BASS fisherman

You can call a dog a chicken all you want, but it still don't make it a chicken.

True, but that isn't a literal "turnover", and calling it a turnover is a bit of a stretch. During the summer, lake water stratifies into three zones. The epilimnion, or upper layer, is the warmest and contains the greatest amount of dissolved oxygen. The thermocline, or middle layer, is lower in temperature and dissolved oxygen. The hypolimnion, or lower layer, has the coolest temperature and least (perhaps little or no) dissolved oxygen. Because of the low oxygen levels and the decaying matter at the bottom of many lakes, most gamefish avoid the lower layer or at least the deeper parts of it. In the fall, when the average air temperature is lower than the water's surface, the temperature in the upper zone declines and mixing takes place. Cold water is denser than warm water, so newly cooled surface water sinks to deeper levels. This causes a mixing of the water throughout the zones, and eventually the zones disappear. When the water column mixes completely, the temperature is virtually the same from top to bottom. This phenomenon is the actual turnover. Complete mixing may take several weeks to occur, or it may occur very quickly. A severe cold front can drop surface temperature dramatically, perhaps even 10 degrees in virtually a day's time; this hastens turnover. There is a disagreement as to whether wind plays a role in turnover. Although wind doesn't cause turnover, some biologists say that wind aids the mixing. In any case, the mixing often causes new turbidity in the water for a while. You may also notice suspended leaves and other matter in the water, the result of decaying bottom matter that was in the lower zone being dispersed through all levels. FISH ON THE MOVE: Once a lake has stabilized after the turnover, fishing improves markedly. With the water now cooling down, bass move out of deeper water and into the shallows where they are more accessible to anglers. This is especially noticeable in large southern lakes and warm summer surface temperatures. Nutrient or plankton dispersal caused by turnover stimulates baitfish activity, and all fish will be feeding actively to build energy reserves for the approaching winter. Also, bass are more likely to be active throughout the day due to less potent sunlight. With all these factors working in the angler's favor, the post turnover can be an excellent time to catch bass. But you must do more than simply rush into the shallows and start fishing any available cover. Shallow cover near deep water is particularly worthwhile, especially if it is abundant or thick. Various types of plants, like reeds, milfoil, lily pads, and hydrilla, provide good places to fish and will hold bass until they start to decay and turn brown. You should also fish creeks and coves, since bass often follow bait there. Start at the mouth and fish your way farther in. Points at the edge of, or leading into, these places are often very productive, as they serve to funnel bait. Main lake points also see the passage of many fish, and they're even better if they're near deep water. If the lake has not yet fully stabilized, don't overlook deeper water since fish may be roaming. Trolling is an effective technique if fish are scattered, so don't be afraid to give it a shot. LARGE LURES: Often water becomes clearer after the fall turnover, so when selecting lures, go for a natural looking appearance. Plug patterns that resemble shad (or alewife or shiner), bluegills, yellow perch, or crayfish, depending on the environment, are good bets instead of more exotic lures. These patterns are especially productive if they have a sparkling or glittering appearance to produce flash that suggests a moving baitfish. Baitfish are generally big this time of year, so this is a good opportunity to fish larger lures. Try plugs that weigh 1/3 to1/2 ounce and minnow plugs that are 4 to 6 inches long. Minnow bodied plugs that float and dive work well as surface lures, especially for morning fishing, and suspending models are good for subsurface stop and go twitching, Popping or chugging surface plugs are likewise effective, especially in lakes with lots of baitfish activity. If bass are active, you can use fast moving lures. Crankbaits are great for fall fishing; midrange divers are standard, though some places and situations will call for deep runners. But if bass aren't active, or when the action slows, turn to slower and more careful presentations. Soft jerkbaits (single or twin tailed soft bodies) fished in a slow, subsurface twitching motion work well around submerged like grass, brush, and stumps, often catching fish that ignore faster retrieved lures. While spinnerbaits that are slow rolled over objects or dropped along deeper edges of cover may be productive at this time, another good choice would be crankbaits and jigs. Try a jig and pig where the bank is steep, especially if lined with rocks or logs or treetops near deeper water. If bass are shallow but in thick cover, a flipped or pitched jig is prime. Fish it around docks, pilings, and blinds. SPRING TURNOVER: Turnover is sometimes a spring phenomenon, although only in northern lakes. Calling what happens in spring a turnover is a bit of a stretch; it often does not have the same water disturbing effect as fall turnover. In frozen lakes, water directly beneath the ice is nearly 32 degrees and dense. When longer days and warmer air temperature melt the ice, the densest water sinks, the wind helps mix the water, and the water column becomes a uniform temperature. Soon surface water and shallow areas warm quickly and become very attractive to fish. They may mix, but the term turnover is not correct.

