RoLo

If you like topwater action (who doesn't), the post-spawn kicks it off. Roger

I second the above recommendation: In-Fisherman handbook entitled "Smallmouth Bass" Roger

LOL! ;D

Good point! What you've decribed is called "parallax" (axial separation). Another example of parallax is the distance between the rifle bore and the rifle scope. With GPS, the parallax is exacerbated by the transducer cone, which is to say, if you approach the same object from opposite directions you will double the parallax. Roger

He's in central Florida, it can't be smallies Roger

That's true. On most GPS units the 'coordinate syntax' is adjustable, where each format provides different accuracy. Below is noted the difference in accuracy among some of the most common coordinate formats. I should first point out that you'll notice there is a discrepancy in the placeholder size between Latitude degrees and Longitude degrees. Since Latitude can never be greater than 90 degrees from the equator, it has a 2-place degree field (NDD). Longitude however can diverge up to 180 degrees from the Greenwich Meridian so longitude has a 3-place degree field (WDDD). COORDINATE SYNTAXES Order of Descending Accuracy NDD MM.mmmm WDDD MM.mmmm (1/10,000 minute) NDD.ddddd WDDD.ddddd (1/6,666 minute) NDD MM SS.ss WDDD MM SS.ss (1/6,000 minute) NDD MM.mmm WDDD MM.mmm (1/1,000 minute) NDD MM SS.s WDDD MM SS.s (1/600 minute) NDD.dddd WDDD.dddd (1/166 minute) Roger

You guys absolutely SLAY me, this thread deserves a spot on Prime-Time TV It's a good thing you can't die from laughing! ya can't, right? Roger

Great choice! I have a hunch you'll be a Lowrance advocate for life She's non-corrosive so you can use her for snook, redfish, seatrout, etc. Quite frankly, it was saltwater that sounded the death nell for my portable Humminbird. I heard that Roger PS: Always carry a spare pair of 6V batteries. Expensive yes, but they can save the day.

Not to stray from the original question, the poster doesn't have his own coordinates so it's a foregone conclusion that he must use another person's coordinates (that's fine). The compass is out, because whether your following True or Magnetic North the compass is a crude instrument whose only claim to fame is "reliability". If I'm offshore and my boat loses all power, I still have my compass however crude. It is also true that over an offshore wreck in 250 ft of water, the conical accuracy of my depth sounder leaves much to be desired, especially in a rough sea. However in the shallow waters that I ply for bass, the depth sounder offers ample accuracy. A cross-fix can be made without Loran-C or GPS. Before picking up and leaving a newfound sweet-spot, record the exact depth under the transducer and select "one" 2-object fix that is "perpendicular" to the depth line (contour line). On your return visit, get on the 2-object fix in deep water then grab hold of a marker buoy (the flat orange type doesn't completely unwind). While keeping both objects in alignment, ride-up the slope from deep to shallow water until reaching your prerecorded depth, which completes the cross-fix. Toss your marker buoy to nail the location. If there's no strong slope between shallow and deep water, It's Not A Sweet Spot The above method doesn't require any special equipment, but there are better and more accurate ways to stick a fix without GPS. With a pair of "bearing binoculars" you can get an LOP (line-of-position) just about anywhere at all, except in a fog or if you're more than 20 miles offshore and out of sight of the horizon. Sorry to ramble, but 'location' is the bread-and-butter of fishing, and not the latest lure or the hottest color for plastic worms. Roger

How well I remember that unsightly contraption...But It Worked! Small propellor-spinners fore-and-aft separated by bright red beads threaded on heavy monofilament, the same lb-test you'd use on a partyboat for whiting and ling Sometime during the mid-60s, Milt Rosko confessed that he caught more bass on a rubber worm than all his other lures combined! Some things never change. Me too, in fact it was just a few days ago. I think we've gone full-circle Avid, maybe we don't need as much time as we thought Roger

