RoLo

That was my feeling as well, but I assumed that the question pertained only to bass fishermen. With respect to 'all-around angler' and mentor, my vote goes to Al Lindner in particular.

Actually, as a lake ages it becomes 'more' fertile not less fertile, and this applies to both the major trend and minor trend. In the mid-70s, one of the first Study Reports written by In-Fisherman (Lindner brothers) defined the life cycle of lakes, which is based on the Glacial Age. Limnologists use the term Oligotrophic to refer to a very young lake, Mesotrophic describes a middle aged lake and Eutrophic decribes an old lake. As the glacier receded northward, it left the oldest lakes in its southern wake, thus the youngest lakes are found in Canada where the glacier last retreated. If you were blindfolded and taken to a lake on the Precambrian Ridge in Ontario, where the blindfold was removed, you would know immediately that you were not in Florida. On balance, Canadian lakes are young (oligotrophic) and therefore deep, clear, cool and bordered by a rocky shore (STERILE). The typical lake in Florida is old (eutrophic) and therefore shallow, turbid, warm and bordered by a soft bank (FERTILE). On a minor trend as well, lakes tend to age (eutrophy). As a lake ages, nutrients transported by feeder tributaries progressively build to a crescendo. The first weeds to explode are the 3 exotics: hydrilla, milfoil and hyacinths. Unfortunately, the process of overfertiliation (particularly in Florida) is hastened by agricultural fertilizers (phosphates) that are carried to the lake via feeder creeks. At the end of their life cycle, very old lakes are classified as "late eutrophic" and jokingly referred to as "Early Cornfield".

Welcome aboard, Triton21

RoadWarrior That is a riot, I've got to remember that one ;D In 1992 I had a home built on 10 acres in Rico, Georgia. I had the bulldozer operater scoop out a tiny pond about 25' x 50' x 3.5' deep. In that tiny landlocked puddle, I placed several bass to 3 pounds that I caught in neighboring farm ponds. They cut a meager existence on insects, frogs, snakes, etc that occured naturally in my yard. About twice a month I'd purchase 3 to 4" minnows, and my wife and I would toss them into the pond, one at a time and watch as each minnow was busted by the bass. One time an impatient bass hit the clear plastic minnow bag with such force it drew blood from my thumb. Then during a warm spell I walked out to the pond to count noses and a 13" bass was missing. My immediate thought was a raccoon, but then I noticed the tail of the 13-incher still protruding from the mouth of an 18-incher

I was casting a floating rapala for bass in a quiet bay in Lake Huron (Parry Sound, Ontario). A passing seagull came out of nowhere and siezed my lure before I was able to rip it underwater. He managed to hook himself so I no choice but to retreive Big Bird to the boat. Unhooking that ungrateful condor was not a pretty sight for either of us.

Avid On The Money!

Like all things in nature, lakes too are cyclic. In their prime of life, all checks and balances are at optimal levels. I once read that trophy hunters focus on reservoirs in their prime of life, those between 10 and 20 years of age. After their second decade most reservoirs undergo a gradual decline. For instance, it may be more than coicidence that Dale Hollow yielded the world-record at age 13 (Impounded: 1942 <> Set Record: 1955).

I've gotten everyone but Mahalia Jackson You fellows are just too young...or maybe I'm just too old ;D

You might have something there ;D

During the debut of pro bass fishing (1967), the name "Bill Dance" quickly dominated the pro circuit. In fact, most anglers today never even heard of Ray Murski and certainly not M.J. Watkins. Well I've heard of M.J. alright, but to this day I have no clue as to his name. In his brief career, Watkins competed in only 7 pro tourneys, but he finished in the "Top-10" six out of seven times (86%)! Does anyone recall the full name of M.J. Watkins?

