bassindude

Who are the top 3 public fishermen that taught you the most over the years. I'll go first 1. Bill Dance 2. Doug Hannon 3. Rick Clunn / Homer Circle Ok technically thats 4

MattFly, wish I could give something definate, unfortuniately I'm not that organized. I have a lot of video saved that I go through from time to time. Clunn does have at least 1 video out, and I think a book. most of what I have read is from magazine articles that he has contributed. If you want book reading find one from Doug Hannon. there is another author that I read but the book was from the library back in Indy. Next time I go back there I try and stop by and get the titles. Jim

it 's variation at different speeds is an ATTENTION GETTER. The more frequency the more attention it will get. Great Article, can't wait to read the rest. I have only one thought on vibration, It was either Doug Hannon or one of the other scientists of bass fishing that I have read that stated that there is a definate range of frequency that bass prefer. I also know that Rick Clunn has done an extensive amount of study in this area. According to Clunn bass actually develope a mental image of the vibration pattern. The signature that a shiner puts out is different than a shad, is different than a bluegill etc. One thing to keep in mind, more may not always be better. Not sure I did the Quote thing correctly. My first time.

Sounds like seed to me. Not sure what kind, i'd have to see it. small ponds are very prone to algae blooms. Could be that I suppose.

LBH, Aluminum or Fibreglass?

That is kinda small for a deck. the main thing that you want to watch is the water line. as you add weight the boat will sit lower in the water. be careful you can sink it. Also Will made a good point about it being top heavy. Before you go to a lot of trouble take a couple of friends with you and have them get in the boat with you on the water, you should be able to figure from that how much weight you can add without making the boat unsafe. Jim

LBH, how do i do that exactly, and where? not done that before. you can e-mail me so we dont bore the folks on the site. Jim

I have a 16' jon that my grandfather gave me a week before he died. He bought it in 1965 and we fished out of it in the summers when I was out of school. Wouldn't sell it for all the money in the world. It has a 10 hp electric start Rude, nice motor that was on it when I got it. However I have made many changes. I put a deck in the front complete with rod storage. Seats, foot controlled trolling motor w/ front and rear transducers. Electric anchormates controllable from the front, fore and aft lighting to be legal. And Im thinking about putting in stick steering so I can drive it from the front. I have a cooler w/pump in case I need a live well. I dont tournament fish from it so I dont use it for that. If I can find an all jon boat club I'll probably build a nice live well w/insulation and locking lid. I can shoot you some pic's if you want, just let me know. The great thing about a jon is that they are a blank slate. You can make them what you want, as money permits. I've never had a problem with weather related waves however I have almost been capsized by 30-40 ft cruizers. Gotta be careful. When you see them coming take cover. When fishing big water use your map and your vehicle to get where your going. Put in at different ramps until you find the kind of water your looking for. Hope this helps. Jim

This is so cool. I'm really glad to see everyone chiming in. It says on my profile middle Tennessee, but to be more specific I live in Lafayette Tn. Dale Hollow is 45 min east Old Hickory is 35 min. south, Center hill is 50 min south. Barren River is 45 min north. and my wife says we have to move back to Indiana where we moved from 10 months ago. HELP!!!!!

I would say that the bright sun would make it difficult for them to see you.

It was not aimed at you KIR, but it was aimed at club tournament fishermen. I'm sure that my small club had done this until I stepped in and started gathering up the dead fish. Don't get me wrong, i'm not aginst clubs either, they just need to use common sense. As I stated earlier, Thats how clubs and tournaments get a bad reputation. I don't know about your part of the country but here in middle tennessee we have to get permission to hold a tournament at a particular ramp. If, after weigh in, there are dead fish washing up on shore, and word gets out, do you think you would be more likely or less likely to be granted permission for the next tournament? I think that one of the solutions is better livewell management, I probably should have said that earlier. As far as directly pointing the finger at someone I would not do that in this forum. If I did have a disagreement with someone I would send them an e-mail. So were good KIR. I wish I could say i had not gut hooked any. I use a 3" worm sometimes and I dont always feel the hit early enough.

Thanks guys, I'm just glad to hear that common sense prevails.

Well said Keith!!!

