WRB-2.0

Everyone should be pulling for Pam Martin-Wells, since B.A.S.S. cancelled the WBT. I would like Gary Klein to finally win, if Pam can't pull it off. WRB PS; you mean who is going to....someday I need read slower.

1. the 22 lb 5 oz bass is short for it's weight; under 29" long. FLMB can grow to a length of 30"+, if you believe the Perry bass measurements. If lake Biwa has a 30"+ bass, it may well be over 25 lbs, 30 lbs is very questionable. 2. IGFA rule is based on old spring scale technology with 1 ounce graduations that may be only within 2% accuracy. The IGFA needs to change the rules for today's digital scales. 3. Chumming isn't legal in California, feeding fish is chumming. Florida anglers often chum with live shiners. IGFA doesn't have a specific rule against chumming, however any record must also meet state or another countries regulations, plus the IGFA rules. FLMB were initially introduced into Japanese lakes about 20 years ago. FLMB life span is about 15 years, so we are seeing at least 2nd generation FLMB in lake Biwa. 17 &n 18 lb FLMB have been showing up in Japan for about 5 years now. Texas has been genetically engineering bass for several years and anglers don't seem to be too upset. We should hear any day now if the Kurita bass is the new world record. WRB

There is a new book out; Remembering George W. Perry, by Rod Pavev, http://www.whitefishpress.com The lure; Creek Chub FinTail Shiner. The Wiggle Fish is a jointed lure, the FinTail is one piece. WRB

Pickwick, 2-7 May. Will try to figure out a business trip during that time, if a back seat is available? Tom

Jason Lucas, fishing editor of Sports Afield, was my bass fishing mentor. I would read everything he wrote and write him with my questions. Jay always wrote a short note back, my signed copy of Lucas on Bass is treasured. WRB

Genmar will be sold....to the Chinese. Life time fishing licenses, good for all states, will be under a $100. New rods with strike indicator LED will hit the market. Gary Klein will win the 2010 Classic. World record bass will be disallowed due to high mercury levels. Side/down scanners will be mandatory on tournament bass boats. FC line will finally become reliable. Port jig trailers will be banned for sale in CA. WRB

The consensus is; you must catch your or purchase the crawdads at the lakes and can't transport them. The DFG hasn't changed rules in the 2010 regulations concerning crayfish usage, to the best of my knowledge. I don't use live bait, so don't have first hand knowledge. California has 20 lb+ bass populations and know where a few live, catching them is my goal, maybe 2010 is the year! WRB

I grew up believing the Perry bass was the world record and read everything available about the event ,including Perry's account of his catch before his airplane crash that ended his life. There isn't any real proof of his catch other than his own story. His fishing partner disappeared shortly after the catch. His own account was it late in the day and raining. He weighed the bass at a local post office and ate the bass. The measurement don't work for any bass ever caught; 32" long by 28" girth. Was it real? it is the official world record based on no photo or eye witness proof. Recently a photo has surfaced that was taken on a sunny afternoon of an unidentfied man and boy. This doesn't correspond with Perry's own sworrn account. Does it matter....no...the Perry bass is the offical world record, the bench mark to beat. WRB

The Kurita bass may join several other "almost made it" world record bass as the IGFA has officially announced they have not confirmed the catch and will continue their research. There is a new book coming out with the full story of the Perry world record catch, should be interesting to read. The question is; fiction or non-fiction? WRB

i live in San Diego , CA and i have never heard that live crawdads are illegal (in most lakes) the tackle stores sell them and every lake i have fished at , they are legal ........ Interesting. Crawdads are banned or were banned at Castaic, Casitas, Cachuma, Piru, DVL etc., Maybe San Diego decided it's OK to sell them at the lakes, can you catch them and transport them to the lakes? The hysteria over quagga's; clean & dry boat inspections still continues and is spreading to northern CA. WRB

