Mainebass1984

I use just my headlamp. Usually I will have just the red light on so my eyes can adjust to the dark. The light of the moon is usually sufficient. I have my best luck during a full moon. It is usually surprisingly bright out with the full moon.

I like night fishing quite a bit. Usually no wind, no power boaters or jet skies, and you usually have the whole lake to yourself. As NEjitterbug suggested a spinnerbait with a big Colorado blade works well. My favorite technique though is finding the thickest weeds in the lake and throwing a buzzbait. Night time 7 lber

You are right. It is more like deer hunting or even ice fishing. I assure you though if you dress with the clothing I suggested you will not be cold. Late last fall I took a friend of mine bass fishing Nov 17th. It was 36 degrees out with a slight freezing fog/mist and it was blowing 5-10 mph at times. We had to break through about 100 feet or so of ice to make it out to open water. We dodged ice bergs all day. I dressed for the weather and my buddy did not. He got cold. We caught few bass that day. I think we caught 7 bass but they were all over 3 lbs. We got some nice ones. My friend got his personal best 6-4 and a 5-12. I got a 5-0. If you dress for it fishing it fishing during coldwater months can give the best chance at a lunker. Here is a 5-12 my buddy caught that day. Does he look cold ?

No matter how much care we take in releasing the fish properly some fish will die just from the stress of being caught. Most of the time I release my fish head first sometimes a foot or two form the surface of the water. Releasing them head first gives them an instant rush of oxygen. Of course you don't wan to do that in real shallow water... I have seen bass jump out of the water with out being hooked trying to catch dragonflys and other bugs. They wouldn't always land in the water in a graceful manner yet they still would jump after the dragonflys. We as anglers cause harm to the fish we catch no matter how nice and gentle we are to the fish. Just use some common sense releasing them. If you overly concerned about causing harm to a fish then maybe take up another sport like bowling.

Strike King squarebill 1.5s for numbers of bass, 2.5s for big bass Live target crawfish squarebill.

Dress like your going skiing. t-shirt long sleeve shirt fleece lined hooded sweat shirt fleece vest winter goose down filled hooded parka fleece long under wear fleece lined jeans snow pants smart wool socks another pair of wool socks tall waterproof boots with at least 800 grams insulate a pair of thin gloves if it isn't too cold a good warm pair of skiing gloves a fleece lined hat that covers your ears I bring a couple hand warmers as well. They last 8-10 hours. Stick them in your gloves and you wont have cold hands. Catching fish seems to keep me warm too. Fishing in a snow storm is usually pretty productive. If its cold enough to wear all that gear you should be wearing a life jacket as well and let someone know where your going and when youll be back.

A native fish in its unaltered environment untouched by man ? Does such a place exist ?

Sweet !

Another 14 inches of snow today, another 6 inches tonight. This winter just wont quit. Lets see some more photos ! I know there is a bunch of new england bass fisherman out there. Biggest bass of 2011

Black Sea Bass ?

Sweet pictures guys ! Keep the photos coming. Pretty sure everyone in the northeast section has seen my top three bass from 2013 multiple times. A couple good ones from 2012 7-14 7-12, One of my favorite pics 7-6 I hope to catch more fish that are as fat as this one !

This long winter is driving me crazy. I haven't seen any bass pics on here in awhile. Lets see some bass photos ! Your best bass from last year or top three or your personal best from New England. Lets see some bass !!

Good or bad ??

LOL. This is too much. No doubt you have some nice pics and must be a good fisherman. I would suggest doing some research into simple bass biology. Look at the science, the data the evidence. Just because I live in New England now doesn't mean I have no clue about southern largemouth. I worked for Florida Fish and Wildlife for awhile and handled an incredible amount of bass and their data. Your entitled to your opinion though. You know what they say about opinions... Look at the research and scientific evidence. Ask your regional fisheries biologist for his opinion. Keep on posting pics man. I could do the same.

Fisheries Biologist

During the feed up before the spawn most of all the energy is converted in to the development of the eggs, very little is converted in to growth. Besides needing energy for egg development, energy is still needed to maintain homeostasis, swim, feed, etc. I have no doubt that fish could ingest 8 ounces of feed in the month prior to spawn but not all the feed is directly converted into weight gain of the fish. Metabolism is determined by external environmental conditions not the strain. Everyone has opinions. Look into the cold hard facts. There have been many studies done on bass growth rates, metabolism, weight gain prior to and directly following the spawn.

feel the tap reel in the slack line while dipping the rod tip cross his eyes ! set the hook firmly

I do try and think out of the box. I realize some fish can be very fat and put on weight differently. A well portioned northern largemouth, post spawn. I do like facts and scientific evidence. Fish in the 4-5 lb class putting on an entire pound in less then a month is unheard of. The food conversion rates would have to be incredible, well above anything achieved in a controlled environment under ideal conditions.

I believe that is a spinning rod. Better stick with a spinning reel.

AK ... Whether it is south or north I still do not believe a bass can eat 4 lbs of shad a day or grow two pounds in less then a month. I like facts and scientific evidence. Biologically southern bass or northern bass, it doesn't matter, have to still go through the biological process to grow, to put on weight. A bass stomach is only so large and for them to make room they must break down the food they have already ingested and pass it through there system. Even under ideal conditions for grow, optimum water temperature, and food I find it very difficult to believe.

4 lbs of shad in a day ? 2 lbs in a month ? I just don't think that it is biologically possible. Any science behind these claims ?

With the 2 plus feet of ice..... Spring is far far away for me up here.....

I think the next world record will come from Japan, South Africa or in a place where they have yet to introduce Largemouth Bass. If I had to bet on just one it would be Japan.

I love fishing in the rain. I think it is a great time to catch big bass. All the power boaters and jet skiers are staying dry. Not as many guys are out fishing. the fishing is just better in my opinion. Usually up here in New England rain usually coincides with front passing through. Always a great time to fish.

I have spoken about this with the fish health biologist for the state of Vermont and the bass biologist for the state of Maine. It is very, very rare in Maine. In Vermont though it is common in Lake Champlain and in the Conn river below the nuclear power plant. Basically it is skin cancer in bass that causes all the chromataphores to produce extra melanin which causes the black pigmentation. They know that there is something disrupting how the chromataphores receive information to determine how much melanin to produce which gives fish there color. They have not been able to identify what is causing the disruption.