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Went out yesterday to the hidden gem and caught my 4th bass over 8lbs. Best 3 fish went 8.4lbs, 6.11lbs and 5.1lbs. To hard to hold all 3 lol. 8lbr was caught in 2ft reeling lipless crank in a tilapia color along rocky bank. The other 2 were caught reeling super slow on bottom in 8ft. They were crsuhing it but were all hooked on outside of mouth. Had 4-5 others crush too but they didn't get the hooks. Will edit video later and post.

We were on a pretty good school of perch in 30 FOW through the ice... The bite suddenly slacked off and about 2 minutes later I popped this big girl, who ate a 1/12oz spoon tipped with a waxworm! Was quite the battle on a little ice rod and 6lb test. Measured 23", decided we didn't need to bring a scale while ice fishing (WRONG)! Certainly didn't expect a fish like this! I probably should just start targeting panfish because that's how I catch big ones.

Great stuff above. Genetics, food, growing season, and age all play roles. FOOD may be the one least understood or, better, appreciated for the sheer amount and quality of it required. The amount of food of the right composition and size required to grow small fish into huge fish is almost mind-boggling. And it's something that is extremely rare in nature, and darn hard to accomplish in managed waters. Growing season plays an enormous role not only in the the duration of growth periods for bass but, more importantly, in the sheer amount of prey fishes a given water can produce. Southern waters commonly produce multiple broods of prey fishes, while northern waters rarely do. All are important but the best genetics, clean water, and age structure will go nowhere without one heck of a lot of food of the right composition and size for bass from fingerling through... monster. As to the genetics part, genes are potential, heavily influenced by the environment. There's a point in every fish's life where they must "choose" whether to chase pounds or gametes. All choose both, however, the environment makes that choice for them. A dead bass does not contribute to the future. If there is not enough appropriate food to go around, bass will mature -start developing costly gametes- at 10" in length, and still "win the game".

Long post incoming ...Not everything is applicable to ever body of water, but these are the big things I do when prepping for a tournament. I don't go through every single one of these every time, some bodies of water are more suited for heavy preparation than others for me. Maps/Charts - Navionics online charts have really made things a lot easier, but the old big, folding paper maps are still a good reference to get a perspective of the whole lake instead of just whats on your computer screen. If you are fishing tidal water or the great lakes, look at NOAA charts also, they can show things differently than other maps do. I also make my own maps from Navionics screen shots and print them on 11x17 (half the lake on each side). I'll mark them up with areas I want to pre-fish or explore and also with my own historical notes/spots. The 11x17 is big enough to read and small enough to tuck in the windshield of my boat for easy access throughout the day. It's my cheat sheet so that I don't forget about things I intended to check out or to help refocus myself if things get off the rails a little bit. It's a lot of work and I will update it for each tournament in many cases...But for me it's been one of the best prep items I've ever used. Water conditions - Temperature, levels, clarity, current, dam operations, tides or anything else. All, some, or none may apply depending on the body of water. I try to keep an eye on this in the weeks leading up to the tournament to get a feel for the general trends. This info is not always available, but much of it usually is if you look in the right places. The importance of this data is not in the physical data itself so much, but more of how it applies to the body of water and the way you fish. That part is on you to discover through experience . Weather - Again, I try to check it in the time leading up to the tournament to get an idea for the trend. I also will check on weather in the areas upstream in case it might have an effect on the lake/river I'm fishing. Just remember that forecasts are never exact and often change (sometimes in a big way) on short notice. Make sure to check it once you get to the lake and not rely on what you saw the day before....I've changed gears right before launching because things like wind direction or cloud cover forecasts changed dramatically overnight. I like to use wind direction/speed and cloud cover forecasts primarily for fishing concerns and temperature forecasts to determine how I need to dress . Satellite Mapping - This is huge for me, on many lakes it's my #1 prep tool. Cycling back through historic images will usually show times of low water, better water clarity, or better overall images that will let you see things differently and can reveal things you might otherwise overlook. I like to look for images taken in winter since the water is usually lower/clearer and the leaves are off the trees, both of which will give you a better look at the shorelines. You can also use satellite mapping to see things like where grass grows, if there are sections with clearer/dirtier water, locations of docks, etc...I will put things I find on satellite images on my paper maps so that I can easily check them out on the water, sometimes I'll even create waypoints to transfer to my GPS if's really specific. Many times Navionics or other charts will simply stop or be inadequate in the very backs of creeks or rivers or coves, showing them to appear as just a big flat area of nothing (or unmapped altogether)...It can cover fairly large areas too. I use satellite mapping to find and mark things I'm interested in and then transfer those waypoints to my GPS so that I can target them and/or safely navigate the area. Obviously, all the satellite stuff I do is primarily geared toward relatively shallow water fishing/patterns. Reports/Results - I look at these but don't place a huge emphasis on it. Most reports online are brief and generally just consist of "I got this nice one on a jig...". Most people these days aren't posting specifics in public places (I never do) since they know so many people are looking for that kind of info now. If you look on local forums you can get a general feel for the conditions from "The lake is fishing tough/great" type posts even if there is no specific info in them. There are also the weekly type reports from guides or local sites, but they are often too general or are just canned paragraphs so their usefulness is limited. Results are good indicator of how the lake is fishing, but again take it with a grain of salt since things change all the time and some tournaments/clubs/trails are better than others in terms of results. I probably do more tournament prep than others might want or have time to do, but I enjoy it almost as much as the actual fishing. With repetition, I think it helps you as an angler overall beyond just a specific lake.

