FIN-S-R

In review of my "spot" topic I was struck with a delima I have faced many times on 1 spot in particular. It is a rip-rap point coming off a natural peninsula for protection of the boats docked in the cove behind it. The peninsula is a slow tapering bank on the side opposite the rip-rap, (rip-rap) which is situated on the ledge side of the peninsula (about 50' deep H2O surrounding rip-rap). Before the sun gets up this spot is awsome. I have never caught more tha a few fish under 3 lbs here, and caught many many in the 5-7lb range, and all three species. The delima is that it is an early morning bite only deal. Now I know these fish dont pack up and leave when the sun comes up, but I cant figure out where or how they re-position. im guessin smallies move more main lake, LMBs move back in the adjacent docks, and the spots probably a little of both, but I cant hook up. What would you guys try short of finding new water?

In my tender 28 or I guess 29 now, I generally find that a spot holding fish approached in a multitude of ways is always more productive for me during a tourney. Ex. a certain bridge I fish typically surrenders numerous keeper spots on a dropshot. Some bigger largemouth on a jig, on top, and vibe, and finally, some monster smallies on cranks or somthin off the wall. I have many times found similar vertical structure, and for sake of saving space Ill say "carbon copy" spots that do not follow the same pattern. So its really not 1 or 2 patterns, its more mining fish off a spot with multiple techniques.

Cabela10-The new issue has T.O. on the cover...no the other T.O. "Tak"- I think its Tak..any the ethnicity is the same? And that must suck not fishin' all winter long. I make sure to hit it as hard as I can from dec-feb here in OK. All my best stringers come at this time of year...BIG FAT SHADES OF OKIE BROWN AND GREEN

To add to RW's info...and hopefully not sound too Baugherish (new favorite word). Check out the geology, or more importantly the geography of the shoreline. This can assist in finding those needle in a haystack type ares that are seemingly completely unassociated with anything else. Like that hump out in the middle of nowhere. Its probably an old ridge that was disected by a stream, or a couple of streams and molded into an island. This is very common where you encounter transitions in rock type like sandstone and limestone, or different types of limestone, and especially really hard rocks like granite. One area will weather faster than the surrounding areas, leaving chunks of land cut off from the bank. Try to draw a line in your mind from a point across the neck or cove your in or across the lake to a spot it may have connected to a few thousand or a few hundred thousand years ago, and then follow that line using your electronics to check depth changes. Usually a stream or river will occur at the point in the geology of a system that rock type transitions. Figure out which is the more indurated (harder) rock and then follow the lines of disection imposed by the current over the life of the drainage system. For man-made lakes, it can be really helpful to find a map of the lake that contains the old river channel lines, or creek drainage lines. I have done this successfully on a number of lakes, and found some of those spots that nobody else ever fished until I started...and be sure that once a boat or two sees you out there, it wont remain a secret long. Another good way to find those less pressured spots is to get on the well known offshore spots and drive in a circle all the time moving a little further away from the center. You can ussually find a few more high spots only a little distance from the main spot, and it wont be recieving near the pressure the main area does. There is a whole world of offshore structure out there just waiting to be discovered.

Man hope I never P*** you guys off. This is worse than pre-week from the old lady. ;D

My 17 footer runs 60mph wide open on normal water, I regulary get "beat" to my spots. My partners boat runs upwards of 80 and we dont get beat. it matters...2 wks ago we got paid fishing a spot that we beat 5 other boats to (passed all of them) and it was pretty rough. My boat can take a 2 foot swell and stay dry, but a 2.5' swell get you wet. We fish lots of offshore structure and bridges and ledges and you have to be able to take a 3-4 footer square in the face without flinching. Bigger boat bigger motor= more competitive and safer...easier on your back too

I take bassin too, and it is superior, I just was suprised that the new issue of bassmasters was worth reading...and it didnt even have a day on the lake in it.

