Blue Raider Bob

Durn that's sad to me! I was watching an eagle gliding over the Tennessee River thing "What a beautiful sight" when all of a sudden the Eagle breaks into a dive and attacks a hen and a group of ducklings trying to cross the river. The ducklings submerged in time and then continued to evade repeated attempts until the eagle finally retire empty. I was breathing a sigh of relief along with momma duck as she and her brood made it to the other side. The ducks have to guard against what's above and below the water. Seems like a tough way to make a living.

Whoa!!! Totally awesome! Wish I were there instead of typing into the computer! Where is it?

I threw the Rock Crawler yesterday and was surprised than I didn't get a bite. It is a go to for me when I'm cranking. I keep one spinning rod tired with a #3 Mepps Dressed Aglia at all times. Sometimes it won't get a sniff but more times than not it draws strikes. Not just from Bass but almost everything that swims. If you drop down in size to a #2 Aglia then the Bluegill won't leave you alone! My biggest issue with it is to get it to fish deep you really have to slow down the retrieve but when that happens it is a hang up machine.

My fuzzy math continues to impress! Four fish in 6 hours is .66 fish per hour! Geeze!

After several weekends of Honey-do's and Farm projects I finally hooked up the boat and headed for the Big T. Got to the ramp at South Pittsburg Tennessee and my "Fishing gauge" was under water ( The boat dock). Instead of a gentle soothing lady, the Big T was an angry, raging torrent! Plan B Went above the dam to Nickajack proper and lake fished for the first time all year. It was a dreary, rainy, foggy day, (I use a 15' long umbrella), and I haven't lake fished in so long I really didn't have a clue as how to proceed. Ended up with four fat ones in six hours of fishing, (1.5 fish per hour), but at least I got to go!

Those are the biggest two lb. Bass ever! Ask Santa for a new scale! Yours are stuck on two!

Fantastic! Continue to get better! I would be shakey too if I were trying to photo bass that big!

I have witnessed a bedding male LM attack a full grown Mallard when it swam too close to the LM nest on my home pond. The Mallard was home grown and sort of tame and was cruising the pond while I was sitting in a lawn chair, observing the LM behavior. When the Mallard got too close the LM shot off the nest and slammed the Mallard. The LM immediately resumed station while the Mallard left for a while!

Thanks, one thing that puzzles me is the question of learned behavior vs instinct. When the Bass follow me and approach when I halt can only be explained by the purported feeding opportunity assumed. If this is learned behavior then the Bass have had occasion to feed from terrestrial forage flushed from the pond bank in the forms of frogs, and insects, and possibly aquatic forage forced from the security of the bank by animals and water birds. I cannot possible believe that this can be instinct but it continues to be a mystery to me. And Katie.....you are one of the the accomplished wordsmiths among us! How can I get more of your articles? I really enjoyed "This is Spartan (Wilderness Smallmouth Fishing)"!

The behavior I witness may be of some help to my fellow anglers. Worked on the farm all weekend and had lots of opportunities to observe the pond fish. Water is extremely clear due to cold water plankton die off ( I'm assuming). Pond size is .66 acre with 8' at deepest point. Early morning when the water is at it's coldest the Bass are laying dormant 20 to thirty feet from the bank. Later in the morning they become more active but are very skittish when approached. They are gently cruising the bank in packs from ten to fifteen feet away but will scatter slowly when they see me. By mid afternoon the small to medium bass (up to 2-1/2 lb.) have lost all fear and follow me around the pond from 5 to fifteen feet out. No more, no less. Whenever I stop walking they approach the bank facing me and stay in position until I move off again at which time they continue to follow. The larger Bass are sometimes seen but do not share the aggressiveness of their smaller kin. They stay at the limit of my sight and stay wary but do not retreat to the deepest water available. The pond has an abundance of Bluegill in several different age classes but at this time of year the Bluegill are the only forage and are visible all over the pond, even in company of Bass. So many conclusions can be created but it seems the primeval urge to feed is so much stronger in the young ones, and the older/larger fish can be much more selective and careful about their feeding opportunities. Also during cold water periods, the afternoon would seem the most efficient from an anglers standpoint. I may be Captain Obvious in my conclusions but confirmation of theories beats theories unconfirmed.

My rivers are a bit deeper but DT4 and 6 have worked for me. Also a medium depth Rock Crawler, and Rebel Crawfish shallow runner.