It's referred to as "hybrid vigor" or more technically as heterosis. Here's a good overview on this whole big bass variables subject written recently by Steve Quinn: http://www.in-fisherman.com/bass/factors-giant-bass/

Told my wife was heading out yesterday before the storm we have coming. Was supposed to be the warmer day this week. Well, ice still reared it's ugly head in the guides but no frozen reels! She asked ... well...who ya going with? Well....I said .... once again just me and the good Lord and my new Onyx!! Was a beautiful day. Started out a bit cloudy but then was clear sky's. Was so beautiful when I was looking up this little arm with the sun shining on this hillside and a mature male bald eagle fly's by. So awesome. Coots down on the lake don't seem to see the beauty of this though. Fishing started pretty slow...no real slow. Went two hours without a sniff...well maybe one. Water temp was around 41 with air temp in low 20's. Then life got better....next ten minutes had four bites...with two keeper LMB's. A little bit later a smallie pushing almost 20" graced my line. From then on it wasn't amazing it was just a good good day with around six keepers and some smaller fish. I was fishing deeper as the water was a bit clear.....seen a friend back at the ramp and he caught em shallow!!!!! Smiles....just when we think we're on to something and have them figured! P.S. Would have posted a pic but dang....need my son once more for help on this....sorry. (will write down procedure) Tight Lines

How do bass become trophy size? How long do bass live? Does keeping a big bass harm the fishery? Can 100% catch and release be worse than keeping a few? Can bass spawn more than once per year? These questions and more are answered by the nation's top warmwater lake manager, Bob Lusk, in this video.

Key word, fall.

LMB seem to transition slowly after ice out but will still often bite - a little. SMB - are ready to go. As soon as there's open water - I'm fishing. Here a clip from a killer day I had on a lake spring 2016 where the smallies we're chewing up a jerkbait pretty good and there was still quite a bit of ice on the water right next to where I was having the most success. A-Jay

As a music buff, this was very sad news for me to hear. I won't say I was their #1 fan, because that would not be true. What I will say is that she was an extraordinary vocalist with a style all of her own; not to mention a very attractive woman. I feel many female artists after her emulated her in some way to make a style of their own as well. I truely loved a lot of their stuff.

