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The otters are chasing the fish in the shallows alright. and eating them. The Missouri Dept of conservation, in all their great wisdom, decided re-introducing otters back into Mo. rivers a number of years ago. Who can blame them? They're such playful, fun loving creatures. I'm surprised Disney hasn't made a pixar movie featuring otto the otter. : They're friggin ravenous creatures that can decimate a fishery. Bass are on their dining list if they run out of other things to eat. If the river/lake runs low on food, they have those cute little legs that allow them to travel to find another river/pond/lake to pillage. The department of conservation finally admitted their mistake. They forgot to take into account that most of the otters old predators are gone. They are no longer in the state or in numbers enough to make a difference in the otter population, so there was insufficient predation of the otters to keep them in check. The state has now instituted an otter trapping season the past couple years. It may be too late. The fish populations of some of Missouri's best smallmouth/largemouth rivers have been damaged. Until those creatures are properly exterminated, they can't bounce back.

Speaking of artificial reservoirs, correct. Of course that also depends on what's further upstream on the upper end of a lake. If by going way upstream you wind up running into another dam, that dam and lake behind it becomes a catch basin which prevents excessive amounts of sediment from entering the upper reaches of the lower lake. Case in Point: Lake of the Ozarks in mid Missouri is a hill land lake built in 1931. 50,000 surface acres. Up until the mid 80's the lake was normally very off colored and dirty due to the amount of sediment that flushed into the lake from the head waters of the osage river which drained a lot of farm land. Along comes Truman dam and Truman lake in the early 80's and suddenly LOZ starts clearing up. Truman was now catching a lot of that sediment and preventing it from entering LOZ. LOZ still get dirty to muddy from time to time when they dump water from Truman when it gets high or they're generating power and LOZ's water has something of a "tang" to it now due to over building of the shorelines with housing, many of which are on septic systems. Overall though it's still cleaner than it once was. Without knowing the actual bottom contour over time, it's difficult to tell. I have a couple maps of Illinois lakes that were contoured in the early 70's. These lakes also have farmland draining into their headwaters. Driving around on the lake with the depthfinder on it's clear these lakes have filled in. The upper ends of the lake begin to flatten out and lose depth. One of these lakes has lost at least 5-6' of depth down by the dam due to siltation. Normally though, if you're on a lake and observe shorelines that drop fairly quickly into the water but yet, the graph depth readings tend to show that dropping less so underwater you've probably got a situation where siltation has filled in the bottom. One lake in Missouri I fish, 220 acres, had an upper end that was all cut up by little creek channels and ditches along with standing timber. The timber long ago fell over and the entire upper end, which used to be a great place to fish, is now one big 3' deep mud flat. Google earth can be useful though depending on the satellite shots of the lake and when they were taken. Often you can see creeks or rivers feeding dirty water into lakes or see light, muddy bottoms on the upper ends of the lake.

Boy, ain't that the truth. I can't remember all the times I just knew this trip was going to be great because: I'm hitting the moon phase perfectly, the lakes rising, a fronts on the way the next day, the water color is perfect, the fish are in pre-spawn, etc, etc, and then you get to the lake and sputter... sputter.... fizzle.... Once the reality of the conditions don't match your expectations it's easy to become depressed and then lose all confidence. Don't worry Burley, we've all been there. I still catch myself doing it to this day. It doesn't help when I watch the Bill Dance fishing show either. I've found it's best to have a "Lets see what the fish are doing on the lake today" attitude. Using that mindset, you open yourself up to trying new techniques if the fish aren't cooperating. If you manage to find the key to catching decent fish that day your feeling of accomplishment becomes much greater which builds that confidence. And if that doesn't work? Lie. ;D You've got a photo of a nice 5lber from KY lake that could be "shopped" to look like you caught it anywhere.

Why won't it download? What happens?

Gosh, I'm gonna print out that picture and carry it in my wallet forever. I'll always be able to brag I got to spend the day fishing with a real live celebrity!!

uhh..... Your wife basically gave you the go ahead to spend up to $17k for a bassboat. I'd be on craigslist, Iboats, BassResource, etc looking for a nice used one right now (there are plenty in that price range) vs. rigging a canoe. You want comfort for 2 guys to fish? That canoe ain't gonna cut it.

