KenDammit28

I was just sitting here thinking late at night after reading the "fish alone" post.....since its gettin warm and people are startin to get out...what are your favorite sounds out on the water? I think my new favorite is the sound baitcasting gear makes when you hook into a good fish. I don't quite know how to describe it..but the sound is just really cool...and its always a nice thing to hear(that big girl on the end of your line). I like the sound of frogs hopping off the bank into the water the sound a bass makes as you get it to the boat or shore and it makes its last attempt to fight and has that splash in the water..just makes a good feeling. more of an absence of sound...but when you're worm or jig fishing and you're so tuned in..and everything goes quiet. Almost like above...when you're just taking that moment to pause..and it seems like the world stands still the sound of a slight breeze and the birds I think I like a lot of things about fishing...and its a lot of the reason I know I'll do it for as long as God lets me.

I usually fish alone because I am the only dedicated bass fisherman that I know. Usually, the only time I am fishing WITH someone is when my dad is catfishing and i'm bass fishing.

I've heard things like...2.5 times their body length per second small fish can get up to around 2-3 mph and a large fish, like 20+ inches can get up to 12 mph. Bass aren't built to sustain speed though...they're built to burst.

if i'm fishing for crappie, 9 times out of 10..I'm using a chartreuse headed road runner with some variation of color roadrunner body. That and live minnows are all I've ever used for crappie fishing.

as a cold front is coming, the barometer will start to fall steadily, you'll see lots of clouds starting to form, there will be some rain, with winds outta the south or southwest. When you're IN a cold front, you can see really gusty, shifty winds, a real sudden drop in temperature, a sharp rise in the barometer, heavy rains, or at least strong rains, possible storms, AFTER a cold front, the winds will change to north/northwest, the barometer rises steadily, and usually clear skies.

I don't know if Crappie are too fond of steaks...but they do like stakes! Just havin some fun with ya. Are you fishing for the bass, or for the crappie? I would probably take a better look around the area and see what other types of cover are there and if there is any grass or ledges close by. If I were fishing around it..I'd probably throw a white shad type color spinnerbait, and heck I may even go buy a pack of those storm crappie swimbaits for the heck of it and give them a try. My main attempt would be the spinnerbait, though...try fishing it through the stake bed.

I remember seeing one last year as it came blazing outta the cattails. Almost scared the daylights outta me...it was worse than the snake that crawled right by my right foot.

average weight for a 20" largemouth is 4.5lbs. Sounds to me like your fish was pretty spot-on. The numbers would give it a 94% Relative weight, which is pretty dang good. I wouldn't worry too much about it unless you start to catch more and more like that..especially if you have some 16"/3lb fish swimming around. Thats pretty dang healthy.

mgmoore, that line kind of caught my eye, as well. Seems kind of odd that a person so desperate to catch fish wouldn't use something thats producing fish like he's implying. Another thing I noticed about his story is that he tried one spinnerbait, for the entire day. I dunno, everything sounds a bit "fishy" about these posts, to me.

If you've read the articles and are still having to ask for what to do at a specific time for specific conditions after making TEN THOUSAND casts, then you should probably read the articles again. The information is obviously not soaking in. Change things up, switch blade types, sizes, speed of retrieve, skirt color, on and on.....but if you're still having trouble knowing what to do..then keep reading until you "get it". Spinnerbaits have been around for forever, and theres a reason why....they catch fish. specific tips, sunny days..use silver blades, overcast days-silver or painted, really cloudy/low light-copper or gold clear water - willowleaf, dingy/stained water - willows, indiana, or small colorado's, muddy/murky/dark water - colorado colors are usually matching forage of the particular lake..but on some occasions the color really has to stand out. White, Chartreuse, White/Chartreuse...the most common colors probably used by anyone that owns spinnerbaits. In clear water, try using baits that have a smaller profile and ones that are of natural color patterns.

I think he's a great guy. He's knowledgable about fishing, he's tells things like they are..and he's just a guy that likes to have fun. Can't see whats not to like about him.

yes, but that doesn't change the fact that big fish are without a doubt, not the norm to catch. Texas has a longer growing season than a place like Kentucky, or New Jersey, or New York, just as examples. That was the point that I'm trying to make..big fish...15 pound fish..are rare..and people shouldn't be discouraged from fishing because they're not catching 5, 6, 7lb fish everytime they hook up.

the numbers on these sharelunkers brings up something interesting that I think a lot of new fishermen need to realize. 410 recorded fish over..14 pounds is it?...in 20 years. That averages to 20.5 fish a year over 14lbs. IN A PLACE LIKE TEXAS! With the usual longer growing season there, and a relatively small number caught per year...it should make some realize that catching fish that big is definitely not the norm or easy to do. I say all this because I think most people start out fishing thinking that its so easy to go out and catch 5, 6, 7lb bass because thats what they see on TV.

