WRB-2.0

The numbers on this fish kill are growing by the hour as more information is floating to the surface. The facts are 138 bass died in the tanks before they could be released. The tournaments big bass, a 13+ died before it could be transported to the Share a Lunker program. The unconfirmed numbers of big bass is around 500, that is approximately a 50% delayed mortality rate. There will be a report available about 23 April, next week. Primary cause is holding too many big bass in the small livewells without controlling the DO levels and water temperatures. The 10 bass limits of the combined pro and co anglers over stressed the bass in the livewells, during the 8 hour fishing time. Post spawner's being stressed by the spawn and pre spawners that were gorging on baitfsih, placed in the livewells became over stressed and the scales from the baitfish being spit out by the pre spawners clogged the gills of the bass in the livewells and they suffocated as a result. The numbers are staggering; 3,000 to 5,000 pounds of dead big bass from the Falcon tournament. BASS knew there would be record weights and refused the 3 bass limit which is the norm for both Falcon and Amistad. TV rating outweighed common sense. WRB

Tulies go in the jargen of terms we bass fishermen use. Out west we call them tulies, down south they are tall grass or stocks, up north cattails, ect. Good question and great answer with the photo. WRB

Getting a good hook set with a jig doesn't always require a hard rod set, it can be very similar to the swimbait hook set; reel and sweep. However you must react instantly or sooner. LMB engulf a jig, then crunch down on it to kill what appears to be a crawdad to the bass. The crunchers are located in the back of the roof of the mouth. The bass vacums in the jig and the jigs hook needs to be larger enough and sharp enough the penetrate the basses soft mouth tissues when it crunches down, thereby hooking itself for a moment. If the bass detects something wrong, it blows the jig back out so fast you don't know you were bit, unless the jig hangs up into the mouth tissue. If the jigs trailer folds over the hook piont or if the weed gaurd prevents the hook point from contacting tissue, your chances of a good hook set are very low if you try to rod set. However if you reel set, you pull the jig into the mouth tissue and start the hook point to penetrate, the rod sweep puts more pressure on the tight line, pulling the sharp hook passed the barb, then the bass is hooked well. 2 to 3 cranks on the reel handle equals about 40 to 60 inches of line movement and you can't do that with rod setting, unless the rod is pionted down at the bass to start with. Rods set work well for vertical flipping and pitching on a short line, because you are close to the bass, but if you cast the jig 30 feeet or more, reel set and keep the rod low when working the jig. WRB PS; smallmouth and spots will peck at the jig to declaw it, so let them load up before hooksetting.

When using heavier lures like swimbaits, you should match the rod to the lure weight. Most of the larger swimbaits weigh over 1 oz, usually between 2 to 6 oz, so the rod should be designed to cast the heavier weight and be long enough to control the big bass around the boat. A good entry level combo is Okuma GS-C-710H heavy fast action casting rod and Induron IDx-250 series reel, approx. $200. Berkley Big Game 20lb green mono is a good line for most swimbait presentations, unless the water is ultra clear. Soft plastic swimbaits like Matt lures tend to fill the basses mouth and the bass can hold onto the lure without getting hooked. Trap hooks help to find soft tissue when the bass tries to split out the mouth full of soft plastic. This is why it is important to let the rod load up, reel set and then sweep the rod back. This gives the bass a chance to turn with the lure, then when you give the second rod sweep, you finish hook setting when the lure has a chance hooking the basses mouth. The larger 8"+ swimbaits like Huddlestons, then a trap hook is a good idea because the bass can grab the big lure like a dog bone and you may miss hook sets without a trap hook. WRB PS; lures without trap hook hangers can be modified to add trap hooks with 46 lb sevenstrand wire leader and crimp sleeves. Keep in mind that lures modified with trap hooks, not design for them could nullify a record.

The bass are more than likely post spawn in the CA delta this time of year. Post spawners will act like that in the shallow water environments like deltas that have tidal influence. If you see the bass, they see you is the old rule of thumb and post spawners are not active feeders unitl they recover form spawning. Try to forget about the sight fish and go deeper where you can't see them or back way off and fish lures that look like an easy meal and keep the tidal tables in mind. WRB

For those lakes with a lot pads, you can fish a soft plastic jerk bait like a fluke, but you will need heavier tackle. If you plan on fishing the heavier cover use a bait caster and go with 15 lb mono and you be alright if you can get to the bass fast enough. Other wise just cast to the edges and pockets with the Texas rigged worm and you be able to catch a few. Smaller spinnerbaits like Markey's Bushmaster series is very good on some of the lakes to mentioned with shallower water. I would go with the 1/4 oz model with your spinning takle. Google Don Iovino products, Roboworms, Markey Bushmaster lure, Top Brass fishing Tackle etc for the links to those companies. Success in bass fishing is in the details, like quality tackle, not necessarily high cost. WRB

