WRB-2.0

The US Open tournament is underway for those who follow major events; http://wonbass.com/pro/us_open/pro_day1.html WRB

Frogs and pegged T-rigged worms. Fish at night if possible. Look for openings in the weed mat, there are always pockets of open water within the weeds and channels cut through the weeds by animals and other fisherman. If the lake has a dam, fish that area first, should be bass around the dam. There should also be an inside weed line about 3 feet or so from the bank, fish that area and under whatever you can with the frog. Bass in this type of lake are usually looking up at the surface and for any shaddows to alert them of danger. If you see a wake, remember where it came from and go back later and give the fish another try. WRB

It's been my experience that bass behave the same regardless of where they live, however their location is dependant on the type of lake or river they live in and the prey that is available to them. If bass live in a featureless natural lake or pond without pelagic baitfish, they become more cover oriented and target sunfish (bream) like pumpkin seeds, bluegill. crappie and crawdads, worms, salamders, frogs or whatever else they eat in and around cover. Bass don't need to migrate other then to spawn in the spring and find survivable water temperatures in the winter. Man made impoundments are different; usually flooded areas that were at one time a river valley. Most of the reservoirs today have pelagic baitfish like shad, herring and smelt, plus sunfish, crawdads, etc. Bass in reservoirs tend to migrate to where the greatest concentration of prey is located. All the main lake structure elements become locations where bass feed, then in the spring migrate into locations to spawn. Reservoirs have main lake points, humps, underwater islands, creek channels etc. This weekend for example a major tournament called the US Open was held at Lake Mead, Neveda. Lake Mead is a Canyon classification reservoir where the bass locate around the shoreline deep walls and back in deep river arms. Mead is almost viod of aquatic vegetation, few weeds (some sparsh short grass areas back in little cuts) and very little wood. The prey in mead is threadfin shad, bluegill and crawdads. Mead is a big lake, each river arm is like a different lake and the bass rarely migrate to different areas. The main lake basin is too deep to fish any outside structure and usually too windy to fish. You find the shad on Mead and you will find both stripers and largemouth. Clear lake in northern CA is a large natural lake, bowl shaped, no major points, few humps, no creek arms. The bass at Clear lake relate to cover, docks and shoreline structure. The primary baitfish at Clear lake are hitch, a fresh water smelt, threadfin shad, bluegill, crappie, crawdads etc. Clear has massive weed beds, so the weedline breaks and pockets become the place where bass locate. Mead and Clear lake are very different and the bass locate where the prey is. Once you determine what the prey is, then bass are bass and react the same to lures and presetations. WRB

It really depends on the type of lure you are using and the position the bass in related to the structure. If the bass are in deep water and moving up to feed, then up hill is usually better, ie; during spring or pre spawn. It is very difficult to work jigs uphill on rocky, snagging type structure, so slightly up hill or parallel is a good alternate method with jigs. Spoons are worked verticle. Swimbaits are usually best worked up hill or accross the structure. Cranks work best down hill or parallel. The bottom line is try the method you are most confident with first, then change directions to determine what the bass prefer at that time. WRB

Most fisherman will reply with information related to their specific lake classification or regional area where they fish. The information is good for the that area and lake type. The fact someone knowledgeable lives near the region you are fishing is very helpful. Threadfin shad are common bass forage and I didn't realize they survived that far north, because threadfin can't tolerate water lower than 5 degrees C, they die off. One reason the baitfish may be migrating to the area you see them is looking for warmer water and plankton they feed on. In the fall; afternoons following a warming period of a few days can be excellent bass fishing in shallow protected areas. Out west where I fish, deep highland reservoirs, the fall bite is very similar to the post spawn transition period; major main lake and secondary points and underwater islands or humps are good locations because they compress the shad schools where bass can ambush the baitfish. Good luck with fishing. WRB

Excellent post and great advice! 8-) Agree, good advice. Keep in control of the bass, it can only fight about 2 minutes. WRB

Lets see it's OK to remove a hook by working through the gills with pliers, hold the bass by it's lower lip, bounce the bass off the boats carpet, hook the bass with large hooks, but you will kill the bass by puncturing a .040 diameter hole in the thin membrane tissue behind the lower lip. It's somehow OK to put the bass in a small bucket or makeshift live box with an aerator stone designed to keep minnows alive, then in the lake water. Amazing, simply amazing. I agree that running a rope type stringer or clip through the basses gills or clipping both lips together will kill the bass. That is why articles have been written to warn people not to use stringers incorrectly. The young man is fishing a tournament from a canoe or float tube and doesn't have any other way to keep the bass alive and asked a simple question. A good designed weighted stringer, used properly, works and is less stressfull to the bass. A makeshift livewell over heats and sufficates the bass, a basket removes the protective slime, which is like removing your skin. WRB

