WRB-2.0

What you may be seeing is young of then year baitfish, including bass and sunfish fingerlings, that had to leave the sanctuary of the weed/grass bed areas, as the weeds die back during fall. The baitfish instictively school up for protection by species. Bass targeting baitfish schools is a common fall feeding pattern. The primary spawns occur during the spring of the year when the water warms from the colder winter period. In Southern California we have bass spawning for about a 3 month period and on rare occasion a few late summer bloomers may spawn...very few, as nothing in nature is absolute. WRB

The difference between 20 and 30 feet when the surface water is 70 degrees is nil, unless a thermocline had developed. My guess is you had some wind, frontal conditions and the bass moved to the deeper water, sensing a seasonal change. In small pit lake environment, the bass will move around a lot, so they could be in 10 feet of water the next morning. In clear water you may need to back off 50 feet and cast to them, so they are not spooked. They could also be inactive at the time you are trying to catch them, go back in a few hours. WRB

It is almost impossible to answer the original question, due to the unlimited factors involved. Environmental conditions and the lakes ecosystem changes daily. The fastest growth rate that I'm aware of occured at lake Isabella in California where pure FLMB grew to 12lbs in 7 years, then 18 to 19 lbs in 12 years. Conditions were perfect, today it is rare to catch a bass over 12 lbs at Isabella. The majority of california's giant bass over 15 lbs are at least 10 years old, some 10 lber's are 7 years. Like any animal, bass don't keep growing with age, they get to a maximum weight, then start to deteriorate as they get older and finally die. The largest male bass I know of was 16 years at 7 lbs, I caught this bass from lake San Vincente in 1973, during spawning period. Larry Bothoff, the area biologist, examined the bass as it was a rare catch. Both my largest bass (18.8 & 19.3) were about 14 years old, if the scale rings were accurate. WRB

Fresh water fish; July 1st, 1976, Dominion Day up in Canada, we were vacationing and celebrating my late father in laws birthday that falls on the 4 of July. This was an annual event and several of the locals in the Nestor Falls area of lake of The Woods came to this party. One of the guest lives on a nearby island, my wife and I agreed to take Mil back before dark. I took along a light tackle bait casting outfit with 6 lb mono and black 1/8 oz jig to try for a big smallie before leaving for home in the morning. We dropped Mil off and on the way back I made a few casts where I had caught a few good size smallmouth earlier in the week. Felt a tap and set the hook into what turned out to be a 37 lb musky. The musky immediately ran down the rocky bank, then turned out into deep water and jumped several times. My wife was really excited watching this big fish jump and I thought it would bite or brake the line at any moment, so didn't expect to land this fish. After about 15 minutes we where able to get close to the musky and my wife netted the it, but couldn't lift it in the boat. I set the rod down and lifted the musky in the boat and the fish had tangled the netting in it's teeth, the head was through the net. We couldn't untangle the fish without a knife to cut the net away, so ran the boat back to the dock where the party was still in progress. My wife ran up the house and brought back everyone to see the fish. Everyone was very excited, however I was trying to release the musky, but the fish was too stressed to survive after all the handling and photo's. The musky was mounted and is a reminder of the wonderday days we spent at Lake of The Woods with my wifes family. WRB PS; this is my PB musky and I have spend a lot of time fishing with big musky lures and heavy musky rods trying to catch a 40+ and ended up catching this fish on very light bass tackle I was using for walleyes during this trip. Landing that musky was pure luck and that what it takes sometimes.

Back in 1983 I was fishing Catalina Island with my friend Art Moyer, when we spotted and broadbill tailing. We baited the broadbill with a live Bonita, hooked up around 3 in the afternoon. The braodbill looked to be in the 300 lbs class and when hooked sounded and ran down about 300 feet and stayed there. I worked on this fish for about 2 hours, then we decided to back off and try to lift the fish using different angles, pulling as hard as we could with 50 lb tackle. Art and I took turns with the fish for another several hours, finally put the rod in a holder and with the boat in gear slowly followed the fish that was still deep and swimming out to deeper water between Catalina and San Clemente Islands. Every hour we would take the rod and try to plane the fish up and the fish would run back down. This fight continued all night and at early dawn the fish took off and we had to chase it about 1/4 mile. The big braodbill came up and started to chase baitfish. We were able to gain line quickly, pulled up the broadbill trying to feed and gaffed it. The fight lasted about 15 hours. The broadbill weight nearly 350 lbs, our first and last swordfish. WRB

Where I fish stripe bass don't jump and although very strong fish, they tend to make a few runs and tire out fast. The fact they prefer open water, it is easy to land 30+ lb stripe bass on regular bass tackle. We call striped marlin "strippers" and they are one the top fighting ocean fish period. Dr Henshall in his famous book Black Bass stated that LMB are pound for pound the best fighting fresh water fish and the debate has continued sense then. Is pulling hard the essence of a good fighter? or is the hooked to landed fish percentage a better yardstick? I loose very few giant bass after hooking them, simply because I have learned how to keep control of these fish. Big muskies on the other are very difficult to land with the same bass tackle. The fact they are twice as big, very fast, jump, try to get into cover and have sharp teeth, makes them a great fresh water game fish. Bass are my still favorite fish. WRB

