RoLo

All other things equal, the "shallower" the water the "larger" the bass. There are many reasons for this, but we'll just touch on four: 1) Largemouth bass are designed to occupy the shallowest niche in the ecosystem. Their stout body and broad tail are ill-adapted to a pelagic lifestyle, like trout and salmon. 2) Largemouth bass are cold-blooded creatures, therefore their growth rate hinges strongly on the mean annual water temperature (MAWT). On balance, shallow water sustains a higher mean annual water temperature than deep water, thereby offering superior growth rate. 3) The littoral area of a lake (shallow water along the shoreline) provides the most prolific plant growth, zooplankton and phytoplankton. These in turn provide optimal forage and shelter. 4) The shallow areas of the lake constitute the all-important "nursery", not only for game fish but for forage fish as well. Waters that afford large expanses of shallow water offer the best forage base, population density and growth rate. This eco-chain is referred to as population dynamics, and the reason why shallow flats are synonymously referred to as food shelves. In spite of their generous shallow acreage, Lake Okeechobee and the Stick Marsh are unlikely to break the world-record, because they are Too Far South. In Cuba, Mexico and south Florida, bass grow fast but they die young from thermal burnout, it's no different than pushing plant growth with grow lights (not coincidentally, the recognized world-record came from south Georgia). Never forget that the bass in California are Florida-strain bass. Mother Nature doesn't make mistakes, and Florida-strain bass growing in California are outside their natural range. They're living on a high-fat diet of easy to catch forage, and in addition they're living at the optimal latitude (similar to south Georgia). Couple all this with the fact that California basks in the prevailing westerlies, a maritime climate that stabilizes optimal temperatures. On the downside, Florida-strain bass living outside their natural range lose their sexy physique. I doubt that Mother Nature intended for the largemouth bass to look like a basketball with fins ;D Roger

Great report Dog, and congrats on 2nd place I have a gut-feeling that your buddy and I like the same spot on Toho (NE of S-61). BTW: Practically every pro we've ever heard of has locked-through Southport Canal. I had an interesting chat with the lock proprietress and her personal favorite is Ish Monroe. If it were me, I think I'd have locked through behind Van Dam just to see his charts stops on Cypress and the Big-K Roger

Warmer nailed it. Tenoroc FMA in Lakeland comprises perhaps the best phosphate pits in the country that offer "public access" (Mosaic has been a disappointment). The best deal of all is to marry the owner's daughter of the biggest phosphate company in Bartow ;D Roger

Welcome to the forum I used to live right around the corner from Narcoossee on Goldenrod Road, Orlando (Gulfstream Harbor). My favorite tackle shop in Orlando was "Al's Fishing Tackle" (Colonial + Goldenrod) 1718 N Goldenrod Rd Orlando, FL <> Phone: 407-380-6787 Roger

You and I both know that there's no one way that is always best (No Goldie Locks scenario). Since I normally target the shallowest bass first, I was wondering if I might be missing something. If so, I wouldn't hesitate to reverse my sequence, because I love to experiment. There are 3 reasons why I normally target the shallowest bass first: 1)Above all, the shallowest bass are typically the most aggressive bass and therefore they're usually the easiest & quickest to harvest. There are two reasons why bass in shallower water are generally more catchable: a) The water temperature of the upper water layer (epilimnion) is usually warmer than the water below. More importantly, bass in a feeding mode tend to suspend higher up in the weed bed than less aggressive bass. Oppositely, bass in a negative disposition, such as post-cold front conditions, will typically sulk on the bottom. 2) It would seem that bass in shallow water might be less insulated from topside commotion (fighting, landing & hook removal). On the other hand, bass lying in deeper water might be a little more insulated from the world above the water surface. If I fished for the deepest bass first, I'd be afraid that the commotion caused by a hookup might spook the most catchable bass near the surface, before I ever got a shot at them. 3) Power fishing goes fast, so any catchable bass near the surface will either be non-existent or quickly harvested (generally within the first few casts). With that out of the way, I'd now be in a better frame of mind to slow down and focus on finesse fishing. That is to say, with power fishing behind me I'd have the patience and motivation to spoonfeed bass more diligently (last game in town). Thanks for your indulgence Ed Roger

Senile1, I noticed that you've elected to work the shallowest bass, last. I have a question: If you catch a bass or two along the outside weedline, do you think it's possible that the commotion might alarm the bass among the pads near the surface? On the flipside, do you believe that taking a bass or two off the surface would frighten the bass lying in deeper water along the weedline? Roger

Water with a little color is beneficial because it camouflages the flaws in our delivery. On the other hand, the murkier the water the shorter the sight window of bass. Now if you couple muddy water with cold water you've got blind bass that are too lazy to move. (i.e., Bass with retarded reaction time, working within a short striking distance) In water that's truly "cold & muddy", even a slow retrieve may traverse the narrow sight window before the bass has a chance to react. The best we can do is try to mechanically enhance their sight window by working a large, noisy, black lure, very slowly. Roger

According to tests performed by Mepps many moons ago, "chartreuse" was the only color that remained reasonably visible in both clear and turbid water. (Chartreuse is the predominant color of many of the plugs in my tackle box) Roger

