BaitMS

One word...GEEEEEEZ! Might have to start making some plans to visit Europe.

It IS definitely a Pacu. What did you do with it? I hope you didnt release it.

My best bargain was an Abu Garcia Record 50 ($140) for $40. This was last year when all of the Wal-Marts were marking everything down and Pure Fishing had the $10 rebate. Needless to say I was

trilene XL 12# always.

M O N E Y It will solve M O S T of your problems.

Rapala DT 4 and 6 Bandit 100 and 200 series

Most bait is sold because it is easy to culture. Meaning its easy to keep alive, it will take food, and grows easily so there will be different sizes for selling. However, this species of bait is probably not indigenous to the body of water you are fishing. Yeah, it might be in there now, but that is because you and everyone else that bought that type of bait dumped the left overs in the lake. As for problems..not being indigenous to that water body it may use the same resources as the shiners/minnows that are indigenous to that lake. Potentially throwing the natural balance in that system off. For example, a shiner is bought as bait. This bait is hardy and is an efficient planktivore. There is a similar species in the lake but it is not as efficient at eating plankton as the store bought. Well the "bait shiner" uses the resources of the native shiner, but it also affects the plankton balance inturn affecting the bluegill (which are prey for predators), inturn affecting bass (probably the top predator), and eventually affecting the water quality. So, next time you buy bait and have some left over dispose of it properly.

You are getting a little ahead of yourself. In the other post you talk about constructing a casting platform. First things first. :

Trilene XL 12#. Use mono so you don't rip the bait out of the fish's mouth. Mono stretches. I also use a moderate action rod. Caught my two personal bests with this setup and a Bandit 200 crankbait (chartreuse crawl).

Check to see if South Carolina Department of Fisheries offers a FREE electroshocking survey. If so, I would take advantage of this and schedule for them to come out this fall. By doing this type of survey you can determine size and numbers of bass, bluegill, and crappie. The can also recommend how to manage based on the findings and what you desire the system to be. From what I have read, I suspect there are some "good" size bass in there (60 acres is fairly large) you just havent hooked up with em yet. But, with not having any harvest mortality (only natural mortality) there are a lot of small bass, bluegill, and crappie. I also assume these fish are fairly easy to catch so take advantage of this...harvest! I would suggest taking 10-12 lbs of fish per acre now! I would take some of each species but mainly the bluegill and crappie, along with some bass. The bass have probably kept the other species in check but in order to get bigger fish you have to "make room". This is done by harvesting. Now, lets see some pictures!

When reading through posts I see mention of exotic species (probably unbeknown to the poster) and questions of how to fish in it or around it. But, I am interested in how many people realize the problem at hand. This is a topic I think should be brought to the forefront and many anglers should be educated about. What is your level of exotic species awareness? Are you part of the problem or part of the cure? Do you take the time to make sure no plant debris is on your boat or trailer before leaving the boat ramp? and do you remove it if there is some present? Do you make the effort to drain and clean livewells to make sure viruses (e.g., largemouth bass virus) are not transported from lake to lake after fish are captured and released after being placed in your livewell? Now I know bass fisherman's views on fishing with live bait..."only a real fisherman fish with artificials", but those of you who fish with live bait, Do you let your "leftover" bait go in the lake at the end of the day? All of these things (along with many more examples) contribute to dispersal of exotic and non-indigenous species. Once established, these problems become serious very fast and are VERY EXPENSIVE to correct. Most of the time, these problems are uncorrectable and can only be maintained (depending on the species). What are your thoughts or views on the subject?

You should always discard unused bait on the ground or in a garbage can. In essence you are probably aiding in the spread of non-indigenous species (species not found in that area). Never transport fish from one lake to another either. Spread of non-indigenous species is a serious problem and must be stopped!

Let's be practical here...Can you honestly say that you want or can even use any of that CRAP that your wife buys? I didn't think so . What's mine is mine and what's yours is mine til death do us part!!

DOH!!!

Oh Man!!! I thought this thread was going to say a CURE had been found :'(. Don't play with my emotions like this. This was definitely a plot by the bait monkey. >

Like with anything, there is always going to be a "knucklehead". But as I said before and will say it again, Rely on yourself to "DO THE RIGHT THING". Fourbizzle, Take this guy up on his offer and "educate" him on the importance of big bass. Educate him on catch and release and its importance genetically on the rest of the population. Lakes and reservoirs are "closed" systems. This means genes from outside the population of an individual system are not going to be incorporated into the stock. Look at the example of Texas Parks and Wildlife and their Share Lunker Program. They understand the importance that these big fish provide (genetically). Determine if he really has a vendetta against trophy bass. If so, there may be legal action. Give him examples like Fish Chris (which I'm sure he's aware of) and fish that he has caught and released to catch again. FishChris, You are correct about hurting yourself if you removed these fish. But, it was your choice as a resposible angler and proponent for the sport of bass fishing. Some people dont have these standards or they have alternative reasons for keeping these fish. For this, we may never know why?

