WRB-2.0

A post spawn female isn't going to chase down a fast moving lure of any type. You need to think recovering and not willing to go far to eat, make it easy for the post spawner. Slow down and present lures that suspend at the depth the bass are holding. These bass are not roaming around, they,are usually suspended in or around wood cover like trees or brush. Soft plastic Flukes, Senkos, suspended hrd jerk bits, drop shot, slow falling nail weight worms, swimbaits are the type of lures that can trigger strikes. Post spawn doesn't last very long, a week so for the females. What can prolong this period is several waves of spawner's where you have females in all 3 phases of the spawn...pre spawner's mixed with post spawner's. When this occurs some active feeders are in the same areas as the inactive post spawner's, faster moving lures can appeal to pre spawner's and for that reason you should try a range of lures. Tom

Yes, if the bass move from 1 region ( mid lake to a creek arm) and the climate (water temps) change daily.They do this seasonally without question, daily.......power generation reservoirs it's likely. Good to have you back Catt, your knowledge and wit was missed! Tom

The definition leaves out "as a group". I agree that bass migrate as groups seasonally, the question is daily?When BASS was tracking a few bass during their tournaments a few years ago, the same behavior was noted, some radio tagged bass stayed put and a few move miles away where they were originally caught. One bass moved during the tournament the 1st day and swam none stop over 20 miles, down a creek arm, up the main lake and into another creek arm. There was a SanVincente lake tracking study in the 80's (In Pursuit of Giant Bass) where big bass were radio tagged and released and tracked for a year. During the winter most of the big bass located in deep water near mid lake submerged islands. These winter bass stayed on average about 2 weeks at time, a few would leave and swim a few miles away, then return in a few days and repeat this behavior. The group dispersed to stage and spawn at various areas around the lake and by mid summer were back in their winter holding areas, just shallower. This should give us a clue to where big bass go after they spawn and we don't see them agian until the next spawn....mid lake deep structure and occasionally other areas. Tom

It's been my experience that smallies roam around far more than LMB and have a wider depth range comfort zone and prefer cooler water temps, about 10 degrees cooler then LMB. Smallies also spawn in cooler water between 58 to 65 degrees, on gravel bottoms.Tom

It's been my experience that smallies roam around far more than LMB and have a wider depth range comfort zone and prefer cooler water temps, about 10 degrees cooler then LMB.Tom

Bass do not have any issue going deeper, the air bladder compresses with increase water pressure, they must keep swimming to maintain deeper depth until the air bladder adjust, about a 24 hour period. It is not uncommon for bass, during the cold water period without a thermocline, to swim up and strike a near or surface swimbait from 30 to 35 feet depths and return immediately. My depth limit is about 35 feet due to swim bladder issue. One reason that deep bass blow up the swim bladder is they were deeper than 40 feet. During the winter we occasionally catch a bass fishing at 25 - 35 feet and the bass has extended swim bladders, the reason is that bass was suspended at 50 to 60 feet, swam up 25 to 35 feet and was hooked at that depth, then we fight them up to the surface and the pressure change to the bass is 50 to 60 feet. During the summer most of our lakes set up a thermocline at 35 feet or so, the bass rarely go deeper. Tom

Paul, I went through a time period where.I believed bass could move up and down in the water column at will, learning later that their air bladder limits them from making up and down movements more than 15' depth changes without readjusting buoyancy, they can on the short excursions to feed. I spent a lot of time on the water trying to intercept bass migration routes, only to discover the bass were already there, just not feeding. A real breakthrough for me happened using early sonar units back in the 70's. Got into a habit of metering spots after I fished them without success and discovered a lot of bass were suspended just off shore in deep water. I tried to catch these bass without success. Then return to the same areas and meter the deeper suspended bass and learned if they were not suspended there anymore, they would be on the spot feeding and could catch those bass. This simple discovery has benefited me tremendously over the years. The bass were not migrating, they were simply moving a short distance to feed and all you needed to do was time the active periods. Tom PS; LMB also use the same spawning areas year after year, if the water conditions allow it, it isn't as random as believed.