Livewells in most bass boats have between 15 to 20 gallons of water at full level. Bass require approximately 1 gallon of water for each pound of bass, the water must be cooled below 75 degrees to hold the proper levels (no less than 3 or more than 12 mg/L) of dissovled oxygen to keep the bass alive. Bass boat livewells pump in warmer surface water than the bass came out of. The result can be thermal and DO shock. That is why I rarely put bass in my livewell, unless the bass need to be transported for tournament weigh in. My livewell is 30 gallons, equiped with a digital thermometer and DO meter. I keep the livewell water temperature at 68 to 72 degrees during the warm water periods and DO at 7 to 9 mg/L. I target giant bass and occasionally fish charity or special event tournaments. Ohterwise when I catch a big bass and don't immediately release it, it goes on my stringer, lowered down 8' where the water is well oxygenated and cool. Being clipped through it's lower lip is no more stressfull then being hooked. When pulling the up the bass that has been on the stringer, it is swimming hard and very healthy. I will usually release the bass when moving to another spot. Tournament bass fisherman must put the bass in a livewell to transport the bass for weighing and that is the only time I use my livewell, to offically weigh the bass. WRB

You can make a good stringer that will keep bass healty by using D type stainless steel safety clips, size 1/0 370 lb swivels, 300 lb test marlin leader and a 1 lb topedo sinker. Make the stringer about 8' to 10' long and use dog lease snap swivel on each end to clip onto the boat and add the weight on the opposite end. Use the large barrel swivels on the 300 lb mono line to attached the D clips onto. To keep the bass down on the bottom 24" of the stringer, add a large plastic bead with a rubber band for a stopper to keep the barrel swivels from sliding up the main line. You attach the bass to the stringer D ring by piercing the thin membrane close behind the lower lip and this doesn't harm the bass any more than a catch & release tournament culling clip/float. I have been using this type of "keep alive" stringer for over 35 years without loosing any bass. Putting big bass into a livewell causes tremendous stress, clipping onto to a stringer that keeps them down into cool fresh DO water is far better. The reason stringers are not used in torunaments is because fisherman stake out a stringer full of bass before the event, it's called cheating. Lakes that have alligators or other fish eating critters, a stringer isn't a good idea. You must also remember that you have the stringer in the water before operating your engine so you don't cut the stringer or harm the bass. WRB note; the D clips are sometimes available on a good quality stringer from Cabelas, look at thier Pro series. If interested PM me with your email and will send you a photo.

That is a small pond to have a good bass population. Using the biulding on the SW shore line by the trees as a reference guide, the pond only looks to be 2to 3 acres. You should be able to walk the entire perimeter and fish a frog, buzzer or plastic worm to learn what is going on in this pond. WRB

Spots are normally river bass, similar to smallmouth and fill a different nitch than largemouth. The spots spawn deeper and a few degrees colder water, so their fry have a little head start on the largemouth. Spots do not normally do very well over a long time period in ponds or small lakes, so my guess would be the spots were planted within the past few years. Spots tend to be school feeders, like smallmouth and prefer crawdads and smaller profile baitfish. It sounds like the spots have a lot of competition for prey and may be more aggressive, then the largemouth that target the bluegill population in the weed beds areas. Good luck and enjoy the spots while you can. WRB

If you plan to fish this tournament, this week is the dead line to sign up, in fact it may already be filled. I'm trying to rearrange some out of country business trips, so far it's not going well for me. November at Amistad; have no idea what the conditions maybe, stormy transitional weather? 10 lb bass could be a big fish that time of year at Amistad. WRB

The FLMB are genetically wired to feed on larger baitfish like golden shiners and one reson when transplanted into California lakes the FLMB targeted rainbow trout. The "native" California bass are nothern strain planted from the mid west, rarely targeted rainbow trout in the same lakes that the FLMB were planted. Bass are bass and can be very aggressive at times. I grew up fishing a high alititude lake, Big Bear, that had an excellent bass and trout fishery and rarely whitnessed bass preying on trout or caught a bass with a trout in it's throat. I worked at the marina for several years and whitnessed bass chasing nearly everything else in or on the water. The difference could be stocked trout verses native wild trout, back then Big Bear was planted only once a year, in the fall with trout. If the lake only has trout for prey, the bass must eat something. Sun fish like; bluegill, pumpkin seeds, crappie and minnows are prefered by NLMB, if availble. I don't believe threadfin shad can survive that far north, but a shiner called silver sides, about 1 1/2" to 2" long that looks like a shad can survive the cold water. Both trout and bass will target silver sides. It's mute point, as FLMB can not survive in cold water during the winter period, so the trout should not become a primary prey source for the NLMB, if the trout reach adult size. The food source problem isn't balanced, the bass may start to prey on other bass, the lake is real trouble. I would contact Bob Lusk on this site or hire a good small lake biologist familar with your area to make recommendations as to what are the best options. WRB