I tihnk a lot of people get confused about "matching the hatch" and think that it refers to having every single thing about the lure be like the common baitfish in the body of water. It can be color, it can be movement, it can be flash, it can be size, it can be sound..or a combination of any of those things. Thats what I consider matching the hatch. The game is figuring out what it requires on any given day to "match the hatch" and be successful. The main thing I concern myself with are size and color. I believe those to be the important parts of "matching the hatch" simply because no two fish will always move the same way or flash the same way or anything like that. Bass though, they'll try to eat almost anything at least once. If they find that its more UNpleasurable than pleasurable, then I think they stop eating..but if their experiences are more pleasure than not, they'll never stop. One dichotomy to the whole match the hatch thing is...all things being considered as far as the rule goes, how would a bass ever become "tired" of a certain lure or pattern or whatever..if you're matching the hatch? I mean if I'm using bluegill patterns and what not and catching bass after bass, they surely can't eventually stop eating bluegill. Theres a lot of "myths" regarding fishing, in my opinion.

looks like you just punch two holes in a piece of metal, then put a snap through it and the eye of a jig? I STILL can't figure out the contraption on the blade part..thought about it ever since I saw the chatterbait. I'm gonna have to get my hands on one.

physical fitness is not a determination of an athlete, either. In the American sense of the word..theres nothing I know a fisherman does that would deem them an athlete. So, if I have a rough ride in my car..I'm an athlete? The physical skills of a football player are what produces the results. The mental skills of a fisherman are what produces the results. You can drink two cases of beer a day and eat twinkies every meal and catch fish..if you know how. I know how to play football..but I can for sure say that theres no way I can play in the NFL, no matter how much I learn. I COULD, theoretically, go fish in the highest level of tournament fishing with the more I learned. What I really wanted to say is that...driving a race car is NOT easy. To the layman, it looks like "driving a car in circles"..but until you've done it..its hard to understand the intensity and physical demands it puts on your body. Its far, far more complex than given credit for, and far harder than people assume that it is. I've driven a dirt late model, and even though thats nowhere near the top of the heap, its still extremely difficult, mind draining, and physically exhausting. It requires absolute perfection from mind and body 100% of the time to be the best. There are a lot of drivers in NASCAR that are "overweight", and I don't know if I'd even call THEM athletes, even though 95% of them are in great shape.

It can be pretty accurate...its more of a baseline, in my opinion..but I haven't really looked into how the formula came about or anything like that.

the only things thats pretty different about my pond is that there are only 2 people who fish it, literally. I have no real concerns about fishing it out with this truly small amount of pressure that gets put on the fish and I know neither of us are keeping everything(aside from removing suggested weights to maintain good growth, nothing is kept) we catch. Thats the reason that I asked if it would be beneficial to pull bass off the beds so that the bass will not become stunted due to over-population. I think that my conclusion is that it'd be a good thing to help out the predation a little, so as not to get too many hungry mouths with not enough food on the table.

Just bluegill and crappie in the pond with the bass. The population thus far(after ....5 years) is really good. All fish caught are of normal weight to length ratio, and some are over the ratio. Bluegill are average 5in in length, and crappie are very rare..though I wish they weren't in the pond at all. What I'm getting at is that in general, is it actually beneficial to bed fish in a small pond to allow some predation to happen or is it better to let nature take its course? My mind wants to tell me that its a good thing to allow some eggs and fry to be eaten before they can grow to gain larger bass and a more balanced population, but how many fish will actually survive in that small of an environment anyway? BTW, fish are regularly removed..about 10-20lbs of bass a year..as well as bluegill weight. In the next year or two, I AM planning on expanding to a full acre(my initial estimate is a little low..its pretty close to a half now) when I do my cattail eradication(these are the worst plant god ever created!) with a good ole bobcat.

thanks for the congrats, guys!

This is just something that I've been pondering in my head for a little while. The general rule of thumb for a private pond is to fish it pretty hard to maintain population balance...but what about the spawn? A lot of people feel that its bad to take fish off of beds during this time because it can kill a class of fish, but in a farm pond, do you think its the opposite? I'm kinda on the fence. On the one hand, I have a part of me that says that its just a bit bad to be pulling fish off of beds and killing fish...but then another part says that there would be no possible way to catch ALL the bass on beds, and actually taking some off for a brief period might help the balance. The part that throws me is factoring in how many fry and eggs are being lost without angler catching. Is it enough to keep balance, thus taking fish off could lower population? I know that females lay a lot of eggs per pound, so where do you guys think the line should be drawn in a private pond? I guess I should mention that the size of my pond is 1/8-1/4 acre.

I can also add that I have no idea who CJBasswhacker is and have no ties to him, whatsoever. I do feel special to win, though...pretty cool stuff.

I've gotta ask cuz I can't seem to find out..who IS chigger? Does he really fish? Anything besides be funny?

I'll take a shot for the heck of it 1. crankbait 2. deflecting off of cover 3. 6 ft 4.rocky banks 5.rocks just based on...instinct? lol