Wasn't the bass caught in Japan confirmed and is now tied for the world record because it wasn't 2oz larger? The data was submitted and I haven't read anywhere that it has been accepted. There is a question in regards to where it was caught was off limits to fishing and that would be a violation of IGFA rules. WRB

click on; state to open up species, use nav bar to view various photos, click on the photo to enlarge. Hundreds of color photo's available on this site. WRB

The odds are Japan and live bait; the giant bass population is at it's peak there and live bait fishing is a common practice. California could produce another 20+ anytime, no other state in the USA has done that since the Perry bass in 1932. Rumors of 20+ bass in Cuba and Mexico have never been authenticated, the locals tend to eat what they catch. WRB

The next world record is pending from Japan. Castaic no longer produces record class bass since the introduction of striped bass 15 years ago. LMB can't compete with stripers for planted trout or any other baitfish, therefor are a secondary predator in Castaic. The Castaic after bay (lower lagoon below the dam) may be a possibility. Crawdads are illegal in most SoCal lakes since the quagga mussel issue. WRB

http://iz.carnegiemnh.org/crayfish/country_pages/species_by_state.htm WRB

Storms coming off the Pacific Ocean from Alaska this time of year are not normally thunderstorms with lightning. The weather develops as it compresses against the coastal mountains with little real time forecasting available, other than estimates as to what may develop. These are not spring thunderstorm events, it's winter, be very careful. High wind is a real possibility along with cold temperatures. WRB PS; great pics Catt, good reminder that mother nature can be a female dog.

Looking at Old Hickory Lake I would classify this lake as a power generation high land reservoir. Why does that make any difference on how to read a topo map? Current and steep deep main lake banks. Not knowing your topo map reading skills and never having fished Old Hickory, my advice is; read the prior mentioned threads, but don't try to apply everything you have read. Try getting a hold of a topo map of the area prior to Old Hickory being impounded. If that isn't possible, get a topo map of the area below the dam and surrounding terrain. It's important to be able to visualize what is under water by looking at the contour lines that indicate the shape of the land. That information will tell you what to look for; how shale rock ledges are undercut by the river, where trees may be and old roads or farm walls, bridges or culverts tend to be located, etc. As a bass fisherman you should be interested in flooded land that is about 75 feet deep, the deeper water is important if the lake levels fluctuate more the 50 feet in depth, then add another 50 feet or so. The reason this is important is the type of highland reservoir you are trying to map study is a large power generation type lake. This lake should have both largemouth and smallmouth, plus it could have spotted bass. The smallmouth and spots locations are affected by current, more than largemouth, but all bass in this type of reservoir use current breaks. The obvious structure elements are; major points, secondary primary points (points that separate creek arms into a Y), islands and the creek/river channels. The best locations are know as funnel zones when the current is running. Look for benches or saddles formed by structure elements that protrude out into the lake and create a current break. Although Old Hickory is a big lake with a lot of structure elements, it doesn't appear to have too many funnel zones to identify on a good topo map, in the depth zone that bass use. The more isolated (off shore) these areas are the better they tend to be. WRB

Don't over look the fact the bass can't judge the size of prey verses their own size. The bass can recognize the prey for what it is from successful experiences. The right color, movement, behavior are positive clues, but the bass must commit to biting the bait to determine learn what it is. Bass make a lot of mistakes and don't survive as a result. The bass that do survive make fewer mistakes. If a bass tries to swallow something that will not go down their throat and can't spit out, they die. Every lake has a lot of bass prey that most bass fisherman over look, the bass don't over look possible prey. Examples; fresh water sculpin, common in most lakes and Danner nymphs (dragon fly larvae). If you cast out a 2' long plastic worm several bass may race over to eat it, most will turn away when they get very close, but a few will strike it. That happens all day long when bass fishing, the bass sees the lure, has momentary interest and a few will strike. If the lure looks and acts like they prey thee bass are successfully feeding on, the strike ratio goes up and your success along with it. WRB

