. Thankfully Owner also sells those keepers as a standalone item. I have packs of other swimbait hooks and I've been swapping out the keepers with the owners...

Not trying to impress anybody. Secondly, I dont worry about the slime coat as much as others, not after seeing numerous bass rub themselves on underwater timber and watching them tear their tails apart during spawn. The pictures were taken for an online tournament that I am in, they werent taken for your enjoyment. If I wasnt in the tournament, I wouldnt have placed them on the ground alongside my rod and reel for size verification and we wouldnt be having this discussion. I'm sorry that you are offended because sand was on a fish in a photograph that I took. Please accept my apology for offending you. Trust me...you're not offending me. Please just handle the fish in a responsible way that shows some respect for the sport.

Are you serious? You've got a bass you intend to release that looks like it's been rolled around in the sandbox. Trust me, no one is impressed enough by a 3lb bass that you need to jeopardize it taking a picture.

You can get a veritas for $80 right now at Bass Tackle Depot (20% off sale) and it crushes those three rods.

Larew Biffle Bug. For a more subtle action in cold water just cut off the big legs, leaving the eight small legs and paddle tail.

It's not my favorite way to fish, but if the fish are in a negative/neutral mood and I'm in a tournament scenario (i.e. have to put fish in the boat) then out comes the senko. Also, beavers with a lighter T-rig setup (slower fall) worked off heavy cover/adjacent drop-offs. Jerkbaits, also. Several people have mentioned traps...they are great at eliciting a reaction strike from neutral fish when ripping them thru grass.

I think the pointers are worth it. They just flat work better than any jerkbait I've tried. It's not like I lose them very often so I don't mind the extra cost. When you have tens of thousands of dollars worth of boats, electronics, rods, reels, equipment, etc...its not hard to justify spending an extra $9 if it puts more fish in the boat I have not seen as much performance difference on the regular cranks, though. I don't seem to catch any more fish with the LC cranks than I do with the Strike King pro series baits...

I should probably show a picture of my kids with their fish. Or a picture with better resolution. But this picture really does it for me... It's Loxahatchee Reserve at sunrise. I've caught so many +5lb bass blowing up a horney toad coming thru that grass on mornings like this...this picture just elicits a visceral response from me....

State Farm...like a good neighbor. Yeah, right. They dumped my homeowners insurance right before hurricane season last year. Paid my premiums on time for 12 years and never made one claim...It's hard for me to put into words my feelings for that company. > I use progressive for my boat insurance. So far, so good.

My favorite soft plastic changes about four times a day... If you're fishing grass (esp. eel grass) the Skinny Dipper is hard to beat. That bait, rigged with a light keel-weighted hook, swims through the eel grass so perfect...it's almost impossible to present a bait better than that.