If you don't want to post the lakes you are fishing at least let us know where you are located and what type of bass the lakes have in them. 50 degree water in april would indicate you are in the northern region or higher elevation lakes. Whatever, the upcomong seasonal bass perod is pre-spawn. This means the bass will be located near the shallower water where the bank changes depth quickly. The easiest location to locate and fish during pre-spawn are the major points around the lakes you are fishing. A major point in the long underwater point that extends into the main lake, usually a creek arm or larger bay will be close to the point. The next type of point to fish are the secondary points inside the creek arm or large bay near the major point. These are the places where the pre-spawn bass tend to stage or school. When the water warms up above 60 degrees, the bass will then move back into the shallower wind protected areas inside the creek arms or bay and spawn. After spawning the post spawn bass will move back out to the same areas they were during pre=spawn. Lets focus on those 3 seasonal periods and that should get you started catching bass. The plastic worm is my choice for the lure you should master first. The presentations are; drop shot, slip shot and Texas rigged. You can use your spinning tackle for both the drop and slip shot techniques. Bait casting is a little better for Texas rigged, but the spinning tackle will work OK. Start with 6 to 8 lb test premium monofilament line for the spinning tackle. Hooks; Gamakatsu wide gap finesse/weedless hook and sizr 1/0 worm hook. Weights; 1/8 and 1/4 oz Top Brass Pro-Jo and 1/4 oz round Top Brass black drop shot and 3/16 oz brown Top Brass bullet weight. Beads; 7 mm red Top Brass faceted glass bead Weight stopper; Top Brass Peg-It 2 or Carolina Keeper. Worms; Don Iovino S8A Oxblood, S10A Blue Shad and Smallmouth Killer, 5" straight tails. Roboworms; 4 1/2" curl tails, Oxblood with red flake, Aaron's Magic with red flake. Use the wide gap weedless finesse hook for both the drop and slip shot. Use the 1/0 worm hook for the Texas rig. Fish the Texas rig down hill; cast to shallow water and bounce along the bottom into deeper water. Fish the slip shot rig parallel around the points sides and down the top ridge. Fish the drop shot straihgt down along the top ridge and sides. Start in about 3 feet and work down to 30 feet or so. PM me and I will send you shetches how to rig and fish these worms. WRB PS; while I was slowly typing this you noted you are in Oregon coastal area. All the above will work well there.

Getting back to your basic question on fighting big fish; 1. Get a good hook set. 2. Keep the fish under control. 3. Your goal is land the fish. Hook setting by "crossing the eyes" with a hard rod set is usually a mistake, unless vertically flipping or ptiching a lure into heavy cover. Reeling down and sweeping the rod agianst tight line works much better. Keep the fish in front of you, the rod loaded with line tension at all times and know exactly what the fish is doing. If the fish runs to one side, follow it to keep it in front of you. If you decide to lower the rod tip down into the water, keep the line tension tight and the rod bent. I rarely stick the rod under watert because you loose control of the fish. There is nothing you can do to prevent a big bass from jumping, if it is away from you 30 feet or so. All you cn do is get a good hook set, and the pressure on the fish and keep it under control at all times. Remember your goal is to land the fish and not loose it. You can land the fish if you can't control it. Don't give the fish any slack line or let it run around, it will find something to get into to and get away. WRB

Butch only has a small computer video cam mounted in the back seat location. We are lucky he shares his video clips. WRB

Welcome to bass fishing, frontal conditions are common during the winter to spring transitional weather. The water the bass live doesn't change temperature very fast, it take time. The frontal conditions bother the bass fisherman more than the bass. It's tough to fish in cold windy weather, dress warm and try to remember the basics. Pre-spawn bass are feeding well and located on the deeper breaks near the spawning areas. WRB

Lake Casitas was initially stocked with FLMB in 1968 as I recall and the planting included several thousand fingerlings and a few hundred 10" to 12" bass. In 1980 a 21 lb 3 oz FLMB was caught and is the current lake record. My 18 lb 11 oz bass did have a lateral line pore scale studied by biologist Larry Bothroff and he thought the bass was around 12 years old, but needed the bass to age the fish accurately. I don't know the age of the NLMB, no scale study was performed. I have never thought of measuring mouth open data and could make a measurement of the mouth perimeter of the two bass. Ray Scotts initail reaction to releasing the bass caught alive was something like; "sport fishing can't damage the bass population"and "If I thought skilled bass fisherman could harm the lakes population of bass, we wouldn't be giving the bass to church charities". Ray did implement C & R in the early 70's to his credit. I believe Ray did that more as a result of PR, instead of having photos of stringers of dead in Bassmaster magazine generating negative images. WRB PS; Bob, I have photos of both the subject bass alive, if they are of interest.