The only portable sonar I can recommend in good conscience is a Lowrance / Eagle. A few years ago I got so angry with a Humminbird, it's now sitting somewhere in the municipal dump > I've been using both portable & mounted Lowrance/Eagle sonar units for years & have nothing but praise Check out the Eagle Cuda 242 Portable -Sale price: $111 (a more powerful portable than my old machine) http://www.fishfinder-store.com/ Roger

by Garnet My mistake, you didn't specify GPS so I presumed you were referring to your sonar. Okay, that makes perfect sense. I have a Garmin that I can zoom-in until 500 ft, after which I get the "Overzoom" message where accuracy becomes distorted. Which is exactly what you said (1/10 mile). You bet! If you've done any wreck-fishing in the ocean you quickly find out how exasperating another skipper's coordinates can be, though they may work fine on his boat, and vice versa Roger

I've done a bit of field testing with stick worms and I cannot discern any difference in the effectiveness between yamasenko and tiki stick. The senko is super soft and falls apart easily. Do bass prefer the softest stick worm? Well they love biting down on hard crunchy crayfish, so no stick worm is too hard. Of course, with harder plastic comes a sacrifice in action. Take the time to compare the "tail waddle" between the senko and tiki stick. You may notice slightly more action in the senko, but more action isn't automagically a good thing. Over the years, fisherman have moved away from action-tail worms like "sickletails" (gatortail) in favor of ribbontail worms and straight worms. I'd say it's a judgment call. The salt content in senkos seems to be heaviest toward the tail, because they tend to fall with the tail lower than the head. For this same reason, senkos tend to back-up on the fall as they near the boat. The tiki stick falls more horizontally, which I personally prefer. The senko falls faster than the tiki stick, which in shallow water gives the nod to tiki stick. If you're fishing a tiki stick in deeper water, adding a 1/32 oz weight will virtually duplicate the fall rate of a senko. The tiki stick is my wife's favorite stick worm. Mine is the Yum dinger, but if she out-fishes me one more time, mine will probably be the tiki stick too ;D Roger

IMO, a worthy structure is its own zoom-in (coming up or going down). I personally would lose interest in any structure in 8-10' of water that required a Zoom-in. Maybe I'm all wet, but I avoid zoom-in and zoom-out when pinpointing structures, because I believe that forced familiarity with 1X gives me the truest perspective of bottom contour. Higher magnifications exaggerate reality, where you may begin to see structure that really isn't there. Roger

By all means, pinpoint your structure first, otherwise you'll never be able to assess its worth. Anchor down if necessary, but do so upwind of the structure. If you think that your commotion has disturbed the site, kill a little time with your logbook, enter the waypoint description, weather conditions and maybe enjoy half a sandwich. Then begin working the structure that you now have under wraps. Good question by the way. Roger

Life is interesting. My first plastic worm was a Creme worm (then called a rubber worm). But the second plastic worm in my life was a grape Mann's jelly worm, purple was all the rage back then. I was fishing in Mountain Lake, NJ, about 50 miles due west of Long Island, NY. I rigged it self-weedless (you guessed it) on a cam-action Tru-Turn hook. Like someone once said, "So many lures, so little time" Roger

That's one way

In the beginning, Texas-style and Carolina-style were rig names used to distinguish between the type and location of the sinker (adjacent bullet-sinker vs. remote egg-sinker). Today, "Texas-rig" refers only to the hooking style, which used to be called "self-weedless". The "weightless T-rig" was probably invented by some guy who kept forgetting to thread on his bullet sinker : Roger

If I counted correctly, 20 FLORIDIANS have thus far responded. Roger

Barometric pressure is significant only insofar as it's associated with a change in "air temperature". If a change in barometric pressure is not accompanied by a change in air temperature, it's a "non-event". A depth change of just a few inches will change the pressure on a fish, more than any change in barometric pressure. I have caught countless fish in the ocean from water over a hundred feet deep. By the time the fish reaches topside (air pressure: 15 lb / sq in) their eyes are bulging out of their heads and their stomachs are literally heaved into their throats. Now 'that' is a change in pressure, and no, there is no catch-and-release in deep-sea fishing. Roger

