RoLo

PUERTO RICO?? (now that's funny right there) Spring-fed waters with a static year-round temperature have nothing to do with the "tropics" Ground water that springs from isothermic aquifers & sinkholes is independent of the earth's atmosphere. FYI: Isothermic waters are found in Georgia, Florida, Texas, Arizona and several other states. Anyway if you want to include Puerto Rico & Cuba in the mix, then your 0.000001% only becomes more preposterous. Regardless, let's pretend that it's only 0.000001% of waters that totally eliminate the significance of water temperature. Can you give me an example of 0.000001% waters that totally eliminate the significance of photoperiod? (of course not) Roger

0.000001% is a brutal underestimation of the area comprised by isothermic waterbodies. There are throngs of waters that disavow water temperature, to name just a few: > Crystal River (7 miles long) 72-deg year-round > Blue Grotto Springs (359 million gal/day) 74.3 deg year-round > Alapaha Rise Springs (384 million gal/day) 70.3-deg year-round > Rainbow River (5.7 miles long) 73-deg year-round > Ichetucknee Springs (6-miles long) 72 deg year-round > Ponce De Leon Springs (14 million gal/day) 68-deg year-round > Aucilla Spring (189 millions gal/day) 68.9-deg year-round > Emerald Spring (125 million gal/day) 70.5-deg year-round > Gainer Spring (125 million gal/day) 70.9-deg year-round > St Marks Rise (292 million gal/day) 68.8-deg year-round > Otter Springs – White Spring – Worthington Spring – Troy Spring – Telford Spring ~ ~ ~ ~ Tropical reservoirs? No not Cuba, all these waters are found right here inside the 'native range' of the largemouth bass Roger

99.99999% sounds pretty alone ;-)

IMO, daring to place any one criterion in the driver's seat simply misses the big picture. There are exceptions notwithstanding, when photoperiod is indeed the major indicator, for instance, in spring-fed waters that maintain a stable year-round water temperature. On the other hand, I'm not aware of any situation when water temperature (a volatile measure with a wide supportive latitude) could possibly stand alone for initiation or closure. Roger

The hardest part of being a Bartender is figuring out who's drunk, and who's just stupid! Roger

From the post-spawn through summer into early fall (in Florida: Apr thru Sep). Topwaters are especially good during a mild ripple, during twilight (dawn & dusk) and at night Roger

Great to see you on the map again Chris You said a mouthful, it seems the more we learn, the less we know ;-( Roger

Mathematically, I think it's more like 99% you won't get a strike, 1% you will I've yet to catch 200 fish on 400 casts

That wouldn't be CJ Bass Whacker, would it?

When I mentioned the bonus of high water, I wasn't alluding to spawn timing nor fry survival. The typical natural lake in Florida exhibits slow tapering bottom contour in the littoral zone. In and of itself, high water during the spawning season can result in a multifold increase in eligible bedding flats. Depending on the bottom contour of the lake in question, a mere 12-inch elevation in pool level could possibly 'double' the area of suitable spawning grounds (i.e. population dynamics). Roger

The following is a direct quote from a Bass Resource article entitled: “Springtime and Spawning”. <quote> “Fish reproduction tends to primarily be cued by photoperiod - how much light and dark in a day. However, it can be modified somewhat by temperature" <unquote> http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/springtime-spawning.html The URL below involves the culture of Florida-strain bass, published by the Texas Inland Waters Division. In this account, 'photoperiod manipulation' is the primary tool, where water temperature is important only inasmuch as it provides the preferred minimum incubation temperature of 13 C (59 deg F). It’s a lengthy PDF, so I’d recommend typing the word "photoperiod" in your search engine. http://fisheries.tamu.edu/files/2013/09/Guidelines-for-the-Culture-of-Black-Bass.pdf Let's shake it up some more: In spite of its strong empirical following (anecdotal evidence) the influence of moon phase on bass spawning activity has never been substantiated by science. On the other hand, “water level and the direction of water level” has a known and telling effect on spawning activity, yet it's rarely addressed. High and rising water levels stimulate spawning, while low and falling water levels undermine the urge to spawn. Low water levels are in fact responsible for year-class holes in the biomass. For instance, this year in Florida we have unusually high water levels in most of our major fisheries. Although no one is talking about it 'yet', 2015 will go down as a banner spawning year in Florida. Roger

That's a common misconception. The cow bass produces more eggs than she requires. Her roe store is sufficient to visit several beds swept clean by male bass, and then some. Most cow bass will still have surplus roe after the bedding season is over. In other words, finding roe in a fish is not a reliable indicator that the fish is actively engaged in spawning. Another monkey wrench is the fact that not all sexually mature bass spawn every year. The answer to that question only reinforces the importance of photoperiod. If it were left to water temperature alone, fish would spawn twice a year, but 'photoperiod' consists of two elements that prevent that from happening: > Day- Length Range (shortest to longest supportive sunlight duration) > Day-Length Direction (lengthening daylight OR shortening daylight) Bass spawn and spring-flowers bloom only during 'lengthening' daylight, but if these events were based on temperature, bass would spawn in both spring & fall, and spring-blooming flowers would bloom in spring & fall Roger

