RoLo

Whenever I fish for largemouth bass, my personal goal is always 9-pounds or better. As a result, the Vast Majority of bass I catch are accidental bycatches Roger

Good point Catt. Some of the best underwater points are not disclosed by a jutting shoreline, yet there might be a fish-holding shoal on the business end. Ridges, shoals & reefs that aren't betrayed by the shoreline (by the 0-ft depth line) are among the lowest pressured hotspots. Roger

During the summer season, bass fishing is more stable and predictable. All things equal, bass will 'always' opt for a site with a fast drop-off into deep water. However, during the summertime, largemouth bass (not smallmouth) are preoccupied with lush vegetation. During this season, it seems that bass will leave the best drop-off to be in the best weedbed, but the distance is never great, just a minor shift within the same year-round site. A 'point' can be long, short, pointed, rounded or a broad shore-hugging shelf. It's not the shape of the shelf that matters so much as its overall area (carrying capacity). In fact, the best spots on many points is not the "point" at all, but one or both corner pockets at the base of the point (inside turns). This is particularly true in natural lakes, and in manmade reservoirs when the point doesn't reach a stream channel (river or creek). Roger

I wouldn't disagree with 8 pounds, but by any measure a real sow! As for the dismembered hand, I use natural bait once in a while too. Roger

The best search bait is the gray matter between the ears. Roger

If I land 5 or 6 bass, I'm going to lose count after that, because my heart is not into numbers. If you tell me you had a 100-bass day, you don't have to tell me anything about their size....because you already did. Roger

Rick, I'm sure you understood what I wrote, but it's an awful lot to digest in one sitting. There are two reasons why I really can't offer a valid answer to your question: 1) Most importantly, a hydrographic chart with 10 ft increments omits far too much vital detail. 2) I don't know the best pivot depth for your reservoir, which requires onsite inspection. I'll give you an idea how important the pivot point between shelf and drop can be. In Santee Cooper Res, SC, the pivot depth would be around 8 feet (Marion not Moultree). In West Point Lake, GA it would be closer to 15 ft. Here in Florida, we fish mostly in shallow natural lakes, and many have a maximum depth that's less than the increments on your chart (less than 10 ft deep). In most of these shallow natural lakes I'm scouring the chart for drops & breaks on the 6 ft depth line. Roger

I'll give it a shot Brian In my opinion, 'chart analysis' should begin by scanning the lake's perimeter for areas with the most widely-spaced contour lines, which form the structures we call Flats, Points, Shoals & Shelves. Vegetation and forage are most prolific on these broad shallow flats, which are appropriately dubbed 'food shelves'. Not surprisingly, food shelves with wind-protection provide the bedding flats and nursery grounds necessary for reproduction. The location where a fish hatches from the egg is imprinted in its brain. While bass choose their nest sites, the bedding flat is a product of natural retracement. Therefore, by isolating the broadest shelves we're dealing with lake sections with the most promising population dynamics...a good start. In short, the food shelf extends from the 0-ft depth line to an arbitrary depth that hinges on several variables. Once this arbitrary depth is exceeded, the terrain's value as a food shelf declines, and its value as a drop-off increases. 'Drop-offs' are quickly and easily isolated by their tightly stacked depth lines, which are also called compression points and convergence points. They form the structures we call Breaklines, Drop-offs & Slopes. The steeper and deeper the slope (gradient & differential) the more valuable the drop-off. Big bass in particular, eagerly lay claim to lairs that are adjacent to a drop-off, even if they never physically enter the abyss. Even without entering the deep water, game fish benefit from a drop-off in two ways: 1) Abrupt depth change limits the exploratory movement of residential fish like largemouth bass, which tend to aggregate along breaklines. 2) When forage is migrating from deep to shallower water, the drop-off acts like a wedge that funnels prey from all depths onto the shelf, augmenting the smorgasbord. Now for the Big Question: At what depth do we switch our search from wide-spaced contour lines (shelves) to crowded contour lines (drop-offs)? I refer to this as the 'pivot depth' and can't think of anything more critical to the success of chart analysis. Unfortunately, determining the correct pivot depth is not easy, requires field study and cover inspection. Moreover, it differs according to Species, Waterbody & Season. For example, all other things equal, the pivot depth of walleyes is significantly deeper than the pivot depth of muskellunge. With respect to different waterbodies, the pivot depth of largemouth bass in natural lakes typically hinges on the depth of the outer weedline, which is variable. In manmade reservoirs however, the pivot point could hinge on stump-field depth (cutover ledge) or a transition in bottom substrate which typically follows a constant stratum around the lake. 'Season' is another variable that affects the pivot point between the end of the food-shelf and the beginning of the drop-off, especially in natural lakes. There's a whole lot more of course, but hopefully this provides at least a framework for chart analysis. Roger