As usual, I found the posts by ouachitabassangler very insightful and very informative. When it comes to angling, I put "location" on top of the heap, and "depth" on top of the heap of by-factors determining "location". When it comes to bass depth however, we are sharply divided, but that's what makes bass fishing the great sport it is. The largemouth bass is the most sought and most studied gamefish in the United States, where "secrets" are few-and-far between. A hundred years ago the fishing fraternity already knew that walleyes, lake trout and northern pike occupy deepwater. A hundred years ago it was common knowledge that chain pickerel occupy the shallowest niche of any freshwater gamefish, rivaled only by the largemouth bass. Smallmouth bass fall somewhere between largemouth bass and walleyes. This explains the reason why largemouth bass make the perfect tournament fish, unlike northern pike and unlike lake trout. The anatomy of the largemouth bass is clearly a fish designed to live in shallow water, and Mother Nature's voice has more weight than any man. The bigmouth bass is a non-streamlined, non-pelagic fish that possesses a swim bladder. Swim bladders only occur in species of fish that maintain a relatively constant depth. By affording neutral buoyancy at their current depth, a swim bladder actually makes it difficult to change depth. Therefore, fish species with swim bladders are not given to significant depth change between deep and shallow water. Indeed, telemetry studies conducted by the In-Fisherman staff confirmed as suspected that bass are sedentary fish. The small minority of bass that were mobile would cruise parallel to the shoreline without any significant change in depth. The disposition of bass in shallow water and deep water are rarely the same. The depth of "catchable" bass is constantly changing with meteorological and limnological conditions, but the depth of the bass itself remains the same. This creates the illusion notwithstanding that bass themselves are changing depth, but the only thing changing is the depth of 'catchable' bass. If the bass aren't biting, they might as well be gone. During the fall turnover, dead weeds emit carbon dioxide rather than oxygen and this forces bass to abandon their beloved weedbeds. Any depth change however is gradual rather than sudden and only occurs in lakes that turnover. Many lakes do not turnover and no lakes turnover in the deep south. Any bass that chooses to live its life in deep water has chosen to live in a hostile environment. In the lower temperate, subtropical and tropical zones, deep water has a lower mean temperature than shallow water. This means that bass residing in shallow water will have a faster growth rate than bass living in deep water. Moreover, any large bass found in deep water must compete with smaller school bass who are far better equipped for chasing pelagic shad. On the other hand, large bass that reside in the nutritionally-rich shallows (littoral zone) are ensconced in algae, vegetation, nursery grounds, fish fry, amphibians, reptiles and cover. Big bass that reside in shallow water are able to lie in ambush amid a smorgasbord of forage with a minimum of expended energy. Yes, next to deep water, but deep water they never actually enter. Doug Hannon, the so-called "Bass Professor" is not my favorite authority, but he was involved in impartial research regarding world-class bass. He personally communicated with as many anglers as possible who caught bass weighing over 15 pounds. He found that the vast majority of world-class bass were taken in water less than 5 deep. Now then, bass stocked in artificial impoundments are a whole other ballgame. Many if not most of these reservoirs are sadly wanton in vegetation. Rising to the occasion, largemouth bass in impoundments typically gravitate to "creek channels" which become their substitute for vegetation. Yes, next to deep water, but deep water that they never actually enter. Just to cite the latest example, Wednesday of last week my wife and I went fishing. We weren't counting, but we boated about a dozen bass between us ranging from 14 and 21.5" in length. The smallest bass were taken on a paddletail worm in 4 to 6 feet of water, while the two largest bass were taken in less than 2 feet of water on a sizmic pop-n toad. To me, fishing deep water is much easier than fishing a broad sprawling shallow flat. Drop-offs and holes create very confined areas that greatly simplify the "locational factor". At the risk of sounding boastful, my wife and I have set several lodge records for northern pike. The reason was simple, I targeted drop-offs in cabbage beds that plunged directly into water between 15 and 25 feet deep. The other anglers including the locals were concentrating on the hammer-handles in the shallow weedbeds. The upshot is this: I have applied all those same deepwater tactics on largemouth bass, and they have failed miserably every time. The deepest largemouth I've ever caught in a natural lake (bar manmade reservoirs) was 15 feet. I was pike fishing and the bass was a by-catch (i.e. an insult). Let's get real, 9-pound bass are scarce, VERY SCARCE! We shouldn't confuse scarcity with some deep dark secret to a truckload of lunker bass. If I were smart, I'd also get on the "Deepwater Bandwagon" and try to get all the anglers to face away from the shoreline. Then I'd have those few rare Big Boys that ply the shallows all to myself 8-) I've been reading about these lunker bass in deep water for many years, but just like Big Foot, the proof has been locked in the waiting room for decades. How come we never see ONE photograph of a stringer of nine pound bass taken in 25 feet of water?? We have in fact seen a stringer of 9 pound bass, but it was taken by Dean Rojas in 2 to 5 of water (All-time record B.A.S.S stringer). Roger