You will need to test this rod to determine a few things about it. First they look like nice rods and that one has enough length to do quite a few different things, depending on the tip and the backbone their rods are designed with. Let me explain. Not all manufacturers share the same formula when rating their rods. I love my Dobyns rods, but I know from experience that they rate their rods a bit heavier than most of us feel they are. So we choose a Dobyns rod accordingly. If I would usually choose a medium heavy to do a job I may go for a heavy in their lineup. In an Abu Garcia I would go for the MH knowing it will handle lures a bit heavier and the rod will be a bit stiffer than they rate them. So I would put a reel on it and for testing purposes, I would load some 14 pound test mono or better yet copoly line on it. Standing the rod up straight, take the tip with one hand and gently bend the tip down. See how far the bend goes down the blank before it hits backbone. If the bend goes from the tip down several inches I would try throwing some jigs, texas rigs, hollow bodied frogs and even some carolina rigs. This means it acts more on the heavier side and can handle lures a bit heavier than 3/4 ounce. It might handle baits say up to 1 ounce or bulkier 3/4 ounce lures like a 3/4 ounce jig and a typical beaver style trailer. If it is more of a moderate, meaning it bends down the blank a bit further, than it is more of a truer MH and I would not use heavier, bulkier lures. I would stick to the lures like Dwight mentioned. If it is on the heavier side it will make a great rod for frogs, jigs and carolina rigs. That length will allow you to bomb a carolina rig out or pitch a jig well. Go out and cast some of these lures and see what works for you. If it turns out to be good for frogs, jigs and plastics, both texas and carolina rigged, then I would consider changing the line over to braid. I would choose either 40 or 50 pound braid. By the way welcome to Bass Resources. Let us know what you find out and how it acts. Other members may be interested in your findings. Do you fish from a boat or shore and do you fish more big lakes, reservoirs or rivers?

RIP Dolores. She was an extrodinary talent. https://youtu.be/Zz-DJr1Qs54

The Perry is 6 lbs heavier then any northern strain LMB ever caught. 16 lbs 4 oz is the largest known northern state record NLMB, it's a Florida strain or it doesn't exist. Tom

Hello guys new to the forum. I just put a deposit down on the Heritage after looking at it in person at BassPro. I looked at the Grizzly 14 and by the time you were done with the boat, trailer and motor you still didn't have any seats at 7,000. I'll take delivery in 4-6 weeks so looking forward to my first real bass boat. I'll be using the boat in south Florida in the everglades and maybe inner costal. I'm thinking about getting a gps / fish finder to navigate thru the inner coastal waters.

Okay...son told me "AGAIN" how to post...think I got it so here's the pics. Thank you all for your patience....fish aren't huge but....they were a good tug and I'm learning to post photo's. Whoooooohooooo Not bad for an ol fart

There's nothing more embarrassing than trying to explain fantasy fishing to normal people

Genetics, food source, environment, which includes water quality. A long growing season sure helps too.

You could jump up to a Lund Pro Guide for that. That's what I'm lusting after. At any rate, good luck in your search.

We moderators started testing the Okuma EVX series this past summer and fall, and these are very nice rods for the money. The Okuma EVX Casting Rod 7'2" Heavy would fit your needs.

While I'll agree that in many situations with mid - 50 degree water temps, topwater may not be the deal. However last fall (mid-Oct) the smallies were still willing to get on a Pop Max early morning. A-Jay

The only top water I have caught fish on in cold late winter/early spring water is a Bomber Long A Minnow . In late fall/early winter I have caught them on many top waters .