Your chart answered the first & foremost question: "Is the lake natural or artificial?" (dam = impoundment). I'm sure many anglers will gravitate to the 20 ft hump directly upstream of the dam, but I personally would put that sucker on the backburner. This particular waterbody has an abundance of deep water areas but a lack of expansive food shelves. Pursuant to the law of 'Priority of Poverty' (a proprietary law), chart analysis should probably be geared to food shelves rather than retreat basins. To that end, the headwaters make a good starting point, extending downstream to both launch sites (north & south). All that said, I couldn't get serious about pinpointing holding sites without a more detailed chart. If I were you, I'd be in desperate pursuit of a chart with 1-ft or at least 5-ft increments, then we can talk turkey ;-) Roger

"Kyak Hook Sets" HMMPH! Do they fight hard or do they come in like a plank?

Yeah...the way I got it, the Mo-skeet-o (Mosquito) was designed for plinking rats. Hmmm, I'll bet the 22-cal shotgun and a rat terrier make a dynamic duo Roger

There are several types of weedlines, but the two major forms are the Outer Weedline (deep weedline) and the Inner Weedline (shallow weedline). An inner weedline is not always present, but where it exists it's typically the result of competition from shallow shoreline vegetation. For instance, a broad cabbage bed may form an inner weedline at a depth of about 4 ft, after which it becomes overwhelmed by a variety of shoreline grasses (littoral plants). The 'outer weedline' is a bit more complex, where the depth of the weedline depends primarily on Plant Species and secondarily on Water Clarity. For instance, bulrushes may form a deep weed-edge at the 4-foot contour line, while cabbage (in the same waterbody) may form an outer weedline in 12 ft of water. 'Water clarity' governs the maximum depth of photosynthesis and therefore the maximum depth of all plant life. For example, hydrilla in a murky lake might stop growing at a depth of only 6 feet, but in gin-clear water hydrilla might form a weedline that's 18 ft deep. Third in importance is 'nutrition' (soil nutrients & water nutrients), where low fertility can suppress the weedline depth regardless of the water clarity, but again, nutrition is tertiary. The inner weedline is usually more important during the spawning season (staging cows may also be found on the deep weedline) The outer weedline is generally more important during the rest of the year (barring an oxygen-debit in summer). Generally speaking, the steeper the bottom gradient the more defined the weedline, where an abrupt drop-off tends to produce a wall-of-weeds. In contrast, a sloping bottom produces a more ragged weedline with more weed clumps and patchy growth, but this is normally a preferable situation as it provides more weedline lineage and hidey-holes. Roger

I'm not a window shopper, but usually know exactly what I want, so in my case, online shopping is the only way to go. The only time I might drop into the Orlando BPS is when I happen to be in the neighborhood and have time to kill. But even at that, it's usually an exercise in futility, because the stock in their outlet stores is picked-over and incomplete. Have you noticed? The inventory at BPS has deteriorated badly over the years! They don't inventory many of my favorite lures such as the Megastrike Cavitron Buzzbait, Gambler Big EZ, All-Terrain Grassmaster Jig, Jackall lipless plug (TN/70), VMC tungsten sinkers and more. For me at least, BPS is no longer an online store with 'one-stop shopping', so the amount of my order never qualifies for free-shipping. This hurts BPS more than it hurts me. Roger

The next time you take your car for a spin, you'll be taking a lot bigger risk than eating bass from a cow pond. We've devoured bass from farm ponds for many decades, and if those bass are guilty of anything, it's pegging the needle on the nutrition meter Roger