Too bad about that "Honey-do Alarm". There's got to be a way you can silence yours. I just use ear plugs. Works great....for a while. Looks like buzz-bait time on the pond!

All kidding aside....your friend did a fantastic job with this! Everything is perfectly symmetrical. Very pleasing to the eyes! Why isn't your nephew paddling? He has his arms raised like they're fixin' to crash!

That makes me think of another predator/prey relationship. How do River otters catch bass when we all know how fast a bass can swim? The otters are fast but no way can they match the bullet speed of a bass but yet when they migrate past my pond each winter, I find bass skulls on the bank and piles of scales in the scat. It is disheartening to see what remains of my largest bass. They never stay longer than a couple of days but they feed when they are here. I've shown this picture before but here is one of the otters on my dock digesting lunch!

Tim do you use a lighter version of A-rigs compared to the commercially produces versions? I'm asking because the ones I have tried are so heavy that it takes away from the enjoyment of fishing. Seems like work cranking them back. I'd like to try again because you have seemed to really have a lot of confidence in them so obviously they work.

You are very kind. When we bought our place 30 years ago I planted several hundred trees as well. The forestry service sells bundles cheap! Now we are benefiting from the effort. We have an abundance of acorns for the goats and deer as well as flowering trees all over the farm. Love the flowering Crabapples, Dogwoods, and Redbuds in the spring!

Nothing special about the fence other that half the posts had to be formed and poured due to surface rock. The other half had to be dug in soil full of rocks, roots, and old fence wire. Serious pain you know where. The 6x6 posts are overkill but I like the way they look. Also had to sandwich a metal fence between the posts and the horizontal panels because my daughter uses this paddock as a nursery for baby goats in the spring when they start arriving. Got to keep those little critters in and the coyotes out. That was a PITA as well. Notice the corner post and the older wood where the new section begins. It has been several years since that section was completed but things kept getting in the way such as........pre-spawn.......post-spawn...ect. I've completed about a thousand feet of this fence so far and still have a thousand to go. Due to lumber costs and fishing trips, it won't happen soon!

You are very kind! She does appreciate it. She says it's my one redeeming value. She just doesn't understand my other.......fishing! I'd better get away from yours and Bluebasser86's videos and get my butt back to work! BTW you guys do a great job and crush my job productivity but after all, I got to watch you catch just one more! Going after that Spot Sunday Lord willin'! It's raining here in the mid-state....Thank God for that!

Know how you feel! I have way more empathy for Bass than lots of humans. I won't get political by mentioning any. Always hate to have a bleeder. That is one of the reasons I no longer use live bait. The other is that I'm not trying to catch them all......just the ones I can fool with a lure. Besides, like most of us, it's not always the fish we are after when we go fishing! Hate I couldn't go this past four day weekend but I was catching up on honey-do's! Building the little woman a new fence up by the road. I'll bet Ol Crickety wants to see it so I'll have to take pictures. Maybe I'll get invited to sausage and tatters!

Hope that secret can stay secret! Good fishing!

Doc doesn't need to know and we won't tell!

Looks like a real nice Smallie to me! Also looks like you could wade across this stream. I'll bet the deeper pools are a prize on this body of water. Used to fish the Gasconade way way back in the day. Caught some real nice Rock Bass.

I have used the Purina Gamefish chow. My local co-op sells a floating feed for 20 bucks a bag but I have settled on a fish feed from TSC that the fish really like. The blue gill like to let it sit for a few minutes to soften up a bit. Then they will finish it off. This time of year with cooler water has really had an effect. They barely will feed at all. Thanks for the kind words. It took quite a while but fish-brains like us do not give up!

I use an automatic solar powered fish feeder by Moultrie. You can set number of feedings as well as amounts of feed per meal. Really enjoy the mealtimes. The Bluegill suddenly appear and occasionally a LM will crash the party! Kind of hard to tell in the picture but the feeder is on the dock.

Jones Fish farms will deliver to your area. You can get loads of Tuffy/Fathead minnows by the pound for cheap. I started my pond that way. They have a variety called Rosy Reds. These fatheads are pink! It was a pleasure to see these huge moving schools of pink minnows in my pond! Then I introduced adult bass and bluegill. They have spawned successfully for the four year life of the pond. Now I have all sizes and age classes of both. Interestingly enough, I've read several articles about pond health that recommend only the bass blue gill combo. The Channel cats compete with the bluegills and unless you plan on eating the cats, it's best to leave them out. I don't eat my pond fish so I followed their advice.