RoLo

Species that rely heavily on their sense of smell all possess barbels, bass are sight feeders. All the same, there are just too many variables to prove that scent does or does not work. Like many facets of fishing, scent is a mind game and the scent manufacturers are the benefactors. If they relied on my business though, I'm afraid they'd all be Chapter 11 Roger

Ah cumon Jim, you can be more commital than that We used to catch them by the pail-full in brackish water in New Jersey. They have excellent flesh and I hear tell that they're sold commercially as "sea perch". Roger

**** sapiens is a strange but interesting animal, he sees generally what he wants to see, wouldn't that explain why there are so many different forms of religion? I too have spent many years studying lunar influence on fishing results. At first I thought I seen a strong coorelation and got real excited. Then it occured to me that 3 days before and 3 days after the new and full moons constitutes 50% of the month. We've learned nothing unless we devote equal fishing time to the best and worst periods. If at least 60% the our most successful days don't fall within the best period, the results are random. If we use just the 7 days encompassing the full moon versus the other 23 days of the month, the results we likely be even less convincing. I looked at Doug Hannon's chart of big fish catches versus the new, full and half moons and it generated audible laughter (sorry doug). Once an angler believes that a given time-period or lure-color is most successful, he will consciously and unconsciously devote more time to that period and that color. This sounds the death nell. Every fish he catches thereafter will further reinforce "in his mind" that indeed it's the right time and the right color. He now gives other times and other colors less of a chance and he is no longer an authority on times and colors. As for me, I put very little if any stock in the full moon hypothesis from an angler's standpoint. I'd be the last to doubt that Mother Nature in her perfect and complex world doesn't in some way link the fish spawn to lunar phases. As an "angler" however, I have found no way to benefit from this hypothetical link. Roger

LOL Squid When I watch TV at night, I'm continually stretching great distances to reach the remote control, I often find myself lifting heavy bowls of food with one hand. When I finally leave my recliner I do the unthinkable, I rise from a seated position without touching the chair with either hand!!!! You know what...I think I'm ready for some Olympiad 'Curling' 8-) Roger

Whether you have the wind at your back or in your face Roger

It's a semantics game. If we can't raise the image of an angler UP to athlete then we'll adjust the meaning of athlete DOWN to angler Roger

In actuality, this thread isn't about bass fishing, it's about the meaning of the term "athlete". We've been through this before with the Olympic thingy. It's purely semantics Roger

I don't consider bass fishing athletic, that is unless you're fishing in tidal waters and you get stranded by low tide and have to drag your boat 50 yards across a mud flat. That happened to me duck hunting. First I carried my motor, then I dragged my boat (I was alone) Now then, large tarpon on a spinning rod, that might get a little athletic, so might standup fishing for tuna...but not bass fishing. Roger

Golden shiners are not as laterally compressed, they have small tapered heads and no lateral line. Too, they usually display an overall golden hue. WHITE PERCH http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.bigtimbercreek.org/fish_wh_perch.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.bigtimbercreek.org/fish_of_big_timber_creek.htm&h=346&w=685&sz=55&tbnid=btefCPpvEU8Z_M:&tbnh=69&tbnw=137&hl=en&start=6&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dwhite%2Bperch%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26safe%3Doff

It's a White Perch. We used to catch them in Mullica River, NJ., through the "ICE". They would stack-up every winter in Collins Cove and although the water is brackish it gets hard enough for ice fishing. However, during the change of the tide ice-fisherman have been stranded on breakaway ice-flows almost every year :-/ Roger

Senko77, Your bass may not be the best example. I doubt that Bill Dance could hold your enormous bass by the lower jaw without breaking his wrist Roger

I totally agree, in fact I doubt that it's even debate-worthy. When I'm doing a chart survey for largemouth bass at home, I'm looking for trial sites that offer the "broadest" available food shelf adjacent to the "sharpest " available drop-off. Accordingly, a distance of 50-ft between the two would be better than 100-ft, and a trial site with a 300-ft span would by comparison be a low-confidence site. Naturally, I don't always find what I looking for, but I'm going to select the best available sites the ecosystem has to offer. After all, that's exactly what the bass are doing too. The field survey (onsite) may disclose some unexpected surprises, it usually does. For instance, the juicy broad flat I salivated over at home, may have unsuitable bottom content and support few if any weedbeds. Well, we just fire-up the mill and head for trial site No. 2. My point is this, no matter what my chart search and onsite search reveal, the pivot point of my search is always the "food shelf". These broad shallow areas have everything to do with population dynamics because they serve as food shelf, bedding grounds and as a nursery for bass fry. Roger

You're not alone. In fact, it was as recent as his last show this weekend. I said to my wife, "somebody has GOT to show that guy how to handle a bass"! He's forever jamming his stubby fingers underneath the gill plates into delicate mucus membrane. He's also famous for supporting 10-lb bass by the their lower jaw, almost turning them inside-out. Roger

Ouachita, Quite recently I made a post that was eerily similar to yours. Maybe you can help me here. Many years ago I read an excellent article about telemetry studies conducted by In-Fisherman. The article included a color-coded lake chart tracking the actual movements of bass-A, bass-B, and so on. The results of the study clearly rebuffed Buck Perry's "shallow<>deep" migration theory. The lion's share of the bass were residential home bodies and those that did venture forth, moved parallel to shore without any significant depth change. The presence of a swim bladder would support this behavior. I don't possess the article nor do I know when it was published. Is it possible that you're familiar with that article or maybe another one like it? Roger