To play devil's advocate... Do any of you know the whole story about this guy? It is beyond me the way you react to anyone that keeps a bass. As a biologist, it is good to keep some fish. Harvesting fish makes"room" for other fish to grow. It also keeps systems from becoming overcrowd. However, this is rarely the case in large systems. Yes it takes a long time for fish to reach this size, but if your state agency is managing and monitoring the lakes and reserviors in your area PROPERLY, many fish of this size will be available. Especially, in California where laws are very strict and many anglers are knowledgable of whats going on. California also has a climate were fish can attain this size rather fast compared to other locations. Bass strain (florida, northern) also play a big part in this growth as well as species composition within a system. If the bass have other fish (other bass species) that utilize the same resources it does, it may not have the ability to reach these sizes. But, this is what the fish and game departments are trying to accomplish based on requests of the many usergroups that are trying to satisfy. With that said, there are several types of fisherman: recreational, commercial, subsistence. Most bass fisherman are recreational fisherman. They are fishing for the fun of it. They enjoy spending hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to catch bass. Commercial fisherman rarely target bass, but this is because of harvest restrictions. Then there is the subsistence fisherman. This person is fishing to feed themself or their family. This has been going on since the start of time. The law allows these people to catch a specified number of fish (based on species) as determined by sampling performed by your state game and fish agency. It looks to me as if this guy is prepared to clean these fish for FOOD, but I do not know the whole story. Not to to burst any of your bubbles, but if you didn't know most of the waterbodies that you are probably fishing in (other than natural lakes up north) are reservoirs. Do you know what the primary purpose is for creating a reservoir? It is for water retention. It is NOT FOR FISHING!! Fishing is just a benefit of the creation of these systems. So consider it a PRIVILEDGE to have a place to go fishing. Stop wining about what other people are doing and rely on yourself to "DO THE RIGHT THING" as you feel morally obligated to do. Then depend on your state agencies to manage these systems responsibly. To say this guy is not anymore of a "sportsman" or "fisherman" than any of you is WRONG! He is involved in the same activity as you. How do you know that the fish that you are catching are not dying because of foul-hooking, stress because of being hooked and "played" to the boat, contracted a virus because you put it in your livewell and you had other bass that had the largemouth bass virus (LMBV), died after you drove around the lake for 6 hours during a tournament with them in your livewell, slung the fish around and took pictures. How many of those fish that you caught off their "bed" this spring actually had a succesful spawn? All in all, YOU, yes you INDIRECTLY kill fish too. So, what makes you any better than this guy? At least he got a meal out of it (hopefully). Before you go and criticize this guy why don't you look at the bigger picture, rather than the picture in front of you. Yes, you have the option to return or not return that fish to the water, but that is PERSONAL PREFERENCE! Don't knock someone because they chose to keep a fish. Last time I checked it was legal (within the limits of the law).

Three words...Costa del Mar Black frame, blue mirror lenses ($180). Paid $130 from internet. Please remember, YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR! Trust me, you spend over a bill on a pair of sunglasses you WILL be careful with them. I've had mine over a year and am now looking at getting the Costas with the 580 lenses.

First let me say...Congratulations on finding the old tackle box!! Now you have "antique" lures. Watch out ebay. Second, I hope you have learned your lesson. Keep 1 lb. barbel weights and 8 oz. bullet weights (in last picture) in separate (preferably cheap) tackle box so that if or should I say when boat decides to capsize all tackle will not sink into the deep abyss again.

From the Diveristy of Fishes, Helfman et al. 2000. "Most natural hybrids are inefficient reproductively, ecologically, biochemically, physiologically, or behaviorly. They are therefore likely to be reproductive failures because of sterility, relatively infertility, or an inability to find mates, or will be ecological failures because they will be outcompeted for resources or be more prone to capture by predators than are individuals from single-species matings. Natural selection will obviously favor spawning individuals that avoid mating with members of other species." In other words, yes sometimes they are sterile. However, stressed fish, a system will multiple species of similar families, and a system with a large population of one species and a small population of another will hybridize. Nature is a finicky thing and fish will reproduce and backcross, but hopefully "natural selection" takes care of these fish. Hope this helps.

The mattlure baby bass. After the 3'fer deal they cost about 11 bucks apiece. I found a musky lure when I was working on a lake. Cant remember the brand. But I am sure it goes for more than $10.

Can you please elaborate on how water meal is "harmful to bass" and where you got this information.

SX

I recently got the 7'11'' MH for the same application. I went with the 7'11'' over the 7'6'' because I want to throw some larger crankbaits (rapala dt10 and 16 and Dorman DD22s). I felt the 7'6" would have too fast a tip for this. Go to calfishing.com and look around if you haven't already. The website has many reviews on rods, reels, and baits. Reading the reviews helped me with my decision. Look at the forum too.

Nice catch...but we are sorry to inform you that your MAN CARD has been revoked! You have violated Man Rule Number 10: "No man shall wear their shirt twisted in the front or the back to make said clothing appear to be tightly worn" And just eat the breakfast bar!