According to what I have read, lakes DO NOT technically "turn-over" in the spring time. I took this from an article here on BassResource.com: Fall and early winter cooling produces uniform temperatures and dissolved oxygen levels. We refer to this inversion as a "turnover." Turnovers are the principal sources of mixing nutrients and oxygen into the deeper water. In winter, water temperature becomes homogenous, nearly the same from top to bottom. In lakes that freeze at the surface, the deeper water is actually warmer than the water at the surface, the surface ice insulating the bottom layer from sometimes bitterly cold air temperatures. Come spring, sunshine heats the surface layers, gradually warming the upper until a strong warm-season stratification pattern sets up again, and the cycle is complete. http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/destratification.html IMO, it sounds like the wind and rain has stirred up the water, making it muddy. Happens every spring. Granted it is called turn over, the lakes in spring don't turnover like they do in fall. The surface temperature heats the lower water levels which is called convection. Convection is the internal movement of currents within fluids (i.e. liquids and gases). It cannot occur in solids due to the atoms not being able to flow freely. Convection may cause a related phenomenon called advection, in which mass or heat is transported by the currents or motion in the fluid. In the case where the advected substance is heat, the heat itself may cause fluid motion, so the problem of heat transport (and transport of other substances in the fluid due to it) may become quite complicated. Differential heating of fluids may itself cause convection in a gravity field, due to variations in density due to a transfer of heat and subsequent fluid expansion, combined with differential buoyancy forces on the different parts of fluid which have differing densities. This type of purely heat-driven convection in gravity fields is sometimes referred to as "natural heat convection," in order to distinguish it from various types of forced heat convection (i.e., heat advection not due to buoyancy of heating). In forced heat convection, transfer of heat is due to movement in the fluid from forces other than heat, such as pumps or natural and artificially-driven mechanically-pushed fluid flows (i.e., flow from external motive forces, such as occurs in rivers or pumps). In addition, buoyancy forces in gravity fields which result from sources of density variations in fluids other than those produced by heat, such as variable composition (for example, salinity), are frequent convection causes. I could be wrong, but this is what I have read.

Not dissing on Chris here, but "The Fish Sniffer" sounds like the name of some pervert fisherman's fetish mag. ;D

I have tried fishing jerkbaits before but had yet to catch any fish with one. Saturday I stopped into the local Dick's and picked up a couple XR-8's that were on sale @ 2 for $10, and I committed to fish one or both all day. I stopped by a small pond and started fishing. By the time I was ready to leave, I caught 2 LM bass and 1 SM bass. The LM were about 1lb each, but the smallie was almost 2lbs. And the smallie had red eyes! I went to another small pond and caught another 2 fish. 1dink LM bass, and a giant blue gill too. I was too busy having so much fun to take pics though. I even had the camera with me but just couldn't bring myself to stop fishing long enough to take a pic. ;D I also caught another thing from the depths. I have read a couple posts on the site here that talk about people catching odd things, one of which would be fishing rods. I had never caught a fishing rod, untill Saturday. It was a 5 foot spiderman spinncasting setup. I thought about taking it home and cleaning it up as a joke to take to tourneys, but it was fully rusted, and full of that mud that smells worse than an outhouse. So in the trash it went. So not only did I catch 3 species of fish on the XR-8, I also caught a fishing rod too. It was definatley a great day!

If anyone buys one of those BPS knocker retrievers, make sure you retie the knot on the knocker. I bought one, looked at the knot, thought I should retie it, but didn't. When I went to use it, the knocker caught in the crouch of the tree, and the knocker popped off the line. So basically I paid $7.00 for a 30' legnth of string. ;D

High quality, great finishes. Maybe more money than sense. Not sure.

It does get to be annoying. Ish Monroe says that no one can catch someone elses fish. Meaning if I'm fishing, and you cut me off, I don't get mad, they aren't going to catch my fish. Last night this very issue came up while I was fishing around a small pond. These two guys hopped around me and went down about 30 feet and started fishing. I tied on a big ol buzz bait and hit a brush pile that they were standing on. I even watched a few fish shoot off as they clomped down to the brush pile. I dont even think they saw the fish that they scared off.

The two main blade types are Colorado, and Willowleaf. The willowleaf blade puts off more flash than a colorada blade, as well as less "thump" or vibration. A colorada blade puts off more vibration, and less flash than a willowleaf blade. A willowleaf is best in clearer water were as a coorado is better in stained to muddy water. and.... A willow leaf generally stays lower in the water column when retreived, than a colorado bladed spinnerbait which travels higher in the water column. There are tons of other blade types, but these two are the main stays in bass fishing.

Great tip- you gotta make em' dance. I like that one.

I hit that sale too. I got about 20 Muddler collar hair jigs in green and brown for .25 cents each, and a few of the rubber skirted jigs for .50 centa eACH.

I saw that too! Did you see the tip in there from Triton Mike yet? Not sure what page though. Isn't using the swivel like that doing the same thing as one of those "Parasite clips"? Maybe with a bit more weight though.

I think the term "good" is relative. I think if you like the lure, and it catches fish (when used properly), then heck ya it's a great lure. Most of the folks on here buy the best they can find, and for most, Renegade is not on that list. For me, I believe that if you use a lure under the right circumstances, basically that means the right depth and the right speed, that you can and will catch fish. The bass don't care if the lure cost you 2 bucks, or 200 bucks. Now the higher priced lures usually have higher quality components, and some say better action compared to a similar type, cheaper lure. Some people's confidence comes from using higher priced lures and due to that high confidence, I believe they do indeed catch more fish. But not because the lure is better, but because they truely believe in that lure, and usually that results in higher concentration which in turn helps you to work that lure just right to trigger strikes. My dad just bought one of those cranks and I think it looks and sounds very good. The only thing I don't like are the tiny split rings. I think a blue gill could straighten them out, so I replaced them with some bigger, better quality split rings.

Not that it matters much now, but I heard that Berkley did a study of scents that turn fish off, and there is a chemical in dish detergent that was on the list of scents that repel the bass. I can't remember what the chemical is called though. I don't think it will matter much with cranks and topwater lures though.

First of all, SLOW DOWN!!! Don't get yourself into a deal that you simply can't hold up. There are companies out there that look for people like you to use as cheap labor, and they call it a "pro-staff" position. Check out the link below for all the info you could ever want or need to know about sponsorships. https://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?board=resume_ID

Tooth pain is unbearable. I had a toothache the year before last and it kept me up at night when it hurt. I got that oragel crap and it worked a little bit for the pain. Then it seemed to quit working so in my agony I put on a bunch, around half the tube. Don't ever do that! Food tasted funny for about 3 months after that. I think I overdosed a bit on that crap. Good luck brother! When my sister had her's pulled, she ate food that was put in the blender, and then she used a straw to eat. Have fun with the meds though!

Nah, don't listen about that technique crap, you just have to focus on holding your mouth right!

Im the same as squid. I don't think Bassmaster mag has any more ads than In-Fisherman does. I actually counted once I got my first issue of Bassmaster, and In-Fisherman mag had about 20 more ads.

Exactly! C & R is vital to a growing fishery, but in some situations it is better to keep a few legal fish for the betterment of the fishery. If everyone practices C & R, and never keeps any fish, the fish in the smaller lakes and ponds become stunted due to a lack of food, and the high demand for forage. I too fish a few ponds that are like that.

Poison Ivy! Chiggers would fall under the "willing to cut my own arm off" category. Would you rather live in the year 2500, or 1850?

I gave them a D as well. It was just BAD!

What a funny thread! I'm still lookin for my fishin' friendly ball n 'chain. Not to many in the area that I have met.

Have fun trying to sleep! ;D I always feel like a kid before Christmas on the "night before" the trip to the tackle store. My problem is I'd get there and look around and find a reel for $149 and end up talking myself into buying it. Then I'd have to buy what I had in mind before I saw the reel, and end up spending alot more. :-/ No self control when it comes to certain fishing related items.

Same here. It was quite creepy.

Other than the ethical or moral reasons not to do it....If you buy a BPS reel at say a garage sale, and you have it for a week or so and it breaks, can you return the reel to BPS and get it fixed or replaced? You don't have anything but the reel. No box, no reciept, no proof of purchase what so ever. Would they help, or do you need proof of purchase?