RoLo

I live on a 7,500-acre natural lake (Lake walk-in-water, FL). Though I probably do most of my fishing there, I also fish lakes & rivers of various sizes in numerous other locations (freshwater & saltwater). Roger

On balance, as the elevation rises, the mean air temperature falls 3.3 degrees for every 1,000 ft above sea level. On that basis, Chihuahua might average about 10 degrees cooler, which is very significant. In addition however, Chihuahua is situated over 400 miles from the ocean, which I give more weight than elevation. The word they use is "oceanicity", where contintental locations (inland) such as Chihuahua, are not moderated by the maritime effect of the ocean. This phenomenon helps to explain the superiority of the California climate (and bass). California lies on the leading edge of the Prevailing Westerlies, which moderates the continental effect. Although few know or talk about, a goodly portion of Florida also enjoys a mini California-like climate because it lies in the Northwest Tradewinds, where the air flow is coming off the Atlantic Ocean. All True. The genetics of California bass however were transplanted, therefore the genetic vigor is subject to wane over time. Which is to say, revert back to the natural gene pool. I think this is why we're seeing the "Hot New Lake" hop-scotch around the state, as each new test tube losses vigor: Miramar -> Castaic -> Dixon -> ??? "Catch-&-Release" plays a role of course, but any region that's satisfies "all" other criteria will ultimately be disclosed by inaccessible waters &/or by private waters. To be sure, which underscores the importance of "latitude" and "oceanicity", and the reason why I rank latitude so high. Roger

That makes sense to me

Good post Lane, but I have a little trouble with your theory about bass in Mexico, unless you're referring only to the northern fringe of Mexico. To my mind at least, "latitude" is even more important than "forage". I believe that regardless of a high-fat diet, bass living north of Sacramento, California do not enjoy the prolonged growing season needed for world-class weight. Inversely, bass living south of Chihuahua, Mexico would be inclined to die from "thermal burnout" before attaining world-class wieght (this would also include Cuba). Again, that's only an opinion and not a fact. Roger

Thanks Lane, I learned a lot. Roger

When you consider that water is approximately 750 times denser than air (depending on the temperature of each), a depth change of just a few inches would equate to a significant rise or fall in barometric pressure. Oh well, the many mysteries of our sport only add to its beauty. Roger

I have to agree with Matt We can't forget that we're dealing with a fish that's already highly stressed and in serious condition. I personally would not attempt to perforate a swim bladder I couldn't access through the mouth Roger

Fish taken from depths over 100 ft are not expected to survive if they are released. Their vital organs are usually ruptured by the sudden and extreme reduction in water pressure. Even from lesser depths, the swim bladder in fish (not all have one) will usually blow-up like a balloon sometimes ending up in the fish's mouth, caused by the rapid reduction in water pressure. Released in this condition, a fish will likely die of exhaustion while attempting to defeat the buoyancy of the enlarged bladder. Piercing the swim bladder allows the fish to return to the bottom, however his chances of survival still depend on the extent of his internal injury (depth of water - rate of change). Roger

And in your avatar you are holding onto that memorable day with 'both hands' Kudos Roadwarrior, do you believe it's possible that bass don't respond directly to 'barometric pressure' per se, but respond instead to certain physical changes that typically accompany a rising & falling barometer? What is your take? Roger

Gentlemen, if you only subscribe to one magazine, by all means make it the "In-Fisherman". Not too much surprise there, eh RW? Roger

To my mind, winter begins when water temperatures drop below 50 deg F. Of course, living in Florida I don't see much in the way of winter. Roger

With respect to Raul's statement, "diatoms" are the same marine phytoplankton that create the infamous "Red Tide" in the ocean, responsible for staining my hull > Roger

In my post above, I stated that northern-strain bass live about 33% longer than Florida-strain bass. Like most things I write, this is not my opinion, but an average I arrived at using several sources (many years ago). In any case, I've noticed that the In-Fisherman suggests that the northern-strain lives about 50% longer than the Florida-strain, which I feel is on the high-end of reality. Roger

Unless I counted wrong, we now have 56 members from the state of Florida Several of the names I haven't seen of late, but even so that's a decent representation.

I would reiterate what Maltese Falcon wrote with a couple minor adjustments: I am living my dream; I have a home on Lake Walk-In-Water in central Florida, I'm surrounded by saltwater fishing, have 3 boats for different applications and a wife who shares my addiction. If I could change one thing, I'd wish the winters were just a little colder Roger

I've always based the line of demarcation on lakes rather than cities, which from all appearances runs from Lake Tarpon near the Gulf coast to Cypress Lake in the Kissimmee Chain. George and I are on the same page, because if cities were used, the Florida-strain line would run from Tarpon Springs to Melbourne. Lake Tarpon has produced many behemoths, in addition to the former uncertified Florida bass record weighing 19 lbs even. With respect to bass longevity, I'm afraid George and I part company. Like most fish and animals, the greatest number of bass die within their first year of life. Among the precious few Florida-strain bass surpassing the age of 8, about forty percent are expected to die within 1 year and 90% will be dead within 2 years (10 years old). To be sure, there's the occasional bass that reaches 12 years of age, which is popularly accepted as the age-ceiling for pure Florida-strain bass. Northern-strain bass live significantly longer than Florida-strain bass. The age ceiling for northern-strain bass is about 16 years, or about 33% longer than Florida-strain bass. There is more than one account of a northern bass living longer than 20 years. I also read about a ~30-year old northern-strain bass in the In-Fisherman magazine, but don't recall the details. Back On Topic As Fish Chris stated and few would disagree, northern-strain bass are more aggressive than Florida-strain bass. I've been fortunate in having fished extensively for bass in Florida, Georgia, New Jersey and Canada. Jersey bass are much smaller, but practically jump in the boat with you. In my experience at least, Florida-strain bass are clearly the least aggressive. Roger

I've always based the line of demarcation on lakes rather than cities, which from all appearances runs from Tarpon Lake near the Gulf coast to Cypress Lake in the Kissimmee Chain. George and I are on the same page, because if cities were used, the Florida-strain line would run from Tarpon Springs to Melbourne. Along with several other behemoths, Lake Tarpon has produced the former uncertified Florida bass record weighing 19 lbs even (surely a pure Florida-strain). With respect to bass longevity, I'm afraid George and I part company. Like most fish and animals, the highest percentage of bass die within their first year of life. Among the precious few Florida-strain bass surpassing the age of 8, about forty percent are expected to die within 1 year and 90% will be dead within 2 years (10 years old). To be sure, there's the occasional bass that reaches 12 years of age, which is popularly accepted as the age ceiling for pure Florida-strain bass. As Fish Chris and I have stated, northern-strain bass live significantly longer than Florida-strain bass. The age ceiling for northern-strain bass is about 16 years, or about 33% longer than Florida-strain bass. There is more than one account of a northern bass living longer than 20 years. I also read about that 30-year old northern-strain bass in the In-Fisherman magazine, but I can't recall the details. Roger

As noted above, bass in the fall are more scattered than at any other time of year. During the fall, horizontal coverage is usually more effective than vertical coverage. During the winter however, largemouth bass tend to saddle-up to the steepest gradients. In this situation, metals such as the cicada or hopkins shorty can be effective, where a slow delivery is generally best. Roger

Actually, that was one of Bucks theories which has been handily upended. Transmitter studies have repeatedly shown that bass migrate very little, but when they do migrate, the tend to follow the same contour line, rather than running perpendicular to the depth lines (we've already been through the swim bladder thing). On the other hand, "all" predatory fish (fresh & salt) spend a great deal of their lives "NEXT TO" deeper water, but that's been common knowledge looong before Buck Perry. We must remember that Mr. Perry was a salesman first, and fishing in 35 ft of water is far more saleable than fishing in 5 feet of water. It's now about 35 years later and deepwater fishing for "bass" is still unpopular (bass anglers aren't stupid). Buck covered his tracks pretty well by saying that bass in deep water may be difficult or impossible to catch (Ah hem). How come walleye fishermen, smallmouth fishermen, pike fishermen and lake trout fishermen all fish deep? Might success play a role? In an artificial impoundment devoid of healthy weed beds, largemouth bass are forced to relate to deepwater cover & structure: submerged timber, silos, artificial reefs, roadbeds, immersed automobiles, culverts or what have you. As I stated in my post above, Buck Perry's teachings evolved around reservoirs, but bass have lived for thousands of years in natural lakes before there were reservoirs. Exactly! Ironically, it was the In-Fisherman staff that shattered Buck Perry's deepwater myth and his theory about perpendicular migration. Roger

I was only gone 13 days on my pike trip, and couldn't believe all the new names! Congratulations Senile1 on your recent promotion and good luck in your new position. I noticed that you mentioned Florida in your site range. Geez, I wish you were installing 9,000 new sites, because Lake Wales is in dire need of revamped IP networking Welcome back senile1, I'll be looking forward to your thoughtful insight. Roger

I read Buck Perry's book entitled "Spoonplugging" right after it was published. Buck was an inspiring speaker (that was his job) and was dubbed the father of "Structure Fishing". Though not my favorite instructor, Buck did make two contributions to the angling world that I felt were very valuable. 1. Buck emphasized the critical importance of bottom structure (gradient analysis). 2. He intentionally designed the spoonplug to be butt ugly, to prove that lure appearance was not nearly as important as lure depth and lure speed (I wholeheartedly agree). In contrast, I took issue with the fact that most of his tenets were based on artificial impoundments (reservoirs) and not natural lakes, which is an entirely different situation. Furthermore, Buck's theory about daily migration of bass from deep water (30 to 35ft) to shallow water (under 8 ft) has since been invalidated by transmitter tracking. Bass are surprisingly residential. Roger

Due to their faster growth rate, there are exponentially more 13-lb Florida-strain bass. Although a 13-lb northern-strain bass is possible, her weight would be more age-related. That is to say, she may be growing slower, but she is growing for a greater number of years. Roger

I noticed that longevity was also mentioned. With respect to "lifespan", the northern-strain bass lives longer than the Florida-strain, significantly longer. The world-record largemouth bass was presumed to have been an "intergrade" bass, a natural cross between a Florida-strain & northern-strain bass. Intergrade bass occur naturally in northern Florida and southern Georgia, where the gene pool provides a favorable combination of fast growth and long life. Roger

Welcome to the forum gjones What you've read is very true, Florida-strain bass do grow larger than northern-strain bass, and the Florida-strain is a less aggressive fish. As for your temporary difficulty with bass, I'd suggest that you hang around and read the member posts. I'm sure that before too long, you'll be able to put a pattern together. Best of Luck Roger

Welcome aboard Lady Bass Roger