I use a 3/4/5 ewg hook w/ a bead. Hook size depends on the frog. i have tried the "frog" hooks, and they tend to tear the bait up real quick, like 1 fish or 1 bite and its gone. And some of the "frog hooks are weighted..this I didnt like cause the speed you had to maintain during retrieve really killed the action the bait was capable of. I threw a horny toad/ ribbit/ and the yum frog (cant remember the name) alot this past year, and stuck lots of fish. The main prob I found w/ any rig on these frogs is that they tend to try to ball up or get misaligned after a few fish or a couple hours chunkin w/o fish. The bead in front breaks alot of the wear on the front of the lure and pushin a piece of 50lb big game through the hook eye after rigging will let you fish it all day long w/ no probs. i also tried them c-rigged (looks like a crawdad), and as a sort of finnesse bed fishing tool rigged w/ a 1/4 oz pegged tung. weight, as well as top H2O. And as far as being weedless, I found just skin hooking on the top side of the frog is plenty good.

summer '05 coolest in a long time in oklahoma. winter '05-'06 coldest in a long time. Summer '06 hottest in a long time. Winter '06-'07 warmest in a long time. Must be ice age followed by global warming cycle!!!

I recently saw on TV or read on internet/ mag, a pro (dont remember who) was asked if the pattern fishing strategy or spot fishing strategy was becoming more dominant in terms of winning tourneys. His reply was less than emphatic, and he didnt really answer, just gave a both sides comment. So what do you guys think, is a pattern where its at or does THE spot, AKA honey hole theory do it for ya? The more I fish the more I am leaning toward the spot theory, but not just 1, more like 5 or 6. Does that make it a pattern? Or is a pattern spot specific, or spot determined?

I have been disapointed with the past few issues, but just got my feb issue and actually read most of it. Maybe some at BASS read some of the previous posts from this website. You smallie guys will probably appreciate some of the content this issue.

Since we are sharing backgrounds, here is what I have to back up my previously stated "opinions?" 7 yrs in institutions of higher learning and 3 degrees ending with an M.S. in environmental science specializing in applied environmental chem. with a geology minor. Atop that you can add 5-6 yrs research studying dirt, grass, critters, rocks, air, clouds, and everything else that resides in the natural world. I have multiple pubs in scientific journals dealing with soil and WATER chem. issues. As I have stated in other posts on this site, everything is chemistry. Understand the chemistry and the biology and physics present themselves as obvious and emphatic. Now refer to my previous posts if you want to know the FACTS about this global warming business. P.S. I try not to ride a high horse see'in as its a longer way down when you fall than if you ride the shorter version.

My grandfather (PAPA) loved the outdoors. He was a fervant and knowledgable bass fisherman amongst other facets of outdoor expertise. He passed away a few years back and the void left will always be painfully obvious. At christmas this year while the family was congrgated at my widowed grandmother's residence my 7 yr old son took a picture of Papa down and began to ask questions. It was a photo of Papa holding 2 10+ peacocks he caught while realizing a dream to peacock bass fish in south america just a few years pryor to his passing. After speaking for some time to my son about the details of the colorful fish and where to catch em' and what to use and such, the story began to recieve reminiscent input from other family members. I began to realize that this one man, whom I hate to say I at times took for granted while on this earth, was the seed that grew in to a family of fervant outdoor sportsmen and frustrated wives. My cousin and I recounted our first great catches which looking back now can easily be identified as gifts from Papa. He alway took us if we would go. He ran a tire shop/ mechanic shop for around 50 yrs and even after an 11 or 12 hr day in 100+ degree Oklahoma heat he still found the energy and patience to haul 3 knot head boys out for a couple hours catching crappie and bass. He taught us the importance of presentation, matching the forage, fishing structure for big boys, how little baits can catch big fish, and most of all the importance of including the people close to you in the time you spend out there. He was a constant soucre of sound advice and strength through broken families, bad life descisions, and the dreaded teenage years. He picked up where the baby boomer parents dropped the ball, and always took us fishing. He wasnt by any stretch of the imagination a push-over spoil the kids rotten kind of guy. He made us work hard in the brutal oklahoma summers, and frigid winters. Above all he always made the point to get out, and get us outdoors to recharge the batteries at every possible oppurtunity. He created a precedent in consistency of life and fishing that i can only hope to some day come close to. I regret that I only was able to take him on good fishing trips a few occasions before he left us. In my life since his passing, I have begun to realize the invaluable imporatance of not only spending time with your kids or grandkids or spouse or parents, but spending the kind of quality time with them that only few practices such as fishing can offer. I have posted more than few pics of my son proudly holding his catches for the camera on this website. He has already begun to catch that social bug and hunting or fishing trips with dad have begun to take a back seat to friends every so often. But when i do get him out there, we get to share something that transends age or interest. The few moments between the bite and figuring out how big it is cant be rivaled by much, and when the rod is in your sons hand its even that much more exciting. Im beginnin to understand why Papa never reeled in many, he had more fun watching us do it...well most of the time. When my son begins to chase the fairer sex, and decides dad doesnt know a thing, I hope I can still connect with him the way Papa did with us kids when he took us fishing. Just Thought Id Share -JP

