RoLo

I hope that an attempt to be helpful is not misconstrued as an attempt to be contradictory. In any case, I see three words in that question that I believe are debatable to say the least. Namely: "deeper", "pressure" and "reading". Actually, water temperature is usually responsible for negative bites, rather than barometric pressure. While there may be a specific trigger point, it cannot be measured numerically. Bass are usually turned OFF and turned ON by the "trend" of water temperature rather than a specific number. This number of course will vary with the seasons. The tough bite that characterizes a cold front is due to the cold air accompanied by brisk wind, which mixes the cold air into the water. Rising barometric pressure is coincidental to a tough bite but not causal. The water temperature in streams in much less affected by a cold front because water current exerts a greater influence on water temperature than air current. Studies conducted about 25 years ago have shown that during a cold front, bass do not move horizontally into deeper water, but move vertically to the bottom within the same water column. Underwater observation has revealed that largemouth bass during a cold front move to the bottom of the heaviest available cover with their noses literally pointed downward and their tails tilted upward. On balance, it takes 2 to 3 days for the ill effects of a cold front to subside. When the thermal cycle is reversed by a warm front, bass begin to loft progressively higher in the water column (day-by-day). In textbook fashion, they would move first to the middle of the weedbed, then toward the top of weedbed and ultimately above the weedbed...These are the days that we never forget

Regardless of its age, if the stump is still there, it's still bass cover. Conditions to fish those stumps would depend on the depth of the stumps, their nearness to weeds or brush, and their nearness to a drop-off.

I read where Yamamoto Senko and Kinami Flash are identical, that the only difference is their marketing venue. I am not positive however.

The thinking goes: If the fish is above the lure, as it usually is with a bottom lure, a lighter color like chartreuse will offer the best available contrast against the darker bottom.

If I'm not mistaken, chartreuse made its debut as the best color to use in muddy water. I myself use chartreuse a lot, probably too much. I particularly like a "black-&-chartreuse" combo because it provides both a dark and light hue and frees my mind to focus on more important matters.

Subaru Forester

I have never owned a Lund, but they're extremely popular in northern United States and Canada. They've been on top for a good many years, which speaks highly of their quality. Actually, were it not for Crestliner, which I ultimately choose, I would have bought a Lund.

BOY...this is a tough bunch

KU_Bassmaster, Lake Champlain too, is in the Bass Box. I've fished Champlain several times (Vermont side) and it is super water for largemouth, smallmouth and walleyes. More frequently though, we used to fish the Thousand Islands area of the St Lawrence River (also in the bass box). I'd have to say that the Thousand Islands was our favorite bassing water in the United States, though I mainly targeted pike and muskies. If you include Canada (as noted above) then I'd go with the Thirty Thousand Islands in Lake Huron. Wellesley Island in the Thousand Islands, used to be my secret annual hideaway, that was, until B.A.S.S. held it's first tournament in the Thousand Islands. The next thing I knew, I was watching Larry Nixon on TV, fishing in Lake of the Isles, which I once had all to myself. The last time I fished the Thousand Islands it was crawling with bass boats :'(

"UpNorth" has jogged my memory. Several years ago, I trailered my Silverton bassboat to a ferry that shuttled from the Ohio shore to Bass Islands, Lake Erie. It was the best smallmouth fishing I have ever experienced anywhere. A bassboat however, is the wrong boat for Lake Erie. I understand that since that time the emphasis on smallmouth has shifted from the Western Basin (Bass Islands) to the Eastern Basin in New York (giant walleyes too). Now Back To Largemouth Bass: I live in central Florida, a place that many bass anglers only dream about. Be that as it may, the very best largemouth bass fishing I have ever experienced was at 30,000 Islands, Georgian Bay on Lake Huron (A long way from Florida). Years back, the Lindner brothers delineated what they called the "Bass Box", i.e. the black bass capital of the world. Once again, the Lindners boys got it right. BASS BOX With Lake Ontario at the hub, the bass box may be outlined by joining the following 4 corners: Danforth, Maine; south to Hartford, Connecticut; west to Toledo, Ohio; north to Sault Saint Marie, Ontario; then east back to Danforth, Maine. Granted, Lake Huron lies at the northern edge of the bigmouth range, but in my experience, 3-pound bass are just as common in Lake Huron, Ontario as they are in Lake Kissimmee, Florida.

Randall, I watched your video and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was so nice to see Kedron again, one my favorite row-only lakes. I last fished it during the mid-90s before the hydrilla explosion and basically had the whole lake to myself. The overpass where you fellows had to duck down, is the "causeway bridge" that I mentioned. My wife and I did very well on culprit worms from the drop-off before that bridge to the left along the rip-rap bank (pre-weed era). Thanks again Randall, my wife and I really enjoyed your video and our walk down memory lane.

Randall, "Kedron Lake" caught my eye (Peachtree City). You're right about numbers of bass, and the fellow at the Fairburn Bait Shop told me that he weighed-in a 10-pounder from Kedron. When I lived in Rico (Palmetto), I used to row a cartopper from the metal docks on Kedron to the causeway bridge. I found a sharp drop-off beside the bridge that's always good for a few bass. Now I live in Florida, less than an hour from the Stick Marsh. It certainly has the size, but I hesitated to mention it with regard to numbers (I was thinking of the kids). I don't fish the Stick Marsh because I live on the shore of Lake Walk-In-Water. But I have a neighbor who does and he complains about the consistency of action. It may very well be that it's his fault and no fault of the lake.

For overall quality bass fishing (mix of size & numbers), LAKE GUNTERSVILLE in Alabama is currently a very strong contender.

Very true. Wade fishing obstructed backwaters that a boat couldn't reach, was Roland Martin's favorite approach on Santee Cooper.

Actually, it's the one that others refer to as peppergrass. Peppergrass is a misnomer and I try to avoid the use of misnomers if I can, but it's not easy. A good example of a local misnomer is Kissimmee Grass. I was speaking to a state biologist who told me that Kissimmee Grass is erroneously applied to 4 completely different weed species. I recall only two of them: Egyptian Panicgrass (Paspalidium geminatum) is called Kissimmee Grass and believe it or not, Maidencane (Panicum hemitomon) is errantly called Kissimmee Grass. Is it any wonder why botanists always use the scientific name?

You are well prepared, I like that and thank you Naiad is a new one on me. That darn pondweed family is enormous! I believe the most popular pondweed in central Florida (true pondweed i.e. Potamogeton) is Illinois Pondweed, locally called peppergrass.

I would liken bed fishing to pruning a plant. Although the crop may benefit from prudent thinning, if too much is taken away, it will seriously damage the crop. I'm ashamed to admit it, but when I was very young I have single-handedly fished down (skimmed) several small ponds. The point being made, small ponds are very fragile ecosytems, regardless of what else you may read.

Rattlinrogue Yes...Count the Chain Pickerel. Every year my wife and I used to vacation in Ontario, Canada and we've taken more than our share of smallmouth, walleye, pike and musky. For many years now I've been living in Florida, and we miss the abovementioned foursome VERY much (lots of nostalgia). Most of the fishermen in Florida will wince, when I so much as mention the name "pickerel". They don't understand, it's all I've got left. PS: In a handwritten letter to me, Al Lindner suggested that my wife and I try a bucktail jig & dead minnow in our quest for trophy pike. Kudos to Al. At several of the Canadian lodges that we stayed at, my wife and I broke the current lodge record for northerm pike. So quite naturally Al Lindner occupies a special place in our hearts.

