KenDammit28

oh, I just read a West Virginia biology report that states females reach maturity at approx. 9 inches in length while males can become mature at a somewhat smaller size.

i don't think that sexual maturity in largemouth is a very concrete thing. You can look around and find many different types of answers because largemouth are present in a vast span of climates. I've heard that bass can be sexually mature at 7-8" and some say 2-5 years. Theres a huge difference in size of those fish as in the south a fish can be 7" in a year, while in the north a fish would probably take about 2 years to grow that big. a 2 year old fish would probably be around 15 inches.

the best one I ever got...its a huge one..really in depth..and takes a lot of time to type up...but I guess I'll share it.... don't be afraid. That goes for everything..trying new things, going with your gut instinct, fishing those narly lookin spots, asking questions, admitting you don't know everything, on and on and on. Just because you don't see the guys on TV do it or hear someone on here or anywhere else talk about doing something..doesn't mean you can't. Do it....make it YOURS..then YOU can share it with people. Theres no one way to catch a bass.

in the top picture there, that little curled thing is not a leg?

eels don't have legs though, do they?

looks kind of like a mud puppy or waterdog. my vote would be a mudpuppy

Bass do not have a gestation period because they carry no live or growing fish inside them, just eggs or sperm. The reproduction period is called the spawn. As for how long it takes bass to hatch from the eggs, it can be anywhere from 2 days to 2 weeks, depending on water temperature. The male largemouth bass will then watch the fry for another week to a month....and then they're off on their own.

as a sidenote, its possible to use just one barrel swivel, but I don't like having it slide all the way down to the hook. I like to setup a stopping point by using two barrel swivels and eliminating most any chance for line twist. forgot to post the link to the single barrel way. http://fishing.about.com/od/basicfishinginstruction/ss/aa050805a.htm

heres one shot of the barrel swivels..hopefully its clear enough for you to get an idea. another hopefully those will give you an idea

I have the double fluke rig on one of my setups right now, but all I have to take a picture of it with is a webcam...dunno how good that quality is.

horseshoes a sport? Lawn Darts? Poker? they all require physical activity, have rules, and are competitive. What about competitive eating, is that a sport? Point is, a definition in regards to sport can't be looked at rigidly when referring to the classical idea of "sport"; a lot of things fall under that category. I love fishing and who cares if its a "sport" or not, it sure is fun, ain't it?!

I dunno, fishing is more readily an event than it is a "sport". Its hard to work in concrete all day in 90 degree heat, but does that make it a sport or me an athlete? There are lots of things in life that are strenuous, stressful, tiresome, hard, what have you...that aren't sports. It takes a great mind with lots of mental stamina to be really great at chess, but is it a sport? are chess players athletes? We all love to fish but just because we love it, that doesn't make it a sport. There is the whole tournament side of things, but what does that really change? Whats the difference in fishing a tournament and fishing by myself? I could time myself to fish and see how much I catch, doesn't change what I'm doing..still just fishing. Tough argument, though.

turtles and snakes are not my friends. I avoid standing on the bottom of a pond and putting myself at weed level!

theres a lake here in my town, not a great fishing lake(way too pressured) or a big lake, but..its water, right? Anyway, I was probably 9 or 10 when they drained all the water that had previously been there and went about renovating and building it bigger, with a new dam. I used to walk the bottom all the time, playing in it with my friends and doing the kid thing. Makes me mad to think back and realize I could have taken pictures and known where just about everything was in that lake had I done that. I would love to have some pictures of it before it was filled.

those spots look like they'd be killer spots. I like the tree at the end of the flat and the first footbridge you showed. Both of those would seem to hold some pretty good fish, along with the flats and points.

How much do you really need to see and hear when there is clear video of Jimmy Houston in a tree in the middle of a pen no wider than a normal backyard in a subdivision? On top of that its pretty clear to see the deer running to fences, only to stop and try to run in another direction. Like LBH said, "I didn' t know" won't fly because there was no way NOT to know. Its just a disgusting situation, the same as these guys who claim to be "excellent" fishermen that pull em out of livewells. I don't really have an ethical problem with what Bill Dance does, he's still actually catching the fish, as far as I know. Is what he does any different than having a private pond raised to trophy bass status, just without camera's around? He still casts out, reels in, and hopes he gets bitten. Hunting in a cage is not hunting, its killing. And for the record, I HATE PETA! Watch this video and you'll probably not like them, either. Its a Penn & Teller episode of "Bull****" so it may not be work safe for all of you.

I am not a big hunting advocate to begin with, so this is even more dispicable for me, compounded by the fact that I thought Jimmy was a pretty good guy. I had heard a few ramblings about this the past couple days, but after seeing it..its just sickening. I understand the sport of fishing, catch and release, its not such a deadly thing..but hunting has always kinda gotten to me because I know a lot of guys who hunt just to put trophies on the wall. Don't know any fisherman who keeps them just for trophies. This just cements how much I dislike hunting, and especially hunting shows. I know there are a lot of hunters on this site, and I don't have a problem with someone doing it ethically and with well reasoned intentions, but I see no need to kill for the sake of killing.

the definition I've always heard is just what Reb said. A primary point is the larger point, the secondaries being the ones that are coming off of it.

Zoom and strike king are my most consistent money winners (they win my money because I can't stop buying, lol). I'm open minded though...I'll use whatever brand has what I need or want. I always like Zooms plastics, however I have plastics from tons of different brands.

I have to pick two because I love both Gerald Swindle and Kevin Vandam. There are others that I enjoy but to me, those two embody everything that I love and respect about fishing. Gerald is a classic southern born, southern bred guy who's in love with fishing. His attitude is great, and he just intrigues me when he's talking, for some reason. We all already know KVD's deal, so I won't go through it..but..I'd love to get to spend my life fishin with those two guys.

I think the bait in its mouth might shed a little bit of a clue as to "why". Just from catching lots of bass on the same day with several different baits is what leads to my opinion..they're just eating and being healthy. BTW, is that a cold water fish or warm?

Seriously, I think it comes from eating a lot..of anything. Healthy diet, if you will.

it was just putting on some lipstick gettin ready for the spawn...they gotta look pretty, you know?

but its really hard to give up that thrill of feeling a bass take a soft plastic. :-[ Perhaps its my imaginative mind but it gets me excited thinkin about how that bass was sitting there and looked at my lure and he decided it was real enough to eat. However, nothing thrills me more than catching fish on a spinnerbait, which is my crutch..so i get free rein to use plastics instead!

as far as how smart fish are, I believe good old human nature has taken over and the whole ideal is being over-complicated and over-analyzed. I don't believe its that complex of a thing and especially don't believe that fish will remember lures for life. If they did that, they'd eventually starve given the general qualities of lures today. If every time a fish was caught, that fish associated that particular look with danger or negative experiences, what would they eventually have left thats positive? Fish, like most other primative animals, IMO, have short span memories that are constantly changing. I just believe all these studies are making bass "intelligence" out to be more than it is. After all, we need an excuse as to why we're not catching them