Hoping to get a little more interaction with this topic. Buck Perry of Spoonplug fame is created for introducing the term migration regarding bass movements. I know that Perry influenced my early bass behavior knowledge and bought into the migration route theory for years. However personal experience conflicted with the migration theory where bass follow physical underwater structures elements to navigate to feeding zones, like we travel on roads. I agree bass use use break lines both physical and thermal to.hunt prey and that makes sense. The concept that bass need sign posts or physical structure to navigate didn't make sense and still doesn't. What I learned was bass move out into deeper water or into cover and suspend, rest and become inactive for longer period of times then they are active. Bass don't migrate they rest close to where they feed. I didn't see an earlier post that claimed bass feed less than 10 feet deep,during the night. I. Was going to agree that a lot of bass move into shallower water at night and roam the specific depth zones at night. However like nearly everything regarding bass fishing some of the biggest bass don't move up at night and stay down in deeper water and feed, like 35' deep in clear deep structured reservoirs. Lets keep,this going! Tom

The shad will not be up at night, they need sunlight to activate plankton they feed on. Going big can help the bass to locate and strike your lure, and they did! Congratulations. Tom

Yes you can use the painted ball head jig. First you need to remove the paint from the hook eye. Next, use attractant to lubricant the jig head and slide it into the open tube end up to the nose of the tube. Push down on the bulge where the jig hook eye is located to punch it through the tube wall. Push the jig hook point through the tube skin. Tie the jig on and go fishing. Tom

I agree that bass movement are usually to keep near their prey source and bass in smaller natural kaes behave differently than bass in deep structure or shallow weed lakes and ponds. I have only witnessed large school/group of adult size bass traverses deep open water a few times; lake Havasu while up high above the water looking for chuckwalla lizards, I watch a dark shadow that looked like a cloud shadow move across the lake from the opposite shore. The shadow turned out to be a massive school of bass that dispersed as they got near the shore where I was looking down. That was definitely some sort of migration and I couldn't see any baitfish the bass may have been following. Another time was in Canada on Crow lake, a big deep clear water natural lake. We were jigging for lake trout out in the middle of a big main lake basin, about 5 miles off shore when a large school of Smallmouths swam by crossing the lake, this was in July. This was also a migration of some sort, with no baitfish visible. When you consider over 60 years on the water and witnessed on 2 occasion bass migrating a long distance across open indicates to me this is rare occurrence. It also clearly authenticates bass can traverse open water easily. Tom

A lot has been written on bass (largemouth) migrating and using migration routes on a daily routine, is this true or a myth? We know bass change locations seasonally and move around the lake. Bass unlike migratory fish that are usually pelagic like trout and salmon are dermasil and prefer to stay in specific locations. I agree that the spawning movement is similar to a migration, however not your typical specie movement. It is also believed by the majority of bass anglers that daily movements are migrations that follow a route and these bass need physical structure to navigate from point A to point B. Is this fact or fiction? Bass are not school fish in the classic sense ounce they mature, they group together only when it helps them to feed, otherwise bass tend to be individuals living in specific areas. In large lakes it is common for bass to navigate from one side of the lake to the opposite side over deep water without any physical structure to aid them. The bass know where they are going. We don't know how they know where they are in the middle of the water column, we can't do that so we assume they need a navigation aid. The bottom line is bass don't migrate using routes on a daily basis, I believe this is a myth. Tracking studies show that bass move, but they tend to stay in one area for a weeks at a time, before relocating to another area. Tracking studies also indicate big bass move a short distance off shore from where they normally feed and suspend, then move back to the feeding areas. Should this short movement considered a migration? Tom

Braided line manufacturers have invested a lot of time and money to create neutral buoyancy braid that doesn't float. The reason is line bow when the lure is sinking on it's own. The line creates slack line and you loose feel of the lure and can miss strikes under some conditions. Deep diving crankbaits keeps the line tight and can pull the bow out of the line. The smaller diameter does have less drag if everything else is equal and it isn't! Braid maybe smaller in diameter but has very high drag coeffient compared to FC line. For this reason newer braids have a blend of FC to reduce drag. The newer braids would be a good choice and small diameter FC line if depth is a goal. Tom