I see no reason to trim it up other than to advertise what prop I'm running to anybody passing by. Some of those that pass by may have the tools to remove said prop.

Instead of starting a new thread everytime something Pops into your head, try using the search function. http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1241450402/5#5

True

Bwooo hahahaha I just wish I had a pix of a 10lber so I could post it and then get told it's no bigger than a 6. ;D

Here's mine. I'm pretty darn proud of her too.

Yep. Don't forget a spare tire.

Here's another one. http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1244233410

A typical woodland area in my area has between 30-40 different species of trees, either hardwood or softwood. Frankly I'll rely on a good map, a graph and good old common sense.

The original question posed was identifying tree types in the water and learning where those types of trees grow along with best soil compositions for their growth as a means of aiding your fishing. How do I tell a softwood tree from a hardwood tree when there's no bark or leaves on the tree?

I wish this had been around when I was first starting out fishing.

Yes, understanding structure and how bass utilize it is extremely important. If I pull up to my local lake on any given day, what exactly is the tip off as to what the fish are feeding on that day if there are multiple food sources available to them? What if the lake in question lacks cover? While I agree that cover is a key most of the times one goes fishing, there are also times that it doesn't, especially when the source of food that day is located where there is no cover.

It's almost a certainty that Perry's bass was an intergrade, which have a growing rather than dwindling population. California is a whole other ballgame. Florida-strain largemouth bass were transplanted into California, as a consequence the state is dealing with two stumbling blocks: 1) California waters undergo intense fishing pressure, significantly worse than the Southeast. 2) California's bass are subjected to an invisible stumbling-block known as "waning genetic vigor". We first seen this phenomenon with spotted bass that were transplanted in Perris Lake, California. At the time, Lewis Smith Reservoir, Alabama held the world-record within the natural range of the spotted bass. By-and-by, a freak spot in Perris Lake, CA broke the natural world-record. Here's the sad part, today Perris Lake is a marginal spotted bass fishery at best (almost non-existent), yet the former world-record is gone forever. When any fish is transplanted outside its natural range, initially it enjoys burgeoning growth, similar to a new reservoir. Thereafter however, with each passing generation the chromosomes of the offspring progressively revert back. Anyone who's been watching California will have noticed that new lakes enter the limelight in turn, then fade away in turn. One of the first was Miramar, followed by Casitas, then Hodges, then Castaic and now Dixon. This is the work of waning genetic vigor, something that California will always have to deal with. In my opinion, if California finally hits the jackpot, it will likely take place on yet another newly emerging Florida-strain fishery. This is not fuel for argument, just one man's opinion. Roger I recall a Bassmasters article in the early 90's concerning this very matter after the Crupi fish was caught. They had broken down the genetic possibilities of the fish size potential, estimated maximum age and then created a time line for the window of opportunity of catching the next WRB. Once the time line ended, the window closed. As for lures? Big bass, regardless of where they're from become far more susceptible of being caught in the spring on a variety of lures because their guard is let down. They're feeding to rebuild body mass lost over the winter and to survive the rigors of the spawn. Just about any lure becomes a good choice for a potential world record catch.

Back to my Jimmy Houston quote about apples and peach trees. Perhaps the "experts" here can provide a teaching lesson on how to identify standing timber when there is no bark or leaves on it. I doubt a trained arborist can accurately do that.

I wasn't planning on selling this on the forums. You seemed to be in a bind and I'd be willing to go through the hassles of shipping to help you out. Personally, it will go on Craigslist if you don't take it. No rush though.

Good luck. You're really limiting yourself and going to miss out on some great deals with your criteria.

I think the "piece of cake" part is subjective, it depends on who does the deed and where.

yeah so what? That's how mine was done. Glen, you did your own vasectomy? Props to you... ;D I'm not kidding, there was some sweat equity involved in mine. I actually had to do some stuff the nurse was supposed to do.

yeah so what? That's how mine was done. You guys are a bunch of weinies. ;D

I'll wait till you get back to tell you my vasectomy horror story.