MIbassyaker

If you were up here, I'd say you got probably got "piked" on the first one. Braid can be awfully slick, and while a palomar is the recommended knot, I always do an extra overhand before before pulling the bait through the loop.

If I could go back, it would be to a spot on the river where where I grew up that probably can't be accessed publicly anymore, below a dam that no longer exists, where I caught my first bass -- a smallmouth. Honestly, my memory of that place and that moment is much more satisfying than a return trip would probably be.

It has been my favorite topwater for years and I have long thought it was unjustly ignored. It is the perfect topwater for small streams and ponds in the summer here, and one of the most versatile baits in the box, given it is effective whether it's popped in place, twitched and ripped between pauses, or buzzed on a straight retrieve.

My decision rule for wacky vs. texas-rigged is a combination of two considerations: 1. Heaviness & degree of contact with cover: --Light or brittle weeds, open water, open pockets, = wacky, --heavier weeds/stems, wood, physical contact = texas 2. vertical vs. horizontal movement ratio: --Wacky if it will be moving more often or farther vertically than horizontally (e.g. smaller, deeper target areas). --Texas if it will be moving more often or farther horizontally than vertically (e.g., larger, shallower target areas)

Bucket B is killing me. I've changed my mind about 8 times. And I can't shake the suspicion that this event is good one to plug in some of the old-timers...

I like the Cricket and the Aqua too. Is there a better frog for the price than the Pad Crasher? I don't know of one.

Never had anybody check me for a license, anywhere.

I fielded what felt like a low risk team this time and that's what happened: Everybody in the top 50, nobody on day 4: Hackney 19 Combs 43 Edwin 25 J Pow 18 Skeet 34 Still in 4th among the BR Crew; 1696th overall for 94.6%.

Want.

I actually prefer the Jr. on a small jighead or underspin.

I will be buying one the moment they come out with a lefty.

It's not open access, unfortunately, but here's the abstract and full citation: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00028487.2016.1194894?journalCode=utaf20 Hessenauer, J.M., J. Vokoun, J. Davis, R. Jacobs, and E. O’Donnell. 2016. Loss of Naivety to Angling at Different Rates in Fished and Unfished Populations of Largemouth Bass. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 145: 1068-1076. A few things about this: First, the two populations of bass did not merely differ in lure avoidance, they differed in the rates at which lure avoidance was learned. That is, both populations clearly showed reduced catch rates with increased catch events, but the bass from fished populations learned faster. Second, I only mention the paper because it was the first one I thought of, having run across it browsing the new IF issue yesterday. But it's not the first or only such study I have seen, and the article cites several other studies over the last few decades. As for social learning, I don't see anything in their results that necessitate that explanation, although their data are consistent with it -- they estimate the changes in catch rates are faster than would be expected from direct experience with lures. But they're not making a strong argument for it specifically, just discussing the results in the context of prior literature which has, apparently, reported evidence of social learning in fish (they cite a few papers, including a review, Brown & Lalande, 2003, "Social learning in fishes: a review"). I don't have a sense of how well established that is but it's not out of the realm of plausibility -- many species have some ability to learn from observation, especially if they have good visual discrimination (which bass are known for). I would not take that as evidence of intellect, though.

I have always thought topwater propbaits were under-used (Torpedo, Devil's horse, Skitter Prop, Kelly J, etc.) This was confirmed for me when the Whopper Plopper came out and, instead of calling it a propbait, everybody called it "a buzzbait that floats!"

Well, avoidance learning is not necessarily all or none -- it's about a reduction in response strength or response frequency, not a disappearance altogether. As it happens, my May issue of In-Fisherman reports (P. 8) on a recent study (Hessenauer, Vokoum, Davis, Jacobs & O'Donnell, 2016) that found declining catch rates with cumulative catch events, for bass initially taken from fished and unfished populations, and raised in a pond for two years. The data pretty clearly show evidence of learned lure avoidance. The lures were a rapala minnow, a mepps spinner and curlytail grub on a jig. And it wasn't in a tank.

Seems to me that either bass learn to avoid lures, or there is no such thing as fishing pressure. I don't see how you can have one without the other.

The best bass attractant is the bait that looks the best and sounds the best.

There isn't a bad bait in the series, but I think my current favorite is the cut-r worm: I can use it as a stick worm, a soft jerkbait, and a swimbait all in the same retrieve.

Ribbontail worm: 7" berkley power worm straight tail worm: Biospawn plasmatail stick worm: Yum Dinger Craw 1: Strike King Rage craw Craw 2: Berkley Chigger craw Tube: Strike King coffee tube Grub: Kalins 5" Shad: Strike king Caffeine shad Lizard: Zoom lizard Creature: Megastrike megabug

Bobby's a lot more consistent than Chris, who is sort of boom-or-bust. Chris has more wins, but Bobby has more top 10 and 20 finishes despite 44 fewer tournaments listed in the stats on BASS. I'm at 90.6%. After bombing last year, my first season, I'm doing more research this time around, although its hard to tell how much of my current standing is due to that vs. chance. I'm trying out some analyses week-to-week to see how well certain measurable factors predict the point results the best, e.g., overall record, lake history, local proximity, recent success ("momentum"), etc. So far, the strongest predictor I have found (and it's not that strong) has been....ownership percentage. it beats both my own subjective judgments and the "pundit" picks, at least.

If they're all my favorite, does that actually mean none of them are? 'Cause I think that's where I'm at.

jerkbaits, poppers, finesse jigs, weightless and lightly-weighted plastics, e.g., wacky rig, close-quarters work, docks, skipping...

Owner bullet ultrahead: That's a 1/0, though. I don't think it comes in a 3/0.

With three top 10s -- Ike, Bobby Lane, & Kennedy, i'm at 4th place in the BR crew, now. Of course, even if everybody just picked randomly, we'd still wind up with folks at the top who looked after the fact like they had made the "right" picks every week.

Fenwick Aetos, if you care about looks; I believe they were designed to go together -- the color scheme matches perfectly. Here's a 9535 on a 7' medium of the last gen, which balances just right: The reel should suit a new gen Aetos also, which runs $200, is a tad lighter, EVA instead of cork, different reel seat, and some red highlights and lettering, but otherwise the same blue.

I'm going to find out. never tried it before.