Ernel Not having it in my hand, I'm not sure what weed that is. However, if it's unrooted during the growing season, it's almost certainly "Coontail" (Ceratophyllum demersum)

Cephkiller If you live in the woods, you will not be burdened by regular feedings (absolutely not). If you put bass in the swimming pool of an urban development, that's a different story. I lived in the woods in Rico, Georgia, and my bass often went months without my intervention. In truth, I fed those bass more for my own enjoyment than out of necessity. I never grew tired of watching them bust grasshoppers, worms, minnows or anything tossed into the pond. I'm not really sure what they ate, but I know my backyard was lousy with frogs, toads, crickets, skinks, anoles, aquatic insects, dragonflies, grasshoppers, scorpions and whole lot more. Despite the excitment caused by Doug Hannon's Snakehead Lure, the bass in my pond instinctively avoided snakes. I've thrown several snakes in the pond and they'd always let the snake reach the other shore unharmed. Everything else however they lambasted. Do it Cephkiller, you will have a ball because bass are exceedingly fascinating creatures. Incidentally, I've never had the urge to cast a hookless lure into that pond, because the result was so obvious. Like taking candy from a baby, it didn't light my fire.

Everything about the Lindner brothers is a class act, their photography, knowledge and presentation. I joined the In-Fisherman magazine in 1975, during its ***. I still have the first issues that believe it or not, were advertisement free! I also have handwritten letters from Al Lindner, before he got too busy to write. Sadly though, the In-Fisherman magazine has been bought out. The magazine is still esoteric, but like an earlier member posted, customer service went down the tube. A friend of mine took them up on a free trial offer which he never endorsed. Regardless, they handled it like a bona fide subscriptiion, and followed through with threatening letters and collection agency, I believe it was $10 they were chasing.

Fisher of Men Yes, and after seeing that footage, I decided to "match the hatch". When no one is watching, I'll sneak to the end of a private dock, then scribe figure-8s in the water with a fresh Oscar Mayer. Ain't caught nothing yet, I think the alligators are scaring them away JUST KIDDING! It's funny...I didn't think that this thread would go anywhere, but it seems like everyone has a real interesting story.

"Drought" is an unusual situation, and when it occurs, it affects natural and manmade lakes alike. Floridian examples of drought include Johns Lake, Orange Lake and Lake Lochloosa. When a drought lowers the water volume in a lake, it reduces the lake's ability to dilute human waste, composted aquatic vegetation and phosphates (which are all fertilizers) Human overpopulation likewise increases water fertility. When I lived in Georgia, the population explosion in Atlanta overfertilized the Chattahootchie River and the headwaters of West Point Lake where it enters. This was due to more people, more lawn fertilizer, increased agricultural phosphates and last but not least, more fecal coliform.

BT Yes, bass are certainly an aggressive lot, ya gotta luv'em. Higher on the scroll I related to a similar experience. I occasionally fed wild bass that I captured and placed in my backyard pond. Quickly they got to know the drill. While I was taking a minnow out of the plastic minnow bag with one hand, a bass zeroed in on the underwater thumb of my other hand that supported the minnow bag. He hit that thumb with a resounding "Whomp", spraying water everywhere, and actually drew blood from my thumb. This is just more living proof that bass adapt quickly to new and unfamiliar situations. Fishermen need not anguish over matching the hatch. Sometimes it's better to throw something they've never seen before. That way they cannot identify it as an imposter.

Well, the fact that hyacinths are not rooted in the bottom grants them unique mobility. Whereas rooted vegetation requires accomodative bottom content, hyacinths can be found 'anywhere'. The angler can capitalize on this situation with his depth sounder by targeting hyacinths that have rafted over a bottom drop-off, combined with submergent vegetation. The hard part is figuring a way to penetrate the canopy to get the lure or bait down into the labyrinth of roots. Some mighty fine bass sulk in the shade of hyacinth floats, to say the very least. Set a live minnow about 1 yard down from the float, pitch the rig to the edge of the hyacinths and grimace menacingly at the shiner so it swims under the raft. If that doesn't work (it never does), a lot of fellows use artificials with a 1 oz bullet sinker for punching through the canopy. In cherry-picking fashion, you'd go from hole to hole in the hyacinths, jigging a couple times at each. Pete, if you can build a better mousetrap, we would all love to hear about it.