Do you own this lake or a property owner with lake rights? Your local DNR would be the agency responsible for restocking fish. Bass and trout have very different needs and do not mix well in a small lake. If the trout are not sterile, they can spawn without much help. The established bass population will, more than likely, eat the trout fingerlings. Northern strain bass may not bother triut over 8", however it takes a full year for a trout to grow big enough for adult size bass not to eat them. Florida strian largemouth will eat the larger size trout, however the water temperature tends to get below 45 degrees that far north and FLMB can't surivie. Bass are opportunity feeders and will eat whatever is available, so your small lake needs forage to support them. Adding the bluegill is a good idea, along with whatever else can survive to support the bass. WRB

Your ethics of C & R are good, however bleeding bass die. The solution to your problem is as stated; set the hook immediately whenever you feel a tap, see line jump or move slightly. Bass do not have hands and can only put the hook in their mouth before swallowing the soft plastic. If the bass is deeply hooked and bleeding, put it on ice and take it home for a meal, instead of feeding the turtles and birds. You really need to be careful handling bass when dehooking through the gills, the gills damage very easily. The IN-Fisherman article is a good method done properly. Bass can't breath air and must be put back into water every 30 to 45 seconds to keep them healthy, gills wet and slime intact. Over handling the bass trying to get the hook out is as damaging as bleeding. If you think the bass is in poor shape, it is. Set the hook quickly or keep the damaged or bleeding bass. WRB

Deep clear highland class reservoirs typically have sparse aquatic plant life (weeds/grass) due in part to the clay soil and changing water pool elevation. The bass evolve to use themroclines, shade, shaddows, mud lines, wood, rocks, creek channels, underwater humps or islands, major main lake points, soil breaks like sand to gravel or clay to rock and wind wave action to break up their silhouette. During the summer period night fishing can be excellent as the bass tend to move up and roam the shallower shoreline areas. Baitfish are key day time prey for the bass and crawdads become the dark hours targets. Use your sonar to locate the thermocline or life zone depth where the baitfish and bass are holding. If you don't have a sonar unit, then fish the main lake points and islands from shallow to about 35 feet until you start getting some bites. Fish areas with the above breakline features at the depth the bass are feeding. Drop shot, split shot, slip shot, C-rig and T-rigged soft plastic worms work well. If the bass are active, use a reaction type lure like a crank bait, jerk bait, spinner bait, under spin, structure spoon. Spider and shakey head type jigs are also a good choice to work the deeper water zones. WRB

Zellamnder; The reason I wanted to look at the lake you are fishing is to determine how to classify it. If you live in Kanas, the terrian is very flat and most reservoirs in your area are known as "flatland" impoundments. The fact that it has flooded trees still standing may indicate that it is a newer lake. Smaller flatland reservoirs may not have much in the way of classic structure features, you are looking for smaller breaks where the depth may only change a foot or so. The soil make up may also be consistant with few rocky areas. The fact that trees grew there indicate there is some fertile soil, trees can't grow on clay. Look at the surrouding area and visualize the same terrain underwater in the lake you fish. Try to forget about the trees when studing the contours; you can't see the forest from the trees, applies. Once you see the contour of the land underwater, then a tree located near structure becomes cover and a ambush site for bass. Deep water is also relatiive; in a flatland reservoir located in Kansas, 15 feet could be deep water during the summer period, due to a strong thermocline layer. Trust your fish finder, it is your underwater eyes and well worth the time to discover the original creek channel and any quick changes in depth. When everything looks the same, find something different and fish it. WRB

For starters I couldn't locate any lakes in or near Arma KS, the closest appears to be a strip pit towards the west, but that isn't anywhere close to 540 acres. Get your self a topo map and look at the lake bottom contour, less the trees to start with. You need to locate the original creek channel, then follow the channel and fish the outside bends that intersect high higher ground with the largest diameter trees. This would be a small hump or hill underwater, with a cut away bank that should have some rocky areas. The trees are usually near the base of the hill. Start at the dam area and work your way back toward the shallow end. The big girls will be in the lower 1/3rd of the lake, nearer the dam and deeper water. WRB

If you scretched out a few fish, that is your pattern, until you someone tells you what a wide open day they just had. There is always more than one pattern going on, somedays it's just a tough day on the water. If you are not getting bit, then rethink what you are doing and try something different until you determine what is going on, if anything. You can either force feed the bass what you want them to eat, or try to locate the bass and feed them what they are looking for. The first thing is; find the prey, the bass will be close by. WRB