See the post "The term cruising bass" The easiest way to tell the deference between a carp and bass jumping is the color of the fish; bass are green, carp are brown or gold color and slap the water load when jumping. A bass feeding on baitfish will chase the bait out of the water and you see the bait jumping. Algea is tiny green particles, not weeds. You may have duck weed that looks like floating clover leaves. Try letting a top water lure sit for 30 seconds, then twitch it a few times and repeat, big bass feeding on the surface will return to pick off an injured critter. WRB

Thanks! The top FLMB was 28 1/2" long with 28" girth and 18 lbs 11 oz, lake Casitas, 2/81 The bottom NLMB was 27 1/4" long with a 20" girth and 12 lbs 4 oz, lake casitas, 2/71 Comparison between the two largemouth bass should be obvious why FLMB outweigh thier NLMB cousins. Both bass lived in the same lake with the same forage base. WRB note; Casitas was planted in 1968 with FLMB, the NLMB had a pore scale count of 58, the FLMB has 69 pore scales.

The bass is dead or very close to it. The units are CM, so the about 26 1/2 inches long, with a 100% girth would weigh about 15.6 lbs. Nice bass, but doubt if it's 18+, would need to be longer than the box. Where was this bass caught? WRB

Go to a pet store and buy a aquarium thermometer and tie a string to it. WRB

The air temps where in the 90's the water 65 to 70 degrees, so that shouldn't have been a major factor. With the number of big bas stuffed into the livewells, that is a major factor and why BASS needs to pick up big fish from the pro's on the water, when needed. Thank for replying and 2 weighin's would of helped because of the double limits of 10 bass. WRB

Your question was "cruising" bass and the thread is jumping bass, two different things. Cruisers during pre spawn are looking over the spawing areas for bedding sites and generally very difficult to catch because food isn't on their agenda. Cruising bass the balance of the year are patrolling their territory and can be caught as long as they don't detect your presence. Sight fishing comes from targeting either bedding bass or cruisers, you see the bass before you cast to it. Bass move around smaller lakes and ponds on a regular pattern, so you can see them and move down in front of where they are heading and wait for the bass to come to you. Jumping fish aren't always bass, lots of fish jump. Carp and catfish both jump on occasions, but they are brown, not green. If the fish are making a loud slap on the water, they are more than likely carp. If you see a baitfish jump, then the splashes are more than likely bass. Believe or not a dead sticked surface lure with a few twitches works better for big bass that you are targeting, when you see a swirl or splash. Faster reaction lures work better for fish holding on a ambush site or just cover water to locate active bass. WRB

Bob, thank you for replying. I agree that food is a critical factor. Howver the lake Casitas comparison is a good example where genes are the key factor. The food supply being the same for both NLMB and FLMB, the growth rates should be similar, not 50% greater for the FLMB. Yes, they fit a different nitch, they are also different bass that happen to look similar. I have a pitcure for comparison of these two bass, just don't know how to attach it. C & R has created a almost cult following in CA and other states. What is ironic is I was a pioneer is trying to get BASS to adopt C & R, because the tournaments were removing tons of bass and that didn't look good to the public. Now tournament fisherman release over stressed bass that only provide food for the crawdads, turtles and birds. Agian, thank you. WRB

What I thought as one of the best C & R tournaments ran by BASS was the Falcon lake Elite 50 event. The bass looked healthy at the weigh in; dorsal fins erect, tails curled or wagging, good coloration. It appeared that the pro's and tank staff were doing a good job of keeping the bass alive and healthy. The first two days of this type of event requires the pros to have back seaters and also requires the boats to keep up to 10 bass in the livewells designed for 5 bass limits. When you are catching big bass, the problems escalate, big bass are more sensitive to stress from being in a livewell, plus they require more DO and cool water to stay healthy. The big bass bite was also comming later in the day and that met culling bass later in the day, that may have been in the livewell for several hours. This can lead to post stress mortality of C & R bass. The reports of a big fish kill started a few days after the tournament. True, who knows for sure, but a few dead floaters can create a big stir. Gene Gillihand is a well known biologist and his aticle is appropriate. http://www.state.tn.us/twra/fish/Reservoir/blackbass/livebass2.pdf WRB

