RoLo

Rat-L-Trap

In the strict sense of the word, largemouth and smallmouth bass are NOT innately cannibalistic, that would better describe northern pike and bluefish. As Roadwarrior pointed out, the buck bass will indeed turn on his own fry when his instinctive role as protector begins to wane. Though it's rarely addressed, bass much prefer soft-rayed baitfish such as shiners, shad and trout, to spiny-rayed forage such as bluegills, perch and bass. This may partly explain why bass adore the profile of a worm, which has no fins at all. Be that as it may, bass are opportunistic feeders and a hungry bass is not going to go without food, spines or no spines. When I lived in Georgia, I had a tiny backyard pond that I stocked with bass I caught. I fed them for entertainment, but they were able to eek out a living without my intervention. One day during a hot spell (high metabolism) I walked out to the pond to count noses and found that one of my 13" bass was missing. My immediate thought was "raccoon", but then I noticed the tail of the 13-incher still protruding from the mouth of my 18-incher. The victims snout was obviously bumped up against the end of his attacker's gut Though it flies in the face of convention, I select lure colors solely on the basis of "visibility" and never think about mimicking some pre-existing creature. I will say this, if I were so disposed to mimic baitfish colors, I would not imitate the colors of a bass or bluegill, but would imitate the colors of a succulent golden shiner or gizzard shad. Roger

A jig is a mouthful of hardware and bristles. Unlike a plastic worm, bass tend to eject a jig rather quickly, so prompt hook-sets are normally the ticket. One study found that bass can eject a jig in about 1/4 second. When using nylon monofilament, a long striking arc is needed to override the rubber band effect, but this wastes valuable nanoseconds. With PowerPro braid there's no need for a jaw-breaking hook-set because a shorter striking arc is sufficient to drive the point beyond the barb. When a pickup is felt or seen, I drop the rod-tip "immediately" but just a short distance (i.e. 11 to 9 o'clock), then lift the rod swiftly with no pause between movements. This produces just enough slack to deliver a crack-the-whip hook-set like driving a nail. There's really no need to retrieve any excess line slack because there is no excess slack. It's works pretty good. Roger

I remember catching my first largemouth bass with remarkable clarity, which is surprising given the fact that it happened around 1949 or 1950. I was casting a creek chub injured minnow, a topwater lure with spinners fore & aft. Probing the shoreline of the Muscenetcong River, NJ, I really wasn't expecting to catch anything. Then during one of my retrieves the slick surface was disturbed by a V-wake heading directly toward my lure. That sight was forever etched in my memory, and nearly 60 years later the infection has never subsided. I'm very fortunate to live in an era that witnessed the creation of B.A.S.S., the emergence of Bill Dance, Roland Martin, Al Lindner, Fishing Facts, In-Fisherman, ad infinitum. I watched the lure manufacturers transition from Arbogast, Creek Chub and Helin over to Zoom, Yum and Gambler. I used to stick the oar down in the water as a depth gage, but now I use a depth sounder. I used to get my cross-fixes using landmark bearings and a bearing compass, but now I use a GPS. About the only thing that hasn't changed in the past 50 years is Micropterus salmoides Roger

I have been hearing this for years, but have not found it to the case for me -- what is the source for this claim? Is it personal experience or has it come from some book or article? Surprisingly, Roadwarrior and myself have both indicated that exact time frame in several previous threads. Though I try to refrain from repeating myself, I tend to forget that the Bass Resource roster has been growing in leaps-and-bounds. I might also add that I've been bass fishing for nearly 50 years, so my experiences aren't exactly a flash-in-the-pan ;D Roger