I get your point about confidence, Tom (@WRB), but I also get the point of those who don't say they are "good." Some of these people realize that "good" depends on the person defining it, and to think about it beyond your own definition is just worrying about semantics unless you are competing in a tournament. For example, you gave this definition in an earlier post: "This being a bass fishing forum I will assume the OP is inquiring about becoming a good bass angler. The definition offered is consistently having the ability to catch a few bass without regards to size. So I think size is a factor so let's add keeper size bass of 1 lb or more. A good bass angler needs to be able to catch keeper size bass in multiple lakes, ponds and rivers, not just one." By your definition, I meet the standard of a good angler. In my mind, however, your definition would be a fair angler, not a good angler. I think a good angler can not only determine how to catch a few keeper fish everywhere they go and do it often, but they can also put together a medium to good sized bag of keeper fish at least some of the time with an occasional trophy. Of course a good-sized bag is relative to the lake and some lakes yield far less trophies than others. I am not a tournament angler but I do like to use the 5 fish bag as a measurement. By this definition, I would say I am on the low end of good or the high end of fair. Part of the reason for this is because of lack of time to be on the water and cutting trips off at 4 or 5 hours, again, due to lack of time. I suspect that when I am on the water a few times a week, which should happen relatively soon, I will become what I deem to be a good angler quickly because I do have the knowledge and the skills and I am able to catch fish everywhere I go, deep and shallow. I just don't bring in a good-sized bag as often as I think I should. So . . . . I have confidence and I catch keeper fish on many different waters, but I still don't believe I meet the bar that I have set for being a good bass angler.

Thanks this lake is incredible. Another boat there caught a 10.14 and 8lbr back to back casts. Only 3 boats on the water all day.

Can you use a net?

Whats interesting is the hybrids that are a cross between florida and northern strains that are being caught. http://nooga.com/164697/twra-reveals-chickamauga-lake-bass-dna-analysis/ These are the giants that are being caught at Chickamauga. Shock studies and tourney testing is showing that only hybrids and backcrosses are being caught and no pure florida strain. So it may be possible that if these hybrids get introduced into northern waters those fish may also grow bigger. In the 2012 lakewide DNA analysis, biologists found 7.8 percent northern bass, 2.3 percent Florida bass, 15 percent hybrids and 75 percent backcross. That means 92 percent of all the bass in Chickamauga Lake carry at least some Florida bass genes. In 2013, when Jolley and his crew collected DNA samples exclusively from bass weighing more than 8 pounds, they found no pure northern bass and no pure Florida bass. However, 75 percent of the big bass were hybrids, and 25 percent were backcross.

The SK 1.5 & 2.5 have been effective in mid to late August for me on the brown bass - especially when I 'burn it'. A-Jay

@12poundbass The food source without genetics will definitely fatten bass but it max out. Only an extremely small percentage with reach into the "teens" & a smaller percentage will reach the upper teens. The bass in Lake X at the LaPerla ranch were feed prawns (a type of shrimp). Do some research into Gorilla/Tiger/F1 bass, they had bass reach 14 lbs in 7 years feeding them only bluegill.

Quarry, you can overuse anything including your favorite baits. However, you have to have confidence in the baits you use. Therefore, you will continue to use your favorite baits in your favorite colors presented in your favorite technique. It is human nature to do this. Some guys, me included, will continue to use a bait far too long than we should have used it but we don't change to another color, bait or presentation. Why? Confidence. We have confidence in the presentation and darn it, we aren't going to change when the bite or pattern changes. As for the bass, they are sneaky animals that can be condition to a specific bait. It takes time and lots of being caught and released. But they will, sooner or later, know that a crazy looking spinnerbait or trick worm is something to avoid. Not all bass have the capability to do this but it happens. Personally, I would not be concerned about the bass becoming conditioned to your baits. There are way too many bass in your pond and since they are aggressive animals they will continue to hit your presentations. I would focus on weather conditions, water temperature, time of the year, the spawn, deeper water, the dam area and using different baits to find the pattern for the day or hour. At my double secret pond, I have clobbered them on Rat-L-Traps, crankbaits, Senkos, spinnerbaits, trick worms and jigs/pigs. No problem with the bass avoiding these presentations even if I use one for most of the day. Go figure.

I think they use a spreadsheet to track non edibles...