Rule of thumb is; maximum baitfish size = 1/3 the basses length. You also need to take into consideration the width of the bait fish; slender bait fish like smelt and trout may increase to 1/2 the basses length and wider baitfish like bluegill or crappie may reduce it to 1/4 the length. The other very important factor to consider is; Bass, like most animals, can't determine their own size verses any bait size; it's a trail and error learning experience. WRB

Man made pits are very different from small natural lakes and ponds. The banks are usually steep sided walls on 3 sides with very little shallow water near the edges and one open side that tapers more gradually. The pit should have an access road entering the open end. There is no way of knowing what has been piled up where or where isolated rock piles may be. If this quarry pit freezes over and you can walk on it safely, then a flasher type sonar and GPS unit can be rigged on a sled. You can pull the sled and watch for changes in depth and note any rock piles or other structure elements on a hand made map. You could fish the same pond for a long time without discovering a boulder in the middle of nowhere. Good luck. WRB

Out west the B.A.S.S. touring "pro" bass fisherman doesn't get out our way often. We have few tournaments occasionally and the US Opens that draw them out this way. The venues that gets the average bass angler close to a pro are events like Anglers Marine Bass A Thon or BAT held each year. This is a good event where the pro's mingle with everyone and have table top mini seminars and main stage promotional seminars. I try to go each year to talk to old friends you only seem to see at events like this. Last year I was chatting with Butch Brown and Mike Long, talking fishing when we noticed a few pro's were ease dropping and we invited into the conversation. Trophy bass fishing talk is very different from what the pro's are exposed to and they are curious just like anyone else to learn something. This year while visiting with Don Iovino at the Lowrance both looking at the Structure Scan screen shots he made the day before on at Castaic. Don was pointing out how detailed the new technology was and a couple of guys were looking over my shoulder. One recognized me, and old friend from my Pisces days, Dave Nollar, the other was Larry Hooper, both well known local pros. We got together and started talking about old times and jigs and it wasn't long before a crowd started to gather. The BAT is lots of fun with impromptu conversation and a chance to meet pros in a low key venue. The point being a pro is another good bass fisherman who also learns from your experience, it's a two way street for everyone. If you recognize a pro, be polite, introduce yourself and ask whatever question is on your mind. I guarantee you will get an honest answer as possible. WRB

My goodness, 6 pages in and nearly 3,000 views and still going strong. As the question was presented, and assuming use doesn't break any state or local laws in your area, the answer is simple - NO. -T9 The isn't simply NO; he ask for and received opinions. WRB

Thought I would bump my original response to this topic. My personal choice not to continue using live bait for bass fishing has handicapped my efforts to catch a 20+ lb bass. There shouldn't be any debate over the fact that big bass are wary bass and have grown big because they have survived. The only time of the year these rare giants are caught consistently is during the spawn/pre-spwn period. A live, egg eating, bait cast onto a bass bed, will be killed without hesitation by a nearby big bass. The question is will the big girl get to the live bait before the smaller male. Live bait fishing is legal, using legal bait. The question is; is bed fishing using live bait ethical? The answer to that question depends on the angler. WRB

Without knowing what you are metering in the above screen shots, there isn't any way to tell what you are looking at. School of crappie could be brush with a few crappie or any other fish that may be in that particular lake or river. The only thing we can characterize is the shape of isolated fish echos; how fast the target moved through the signal zone can help when you know what type of fish are in the area. Example; stripers and trout tend to travel fairly fast through the water column, as compared to bass, but not always. The direction the target is traveling compared to the boats direction also affects the speed the target passes through the signal area, affecting the shape of the signal return. All we really know is the sonar returned a signal display and it's up to each individual angler to interpret what they are looking at. WRB

Out west in the winter crappie schools appear suspended near structure or cover, usually no more then 5' to6' depth variance, not stacked, more grouped like a school of bait fish. Bass tend to be spaced further apart and closer to the structure or cover, most of the time, unless feeding on bait fish. WRB