WARNING! The wrapping that we call our 'skin' constitutes the largest organ in our body. Although skin cancer may have a hollow ring to it, it's a very common and deadly form of malignancy. Due to our fraternal love for the outdoors, some of the members of this board will ultimately succumb to skin cancer! If I got your attention, that's great, because this topic is vitally important and deserves your attention. 1. Never call them 'Sunblocks', because at their very best they are merely "Sunscreens". 2. Never feel any comfort in a high SPF (sun protection factor) because the very best SPF-50 can do is prevent you from tanning, not from cancer. The SP factor has NO bearing whatsoever on permanent photodamage, premature wrinkling and death from skin cancer! 3. The 'Only Important Information' on a sunscreen container is confined to the "Ingredients" list, not the marketing hoopla that's plastered all over the label. There is only ONE WAY to know for sure that you'll be protected from harmful UVA radiation (290 to 320 nanometers). Get off your duff, pick the container off the shelf and peruse the "ingredient list". It's not all that difficult and your well-being may be hanging in the balance! It MUST contain one of more of the following three ingredients: > Zinc Oxide (clearly the best) > Avobenzone (parsol 1789) > Titanium Dioxide (brings up the rear, but works) If the label does not clearly specify that it contains one or more UVA protectants above, plunk the product back-down on the shelf unceremoniously, as fodder for the uninformed consumer. I hesitate to recommend one brand over another, because manufacturers reserve the right to modify the ingredient list for their financial betterment, then bend the marketing hype to suit. I continually re-read the labels on brands that I've using for years, it costs me nothing. 4. The SP factor is centered on a multiple of 10, which means for example that SPF-30 offers 300 minutes of protection (5 hours). Be that as it may, once the coating has been flushed away by perspiration or swimming, the 5 hours goes out the window. Anyway, the SP factor only protects us against reparable damage so it isn't nearly as important as the UVA protectants, but they are both flushed away over time. To assure full-time protection while swimming or perspiring, reapply a "Waterproof" gel every couple of hours (whenever you think of it). Though I've spent a high percentage of my life out in the sun, this is something I try to do and knock-wood, something that seems to be helping. Fellows, I don't mean to be so heavy, but if it can save one life then it was worth it. With our catch-and-release practices we treat our bass with kindness, so why not treat ourselves with a little kindness too? After all, we spring for big bucks to gather all the latest-and-greatest baits, so why not spend a little more for our own well-being? In so doing, we may buy more time, to buy more baits :-/ Roger

I came very close to entering one of the traditional "search baits", but I didn't feel comfortable with that answer. In all honesty, my locator bait is a Contour Map, and to test the validity of my trial sites, I use finesse lures. Roger

When said of manmade impoundments, primary points are associated with the main river, while secondary points are associated with adjoining creek arms. When said of natural lakes, primary points are the largest points on the lake, while secondary points are lesser points, for instance a point within a point. Alas the difference is often judgmental, like the difference between a Bay and a Cove. Roger

The strong point of the jerkbait is its ability to induce a 'feeding' strike, which works good in clear water. However, the strong point of the crankbait and spinnerbait are their ability to trigger an 'impulse' strike (reaction strike), which works good in turbid water. There are just too many variables to presuppose what lure speed will presently work the best. Until a few bass have been boated, I'll try every retrieve-speed imaginable. However, once I'm satisfied that I know the most productive 'lure speed' of the moment, I'll hold that speed as steadily as possible throughout every retrieve. I feel that this gives the bass every opportunity to home in on the crankbait, which is particularly important in murky water. If I'm using a floating crankbait, I may stop the retrieve intermittently, but only to give the lure a chance to loft above the veggies and brush, which is not an option with a sinking crank like a "Countdown". Roger