Just reading the title of this post, several incidents popped into my mind. In saltwater (back in the 70s) I hooked a bottom fish in about 200 ft of water that I was never able to identify. It looked like a giant goby with a horn-like projection jutting from its nape. My wife & I refer to it as the 'Ugly Fish' In Georgian Bay out of Parry Sound, Ontario (30,000 Islands, Lake Huron), I hooked a seagull on a floating plug. I was watching that gull, and as soon as it swooped downward I began burning the lure, but to no avail. Unhooking that feathered pile-driver was no fun at all (Ouch). In Lower Shannoc Pond, NJ, I was fishing in 6-ft of water and hooked a catfish on the surface with an original floating rapala. Caught a small alligator on a bubblegum fluke Fast-forward to a just a few weeks ago. I was bass-casting in central Florida with a lipless plug (Jackall TN/70), and hooked a fish that was obviously too powerful to be a bass. I was applying so much pressure that my wife told me later that she was waiting for my spinning rod to splinter. I did not know what I was fighting, but told my wife that the fish was 'foul-hooked'. I knew from past experience, that a fish hooked anywhere behind the head, makes it impossible to turn the fish's head around, so every run feels as powerful as the first run. The slob made run-after-run for several minutes before I got an opportunity to finally glimpse the fish. It was a huge gar and was hooked in the tail-stalk. We don't have alligator gar in central Florida, so I wrongly assumed it was a Florida gar. However, I just recently learned that the state record Florida gar weighed only 9.44 lb. Based on the weight of large pike we've boated, this gar was in the 20-lb class, which is about twice the state record Florida gar, so it had to be a Longnose Gar. In any case, the treble hooks pulled out right next to the boat, so I never got the privilege of weighing that big, slimy, toothy creature Roger

Several years back, we had just launched the boat at Camp Mack on Lake Kissimmee. While waiting for my wife to park the tow car, I was doing my usual shakedown chores when I realized that I had forgotten my handheld dash-mounted GPS !*?%! After working several hours on the coordinates, there was no way I was going fishing without my waypoints. When Lois got back to the boat dock, I said, "Where'd you park the car?" She said: "Why do you ask? I replied: "Because I've got to run home to get my GPS". I was 'very angry' with myself, and during that roundtrip the accelerator spent much of the time on the floorboard Roger

Waterbodies are continually bombarded nonstop by feces from fish, frogs, snakes, shorebirds, wading birds, raccoons, mink, otter, beaver, muskrat, bear, alligators ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ When I see a dairy farm in the backdrop of a farm pond, I regard that as a source of nutrition for both the pond and fish. Far more dangerous than cattle are the chemicals applied to crops and fecal coliform from human waste. Our respective state departments do an excellent job of giving us a heads-up regarding contaminated waters and land areas. I've never known the culprit to be cattle, which is generally some chemical or toxic metal For example: Mercury in the Florida Everglades <> Copper in Michigan's Keweenaw Waterway Roger

Plant growth is normally rapid in June, so you should see a marked improvement real soon. If not, then it's possible that the DNR has implemented a spray program. In the absence of good weedbeds, I'd also look for woody cover such as blowdowns, stumps, brush and the pilings of your favorite docks. Roger

Yes, 'subtle buzzbait' is a good description, in fact many anglers refer to solid toads as "buzz frogs". There are a couple of solid toads that stay afloat when paused, but they don't float as high as hollow frogs. Examples of floating toads are the Ribbit floating toad & Sizmic floating toad. For the most part though, a solid toad is retrieved nonstop and offers better area coverage, while a hollow frog can be worked indefinitely in the strike window to coerce a strike (both have their place). Roger

I agree, exploring new water is very exciting, especially when you have your way with the bass. Kudos to a great day! Unless I miscounted, I believe there's about a dozen rods in your pic. It's good to know I'm not the only one Roger

I've never given much thought to the number of casts per spot, but the number is wildly volatile. Instead of scattergunning, I work predetermined holding sites along a waypoint route. Depending on the feedback we're getting that day, the time spent at any one site can vary from zero (pass-by the spot) to upwards of an hour. Before moving to the next holding site, I'll generally fancast the spot with a subsurface lure, mid-depth lure and bottom lure. I prefer to keep the lure in new water and don't repeat cast lines, unless of course I'm given a reason to repeat a cast. In short, we give priority to aggressive bass before marking time with passive bass. Roger

Wow...never knew there was such an animal. The smallest shotgun I'm familiar with is the 410, which of course is a 41 caliber shotgun (nearly twice the bore) Roger

In addition to rods advertised as 'swimbait rods', also look at rods advertised as 'musky rods' Roger

Straight braided line is all we ever use for crankbaits. Braided line is nearly stretch-free, so a strike transmits a sharp thud. Bass often hook themselves on braid, so there's no need for a jaw-breaking hook-set. The only drawback to using braided line with treble hooks is the tear-off potential on a short line. Tear-offs can be virtually eliminated though, by backing-off on the drag as a big bass is brought close to the boat. As for a small bass, I'm hoping it'll tear off....LOL Roger

Exactly