So many factors to consider; type of lake, pond , river you are fishing plays a big role in where a big bass locates seasonally. The statement that big bass live in the same areas year after year is only true if the the environment supports the basses needs. Lake levels change as the seasons change, the prey change locations and the bass move. Some bass will be in the loactions for several years, if that is possible for them. Catching the same bass year after year is also possible, if the bass is extremely volunerable to a specific type of live bait, or during the spawning season, it is very rare to catch the same big bass agian on the same lure. Big bass don't get to live a long life if they continue to make the same mistakes. I have stated this before and it's worth repeating; it is very difficult to identify a bass by it's markings; unless the markings are a rare injury, deformation, a fin clip or tag. If you catch a 10+ more than once; count it each time, because the odds are it is more than likely a different bass. WRB

With the change to the pre fishing rule; you can pre fish up to the day before the tournament, makes it feasible to only take 1 week off work to travel and fish this tournament successfully. There are 50 spots open; 20 spots pre qualified, that leaves 30 spots open to local or other qualified trophy bassers. This is a put your skills to the test against the best type of event, one big bass wins it all. WRB PS; the new format makes this a 2 day event, the top 3 fish for the $50K the second day.

Knot pulled out or the line broke? Knots should never pull out, unless tied incorrectly, what knot do use use? If the bass was hooked in the mouth, not the throat or gills, the fish should be able to shake out the lure and be OK. WRB

During summer period when the surface water is usually very warm and could be above 80 degrees, the big bass tend to go deeper to find cooler water around 70 degrees. The smaller bass and pan fish tend to stay nearer to shore to find sancturary in the cover availble along the shallower shoreline areas. Big bass will move under the cover on occasions during the daytime to feed on the smaller baitfish that may be along the cover edges or go deeper into the cover at times to search out prey. The green weed beds produce DO during the day light and provide shade, however the big bass usually move back out into deeper water during the day light hours. As the sun goes down the big bass move up into the shallow water zones near deep water to feed on the baitfish and crawdads that use the cover for protection. Night fishing during the summer period is usually better then day time fishing for big bass. However the truely giant bass are rarely caught at night. One reason for this may be the larger prey fish are difficult for the giant bass to locate and catch during the darkness in open water. Big bass tend to avoid moving into large weed beds at night do to the low DO levels caused by the weeds comsumming DO during darkness. I have caught a lot of bass to 14 lbs at night on jigs and worms, no giants over 15 lbs at night. During the cold water periods the big bass stay out in deeper water to find the warmest water available and locate near prey sources. WRB

what you're saying is only half true - don't spread this due to misinformation. it's completely subjective to what someone considers a "large" bass. I've caught several 5-7 pounders on the same bed as bass that weigh 1 pound or less. sure, you're not likely to catch a 15 pounder back to back with 1 pounders, but I think we all understand why that is. what you're saying about survival of the fittest and bass cannibalizing is true, though. what we have to remember, though, is that it's completely situational. you can't rule out catching "big" bass next to smaller ones based on predator/prey logic alone. Bass stop feeding when they move up and spawn. During the spawn you will have smaller adult males spawning with big females. The balance of the year the larger bass tend to avoid small juvenile. bass. Big bass will move into an area with smaller bass and feed, the classic example is schooling bass working baitfish and the larger bass picking off the wounded below the school. This activity is a feeding opportunity that has come within the big basses location, usually an area of structure that creates a compression zone. WRB

The saying is to catch big bass you must fish for big bass is true. Anyone can catch a big bass by mistake by being at the right place at the right time using something the big bass wants to eat. To catch big bass consistantly, the adult bass about 5 years old or more, you need to learn where they live. Each lake and impoundment is different and the bass locate according to availability of food, sancturary, prefered water temperatures and spawning area, depending on the seasonal periods. Big bass like to locate near a deep water sancturary where food is abundant and easy to catch. Where I fish the lakes are high land reservoirs with very deep clear water and sparse cover with a lot of structure elements. The bass in the high land resevoir use main lake major points as primary locations and isolated structure elements in the main lake zone for winter, pre spawn, summer and fall periods. The big bass move into wind protected flat areas with cover to spawn, then recoup during pre spawn and move back out into the main lake areas. It is a misconception that big and small bass share the same areas. It is true that big bass occasionally can be using the same area to feed on prey that smaller bass also feed on. Keep in mind the animal kingdom is survival of the fittest and big bass will eat smaller bass, if the smaller bass are considered prey. The other factor to considered is big bass are adult fish and prefer high protein prey sources like; abundant schools of baitfish, larger soft ray baitfish, if available and young of the year pan fish, frogs, crawdads, small water birds; like ducklings or whatever they considered a meal. Small bass can only affectively eat smaller prey that they can catch or disable, avoiding adult prey that can do them harm, like adult crawdads. WRB