I firmly believe that largemouth bass may be found Shallow and Deep during every day of the year. I feel that the major change that takes place is the change in bass "disposition", spurred by changing conditions at different water depths. This in turn may cause a perceived change in location. Whenever I adjust my location, it is done with the intent to improve the percentage of catchable bass, not because I think they moved to a different depth level. This I believe would apply to all species of non-migratory freshwater fish. Roger

For many years, Georgian Bay, Ontario was my Ole Stomping Grounds I don't know what month you fish Huron, but I'd like to throw this in. Due to the northerly latitude, the best smallie fishing we've experienced was in "August", but the three-month period from July thru September is all very good. You're right, the smallies on precambrian shield waters are a very strange breed! In all honesty, I haven't done much with suspended smallies that I can actually see. Sometimes there are smallies on the bottom in the same location, which make a more receptive target. The golden standard for smallmouth bass, as you I'm sure you, is the Tube lure, but there are better lures. Whether fishing for suspenders or bottom-huggers, do give this a try (works year-round). I had a brainstorm one day on Lake Huron and it worked like a charm (it's my own thing): Pinch-off the end of a live redworm so it's about 4" long. Thread the live redworm on a 1/8oz ballhead jig (heavier if the current dictates). I like chartreuse but that's not important. Thread on the live worm as you'd thread on a plastic grub, right up to the jighead and streaming behind the bend-of-the-hook. After the cast, wait for bottom contact then crank the reel handle twice. Allow the rig to glide naturally back to the bottom. Repeat. Throughout the retrieve ONLY the reel handle moves, while the rod remains motionless (that's my own thing too). In this manner you remain in constant contact with the lure. Smallmouth bass cannot stand watching that wiggling worm tail and typically smack it during the short glide. When that doesn't work it usually means I'm in the wrong location. With that rig I've taken smallies over 4lbs from Lake Huron, which ain't bad for that latitude. BTW: The pike in my avatar is from Lake Huron. Now I'm in Florida and I miss both species :'( Roger

Good post Chris! I'd just like to mention another lure for working the bedding flats that is rarely mentioned by anyone and that's a "4 Grub on 1/8oz Ballhead Jig". It works particularly well in the north, when the weeds on the flats are still short, say 15" tall in 30 inches of water. Hold the rod almost vertical (12 o'clock) and turn the reel handle just fast enough to keep the grub ticking the weed tops. Balsa floaters like the bang-o-lure and rapala spend far more time lingering over the bed, but strangely enough I've often done better using that slow gliding grub :-/ Roger

That is true, but it's a double-edge sword. A strong wind also causes another phenomenon separate from the effect of air temperature on water temperature. A strong steady wind out of the northern hemisphere tends to blow the warmer upper layer (epilimnion) to the south. The upper layer in the north end is then replaced by the cooler water underneath that's siphoned upward toward the surface. Inversely, the south moving upper layer ultimately collides with the south shore where it's rolled underneath into deeper water. It's a massive Rotary Action that pulls cooler water to the surface at the north end (upwind end) and delivers the warmer surface waters to the south end (downwind end). Roger

Ouachitabassangler, Welcome aboard and thanks for your thought-provoking input. Though it's hard to come by, that's the stuff I love to see in a forum. Roger

That is wild! Chris, do you generally find that the bass in this coldwater pattern relate to "rock"? As I'm sure you well know, like the trombe wall in a solar home, ROCK is a great collector of solar gain, whether it's ledgerock, bedrock, chunk rock, rip-rap or a dam skirt. The piece of the puzzle I find most fascinating is that this pattern worked during a mostly cloudy day! Do you find that "sunshine" and "rock" are usually necessary to trigger this shallow water bite, or does it occur over soft bottoms sometimes and/or during overcast weather? I'll bet that it would, and next year (it's already too late) I intend to give it a try. It's on my list, which has been growing in leaps-and-bounds since I joined this forum Roger

Thanx Matt, I wish my fishing tackle was as reliable as my wife You're right, it is a long time, and it goes SO fast :'( Like Lois always says, "Do It Now!" Roger

Way to go DDbasser, I could endorse your post almost verbatim, though I'd have to change 22years to 42years. Close enough Roger

Not a bad idea. It would save everyone two clicks "in-and-out" of the "Profile". If the member were so inclined it might be nice if he or she could display both their Home State and Age on the interface. This might help to put a lot of posted material in its proper perspective. BTW: I spent most of my life in New Jersey, but now I'm a southern cracker (Lake Wales, Florida). Roger

Another Surprise! I wasn't expecting to find sour grapes at the tip of an iceberg JUST KIDDIN' ;D Roger

K_Mac, I agree That wouldn't be my pattern of first-choice either. I would expect a fast retrieve to work during a warming trend, but not when the air temperature never got above the water temperature and not during a day that was mostly cloudy. Keep the thoughts coming fellows and don't feel intimidated, it's all in the interest of learning. Roger