I've never thought about that Glenn (hooks & line snarled on pilings), but will certainly keep it in mind. We all know of course, we have the legal right to fish anyone's dock (In Florida anyway). But who wants to ride that train all the way to legal ramifications. I find fishing to be a tremendous natural high. However, I have come to learn that all my emotional highs are very fragile. Speaking only for myself, nothing can shatter that natural high or spoil my day faster, than a negative human confrontation (I learned this hunting in New Jersey). I have seen "No Fishing" signs posted on docks and I have seen docks physically cordoned off. When I'm confronted with sort of situation, I ask myself, "how good a fisherman are you, Roger, do you really need to fish this dock?" Usually (but not always) I'll just move along. A noble gesture in the interest of the dock-owner? Not at all, I'm doing it for myself

Silly I guess, but I've measured and weighed a high percentage of the bass landed on my boat. Without question, there's a much greater number of 1 lb bass versus 2 lb bass. With respect to individual fish though (not average weight), I'm a little surprised that 2 pounds was recognized as the sticking point in the article. In my experience at least, "3 POUNDS" is a more conspicuous weight ceiling for largemouth bass, one I can certainly relate to. I find it utterly amazing, but it doesn't matter whether I'm fishing up north in Lake Huron, Ontario or down south in Lake Walk-In-Water, 3 pounds has been the first weight plateau (about 17.5" long). I hate when that happens >

That's a beautiful pickerel (not mention those hefty yellow perch). I used to ice fish in New Jersey (Mostly Budd Lake and Hopatcong). But after seeing your haul, I'm not sure what I was doing

How much did that catfish weigh?

Quite naturally, many retakes are needed when filming a fishing show. Roland Martin fessed-up on National TV, saying that they often scrap the shoot, and repeat several times until they get what they want. Does anyone honestly believe that Bill Dance catches nothing but 4 to 10 lb bass? Of course not. In the first place, rumor has it that Bill is fishing on private property and on closed waters, the likes of Tenoroc, FL and Bienville Plantation, GA. Heck, if Strike King or Booyah footed the bill, most guys in this forum could do as well or better than Bill One poster stated that he surfs the channels during the catch scenes and promos, only to return for the advice. I do exactly the same thing (29, 30, 31, 166, 167, 168). Usually for naught, but sometimes I'll come away with a useful pointer or new idea.

MadHouse The public is pretty wise and I doubt that Swindle understands what his behavior cost him. He put himself down while simultaneously elevating Zell Rowland to new found heights. Swindle is a newbie with less than 100 tourneys under his belt. Moreover, with his mediocre track record there's very little room for hero worship. For instance, compare Swindle's track record to that of Iaconnell's, another newbie Top 10 Finishes Top 20 Finishes Iaconelli 27% 43% Swindle 18% 33% In all fairness, Swindle was a very graceful loser on the Match Fishing show, when Iaconelli force-fed him humble pie. Then again, what choice did Swindle really have?

RoadWarrior I concur, Fred is a legend is his own time. I have noticed you mention stripers a lot, they were my first love and obsession. I was very fortunate to be living in New Jersey during the so-called "Bunker Dunking" era of the late 60s, early 70s. If you're unfamiliar with that term, it was drifting a menhaden (moss bunker) on the bottom. There was no "catch-and-release" in those days and the standard rig utilized a treble hook :-[ Sitting in the flotilla of boats, I would watch as 20 to 40-pound striped bass were being gaffed and flung over the gunwales with the rapidity of a porgy fleet (without exaggeration). My personal best was a 44 pounder. There was a friendly rivalry between New Jersey and Massachusetts, which at that time held the world-record. My friend Ronnie boated the New Jersey record aboard his Sea Wife, just shy of the Massachusetts world-record. His bass would be bested however by the new world-record set again in New Jersey. This would last only a season or two, when Massachusetts again snatched the world-record away from Jersey. Low and behold, New Jersey finally regained the world-record record striper, a record that still stands today. It was a 78lb 8oz elephant taken from the "SURF" near Atlantic City, NJ, I just had to tell you that

The only show I've seen recently on Dale Hollow is one in which they were using the jig & fly. In that case the man's name was "Stephen Headrick", the owner of Punisher Jigs, and the fellow who incepted the "float-and-fly" presentation for smallmouth bass. As an aside, Stephen Headrick was the fellow who tied the once famous "Hoss Fly" designed by the late Billy Westmoreland. Today he calls them an "aspirin head" jig (same lure).

