AJ Hauser

Thanks guys - I'm wondering what they do when the water drops below 70 degrees - it seems to pop up again and again as some kind of indicator. I've read that shad / baitfish move up shallow in the fall and bass will follow - why do the baitfish do this, and roughly when? I'm just looking for a ballpark. Hoping to get a few things to look for that I've never noticed in the past, to improve before winter hits. Thanks all, talk soon!

I like it - that's a start, and congrats on the fish! Hopefully some kind folks will chime in on forage / location changes this time of year

Hey fellas! I was out fishing yesterday (in the rain) and I noticed that the water temps had finally started to dip below the 70 degree mark. While this could be in part due to the overcast, wet, chilly weather - the night time temps are dropping and the times they are a changin'. Here in Illinois, leaves are just starting to turn. Weeds are just starting to brown a bit. I fish a lot of gin-clear pits with a max depth of around 35 - 45 feet. What would be some of the things that you would look for, or key spots that you would target largemouth (and smallmouth, they're in there too) as the weather changes? A while back, a member of this forum was generous to offer that he considered fall when the water hit 65 degrees, but I'm not sure why that was relevant or how / why bass will move around this time of the year. Any help would be appreciated - thanks!

I love the fact that fishing is so awesome we'll modify our day-to-day activities to make time to go get more / better / extra gear. Gotta do what you gotta do! @RRocket it sure sounds like you're on to something - you're not the only one that's down with brown town! ?

Will do - appreciate the tip, good sir! Tight lines

Thanks again fellas - appreciate the feedback!

10-4, on it! Thanks again fellas.

Oh crap - I didn't even think about that - great point!

The white spot is the deepest. I appreciate all the help guys - I've looked up multiple definitions and examples of bars and points and it seems like most are describing this as a bar. Here was one that exactly described what this was... whether it's 100% accurate or not, I dunno! "A Bar is shallow water surrounded on three sides by deeper water. The most common type of Bar is an underwater extension of a Point. Another Bar may just be an extension of shallow water into deeper water with no visible above water Point." "Bar" makes more sense than "half a hump," which is what I was calling these... ?

UPDATE: I took a pic of my graph and I also included a pic of the shoreline above water. Here is what's throwing me off I guess - the shoreline is perfectly straight with brush and trees overhanging the bank. So to look at it from across the lake, you'd never see anything (like an obvious point) that indicated there was something different under the water. I made the map with my Garmin and that straight line across the bottom is as close to shore as I could float my jon boat. So again there are no obvious cuts or points along the shore... I mean this is almost like half of an underwater hump... but what would you all call this?

Thank you, but I should clarify, the "ramp" looking thing is underwater, not above. Sorry if I was confusing.

Hey fellas, I've had some luck fishing down about 15 - 20' lately at the base of these sections underwater that come up to the shoreline at a more gradual slope, with steep drops off either side. I don't think these are called "points" though - or even secondary points because they're not really pointy and they are just coming off of random areas of the shore with no above-water visual cues... I have no idea what to call them. To paint a picture, I'm fishing a clear lake where the bottom drops down steep, in-line with the steep slope of the hills above the water. However, along sections of the shoreline there are these sections that have a much more gradual slope into deep water - they might be 30 feet wide and have steep drops off of either side... it almost looks like a driveway or ramp but it's all rocky sandy bottom. What the heck do you call these things?

Gotcha - that's the path forward then - thanks all, I really appreciate the help / guidance!

Just underneath the back panel - it's not a lot, but it's enough that I know it's not off of fish and my feet - a slow leak, and it's consistent but it hasn't risen above a half inch or so. I just want to nip 'er in the bud before it becomes an issue.

Lol, lovely. Thank you! So I know (think) it's not in the bottom because this weekend I took the floor panels out and put about 3 inches of water inside the boat and it held without dripping anywhere. Drain plug worked just fine as well. It seems to be a slow leak, so I'm wondering if something has worked loose on one or a few of those bolts going through the back?

Sure thing:

Hey all, Question - I've sprung a small leak in the back of my 14' jon boat. I'm going to do a transom replacement and re-seal everything. Instead of taking the transom brace out of the bottom of the boat (and removing solid rivets) I'm going to remove the top back plate and reattach it later. This would allow me to slide the new transom straight down into the back of the boat. That would also allow me to cut the new transom flush with the bottom and sides of the boat... but everywhere I look, guys are not doing this. They intentionally leave "play" or space in the bottom and sides. Is there any reason to do this, aside from just making it slightly easier to work with? I feel like a transom that was flush with the edges would actually improve the overall strength of the boat. What do you think? EDIT: I did just look... it might be easier to do this if I remove the transom brace after all... but I'm not sure I want to mess with that... on the fence. There is a folded-over lip on the real aluminum above where the transom board mounts that doesn't come off. Any ideas / input would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Excellent - thank you guys!

Noted - thank you

This is very cool! Thank you for the info - and I wish you were taking "better notes" back then too, lol. Seriously though this is awesome, thank you

Perfect - thanks guys - this is very helpful information. Much appreciated!

Hey guys, As the water continues to stay hot, I've been working on techniques that can go deeper. I had a lot of luck in the 8 foot and shallower range this spring - and it sounds like that is common - but lately I can't buy a bite, aside from the rogue bass hiding out under an overhang along shore in inches of water. I've been reading about bream beds, and how they can be found in 12-18 feet of water in the summer. Some have even said that bream will use and reuse these beds with the new moon. How do you guys tell the difference between a bass bed, and a bream bed? Have you seen them get reused throughout the year like what I've read - and bass don't do that same thing... do they? Thanks, hope y'all are well! Talk soon.

All good advice - thank you. I was dragging it when I punctured it... so... yeah learning experience...

I will check - thank you for the tips!

Hey all - been a minute but quick follow up on this one - I took the reel completely apart last night, but didn't disassemble all of the guts. I have a better understanding of what it looks like in there - and the noise is definitely the pinion gear hitting the main gear (drive gear, I believe) at the beginning of the cast. I'm not sure if the spool is causing that pinion gear to spin slightly - because it's disengaged when the thumb bar is pressed... right? I'm thinking that the yoke has either worn down or possibly cracked? Not sure what else it could be. Doubt I'm going to be able to find a replacement park for a reel that has given me a great run for 10 years. Might just be time to call it a day and upgrade.