The FLMB transplanted to California occupy a different nitch in the deep cool reserviors than the NLMB in the same lakes. FLMB prefer larger baitfish then NLMB due to their native lakes and rivers having golden shiners as forage, for example. The NLMB prefers smaller baitfish and is genetically developed to prey on sunfish for example. Lake Casitas, in California, is a good example; back in February of 1971, I caught a 12 lb 4 oz NLMB that was 27 1/2 inches long. In 1981, 10 years later, I caught a 18 lb 11 oz FLMB, same month, location and lure. The FLMB was 28 1/2 inches long, however had a girth of 28 inches, where the NLMB girth was only 20 1/2 inches. Same lake with the same forage and the FLMB was nearly 50% heavier. Why? The answer is, IMO, that FLMB prefer the larger baitfish, in this lake that was planted rainbow trout that average about 1/2 lb. The NLMB in the same lake didn't feed on the planted trout, the FLMB did. The forage base was excellent for both NLMB and FLMB during there young adult growing period, however the FLMB adapted to the deeper water zone where the trout lived and continued to grow at a faster rate then the NLMB in the same lake. If Floridia stocks it's lakes and rivers with large bait fish like the golden shiner and smaller baitfish like threadfin shad, plus reduces fishing pressure by outlawing fishing with live bait, then Floridia could have giant FLMB like California. WRB

Bob, you mentioned a relative weight to length chart to determine healthy verse under feed bass, was it posted? The other questions are; do you evalute FLMB strain differently from NLMB strians? If not why? You are from Texas, are you associated with the Share a Lunker program? Are you familar with the Share a Lunker program's genetic engineering (DNA gene splicing) to improve FLMB growth potential? or lower water temperature survivability to increase their range of distribution? It has been my experience that NLMB rarely exceed a length to girth ratio of 85%, where FLMB normally exceed that ratio where abundant prey is available in California impoundments. Florida, the natural range for FLMB, the bass have apparently poor young adult size (1 1/2 to 3lbs) forage availble and don't achieve the same growth rates the FLMB bass do in CA and TX. Califronia FLMB have grown over 20 lbs in lakes without planted trout (lake Hodges for example), however those lakes have good populations of mid size prey fish, threadfin shad, sunfish and crawfish available, no larger bait fish however. WRB

The traditional Carolina rig consist of a heavy 1/2 to 1 oz sliding sinker, bead, swivel, leader and soft plastic creature or worm. The weight goes on the main, the bead follows and the sivel is tied on to act as a weight stopper. The leader can be whatever you want it to be; monofilament or fluorocarbon up to 48" long or so. The finesse C-rig out west is called a slip shot rig and consist of a lighter mojo or Pro-Jo cylinder weight, glass bead, Peg-It or Carolina stopper, no swivel and the main line is used without a leader. The advantages are; one knot and a direct connection to the hook for better feel of strike detection and ease of changing the distance between the weight stopper and hook. The slip shot rig uses weights from 1/8 oz to 5/8 oz depending on the depth, wind and line size. Roboworms are high floaters and work very well for either C-rig or slip shot. WRB

Lets hope that mr. Lusk replies to your inquiry. Not being a biologist, we as anglers can eleuate the health of the lake or pond by the size of the bass and population of the fishery. The first thing a biologist would do is access both those issues by electro shocking survey and evaulating the forgage base. Bass are usually the last fish added into a new pond or reservior, the forage base should be established first, then the predators are added into the mix, based on population density by acre feet of water and available structure, cover and prey. Over population of year classes of bass can be very detrimental to the health of a small lake or large pond. Selective harvest and or slot limits are generally based on year class distribution. What type of prey is abundant or sparse and the dominate year class of the bass in the lake or pond. If you are catching bass with big heads and skinny bodies, the lake or pond is over populated. If the bass appear healthy with several year classes are being caught routinely, then the lake or pond is more than like in good condition. Over harvesting bass by fishing pressure alone is possible on smaller lakes and ponds with heavy fishing pressure. Larger reseverviors, say over 10,000 acres, fishing pressure alone has minimal impact on the bass population ability to sustain a healthy level. Water fluctuations, severe drought and dease have a much greater impact on bass populations than sport fishing harvest. WRB

If the weather is cloudy and rainy, then it's not post cold front conditions, just the opposite. The term cold front is confusing at it means the back side of the weather system and front of the higher pressure approaching. The low pressure of the rainy weather is due to falling barometric pressures, which is generally good for fishing. After the weather system passes, the cold windy clearing sky indicates the higher pressure cold front of the system is pushing through the area. Whatever the weather, don't get too caught up with it, especailly in a warm water discharging power generation lake. The air may be unconfortable, but the bass live in the water that isn't changing temperature, due to the weather. Fish the inside of the weed line early and move out to the outside weed line where any rocky structure is located and fish those isolated areas. If the water is off color, go with darker soft plastics with brighter highlights like; black grape with blue neon stripe or june bug with red flake, in lieu of the standard watermellon green/red flake that everyone else is using. Dropshot. T-rigged or C-rigged worms and Senko's all work well. Slow down, enjoy your day on the water and dress warm. WRB

Thanks. Your bass looks really healthy, dorsal fin upright in defensive posture, good color, don't think you need to worry how you handled that bass. That is a giant NLMB! congratulations. WRB