Sphynx

I know for a fact that you can be in the middle of fish and still not get bit, seen it plenty of times, there are some mysteries that maybe aren't going to be solved in a lifetime, live bait is a perfectly effective strategy for catching bass, it isn't a magic bullet though, any more than the latest and greatest new artificial bait that has taken the world by storm, I do know that while it's possible to not get bit while fishing where there are confirmed fish, it's not at all possible to get bit where there are no fish, it's a bit of a bummer to think about, but on the days where the conditions do not favor fish being at the spots on the bank I have access to, I occasionally will opt to not go, now sometimes you get a surprise, but not too often, if they aren't there, you aren't going to catch them no matter what sort of presentation you give them...still, no such thing as a bad day on the water, if they aren't biting try working on something you can control, like accurate casts to available cover, or current breaks, or all the likely hiding holes for these fish. Another favorite hobby of mine on days where I can't buy a bite is exploring for new fishing holes, got nothing to lose and everything to gain.

I mean, a MLF would work, but I have always considered that rod, line, and hook have a more important relationship than fish and rod, I can land a great big fish on ultralight tackle if I am patient and my gear is properly paired, smooth drag, correct action/power, now I might not be able to boat flip a monster on UL gear, and have to gill/lip/net him, but that's no big deal to me...any rod/reel/line/hook marketed for largemouth should work just fine for smallmouth, I fished all this year with 3-4 rods and had no need to buy anything exclusively different for smallmouth than largemouth.

Location and timing, you can pooch nearly everything else and still have a fairly good chance of getting bit if your where the fish are when they are hunting...after those, probably presentation, and at least to my thinking this goes hand in hand with bait type (fish the part of the water column they are, with an acceptable action), and color is way, way down the list for me.

I get it, it's a white bass camouflage pair of waders...

I absolutely think they have goofy small mouths for the giant members of the species, don't mistake me for disliking smallmouth, because I don't, but I certainly think the proportions on a bucketmouth are more sensible and visually appealing...that said I definitely think that the barring when well pronounced on a bronze back is the more attractive color and pattern.

I have lost my fair share of them, the problem is I always assume the rock is a fish because I don't wait, and bury the stupid thing in where it gets stuck, but there's a few rocks that I get hung up in regularly in one of my fishing holes, and I am pretty good about not swinging on those rocks

Squarebill crankbait is probably my favorite bait of all to work along riprap when it is possible and productive to do so, they deflect off of cover extremely well, and they float, which may seem like a silly thing to note as an advantage, but as long as you avoid doing something stupid like setting the hook when you hang up in the rocks it's almost impossible to lose one, just let it sit on a slack line and it floats out of wherever it was stuck and you can carry on as usual.

Thank you @A-Jay for posting pictures demonstrating exactly what I was talking about, the mouth on some of those big girls looks comical and small like it belongs on a much smaller fish, by no means should this be taken as my having any dislike for smallmouth, but I certainly think that giant largemouth are more proportionally pleasing than giant smallmouth, that having been said, if I get the chance at a trophy sized fish of either species I won't be complaining, you can bet on that.

Gotta say that I'm not entirely sure I agree with the proportion of a smallie being better than that of a bucketmouth, you catch a big enough smallmouth and the head looks kinda goofy, a largemouth always has a certain proportional correctness to it

I'll fish the bathtub if that's the only open water I have access to, I love hunting as much as anybody, doves, waterfowl, deer, pigs, turkeys, all make a fabulous and worthy quarry, but bass fishing is a thing I can do all year, virtually anywhere in the country (Yes, there are some places that have things that prevent it being an all year thing, ice, regulations, etc) if you look hard enough, and because it's not limited I tend to pursue it as a primary passion, and hunting takes a back seat, at least after freezers start filling up and holiday meals are accounted for.

The fish prefer stable conditions when possible (don't we all?) But it isn't as though they have gone just because it rained, it will be a different pattern of behavior from before, and you'll have to put in the work to find out which pattern it is, but the basic process will remain the same, it has been my experience that as water levels are on the rise the fish tend to push as close to the bank as they possibly can, sometimes to the extremes of tossing lures on the opposite bank and dragging them 6-8 inches into the water and they get smoked, I think that the general answer to the question posed by the first seven words in this threads title is "Yes."