Despite our differeing POV I can appreciate your concern nboucher. In approaching the rate of change issue you brought up, all i can say is that in terms of geological time transitions are but a moment, and yes these transitions are typically the time periods where extinction occurs for fringe species, thats just how it goes...sorry. Typically core species of mamals (those with wide geographic distribution) realize little or no population disruption. This is with the exception of drastic "overnight" changes like the beginning of the cold cycle that killed off the dinosaurs, or the rapid warming trend that was the demise of many enormous creatures such as mamoths. But But But that is not where we are, and even if we were we are able to harnes the resources at hand and manipulate the environment in which we live such that it is made to accomodate us, or you might say we can "evolve" to live under different conditions than we currently experience. The only real threat we can possibly ever face is if by some act of god or man the land masses we live on became uninhabitable ie. nuclear radiation, bio-pollutant inundation, inaccessable due to flood. The flood deal gets some attention from the glbal warming community, but it isnt going to happen very fast if it does, though there is a reasonable chance oklahoma could become an inland sea again 1 day. The only deal here is that there is plenty of land area which is marginally inhabitable due to cold as is. A warming trend would render the more northern latitudes more preferencial real estate, and as has always been the case, biology migrates to that area which best suits it. Now all this is very possible, but not eminant for us, our children, or their children, now 100-200 years down the road you never know, but I know that fish were some of the first critters around and will probably out live us bi-peds (just trying to stay with the original thread a little).

Well said cart!!!!

How about multiple big fish consistantly- Thats what Im shooting for!!

There is a natural mechanism to buffer this planet's climate, it is called water. On a global scale we do not lose or gain any, it is a static volume due to one of the laws which govern our natural world, you may have heard of it, it goes something like this- in a system energy and mass remain constant, they may change form, but the amount available of each cannot be changed. Water may change forms, but we cant lose or gain any in a global sense. Ok maybe your wondering why I am harping so much on water, this is because it is the mechanism mother nature uses to clean, renew, preserve, and fuel the climate. We can dump all the CO2 into the air we want, and although it may have a profound localized pollution effect, or even a slight global pollution effect, it cannot jack with the general timeline or trend that will be ultimately realized anyway. You may see localized effects in some isolated areas, but GLOBALLY we cant jack up the system at the rate we are going. Mother nature always throws in a correction factor. You will see this if you closely examine the information on deep ice, and deep geological coring throughout the world. There are episodes of elevated carbon production and accumulation, followed by episodes of system purge and clean periods. The tropical forests in the world will produce the majority of carbon that gets assimilated into the atmospere, our cars produce some, but its a drop in the bucket. Temps will rise and fall, oceans will rise and fall, there is little or nothing we can do to influence these natural phenom. globally, but we can take care of the spot we use every day to eak out a living or come home to. Responsible stewradship of the resources we have is ALL we can do. If you must worry, worry about what your kids are watchin'n TV or pickin' up at school. There is a more probable threat that a fuel truck crash dumped into your favorite lake will hurt the fishing than global warming, and how often has your favorite lake been sterilized by such. Know the science, and if you dont then learn it, if you wont then dont profess to have informed opinions. Thats how Gore got this whole mess started in the first place!!!

Like craig said, deep near shallow. Find the irregularity on that rip rap point (produced a 9lber last weekend doing this on jig-n-pig), or that big rock on a drop off (produced a 6 and 2 4s last week deep crankin). Dont overlook the flats during low light hours. I have had more numbers success this winter on flats shallower than 8ft than any winter before. The most important thing I have found this winter is to thoroughly cover the irregularities on structure features. Dont worry so much about covering water, just pick out a few features on breaklines or flats and cover every inch with a couple different speeds and colors. It seems in winter the dinks are fewer and farther between, but the big boys come out to play.

By the By...I am a one of those Scientist Types, Not a psuedo-scientist, a real bona-fide got a degree or 2 or 3 in this whole study of our rock scientist type, And you can take this to the bank!!!

Global warming.....A term consisting of chiefly 3 different components. To understand one must examine each component. But first let me say this- water vapor is the biggest baddest greenhouse gas there is....PERIOD. We got lots of water on this here rock. Component 1- Earths shifting axis- It is happening, it is normal, and we cant do a darn thing to jack with it...that is why ice is melting on both ends of this rock. It is sticking on the side opposite the side the melting is happening. Component 2- Water Cycle- It melts, it evaporates, it falls. A more moist environment will have more weather variation...temps, rainfall etc. The water falls out of the "sky" cleans the air and dumps the pollutants into lakes and rivers that amazingly enough are the perfect place to remediate/tie up these pollutants...Just dont drink the water-HEHE Component 3- The human factor- First of all let me say we are just plain arrogant to consider ourselves powerful enough to really jack with mother natures plans, BUT we are producing and inserting into the "system" more CO2 than in previously "RECORDED" history. Does this matter? Yes, locally, but globally I doubt it. Now have said all of that I want to let you guys know that I worked for the EPA and the NRCS...the Gov. agencies who deal with Metro-industrial and Urban-Rural agriculture pollution issues, and rest assured that much is being done to preserve and conserve this rock the way it is, and not just here in the good ole' USA, but all around the globe. Warm/Cold cycles will come and go, and some will be more severe or less severe than others, and there will be sub cycles in those cycles, and sub sub cycles. Its all way too complex to figure out or predict, but understand that mother nature is amazing in her ability to clean up the "damage" we do. Ultimately all we can do is be smart responsible stewards of the resources we have. There are no conspiracies between big oil and the govt. There is no environmental armogedan at hand. If you want somthing to worry about, worry about another clinton in the whitehouse or some nut case with a bomb or driving down the street. So all of this means what for fishing? Absolutely nothing in the life time of anyone on this forum or your children's children, in a global sense. You can kill the crap out of some fish by introducing alien species or dumping toxic crap like used oil into the H2O. These we can control, and these are to be worried about, not the Gore catch phrases.

Um..I drive about 15min, put the boat in the lake and take a couple rods (18) and then i start pitchin' and flippin' at boat docks. no hard water here in the winter. I guess you would call it on the job training

Offshore Stuff Finnesse Lures Bigger Lures All that stuff is spot on, But... Find a spot be it an offshore hump, or a submerged row of stumps the bank beaters pummel regularly. Get to know it intimately. Get to know every rock on the rock pile out in 30ft or get to know which stump has a big wash out under the root ball, or which stump is closer to deep water, or whatever detail you can figure out. I have no qualms fishing behind someone beating the bank, I will catch fish they miss because of details.

Spent more time, caught more, caught bigger and learned more than in my previous 27yrs on the planet. Looking for '07 to be even better.

Put together a pretty good sack with both big and small stuff the other day, and I think this is pretty typical.... Early A.M. overcast and windy-Big Cranks, and I mean the Bigger Deeper the better, had 2-4lbers and a 6lber by 9:00. Fast Big Bite died around 10 with clearing skies and low wind. Went big and slow and caught a few Clearer and calmer big slow bite died Went small and slow caught a few more High Sky and no wind by early afternoon, and bite shut down Went to tiny dropshot fished painfully slow and caught a 3 and 4 Just Match the conditions!!!

Back when I was in college at OSU in Stillwater, Ok, I fished a small munic. lake "McMurtry" and I had been told by some folks that had been to school up there 5-10 yrs before that it was a real hotspot for big crappie and saugers/ walleye, and a real decent bass fishing spot. After about 10 trips, and only a very few keeper size crappie and maybe 1 or two decent bass, I began to notice the ethnicity and practices of the the folks lining the bank. They were for the most part non-english speaking asian, and they kept everthing, and I mean everything they caught. When I found water that was inaccessable by foot, I would find better fishing. I let the park ranger and local game warden know what was going on, and they just indifferently let me know that they already knew and didnt really care....what can ya do!!!!