I agree with the above thread; however evidence of gas bubbles and decayed vegetation doesn't necessarily always mean the lake has turned over. Patches decayed matter and off colored or smelly water happens as the weeds die off, sink, decay and refloat. If you see this all over the lake at the same time, then you do have a good indicator of turn over. Several weeks of cold nights and wind in the northern region will usually turn over the lake and the fish will be scattered for a few weeks while the lake settles into the cold water period. WRB

I believe the bass refered to was a "mean mouth" bass, a cross between a smallmouth and largemouth. The only genitic engineered bass are those in the Share A Lunker program, where the university was playing around to improve the intergrade strains of FLMB and NLMB. This isn't selective harvest that was initailly the program goal where big female and males having good genes naturally were used for producing and stocking fry. Out west we call 500+ lb bass, black sea bass and they will sometimes see a diver as something of interest to strike. We are up somewhere around F34 for bass stocked into DVL. It's been my experience that pure Florida's and F1 grow to giant size where the ecosystems have the right mix of water temps and prey available. WRB

The California state record northern strian largemouth bass was 14.5 lbs, before pure Florida strian bass were introduced. I weighed a northern LMB for a fisherman back in 1960 that was 15.1, the bass was never offically recorded. IMO 15 to possible 16 lbs is the absolute maximum weight for pure northen strain LMB. Florida strain or intergrades of FLMB and NLMB grow much heavier, not necessarily longer. The length to girth ratio of NLMB rarely exceeds 80%; the girth being 80% of the length. It is common for FLMB or intergrades to have girths that exceed 90%, much heavier bass, then the NLMB. WRB

Agree with CATT. Where I fish for example the fall period generally transitions to the cold water winter period when the water drops to about 55 degrees. The lakes have threadfin shad and trout, so the bass tend to following those fish into deeper water areas. However, during a warming period of calm weather during the mid winter, bass can be found up and feeding near or on the surface, so keep your eyes open and let the bass dictate where they actually are feeding. If your lake ices over, that a good indicator it's time to put away the bass tackle and give them a rest. WRB

Just got the word from Ron that HBC-3 was canceled. The HBC-4 is still on the table for 2009 pre spawn period, if the ecconomy recovers. WRB

Agree with Raul's thread, well written. The only experience I have with pit ponds is quarry lakes created when digging out sand, gravel and rocks in my local area. I grew up fishing these quarry lakes that have nearly vertical walls on 3 sides and one open area where the heavy equipment entered to excavate. Bass in these deep clear water lakes or ponds become very wary of any surface shaddows that may indicate a preditor bird or animal is approaching. Keeping a low profile, drab clothing and your shaddow off the water is very important so you don't alarm the bass. The majority of the basses time is spent roaming the shoreline edges looking for prey that has fallen onto the waters surface or hidding in the cover. During low light periods you have an advantage with quarry lake bass becuase they can't detect your presence as easily and prey is more active. Fishing edges with a buzzer or other types of top water lures like frogs can be very effective. If the bass are not roaming, then soft plastics like Senko's and drop shot worms can be effective fishing edges and openings in the cover. Quarry/pit lake bass are not highly pressured, so keep your lure selection simple and move quitely. WRB

For bass; the formula L X L X G / 1200 = weight in lbs., works for me over the past 35+ years, accurate within 5%. L = length tip of closed mouth to end of tail, G = girth around widest area, dorsal fin down. Any chart that doesn't consider the fishes length and girth isn't going to be accurate. You can use a factor like; 80% of the basses length can represent the average girth of a nortern strain LMB and 90% of the length for girth of the average FLMB caught in California or Texas for a ball park weight, if you don't have an accurate scale. WRB PS; the referenced chart appears to use a factor of 75% of length to equal girth and that is closer for smallmouth bass or thin bodied LMB, IMO.

School size bass in the 1 to 2 lb range are not all males, they are young adult bass of both sexes. The larger adult bass size bass; 3 to 5lbs for example are not as aggressive at chasing baitfish schools around the lake. The key is to locate compression zones where the larger bass tend to wait for the smaller school bass to push the baitfish schools to them for easy meals. The larger bass aren't lazy, they are more experienced and let the smaller bass do the chasing. Try using larger size spooks or Sammy's over points where you see baitfish activity. If the bite isn't top water, then try a larger size shad color crank bait. If the bite is deep, then use a structure spoon and let fall through the baitfish school when near structure areas. WRB

Thanks for sharing the link and I agree that it's the best. Paul made his mark by kneelin & reelin deep cranks for years. His sponsor is Mann's and he was using Manns plus deep cranks. Normans DD22, Poe's 300 series and Bagleys dreadge are also good deep cranks. WRB