Loved the sounds of the Cranberries. I have every CD, and a couple DVDs of their concerts. Only 46, much too young. RIP

Water was 46-50 today. It was warmer south than it was up north

May she Rest In Peace

Im currently on boat #9 or 10. After having old used wrecks, good used boats and new boats I can honestly say I will never buy new again. We all want a nice shiny new boat but the fact of the matter is it dont catch any more fish than a used one. I actually catch more fish with a used one cause Im not worried about scratching a $60k boat and I go to spots I wouldnt take a new boat. My last boat was a 17.5 alum bass boat, too tippy, no storage. Had a lot of good points but I sold it 6mo's after I bought it. Now Im back in a nice glass boat. I picked up a 20' Ranger w/225 merc for $5k. It needs a lot of love but if I dump $3k into it and a some elbow grease, Im ahead of the game. Way ahead of the game. Something to think about. BTW, I fish small lakes and ponds too. All I need is a halfway decent ramp.

A powerful voice that captivated me. Makes me sad to hear of her passing -- this was part of "my music" of the early/mid 1990's. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/flashback-the-cranberries-perform-zombie-on-mtv-unplugged-w515436

Even the Pros pre-fish ? Tournament or not the key to consistency is c to fish a lot!

We catch hundreds of bass on the same lures in the same spots every year in a few 90 acre strip pits. A lot of these fish get caught and re caught every year. We tag them so we can keep track of how often they are caught and what they are eating each time. With that said, if you stand in the same spot, everyday, with the same lure them yes they will get conditioned. But if you have that large of a body of water and can fish it all them no I don't believe they will. Also 3 baits aren't the best for year round fishing even if you are getting bites, most likely what's working in the spring isn't going to work as well in the late summer. Example: if you are on a good swimbait bite shallow, in the heat of the summer I'd guess you'll catch some fish But not the potential you would if you fished deeper with a big jig or worm. My last tourney we weighed in 23lbs of Bass. 6lb,5lb,5lb,3lb,2lb,2lb. The 4 biggest had been caught over 5 times a piece with the second 5lber being caught 3 times that year.

Many people believe bass get lure shy, and I agree. I've also read that every time a bass gets caught, it gets more suspicious of every meal. Is this true? Dunno but it certainly makes sense. Anxious to hear more replies on this one.

Rebel wee r's. They don't make them anymore but I luckily have plenty.

I use the 3/8 for all of mine due to the amount of vegetation. Any heavier and they just get bogged down in the grass.

Tournament was one day and they had quite a few real good bags brought in.The legend Harold Allen and Matt Loetscher won with 28.74, George Jeane and his partner had secon place with 27.47 and a kicker over 10 pounds, 3rd place was 25.92.

The type of hair jig he is talking about RW is the "preacher" style. Those have long feathers tied in that extend past the bucktail and so no, those aren't used with trailers. Now the regular hair jigs that I tie I use with and without trailers, it depends on what the fish want, but in warmer water I use trailers but something subtle like a chunk. I normally don't throw them in summer but there is a small lake we fish that has clear water and it fed by cold water springs, even in mid August the water temp rarely exceeds 75 degrees. That lake we catch a lot of smallmouth and some nice largemouth throwing 3/16oz and 1/4oz bucktail hair jigs with Zoom super chunk Jr. trailers on them, they actually will catch you more than worms or other soft plastics, even finesse style baits. Come late Summer/Early Fall when the water temp drops down into the 60 degree range we fish the same jigs only I tie them with craft fur and we use the tiny paca chunks as trailers. We will normally throw square bills and spinnerbaits at that time but when you get that first temp drop that drops the temp from the low 70 down to the mid 60s for a day or 2, that is when the craft hair jig with paca chunk is killer. The reason I switch to that hair is because it usually takes a bit more action to get the fish to commit at that time, the sudden change in temps puts them tight to cover but it is still relatively warm and so a jig with a little more movement seems to get them to bite better than the more subtle hair jig. I normally don't fish hair during the warm months and not because it doesn't work, they actually work very well anytime, but because there is usually a presentation that will work better when it is warm in most situations.