15-lb Spinning Tackle: 20-lb PowerPro Braid 15-lb Casting Tackle: 30-lb PowerPro Braid 30-lb Casting Tackle: 50-lb PowerPro Braid I have several fishing outfits spooled with copolymer line and several spooled with fluorocarbon line. Unfortunately, both my wife & myself avoid those outfits like the plague, so they're always left at the house (we both hate mono). I need to respool those outfits with braided line so they find their way into my boat, otherwise they're going to die of loneliness :'( Roger

West Lake Tohopekaliga has always been a highly fertile water (the problem there is over-fertility). In sharp contrast, East Toho has always suffered from low fertility, a good lake to avoid. Roger

The spinning tackle listed below is a "mid-end outfit", but to upgrade the quailty by 50% would probably cost about 100% more. ROD Team Daiwa Light & Tough Spinning TL-601-4FS ($120) 6-ft One-piece IM-6 Graphite Medium Heavy 10 to 17-lb Line 1/8 to 1 oz Lure - $115 12.5 Butt - Cork Handle Blank-thru-Seat Fuji Alum Oxide Guides - Screw-down Reel Seat REEL Shimano Symetre Front-Drag SY2500FI Line: 6 -10 lb - Wgt: 9.5 oz - Max Drag: 15 lb Bearings: 4-B / 1-R Inches/Turn: 31 120yd/10# - $80 Fluidrive II - Alum Frame & Spool Dyna-Balance - S-Concept Engineering Infinite Anti-Reverse Power Roller (twist reduction) - Floating Shaft - Spare Aluminum Spool. LINE 20-lb PowerPro braided polyethylene Moss Green Roger

Sunday Afternoon, March 9 - Lake Walk-In-Water You couldn't ask for worse conditions, but it was my only opportunity to get out. Major cold front - North winds up to 20 mph - Whitecaps everywhere. Only morons were out today but on the upside, our little 14-ft tin can was one of the only boats on the whole lake. Not unexpectedly the fishing was very slow and it was beginning to look like a blank. I decided to run to the south end where the warmer top layer was blowing, and sure enough the south side was 6 degrees warmer. Saving the day were two little guys on a rat-l-trap, 2 on a zipper worm (shaky head), 1 on a baby paca craw. All small fish, the Titan was 16.5" ;D Roger

Spro Aruku Shad 75 - perch It's a lipless crankbait with a tight wobble, perfect for a beginner Roger

Comparing the size of your fist to the bass's mouth, I'd guess about 7.5 lbs. Fine bass no matter what she weighs. Roger

I never use scent but if it enhances your confidence level, then go for it.

I didn't wake up to braided line as soon as Fish Chris (wish I had), but now that I've discovered braid, no rod warranty in the world will affect my line choice. Realistically, if an angler is dealing with a cheap rod, the blank obviously consists of low-modulus graphite, and they enjoy the lowest failure rates of all (e.g. ugly stick). If the angler is dealing with a high-end rod with a high-modulus blank (brittle), it most likely comes with a no-questions, replacement warranty that is built into the sticker price. Roger

I use and adore PowerPro braid, but very recently I just bought a 30-lb spool of sufix braid. For comparison sake, I'm looking for any reason to like or dislike either line, but find them to be extremely similar. So far, the only difference I noticed is that sufix performance braid is a tad stiff compared to PowerPro. Especially for spinning gear, "lack-of-memory" is the one feature I like most about braided polyethylene, so in the final analysis it looks like PowerPro will still be my main squeeze. Roger

Yes I have, and yes they are

In my view, the brand of popper is least important, while the function is most important. The popper I'd choose for "murky water" during a "heavy ripple" bears no resemblance to what I'd use in "clear water" with a "flat surface". The same is true of poppers used in open water versus poppers used in a weedy situation, where I wouldn't hesitate to use a T-rigged weedless popper like the sizmic pop'n toad. Roger

I think the slogan by five.bass.limit sums it all up: "Fishing is an addiction, disguised as a hobby" :-[ Roger

That's INCREDIBLE, but I would choose the exact same waters: > SC: Santee Cooper Reservoir > AL: Lake Guntersville > GA: West Point Lake > FL: Lake Istokpoga Roger

Actually, the butterfly peacock was introduced to control the spotted tilapia, which are overrun and stunted in many south Florida waters. Roger

For that matter, Ray Mursky and M.J. Watkins were just as competitive as Mr. Dance, they just didn't win as often as Bill

An ex-furniture salesman, Bill Dance was the "first" super-hero of tournament bass fishing. The humble beginnings of tournament fishing, could alone fill a book. Some of the younger fellows would die laughing if they could see the boats, motors and fishing tackle that were used during the 1967 All-American Tournament. Bill set lifetime records that will never be bested, he overshadowed his competition by such an embarrassing margin that he became a legend in his own time. Most people today never even heard of Ray Mursky or M.J. Waktkins, the second and third best anglers during Bill's reign. No, Bill was never a cheat, and though it's immaterial, Bill never had to cheat. Roger

Normally, an evolutionary change like that would take hundreds of years (thousands), but when it comes to Mother Nature I suppose anything is possible. The first peacocks were stocked in 1984, about 23 years ago. During that time their range has fluctuated, but mostly back-and-forth. I'd imagine it's similar to a tender plant that swells northward, but is pruned back after the first hard winter (water temps below 60 deg). According to the FWC, the butterfly peacock is not a "permanent" resident much farther north than Boca Raton. Roger