On many occasions Paul, I’ve seen a 10-degree change in water temperature in just a few days. It’s not only air temperature that changes water temperature, but also wind currents that push the warm surface layer across the lake, which is replaced by cooler water below (seiches). Water temperature is volatile and unreliable, it can only be used as a rough rule-of-thumb, but cannot be used as a reliable indicator of the bedding cycle. For that matter, water temperature is not even a reliable predictor of bass disposition. Think of all the times that bass in cold water responded to a lively delivery. Think of all the times when bass in warm water only responded to a slow delivery. When we lived in Georgia, we fished the big reservoirs like West Point Lake and Lake Lanier, but also had permission to fish a few private ponds. I can sincerely say that I’ve never noticed any difference in the spawning calendar period between the small ponds and large lakes. It was based on latitude (photoperiod) rather than the size of the water. When we lived on the north shore of “Lake Walk-In-Water” Florida, I seen a bass in our community canal that was locked on a bed in water in the high 80s. Oddly enough, that fish was bedding during the same period as the bass in the main lake. Although the timing was the same, the temperature in the main lake was much lower. In contrast, the bass bedding next to the Walden Shores wharf was in a shallow backwater canal that behaved no different than a small local pond. The point being, it had no affect on the timing of the spawn. There are several spring-fed lakes in Florida that maintain the same water temperature throughout the year. If Mother Nature depended on water temperature to trigger the spawn, she'd be in trouble deep! Biologists know full-well that the reproductive period in both the animal and vegetable kingdoms relies on photoperiod, a stable and reliable criterion. The incubation of fish eggs, bird eggs and the reproductive cycle of deer are all codependent on “day length”. They're triggered by a given day-length range that occurs later on the calendar as you progress northward to a higher latitude. Roger

"Small ponds go first, then larger ones, on up to the lakes" That is an observation I've never made. Due to the lower volume of water in small ponds, I would expect them to be more susceptible to temperature fluctuation and therefore the biggest offenders of hypothetical thermal barriers. Roger

That's an interesting find. Ambidexterity is a good thing, don't change a thing Roger

The temperature of water has only to be warm enough to incubate the eggs, but beyond that there are no specific temperature constraints. For northern-strain bass, the generally accepted minimum incubation temperature is 60 deg F. (notice that 60 is a nice round imprecise number) Here's the deal; water temperatures do not rise and fall uniformly, but seesaw back-and-forth like the S&P 500 Index. Not to worry, reproductive hormones are triggered by the increasing angle of sunlight (i.e. Photoperiod), which provides a stable and reliable metric that does in fact move in a straight line. Water temperatures hinge on photoperiod, so they provide a coincident but imprecise criterion. In Florida for instance, it's possible to find water temperatures in the 80s 'before' major spawning has begun. Roger

Thanks to her Dwight, I've become pretty good with the net Roger

I put most of my marbles on location, so I always have the feeling that bass are present. On the other hand, I don't always have the feeling that I'll be able to catch them (bass disposition can run very negative). Even if I have no action, I'll leave my spot believing that bass are there, but my presentation didn't make the cut. I've shown this to be the case on numerous occasions, by making contact at the same spot on my return route. Roger

I think that's a great idea when fishing with a youngster. The fishing might be slow, but the wildlife show never quits. No, I've never found a substitute with the same bulk and vibes. The closest I’ve come is the Zoom Ultra-Vibe Worm and Berkley 10" Power Worm. Deps 6-in Deathadder Grub Roger

Thank you fellows Roger

Lois & I spent the afternoon on Florida's Winter Haven Chain. The weather and the wildlife were really outstanding today, we seen pelicans, snail kites, several nesting ospreys, great blue herons and a pair of nesting bald eagles. Lois boated the only good fish today, a 22" bass weighing 6lb 2oz. Her fish fell for a Deps 6" Deathadder Grub, a discontinued lure. Roger

I'm right-handed, therefore all my casting reels and conventional reels are left-handed. My subordinate hand cranks the lure and slack line, while my stronger arm sets the hook and pumps large fish to the boat. Also in this manner, I don't have to switch hands after every cast. I'm convinced that the first baitcasting reel was devised by a southpaw Roger

Detergent commercials often tout their ability to remove bloodstains from a shirt, but if you have bloodstains on your shirt, laundry is probably the least of your problems.

So thick and visible? Now that's something I've never seen One of the many benefits of braid is its uniquely fine diameter. If I were fishing for smallmouth bass in gin-clear, mussel-infested Green Bay, Wisconsin, yeah I'm sure I'd use a topshot of fluorocarbon. But fishing for largemouth bass in Florida's pleasantly stained waters, we use straight braid 100% of the time Roger

With respect to striped bass, Roadwarrior makes a good point. Ocean stripers are more powerful than landlocked stripers, but those living in a riverine environment are another force to reckon with. I also agree that striped bass are not given to jumping, however like most rules, there are exceptions. Bunker dunking off Sandy Hook, NJ, I hooked a 38-lb striped bass that jumped completely out of the water 3 times. That was the 'only' striper I've ever seen jump. For the record, striped bass eggs and white bass milt results in a "sunshine bass" (aka: 'wipers' and 'hybrids') White bass eggs and striped bass milt results in a "whiterock bass" Both hybrid forms are man toys that cannot reproduce. Roger