Here's a wacky idea, try throuing a wacky worm out into the deep area where they are swimming to when you throw at them in the shallows. let that sit a few minutes in case you spooked them. then take a second rig of any kind and throw at them in the shallows. If they spook and move deep pick up the wacky rig ever so slowly and make it slow dance. If they are used to only seeing the lures in the shallows you might catch them off guard.

I still havn't heard what those of you that absolutely dont or will not eat bass do with fish that die in the live well, or are sure to die from being gut hooked. Please don't through dead bass back into the lake. Thats just wrong. I to believe in releasing all that we can, but it is not ethical to kill something for the mear pleasure of fishing. If it dies or will die eat it. There is no difference between this and shooting a deer in the woods and walking away. I don't mean to sound preachy but I hear a lot of people ( not necessarily here ) that are quick to judge people who keep fish to eat and I think that they should tack a look at there practices also.

;D Come on Charlie take the challenge. WHAT ARE YA YELLOW OR SOMETHIN ;D

The method in the link that Flechero posted is similar to the fast filleting method I use on pan fish. I was shown by an old seasoned guide that still fillets the panfish for his clients. first and formost use an electric fillet knife. Cut the entire head off. It's easier if you put the fish on edge. Then start at the tail and cut clean through the ribs until the fillet is free from the fish. then lay the meat side up and start at the tail and shave the meat off of the skin. This works really good when you have a lot of fish. The key is to do each step to several fish before moving to the next step.

Bass_86 when you say you walked up river did you mean that you waded or stayed on the bank? I heard about a study they did on trout wherein they took the paw of a bear and simply put it in the water upriver in one of two forks and looked at the reaction of the fish that were at the junction. With the paw in the water the fish immediatly switched to the other fork the second the paw was removed the fish resumed swimming down that fork. Moral of the story: If your in the water they probably smell you or at least sense you. Don't underestimate the senses of a Bass. Especailly a BIG one.

Trying to remember what I heard about the barometric pressure and fishing influence. I want to say steady and rising is BAD and low or falling is GOOD. Anyone out there know for sure?

I start by looking at my map ( a cheep investment compared to gas ) I always look for shallow water next to deep water. In my experience your always going to catch a few bass somewhere in that area. from there you can start to develope a pattern , or at least determine what stage or depth the bass are in. Don't forget DINKS LIE. So don't base a lot of decisions on them.

The way Majic described is the way I do it with one exception. Before you flip the fillet over and skin it flip the entire fish over and make the cuts to that side first. The reason for this is support. The fish will be much more level and easier to cut the fillet more smoothly. After uoy cut the second side skin them out.

:-[Please don't tell me that after a tournament the fish that die in the live well ( and there are always a few ) are thrown back in the lake to rot. These bass gave there life so we could enjoy our passion that we call bass fishing. The very least we could is take the dead ones home and share them with our families. I grew up eating bass when it was not so taboo to eat them, and I think they are one of the tastiest, flakiest fish in the lake. There has to be publications out there that illustrate the proper way to fillet a fish, but I will work on some drawings that I can post. All this being said I think that many of you have hit the nail on the head, common sense should be used on your particular fishery. I release the vast majority of the bass I catch but If one is going to die I keep it, and I never let the club toss dead fish back. This is the kind of thing that can give our sport a black eye. As for as the amount of meat in a fish I get about 3/4 to 1 in. fillets from a 3 lb. fish, obviously depending on the health of the fish. As for the best ones to eat I think that the smaller 12 - 14 inch fish are the tastiest, and are no more difficult to fillet than pan fish.

??? WHERE IS EVERYONE????? Seriously, just wanted to invite everyone to enter their location in their profile. Some folks may have a lot of things that are more in common with some members than others, and I'd be nice to know where everyone is from. : Heck we might even be neighbors. Shucks, for that matter we might be related ;D magin dat ;D

???That is if your talking about catching your own or storing them. if your talking about something to keep in your boat....OOPS sorry. Id just use a large cooler with a recirc pump. works great for minnows when crappie fishing

A guy gave me a good tip, look for an old chest type freezer. It don't even have to work. as long as it is water tight, you can make your own charcoal type filter system with parts from a pet shop and small pump. it is already insulated, and if you look you can probably get one free for the hauling.