Beaver lake is big highland power generation reservoir with a lot of choices to consider. Based on what I have read about this season in Arkansas the weather has been very wet and cold. My guess would be early pre spawn and if mI was going to fish this lake it would be in the middle section, only because of the high water. I would locate spawning water, then back out to where the water starts to clear up and focus on creek arms, that have primary secondary points. This type of point looks like a Y where 2 arms divide. A smaller size A-rig with 3" to 4" shad colored swmmers fished on or over these points when light wind is blowing should work, but you need to know when to put this down! Hard jerk baits can work if you meter suspended bass that are feeding. Drop shot worms in night crawler or shad colors bounced along the point sides or a jig fished similar manner can be good inbetween fishing the A-rig. Very difficult to do well in a tournament when you have no idea where to start or the feeding time periods. Good luck. Tom

The term post spawn means the period the male bass leave the hatched fry and the female bass have laid all their eggs. None of this happens on a specific schedule and differs from lake to lake and bass species. To generalize in deep structured bass lakes like man made reservoirs LMB tend to spawn in about 3 waves that last about 6 weeks. Smaller natural lakes and rivers usually have 1 wave of spawner's that lasts about 2 weeks. Spawning isn't difficult for the males other than not eating for 2 weeks on average, then they turn on their own fry and start feeding and tend to stay near the shoreline where food is available. Spawning is much more stress on females, egg laying is a task and not eating for a few weeks also takes it's toll and weakens the female. Some larger females do not survive the spawn, they are too weak to catch food. Most females tend to move away from the spawning site into deep sanctuary water areas to recover for a few days, then will start to feed on easy to catch prey until they regain strength. The transition period is called post spawn and the next seasonal period is the summer period. Bass are scattered and located where ever they choose and are comfortable with both food and sanctuary. Tom

There is jig water and water conditions not suited for jigs or any bottom contact lure. Moss, the green slimy moss, not aquatic weeds, is nearly impossible to fish anything through, the advice to fish over the slim with a frog is good. You can try a grass jig designed to go through weeds in the more open water areas where the slim moss isn't a problem. Stay away from creature type trailers with appendages, a single tail grub would be a good choice. 1/8 to 31/6 oz bullet head grass jig may work, better off using a Florida rigged straight tail worm. Tom

FYI, screw in bullet weight is called the Florida rig, not Texas. Tom

Thank you for sharing this important new bass species. Tom

What type and size line and what diameter wire is the lure eye? A properly tied knot shouldn't slip. Palomar knots are good with light and medium size wire eye or hook wire between .032 to .047 D and mono or copolymer line between 6 to 15 lb test. FC line usually requires knots like the San Diego Jam or similar. Palormar is marginal for FC, IMO. Braid can slip using most knots and works good with the braid knot ( double line clinch knot) or the Uni knot. Tag ends; I usually cut off about 1/16 to 1/8", with no knot slippage. Tom

+1I use a light wire Berkley cross snap for crankbaits, easier to change lures and improves action. Original Rapalas or light weight hard jerk baits you can tie a loop knot ot tie direct with a San Diego Jam knot. Tom

Arkie with a flat eye hook. Tom

I do not have personal experience with DVT, their site list basic reel cleaning at $22 + shipping.I do know how to do basic service on my reels, however take them to a professional technician for service; check the bearing, drags, etc Most of my reels are over 15 years old, a few are 2 years old, they cast and function better than new, due to being properly serviced. Where can you get a new reel for $22 + shipping that is as good as your reel? Tom

The one tip Chris handed out is priceless; look for big bass checking out your lure. Most anglers watch their lures and never see bass in the water following it. Knowing exactly where the big bass is located is the key to success. Whenever you re fighting a bass keep an eye out for big bass checking out the hooked bass, they are curious and you can see then if you are looking for them. Tom

The bass have their own calendar based on seasonal periods. The daily activity for bass changes hourly and we call this rhythm and every lake differs to when and where the bass in the location are active or inactive or somewhere inbetween. The seasonal period that trumps feeding activity is spawning. Bass, like every animal, focuses their life cycle and feeding is put to one side during this time period. A big lake like the one you fish should have several areas where spawning occurs and a few waves of spawner's moving in and out. If you don't like targeting the spawner's, fish a little deeper and target the pre and post spawner's. What the bass prefer is your task to figure out. You have a good idea where you want to fish, now it's time to figure out the rhythm or when to fish where and you are doing that by spending time on the water. Tom

Lets review this; your reel needs service, you don't know how to do this and you tried but put it back together incorrectly...correct? DVT is a reel service company and site sponsor. Just trying to reassemble the reel correctly isn't achieving your goal to have the reel cleaned and functioning better than new. Tom