Goose52

WTG! If that cold weather passes through quick, you might be OK for a while! Up here in TN, our air temp went down to 13 last night and stayed in the mid-20s all day today. Water temp went from 44 to 39 overnight, and it was a skunk for me today. Water temp tomorrow will probably be 35-36...I might be taking a few days off from fishing...

I haven't lost any line yet...but I've just been lucky. Every once and a while my frozen thumb slips off the spool during the cast and I backlash. Been able to pick them out so far which is not fun with blue fingers! It was a skunk for me this evening. Air temp was again 25 degrees BUT water temp is down to 39. My lipless crank bite is dead for a while... I bet you'll kill 'em...

That is a scrawl isn't it To translate. I fished Lake Oxford (5 acres) by canoe (for the first time). Max observed depth was 11 feet. Surface water temp started at 60deg and went up to 63deg at the end of the trip. I worked around the edges of the lake with a Zoom Fat Albert 5" grub and caught 5 bass (including my 1000th fish of that year) with the biggest being a 14"/1.54lb bass. I worked a little pool at the back of the lake with a 7.5" Yum ribbontail and got 3 more bass with the biggest being another 14incher. Then I went to mid-lake and cranked with a Wiggle Wart and got 8 more bass with the biggest being a 15"/1.67lb fish. Then, I finished at the dam end of the lake in the deepest water, cranking with a Deep Little N and got 2 more bass - the biggest being 16"/1.96lb. Simple, really..........................

Yeah - data collection on the water or bank is an issue. Certainly the digital recorder is the most elegant solution. Me - I have a paper cutter at home and cut-up empty cereal boxes into 3"x5" squares. They're stiff enough to write on without a backing and I just take notes as the day goes on. When I get home, I transcribe over to the Excel file - only takes a few minutes. Not very elegant...but no batteries required!

I had never fished a bladed swim jig (chatterbait) before. On February 21, 2011, I tied one on for the first time and caught my 9.06lb LMB PB. The next day, I caught a 6.32lb LMB. Caught a few more fish on chatterbaits after that and then went to other baits as the water warmed up. I DO have one tied on a rod right now and it will be going swimming sometime soon...

Excel for me too. Create one workbook for your fishing stuff, create separate worksheets for different data. Works great. Depending on how you organize/enter the data, can be automated to calculate totals, averages, etc. You can sort and shake-and-bake the data different ways. It may, or may not, improve your fishing...but it's fun to play with the numbers... December data from my file - while I fished different baits on several rods at several lakes, I only CAUGHT at one lake, with one rod, and one bait...

Air temp might be going down....................but what's the water temp? The fish don't care much about air temp unless the drop in temp is accompanied with a big low-pressure front. Depending on water depth, your water temp might hold up pretty well for a day or two and you might be OK. I was fishing, and catching, in 25 degree air temp yesterday - but water temp was still at 44 - warm enough to get a lipless crank bite. Only problem was the rod guides and reel line guide icing up every few casts...

Thanks - it was fun!

Looks like a tunnel! So, it took ya until Jan 2 to kick-off 2012? Did you take New Years day off?

There's a very detailed fishing log template right in the Tools section of this board - go to: http://www.bassresource.com/fish/fishing_log.html Also - this topic has been discussed several times over the past year or so - if you search on fishing records, you'll get some more good info.

Best summary of how the "real" world works that I've read on this board. Thanks webertime! We have some board members that are involved in the tackle industry but there are often limits to what they can say - especially if there are any confidentiality agreements in place about some of the business relationships between the various entities involved in design, development, manufacturing, marketing, distribution, and retailing of these products. From time to time they have contributed a little of the background of this process but that knowledge only lasts as long as the thread is active and is near the front page of the forum... I always thought it was interesting that the origin of BPS products often comes up, but not with other tackle companies. For instance - Lew's popped up out of nowhere, leveraging off of a well-respected name from several decades ago. They don't have a factory. They don't purchase product from another tackle company. They developed the specs that they wanted in their rods and reels, and the desired price points, and then worked with the OEM company(ies) to develop the product. And so it goes for many of the rod/reel outfits out there...

WTG! I'm jazzed that many of us are catching fish at this time of year. Very cool that you got the jig fish...

Thanks Shane! I'm pretty jazzed - that was an outstanding fish for my little lakes any time of year, let alone on December 31 when the lakes here are often frozen over!

Hang in there Hayden - it will come! The same cold front got here today too. I went out around 2pm and luckily got a bass on my first cast. I'm glad that it was the first cast too - air temp was 25 and 20mph winds, with snow flurries blowing around - brrrrrrrr. Rod guides and reel line guide icing up every couple of casts. I went out again just before sunset, air temp down to 22, still with the wind and flurries. No bass for me on the 2nd trip! Water temps will sink like a rock tonight and tomorrow so I think my lipless crank days may be over for a while. I am taking a rod with a jig on it when I go out though...might even use it eventually!

Mostly the same as last year. Out of the 1176 fish that I caught in 2011, exactly 800 (how about that) were caught on lipless cranks, ribbontail worms, or 5" grubs.

Even the schematic sometimes doesn't give you a solid understanding of the interaction/placement of the parts. I'm sorta a belt AND suspenders kinda guy and have the schematic AND take a digital photo at each "layer" of disassembly. And somtimes I still ask myself...was that part pointed this way......or THAT way?

Great catches. So far this winter, everyone is doing really great! I don't remember too many of these types of posts from last year.

Sounds like fun to me! Some call 'em trash fish - but they still give you a fight...often more than a LMB...

Like J Francho said above - this question comes up all the time. After literally hundreds (perhaps thousands) of posts on this topic you could summarize it all as............it don't matter! Just do what floats your boat. Just fish...... Yup - me too - still have that lefty reel (luckily I got it used on eBay for only a few bucks).

Pictures tell a thousand words! Congrats on the brown fish!

Dang - there you go making things complicated... BUT......maybe color matters

OK - here's a proper LMB to conclude my New Years Eve and New Years Day celebrations: 19" / 2.8 pounds. Surface water temperature still 46 deg. Not another 8 pounder, but it will do to start the year!

WOW - I guess the early start was worth it for sure...GREAT fish !

WOW - 31 is a GREAT start! I only had 25 for the whole month of December!! Like I've been jazzed about for the last 3 weeks....we have SOFT water!

Hey Hayden - it's like I've been saying in my "great to have soft water" threads. At least you got a chance to fish and your lakes weren't iced over! AND, even if you don't catch a fish, you never know what the next cast will bring...