LMB are a wonderful fish to catch because they respond to so many different lures and techniques, however they are not the strongest fresh water game fish or even the hardest fighting bass IMO. Spotted and smallmouth bass fight harder pound for pound, then LMB. The fact that LMB tend to live in or close to cover or structure elements can give them an advantage to wrap the line around something and break you off. The king of the fresh water game fish is the musky, IMO. Muskies jump, live in cover and can freight train you in a heart beat. Steelhead are salt water rainbow trout and like most salt water game fish can fight harder and longer than fresh water fish. The strongest bass is the Calico or kelp bass IMO or any of the salt water bass. Then the tuna, bill fish, jacks and snappers that will distroy most fresh water tackle. I have lost very few big bass over the years. Big bass are not smart, wary yes, hard fighting...yes...for a minute or two. WRB

Check your tackle or send it via UPS to where you are going. WRB

Avid, the Florida state record bass is 17.21, Billy O'Berry. The Perry bass could not be validated to todays Florida or IFGA standards; no photo, no proof of weight. Florida removed both the Friebel 20.1 lb and Witt 19.1 lb bass from the books becuase they could not be validated. I believe there are bass bigger in Floida then the listed state record and that should be a record easy to set. We all except the fact that the IGFA grand fathered the Perry bass into the record book, based on interviewing George Perry. The fact remains, Georgia hasn't produced a bass over 18 lbs, other than the Perry bass. California's state record is listed as 21.75 lb , Mike Arujo, the Bob Crupi 22.01 bass was dissallowed because the bass was not validated by Fish & Game, he had both a photo and weight. The 25.1 Dixon bass was not offically weighed or validated by Fish & Game and I have questions about the weight. California doesn't have anything to whine about, we dominate the top 25 bass list and the odds are in favor of the next world record will be caught here. WRB

Bass use color to blend into the background and an change color to some degree. If the lake has a lot of weeds, that indicates the water is low in PH or higher in acid then alkaline. The water clarity or depth the light penetrates also affects color. Generally the clearer the water the lighter the basses green tones become, the darker the water the darker the coloration becomes. A bass hiding to ambush prey wants to blend into the background. Stress levels also change the basses coloration, the higher stress levels the more blotchy the darker color areas become. Highly stressed bass will show signs of stress with diamound shaped dark blotches above the lateral line and the lateral line starts to break up and fade. Bass loose color as the they die. WRB

Giant bass are called giants for good reason. Like a 7'6" man or woman, they grow that tall becuase of genetics. No mater how much food you feed an average bass, it will never grow to be a giant. The bass will be limited by it's genes. Several individuals are currently trying to raise a world record bass. The state of Texas has a gene DNA splicing program and selective harvest program that increases the odds to grow giants consistantly. IMO the next world record will be a wild bass caught from some unknown lake or in one of California's, Texas or Mexico's known big bass lakes. WRB

Matt, accurate reply and agree with most of the details. The fact that I have pursued the WRB for nearly 40 years now and caught several giant bass gives me a little different perspective then most bass fishermen. To make money will take good planning and better marketing skills then the average fisherman has the resources for. Perry's bass is the world record, based soley on his Field & Stream application for a lunker bass award back in 1932. Perry's goal was very modest, he was hoping to get a few Creek Chub lures. The Perry bass comes into question because the length and girth numbers are in conflict with the weight and is about 2 inches longer than any largemouth bass ever measured. Knowone knows how the bass was measured, no picture and his fishing partner dissappeared. All we have is Perry's word and that is good enough apparently. WRB

Catt, getting bass fisherman away from the bank isn't easy, it's like they are tied there by the length of a cast. Been trying to get fisherman to look back over their shoulder out toward the main lake for nearly 40 years. Your posts are excellent, we just don't see eye to eye on the seasonal elements of bass fishing. I'm not a bed fisherman, so I spend nearly 95% of my time on the main lake structure areas where, IMO, 90% of the big bass live that I'm fishing for. Keep up the good work. WRB

The problem is the current world record; 22 lbs 4 oz was never validated to todays standards, it was grand fathered into the record books. No real proof, no actual photo of the bass has ever been produced. A photo showed up a few years ago that hasn't been vaildated. California's state record bass is 21 lbs 12 oz, caught by Mike Aguiro, Lake Castiac. Bob Crupi never offically weight his 22.01 lb bass, released it before anyone could validate the catch. Knowone will ever know what Dottie weighed for sure, still waiting the length & girth numbers. Does a new world record bass exists? Hope to let you know soon. WRB

Location, location, location is everything. Seasonal periods and lake classifications help the fisherman eliminate a lot of unproductive locations and focus on locations that have the right conditions for bass, IMO. Buck Perry was promoting his spoon plugs, a trolling system using metal spoons shaped like Flatfish lures, that ran at different depths. Troll around the lake long enough and you will run across active bass because you can cover a tremendous amount of watrer. Buck Perry is considered the father of structure fishing and desevers the title. He promoted fishing outside structure when nearly everyone else was pounding the bank. WRB

Back in the 1990's there was a bass fishing magazine that offered it's subscribers/members a million dollars for a new world record bass and held a tournament at the end of each season for the top 10 bass each year with a cash prise. When the Lloyds of London insured bond was cancelled, the garanteed million dollar world record bass offered was cancelled. Anyone today will need to have a good marketing skills to make a million dollars in endosements, if they catch a world record bass, IMO. WRB