Fred McClintock - Dale Hollow Reservoir Roger Stegall - Pickwick Lake I don't know their numbers, but they're easily found on the Net.

Actually, it was easier locating winter sites when I lived in New Jersey. In the north, bass instinctively gravitate to spots that minimize the effort needed for depth change. Accordingly, the buzzwords for the chart search were Steep, Deep, Drop-Off & Bluff. Almost invariably the bass were found on the vertical-most drop that was accompanied by woody cover (stickups, blowdowns, brush, stumps, didn't matter). In Florida where I now live, the winters aren't as cold, the lakes are shallow and many lakes lack defined bottom contour. The bass still move deeper, but instead of 5 to 20 feet, it's more like 2 to 6 feet. Nevertheless, I truly enjoy the challenge. You probably think I'm crazy, but to me, "finding" fish is just as much fun as "catching" fish. That's probably why I've never hired a guide in my life, which would only encroach on MY fun ;D

I watched the show that featured Iaconelli vs. Swindle, where Mike blew Gerald away. I really enjoyed that, because after Gerald's performance with Zell Rowland under the Gerald Swindle Bridge, I felt that was poetic justice. I also watched the end segment of another show that I probably misconstrued. It was Clunn versus someone I didn't recognize (it wasn't VanDam) Toward the end of the show I thought I heard Clunn mumble something to the effect that the other guy should concede, because he didn't want to bother finishing the match. If someone watched that entire shoot, maybe you could fill me in. I hope I'm wrong, because if what I heard is true, that would not speak too highly of Clunn. (Ain't over till it's over)

As I'm sure you know, the lower end of a lake is normally cooler because of its "greater depth" (slower temperature dilution) and "clearer water" (reduced solar gain). The clearer water and lighter colored soil near the dam are the result of advanced sedimentation. Two conditions can skew this convention however: a "turbid feeder creek" near the dam, but more commonly and efficiently, the "current wind pattern". A persistent wind coming off the upper end of the reservoir will literally blow the warm upper layer (epilimnion) across the lake. When the warm upper layer clashes with the shore at the lower end, it is literally turned under. The lake behaves like a giant waterwheel, where the cooler water underneath is moving in the direction opposite to the warmer layer on top. Consequently, the cooler deeper water is ultimately forced to the surface by the bottom contour of the lake at the upper end. The result is cooler water at the upper end of the impoundment and warmer water in the lower end. By the way, that's a great observation on your part.

The man asked the question, "what time of day to fish for bass in winter?" I don't know of any way to answer his question without touching the keyboard. If I were to type, "GO EARLY! STAY LATE!", I'd feel as though I insulted his intelligence and I'd also feel that I failed to answer his question.

My vote for the current best Pros: > Kevin VanDam > Mike Iaconelli > Jay Yelas My vote for all-time best Pros: > Bill Dance > Tied: Roland Martin / Rick Clunn > Larry Nixon Bill Dance had the best batting average (based on percentile placement) of any pro bass angler. Though few have heard of him, Bobby Murray had a better batting average than Roland Martin and Rick Clunn, but only participated in 66 pro tournaments

Phew...that's a tough one because the answer hinges on conditions Overall, it's probably a toss-up between a 3/16 oz self-weedless 6" culprit worm (any color) and an unweighted 5" Yum Dinger (vertical delivery). In murky water I normally reach for an overhead spinner, so in turbid water the 1/4 oz Lazer Eye single colorado gets the nod. During subdued light conditions with a flat surface, I'd say the Chug Bug was most responsible for pegging the needle on the fun meter.