RoLo

Thanx RW, I know what you mean about big tubes. It also seems that the hook-up ratio is better with smaller tubes. Roger

After you've combed all depths levels in a given location with various presentations (lures & speeds), to no avail, it's usually best to change something in the pattern. A minor pattern shift might be moving from weeds to wood (e.g. maidencane to docks), from wood to rock (e.g. stick-ups to rip-rap), from leeward to windward, etc. A major pattern shift would be a change in depth, for example from a back bay to an open point, from lily pads in 3-ft of water to hydrilla in 9 feet of water. Unfortunately, with every pattern shift, you'll have to begin from scratch working every depth level with different presentations until contact is finally made. Going into greater detail would consume many pages, and still only scratch the surface. Roger

LBH covered it pretty well, but I would also include separate fields for fish depth and lure speed. I want instant lookback for Depth and Speed, two biggies! Roger

I'm afraid I didn't see the segment you mentioned, which is neither here nor there. However, anglers seem to forget that cow bass in their prime of life are not necessarily the biggest cows in the lake. Every animal in the animal kingdom reaches a point of vanishing returns. It is not uncommon for whitetail deer over 10 years not to grow antlers. Though it's steeped in nobility, the majority of bass over 12-lbs that are released, never make it to the next spawning season. Not for nothing, the lake on which I live has a slot limit between 15 and 24" (~8-lbs) Roger

This is an actual printout from my stylus graph sounder. The dark bar on top is the water's surface and the jagged dark band near the bottom is the lake bottom. The faint horizontal series of blips located somewhat beneath the surface are forage fish about 7-ft down. The two darker blobs among the baitfish (indicated by two arrows) are gamefish. The bulk of the school of gamefish (as usual) were sulking near the bottom, far below. In this case, the main school are the blips near the bottom, lofting upward to 12 ft above bottom. The gamefish near the surface look larger, but only because they were closer to the transducer. They were actually smaller more aggressive gamefish that rose to the occasion. I know that in retrospect, as they were caught both near the surface and near the bottom. Roger

quachitabassangler, As you know, many tournaments are deliberately held during the nucleus of the bedding season to beef-up the stringer weights. In your experience, how does the displacement of high numbers of buck bass during the incubation period affect the bass population? Wouldn't that gravely affect the mortality rate of the eggs? Roger

That's prove positive. "Big bait, Big fish"!

Matt, have you ever noticed a tie between bass nesting activity in Texas and red-winged blackbird nesting? I'm very serious. In Florida, it seems that during our best days on the spawning flat, we get a non-stop scolding from blackbirds, a sure sign that they're protecting a nest. On a few occasions I've actually seen the nest itself tucked among the cattails. Roger

I can't believe this...I used to have that little pond all to myself!! Oh well, he won't hurt anything...the creek channel is on the opposite side.

RW, I enjoyed reading your tubing technique but I have a couple questions. I'd be interested in the weight that you normally use with the bigmouth tube and what form of weight (bullet sinker, bull shot, etc). The other question is how come there's only 1/2" difference between your smallmouth tube and largemouth tube. I know that you like a 7" senko and was wondering why you like just a 4" tube. Thanks In Advance. Roger

Roadwarrior, As an aside, Bob Crupi caught a 22.01 pound bass in Castaic Lake, California. It was weighed on certified scales, but the species was never verified by a Fish and Game biologist (yah right, like it might have been a drum). As a result, California refused to acknowledge his fish whereas the IGFA lists it as 16-lb line-class record! Here's what bugs me. The Florida-strain is the largest subspecies in the world. Regardless, the Florida-strain has reached greater weights in "four" states, than it ever reached in the state from whence it came. That just ain't right > Roger

In my experience, the best feeding period for largemouth bass (large and small): Summer Months: 10 am to 3 pm Winter Months: 1 pm to 5 pm I can explain the reason for the optimum winter feeding period, but have no explanation for the summer time frame. Big smallies are 'much less' predictable, whose mood hinges more on weather and current than time-of-day, in my experience. My PB Smallie: ~Noon (Canada - bluebird day, stable weather) Wife's PB Smallie: ~3 pm (Tennessee - during a snow storm) PS: My average fishing day is 8am to dark Roger

Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans. Unless your backyard is constantly wet and boggy, the likelihood of crayfish in your lawn is pretty low. Maybe you're referring to mole crickets. Roger

July, 2000 at 2:30 pm

I'm also wondering if that paddle is big enough to tow that puppy to port :-/

That's a Terrific image Matt! :o :o It would make a great ad for "Alka Seltzer" Roger

The most significant factor might be the fluctuating water levels rather than your presentation. You might want to focus on water that's a little deeper than normal, where the bass are less molested by fluctuating pool levels. Roger

Beautiful! (runts need not apply)

Nobody hates Bill Dance but a lot of anglers hate the way he handles bass. Bill is a professional angler, which is all the more reason he shouldn't treat bass like a novice basser. If he's a professional, then he has an obligation to teach by example. Hmm, I doubt that Bill or Roland themselves would go near that one :-? Roger

I'm glad you brought that up Avid. Trout fishing is an art form. Trout have extremely keen eyesight and will reject any lure that drags even slightly in the current. More than matching the hatch, the fly-fisherman also has to match the larval nymphs that occur before the hatch, the drones and the spent flies after the hatch. By comparison, bass are like bulls in a china shop > > Roger

A while back on his show, Bill Dance was discussing "buzzbaits". When asked, "What it's supposed to be? Bill shrugged and said, "I dunno, maybe a Toy Airboat Roger

I like that ;D For Mike Iaconelli, it's break-dancing on the forward deck! Roger

I do believe that color can be important, but only inasmuch as it deals with visibility. It's sort of ritual between my wife and I, when we begin in the morning I always ask her what color she'd like to use. Then I'll choose a color that's at least somewhat different than hers. In this way we're able to cover more bases of underwater lure visibility. Naturally, if either color dominates the action then we'll both tie on the same pattern. But truthfully, that is very rarely the case. As the day progresses I get caught up in more important matters like location, lure type, speed, depth. I truly believe that when all the important matters are right, then suddenly you're matching the hatch. Roger

Since that is based on photoperiod, it's probably more accurate than water temperature. Roger

I totally agree with Raul. Do you really think that bass mistake a spinnerbait for.....................I forgot, what's it supposed to be? I never think in terms of fooling a bass into believing my lure is some existing forage. I only want the bass to believe that my lure is something to eat. The colors I choose are based solely on "lure visibility". In my mind at least, once the lure has been noticed, color is no longer important. Great question, by the way! Roger