With regard to the 'wire size' of hooks, I believe that fishermen often move in the wrong direction. Back in 1979 I visited a Shark Seminar in New Jersey hosted by Pete Barrett, Al Ristori and a few other local gurus. It seemed that every speaker that night held up a heavy wire hook that had been straightened by a shark. I didn't say anything that evening at the seminar, for fear of making waves and sounding like a young upstart. Regardless, I felt that all the speakers were moving in the wrong direction. I believe that their hooks opened at the bend for the simple reason that they were never set home "beyond the barb". This is a common occurence when using heavy wire hooks. Even when using a heavy wire hook, you cannot play a 300 lb shark on the End Of The Hook Point without opening up the hook-bend. If the fellows had moved to lighter wire instead of heavier wire I believe they would have improved the odds of getting the flesh into the bend of the hook. Once the hook is set beyond the barb and the flesh of the fish is resting in the bend-of-the-hook, the line-of-pull is parallel to the hook-shank. Bend your index finger into the letter "C" so it resembles a fish-hook. Now, if I hook my thumb underneath the tip of your index finger, I should be able to pry your finger open now matter how hard you resist. On the other hand, suppose you and I both form a letter "C" with our index fingers and hook them both together at the bend of our fingers. We could pull with all our might, but someone's index finger will be dislocated before either index finger will open up at the bend of the hook. My two cents. Roger

The fact that you need to pose the question, speaks volumes to me. If you "know" that you've got what it takes, you're wasting precious time asking questions. If I wanted to be a fishing guide, I would not be interested in anyone's opinion or anyone's money and NO ONE could stand in my way. If someone lacks an aggressive passion or responsible mindset, I cannot in good conscience advise him or her to "Go For It". I can't be that reckless with someone else's prosperity and happiness, just to look like a good guy. Roger

Focus only on the rocky areas along the edges of deep pools. Three good smallie lures are a small tube lure, 1/8oz hair jig and 1/8oz jig & 3" curly grub. Fish them very slow with a natural drift. Roger

That's an arbitrary point of course, but most lakes are dubbed 'heavily pressured' as soon as fishermen aren't catching as many bass as they used to Roger

That sounds like the most likely scenario. A bass will normally eject a jig faster than a plastic worm, so a prompt hook-set is very important. When using stretchy nylon monofilament, valuable time is wasted trying to cross the fish's eyes, but with PowerPro you can break his jaw with a much shorter striking arc. I fish a jig differently than most fishermen. On feeling or seeing a pickup, I'll drop the rod-tip "immediately" but just a short distance, (i.e. 11 to 9 o'clock), then bring the rod back up just as quickly. This produces just enough slack to deliver a crack-the-whip hook-set like driving a nail. There's no need to retrieve excess slack because there is no excess slack. If I'm not satisfied with the initial quick-set, I'll simply hitem again. Roger

Along the Atlantic seaboard, smallmouth bass range as far south as northern Georgia. At that, Georgia has only a couple of lakes like Carters Lake, that support a marginal population of bronzebacks. Roger

Supposedly there are some 353 species of crayfish inhabiting the United States. Depending on the subspecies, an adult crayfish may run from 1 to 6 inches in length. Also depending on the species, crayfish display a variety of colors such as brown, greenish brown, black, gray, blue, yellow, white, red and orange. Roger

Lake Jackson and Lake Talquin Roger

I'm with you. I admit that I have a very low tolerance level for product malfunction. I've owned several Lowrance sonar units (portable and deck mount) happily without a hitch. I owned only one Humminbird and the following year I could not get it to run (By the way, I'm not unfamiliar with electronics). Without ever bothering to look if it was still under warranty, I took great pleasure in sending that unit straight into the dumpster. I'm sure she loves her new home, away from me ;D Roger

The preferred "structure" of largemouth bass and smallmouth bass is remarkably the same. Both species of bass seek the "steepest" drop-off available, into the "deepest" water available. The operative term is "available". The apparent difference in their habitat is due mainly to the difference in their preferred "cover". Largemouth bass prefer "weedy" cover, followed closely by "woody" cover, especially where weeds are unavailable. Smallmouth bass however, prefer "rocky" cover, typically without any weeds. Weeds and trees grow in fertile soil rather than sterile rock. A ledge rock bluff can rise vertically from a 40 ft depth, straight up to a 10 ft rocky shoal. Soil doesn't pile that high. A sheer soil bluff would soon collapse and ultimately erode to become a structure with soft corners and gradual tapering slopes. Largemouth bass like a sheer drop-off better than a slow taper, but they can't have it both ways. Anglers have the benefit of lake charts that picture the whole lake and all its structures. It's not likely that a bass on a drop-off has any idea what the entire structure might look like. Whether it's a sunken island, a channel, a point, a ridge, a hole or a railroad levee, to a bass it's "rapid depth change". No matter how complicated a treatise on structure may become, it all boils down to the merger of "rapid depth change" with "preferred cover". Roger

