Pkfish49

I knew both fish were either Smallmouth Bass or Largemouth Bass and both were at least 12 inches, (The Smallmouth was just 12 inches) so they were keepers. New York State regulations are the same for both Smallmouth and Largemouth.

I want to thank everybody for the IDs. It appears to me that most folks here are catch and release sport fisherman. I respect that. You can say that I fish for the sport as it is a sport, (especially the fights that the Bass put up) but I also fish to eat. I am a law abiding citizen and New York State says that between the third Saturday in June and November 30th, I'm allowed to keep up to 5 Smallmouth/Largemouth Bass, as long as they are at least 12 inches long. You should all respect my right to do so. As long as I'm fishing from non-polluted clean waters, I always keep what I am allowed to. That being said, when I land a Bass (or any other fish) that is obviously not a keeper, or if I measure it and it comes up short, I immediately release it without harm and I never handle any catch with a paper towel, unless I know I that I am going to keep it. I don't want to offend anybody, but from some of these and other replies to my posts when I've embedded pictures, it is clear to me that many people assume that I'm going to release the fish and feel that it is more appropriate to release Bass than it is to keep. If I or any other licensed fisherman keeps what's allowed, it is just as appropriate. The Largemouth in the picture will be my dinner tomorrow. I really appreciate this community but needed to speak up. Thanks again.

Please confirm my best guess that the fish pictured with the ruler is a Largemouth Bass and the other is a Smallmouth Bass. Thanks

Thanks for all of the advice. I never know how far away I should put the weight.

I've been watching videos on how to tie a drop shot rig. I'm going to hit the lakes next weekend to try and land some bass with some soft plastics and was considering the setup. I was wondering if the setups that I am already familiar with are any worse than the drop shot rig: 1 - After I get the worm on the hook crimp a couple of split shots 4-6 inches below the hook. 2 - After I get the worm on the hook, get a ball type sinker on the line (wrap around sinker knot) 4-6 inches below the hook. What advantage or advantages does the drop shot rig have over the setups that I know?

Thanks - I'm checking out some articles now.

I've been having a ton of fun catching fish in my favorite lake since early April. I caught lots of Panfish in the spring, then some Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass once the season opened, as well as some Pickerel. The problem is that I haven't caught anything since mid July. I got skunked the last two trips, including last weekend. Last weekend, nobody was catching anything from shore. I did see some guys bring in a number of Largemouth Bass, but they were on a boat and caught the fish farther out, in places inaccessible from shore. For completeness, I have no idea what the lake was like in August, as I wasn't around. Some folks are telling me that the fish will come back once the weather and water cools down a bit. Assuming that the lake isn't all fished out, does this make sense? In some lakes, is there normally a dead season between the end of Summer and sometime in the fall? Also, is it normal for Bass to move to the middle of lakes during certain times of the year?

If that is indeed the anus, then this is one of the funniest threads here. There is only one hole in the bottom of the picture and that is what I was asking about.

I was looking at some of my pictures from this season and noticed something out of the ordinary on one of the Smallmouth Bass that I caught. I blew up a portion of the picture to make it easier to spot. If you look on the bottom, you can see a small hole surrounded with a reddish mark. Is this some kind of skin lesion? If so, what causes these things?

You think I remember? I'll pay attention next time. Pickerel are delicious. If you're releasing keepers, more for me. Thanks, I like the snap swivels because is easy and fast to change lures, but if the setup is responsible for too many snags, I can tie on direct. I did spend the money to buy three freshwater poles, so I can be versatile and ready for a quick change. I use an improved clinch knot to tie the swivel to the line. Should I go ahead and use this to tie on directly, or do I need to learn another knot?

I'm assuming this is the right forum for the request: I need some good lightweight, flexible fishing gloves. This past April, I was fishing in the rain and cold, so I stopped by a sporting goods store and picked up some reasonably light weight gloves. Unfortunately, they were too thick and too inflexible to fish with. I couldn't tie knots or work with swivels with the gloves in. Even just reeling in was uncomfortable, so I had to ditch them and suffer. I need a some recommendations for good fishing gloves. They need to be lightweight, thin and flexible, with the ability to keep my hands try. 1 - Not worrying about prices, what is the absolute best? 2 - What are some less expensive good options? Thanks

Thanks for all of the advice. How will tying direct reduce the frequency of getting caught on weeds?

This Cotton Cordell Wally Diver Triple Threat lure is the most versatile lure that I've ever thrown. I've caught Largemout Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Pickerel, Yellow Perch, and Pumpkinseed Sunfish with it. Just about everything in my favorite lake goes after it. The lake isn't very weedy, but some spots have a lot of some stringy stuff. I looked at some pictures of lake weeds and I think it may be milfoil. With these spots, at certain times, this lure gets caught up on one of these weeds almost every cast. I'm not going to catch any fish with the lure covered in it, and even when it snags a little piece, it interferes with the diving action. Is there some way to "hack" or alter this lure at all so it will stop catching the weed? If not, can you recommend some weedless lure with a similar look and action?