If you do some research, you'll see that a northern strain largemouth might take 8-10 years to reach 5 pounds. However, a Florida strain largemouth can grow to be 5 pounds (or more) in just 3-4 years. Here's an interesting article that Bassmaster published. https://www.bassmaster.com/news/big-old-bass A few different clips from it for those who don't want to open the article And here's an interesting article I found on northern strain Largemouth. https://fishinpedia.com/age-and-growth-of-largemouth-bass/

Thank you so much. Truthfully when I took my young son out fishing 8 years ago when he was 2 years old I knew nothing about fishing. I simply wanted to spend a lot of time with him so I created Daddy/Son Adventure day every week that involved no mommy, no technology, etc. Simply a day to love my son. And since there are a lot of waterways near our home it was just an easy way for us to spend time together.....so began the love of fishing. So this first boat is truly more than just a boat. It’s kind of a passageway for us. The ‘vehicle’ to get out there and explore. Excitement cannot even describe how we feel right now! PS It will definitely be the first of many boats. My goal is to give him this boat when he gets in high school and then upgrade to get me a bigger boat. But at this point we’re just taking baby steps. I definitely have a lot to learn. But such is life. ?

The biggest factors comparing MI to CA have nothing to do with trout. They are (1) California has FL strain bass while MI doesn't, and (2) California has a much longer growing season compared to MI, due to a warmer year-round climate. The Michigan largemouth record --11.94# -- was taken from 200-acre Big Pine Island Lake in 1934, which is 40 min from my house. It is now a well-developed recreation-heavy lake, that gets a lot of traffic. I fish it sometimes; some decent bass in there now, but no chance there is another record largemouth there, or anywhere else in the area (and no trout in there either). The record was tied again in 1959 elsewhere, but not since. If you follow the master angler entries in MI each year, you will see nobody is coming anywhere near that weight. With modern-day population and fishing pressure, the largemouth record may not ever be broken. On the other hand, the Michigan Smallmouth record has fallen twice all of a sudden in the couple years, after standing for over 100 years. If I were chasing records in MI, I'd be targeting smallies.

My 10 year old son, Matthew, and I ordered our 40th Anniversary Bass Tracker Heritage yesterday (1/14) at the close of the 2018 Bass & Saltwater Expo in Raleigh NC from a Bass Pro Shop dealer. I was not only their last customer of the day; I was their last customer of the 2018 Expo! This will be my very first boat and our families first boat. My son would rather fish than anything and after years researching the BPS Bass Tracker I was thrilled to see this beautiful anniversary edition boat at the Expo today. He even said he'd be willing to sell his XBox 360 and all his games to help finance the boat. ? Of course I told him that was a sweet offer, but definitely not necessary. But it definitely touched my heart. But then he confirmed it will definitely be a technology free summer. Which he rarely ever plays with technology anymore anyway. He'd rather be outside with me or fishing! ? Needless to say, we are so excited! In approximately 8 weeks my son and I can officially leave the banks and docks of rivers & creeks and hit the open water in our new boat. Love the colors.... love the size....love the price....love the smile on my son's face....love the limited edition aspect of this anniversary model (as of now only 2500 will be manufactured)....bottom of the line we absolutely LOVE THIS BOAT!!!! ?? 40th Anniversary Edition 2018 Bass Tracker Heritage

Nobody mention the bayou boogie? Also, I can't speak to this in person, but I've heard the king spot by cotton Cordell was the beat all end all and is no longer produced

What tackle do plan to use? Water less then 8' the bass are conditioned to look up for larger size prey. I would start with a rat or slammer wake baits. Tom

The one with a cane and top hat that sings hello ma baby!, Kermit a close second.

If you are a student of the game it can happen pretty quick after a few years of trial & error. Confirmation of your becoming a good angler is when others are always looking for your advice. I personally think this site is heavily populated with lots of good anglers from the posts & pictures submitted. There is a wealth of information to be gleaned from Bass Resource. The next question to ask is how long does it take to be a great angler?