My home lake is my absolute favorite bass lake in the world (I'm never moving) I'm retired and can live on any lake that I choose, so my home lake was no accident. There were a couple of other lakes in Florida that we also considered, but we weren't impressed by the neighboring cities. Roger

Oddly enough, even from a float tube, most of your bass will probably come from casts directed toward the shore This especially true where you find docks and lily pads. You'll gain more from lateral mobility, than the ability to reach deeper water. Roger

That's really amazing! Bobby Murray had a short but brilliant career, his stats were almost in the same league as KVD. I'm sure very few fellows today even heard of Ray Murski or Ricky Green. Yes, I read the softback "Nightcrawler Secrets" too, a book that gets into worm beddings and air-injected worms. I also read Buck Perry's book on "Spoon Plugging" Wow, that certainly was a privilege! Billy wrote "Them Ole Brown Fish", he caught (two) 8 lb smallies on 4 lb test. When he was still alive I vacationed in Celina and picked up his Hoss Flies (and some Pedigo Spinrites). Truthfully though, I did better in Dale Hollow with my own hair jig & trailer. So many great memories, the only sad thing is how fast those years slide away Roger

My trade is tool & die making, and I've seen toolmakers who actually threw a hand rag over their job when they seen another toolmaker coming. They didn't want him to learn their technique (One-fluted gun reamer, lefthand thread with lathe in reverse, etc). In every case though, these fellows were incompetent and dealing with a limited skillset. It's no different in the angling arena. Fishing ideas and improvisation are unlimited. I believe it's the mediocre angler who's more likely to play close-to-the-vest, because his hand is not all that strong. I would think that an angler with a broad knowledge base would eagerly share his knowledge, because he knows that there's more were that came from. He can spill his guts, but before you can sift through all the data he's already onto new techniques. Roger

Tennsopher, I remember when Al and Ron Lindner left Fishing Facts to start their own publication which of course was the "In-Fisherman" (1975). I still have handwritten letters from Al Lindner, when he & I corresponded back-and-forth. Then of course he got too busy and too famous to bother with some fisherman about 1000 miles away > Roger

> Florida Game & Fish > In Fisherman > Bassin > Fishing Facts > Bassmaster Roger

This is why I said that 'your' experiments should be conducted during the summertime. By the way, does your water thermometer have a built-in "photoperiod gage"? If not, you may find that what you call a no-brainer, is really not a no-brainer. What are you going to do with a water thermometer in the underground-springs belt of central Florida?? The water temperature there runs 72 degrees "all year round", yet the bass spawn unerringly, every year in spring! Roger

No doubt about it, the 'overhead spinner' is my nemesis. Oh yah, I've caught a boatload of bass on the spinnerbait, but based on the total time spent, it should be 4 boatloads of bass > It's gotten to the point now where I'll only use a spinnerbait in murky water. For this reason, I only throw a single Colorado with a gold blade (max throb). Even at that, unless I'm whacking them with the spinner, I'm already thinking about the next lure, while I'm still cranking the spinnerbait. Roger

Matt, I believe you have fallen off point. In Reply #9 above, I made exactly "one" point. The point being, instead of getting caught up in hearsay and theories, there's only ONE WAY to prove to yourself whether lunar phases actually matter. Fish two lakes during the best lunar periods, and fish two other lakes during the worst lunar periods. I have run this experiment during the spawning season, which many guides believe is the only time of year that moon phases matter. If you'd rather run your experiments during the summer, have at it Roger

Senile1, Right on the money (In similar situations, my wife and I have already swapped rods) Roger