Nice list, use most of those myself, though I have found that a crankbait works a treat when conditions aren't right for a spinnerbait, and my jig box is 2nd in my tackle only to my terminal box, and I never, ever go fishing without both of them, no matter what time of the year it is lol.

You keep putting her on fish like that and your gonna have to put a safety leash on her, big ol' bucketmouth looks nearly big enough to pull her in lol, well done, I take my niece's fishing whenever they are in town and they love it, I usually don't get a single fish on those outings but watching them catch fish is just as good or better.

The more I think about this, the more sense it makes, cigar baits get hit while sitting still fairly often for me, but it has a prerequisite in that a fish has to be following/aware of it being there for it to work, that is a risk I don't often want to spend 10 minutes doing when I may only have 2-3 productive fishing hours available on a given day, that's nearly 10% of a 2 hour outing, and for me I'd rather seek out active fish, but I do think this could work in theory.

Got skunked yesterday, they just reopened a spot that had been closed for a year due to wind damage and I spent a couple hours exploring it, the wind has been brutal this week and the temps are plummeting so I wasn't exactly expecting a lot, but when you get an unexpected and unwelcome day off work you have to fill it with something, I think I am going to have to hit that part of the river with some waders, it's got a 6in shallow flat that goes for about 100 ft or so at current level, and I can't reliably cast a ned rig past that point with wind coming directly at me, I have a feeling the skunk and I are going to be spending a fair bit of time together as these temperatures continue to swing, there are reports that up top of the valley we are due our first snows by this weekend, no fun.

This, absolutely this, as to how China gets away with all the theft of intellectual property and patent infringement, it has a lot to do with the fact that they have an impressively large military industrial complex perfectly willing to prevent the rest of the world being able to traipse in and prevent it, I suppose we could insist, but I don't think too many people consider it a sufficient reason to begin what would probably end up becoming WW3

I am perfectly aware I assure you lol

Another characteristic that fish share with women lol

Depends on the pond, I have a buddy in Alabama who has a pond with at least a few 14lb bass in it, and that pond isn't very big, maybe an acre, two at the most, but he actively manages it and the results speak for themselves, more fun cannot be found than nailing double digit fish while drinking a cold beer and chatting with a buddy I don't see as much as I'd like anymore since we both ETS'd, his pond is easy to fish, worms feature heavily, as do lizards at the right time of year, as to downsizing baits? Not a chance on that pond, up size is more appropriate, other ponds I have never seen a fish much over a pound, those ones are ned rig specials, or drop shot depending on circumstances, but if it's a dink fest, I usually take the fairy rod and finesse presentations and leave the power fishing gear in the truck or at the house.

I never knew any bass so picky they would refuse one, but then this time of year baitfish and imitations of them tend to be most productive, still though, in a bass' world there is no refrigerator, and I would be very, very surprised if they wouldn't opportunistically snap up a craw if presented with an opportunity.

Another thing to consider is that all reservoirs and dams are creating bodies of water which would not naturally occur, as far as I know all lakes in TX are man made, I could be wrong about that, but something is tickling the back of my brain saying I read or was informed about that at one time.

Normally I would say to go both days, and just use the technique best suited to each day as a starting point, but your using live bait which is something I have 0 experienced with for bass, if you have noticed that sunny warm days have produced better in the last few weeks, go with that, if it's the cloudy days that keep your rod bent, go that direction until the pattern stops and then start figuring out the new pattern.

Never caught one of either species over those weights, perhaps I need to find some better fisheries lol. Besides...if she knows how a broom operates you'll never have to buy her a car lol.

You know, I got some pretty silly amounts of cheddar tied up in fishing, and there are days I can't make fish I am staring at bite no matter what dog gone lure I tie on, there are days you eat the bear, and days the bear eats you, that's why it's so fun though, that unknown. Try burning a crank or ripping a jerkbait by them and see if that doesn't help at all, if you can get one to chase you can probably get a bite out of him.

Sure you can, but you are not likely to succeed in teaching him much if you expect him to pay for it at his age, I guarantee he'd be happy to fish that newfangled graphite rod if you bought it for him, lol...my dad used to be a one trick pony at fishing, weightless weedless worm, if he HAD TO he would toss as light a bullet weight on as needed to get to bottom, and he sure as hell wasn't interested in the new crap I always buy, but he'll use it if I teach him how and he doesn't have to go buy it. My first graphite rod was a cherrywood from Berkeley I think, hard to remember nowadays.