I got a positive ID from The New York State DEC Bureau of Fisheries: "They’re both pumpkinseeds. The two main identifying characteristics that set them apart from bluegills are the red spot on the gill cover and the turquoise wavy bands on the head. Bluegills lack the red spot and tend to have more of a dark vertical banding down their bodies."

Please excuse the ugly picture. I did an amateur job of cropping out the person in the picture. This was recently caught in Maine. What is it? Thanks

I'll check out the snaps they you mentioned. I use spinner baits to target Pickerel, but I did catch a nice smallie that went after one. I like the swivels as it is fast and easy to change lures. Thanks I'm a relative "newbie," and didn't know this. I trust you with you >12,000 posts. How big of a fish would it take to break my line with the drag tightened at max?

I don't know many knots, but I tie a good improved clinch knot which has never broken. The only times I re-tie is when I have to cut off line due to unrecoverable snags, or when the the clip end of the swivel rips off. I use barrel swivels with safety snaps and tie the swivel to the end of the line with the knot, just wrapping it five times. I was taught to wrap the line seven times, but this was for ocean fishing with heavier line. I then clip my lure to the other end. The only thing that has ever broken with this setup is the clip end, which of course also loses the lure that was attached to it. I’ve reeled the line in after snags and after losing fish and have found the clip end completely removed, leaving only a two-sided swivel. I’m going to blame this on the swivels and not my knot tying ability or my general setup. Please correct me if I am wrong. If I throw lures for 5-7 hours in a given day, this happens once, maybe twice.

I'm quoting part of this post, but also thanking all posters for their advice. I should have mentioned this in my original post: One of my favorite spots for bass is a bridge over my favorite lake. I'm not great at approximating distances, but the water must be somewhere between 10-15 feet down, That's one of the reasons why I thought that the fish weight may be an important factor to consider for my equipment and technique. I do have a 3 foot landing net to help out a little.

I appreciate the advice and support. I'm having a good season, but I've just taken up up freshwater fishing after a very long absence and I'm still learning stuff each trip. I'm gonna stick with spinning reels for a while. I have a bunch of equipment, but right now my favorite setup is a Shakespeare ugly stik 6 foot model paired with Penn Battle II size 2000 reel. I'm not sure of the stick is considered "stiff," but it's got a great snap. I've got two longer rods, one of them thicker and heavier and with the same line, I can't throw lures on either of them farther then with the ugly stick. I'm guessing that I'd be fine with 8 LB test. I've stuck with 10 lb after taking the advice of some Dick's Sporting Goods guys advice. I've stayed away from braid since a few years ago when 20 lb braid on my saltwater surf casting reel tore my casting finger up badly.

I get to tell a success story about a smallie that I caught and also ask a question. These are my relevant equipment specs. I was using 10 lb mono and my reel has a max drag capacity of 10 lb. I didn't weigh the fish but he was probably a little under 2 pounds. I'm not very scientific about my drag setting and am not sure where it was initially set. I'm guessing it was around 3-4 lbs. I was initially losing the fight, because I couldn't reel in fast enough to compensate for the line that he was running off, so I set the drag to near max, (saw that he stopped running line off) waited a few seconds, and was able to reel the fish in. My experienced angler friends and internet resources tell me that it is more appropriate to tire the fish by letting him run line out for a while, but I like my method better because it brings the fish in faster and I haven't snapped a line yet. You can though see from my profile that I've never caught more than a 3 pounder. I always Bass fish with 10 LB mono. Another reason that I don't want to let the Bass run off line is because I often fish from shore in very tricky shallow areas near shore and the more I let a fish run off, the more chances he has to snag my line around a log or another low-lying structure. My question is about the specific mathematics behind line breakage, drag settings, and fish weight. How long can I get away with my technique before I start snapping lines? Can I assume that this will work until the fish get to a certain weight, then I'll start snapping lines? Thanks

I think this is a Smallmouth. Please confirm. I think I am getting the gist of this:

I think I now know how do distinguish Smallmouth from Largemouth, and this one is a Largemouth. Please confirm. Thanks.

Whatever those two were, I caught them on nightcrawler worms. That lake is so weedy with so many lily pads that I couldn't throw any lures without getting them snagged on almost every cast. When I get better technique, I'll figure out some working "weedless" setups. In another lake, I did catch more of these and other panfish with the same wally diver lures that the bass were going after. I had also thought that those 2 were Pumpkinseed Sunfish, because some fish that I know for certain were Bluegills tasted much better than these, but I caught them in a much, much bigger lake and maybe their better diet contributed to the taste.

I learned this the hard way last season and it took me a while to figure out the cause of the tangles. Thanks for the confirmation: I got a 2000 size spinning reel spooled up with 15 LB mono and it was literally unusable due to tangles. The line went anywhere but back to the reel and it came off in big clumps. I'm probably fine with 8 LB test mono for what I catch, but I have no problems with 10 LB test mono on the 2000 and 2500 size reels. I tried 6 LB test, but I couldn't tie an improved clinch knot to a swivel because the line kept breaking, so for what I do, 8 is the minimum. I'm having a good season, but I just picked up freshwater fishing after a long absence and am continuing to learn about technique and equipment. Many thanks to to all of the experienced anglers here for the advice.

I caught these Yellow Perch back in June. They were delicious, fried in butter: