Paul Roberts

Quick follow up: Seasonable weather came back in -60s for highs. Temps shot back up -took a few days- to mid 50's cores and ST's into low-60sF. My smallest ponds saw the first males with beds down, but only on the morning incident banks (W now) in my two "reference ponds". They are reference ponds bc they were part of the series of ponds I followed spawn initiation in over 3 springs; They were the first to initiate spawning behavior, being the shallowest. So... it came just the same, although delayed about a week. I had also continued fishing my target water, getting skunked (on mature bass) on the next two outings. I actually started to wonder if the bass popn was low. Then... the heat came back. And... omg, the number of little bass that filled the S (organic, heated) shoreline was... unbelievable. The following day they had moved off the shoreline, along with larger bass, holding 4-6ft down in numbers. I suspect the larger marks were pre-spawn adults staging at spawning depth. The first wave is due in very soon. (Will have a VFJ out on it, and the other stuff that that water body tells us about bass... eventually. I'm not running a vlog.)

Amazing? There's fish to be caught!! Congrats to Aaron and his family.

Yes! Big deep water is pretty much buffered from the atmosphere. It's why bass in such waters spawn so much later. But, as you'd said, wind is the big water mover, able to bring more intense changes than the atmosphere probably ever could. Me too! I've hit this pond 3 times this spring and only managed 4 bass brought to hand. Here's the best one so far, providing some motivation to keep trying.

I got a window yesterday, and jumped on it, hitting my 12acre target pond. As I'd said above, this day followed several nights as low as 10 and 12F, with ~4" snow. So, what happened? Before the front: 52F@15ft 55F@ 10-4ft ("Core") 58-60F@1ft (ST) After front (as low as 10 and 12F and 4" snow): 49F@15ft 50F@ 10-4ft ("Core") 52-54F@1ft (ST) It got knocked down, but not far from expected. Telling thing was how quickly it warmed over the few hours I was there. Despite not being a great heating day (that would be flat calm with bright sun), it gained 2-3F. Given a break from these fronts, which "should" happen, and the spawn should be pretty much right on time in this pond. The fishing? I was skunked, and am pretty disappointed. It's a pond known to be difficult, with some large bass. Worth taking my lumps to figure it out. What's both interesting, and frustrating, was that there were signs that the fish were still quite active: shad 'blipping' on top, a couple carp breaching, and the ospreys , eagles, and herons appeared to be having a convention. Saw two osprey and an eagle catch fish -shad and a trout I believe. The only bass I raised chased my CB up at boat-side. I said, "Maybe I should pick up the pace?" I didn't; I fished "cold water" -slow rolling cranks and jigs. Dummy. Maybe. The window shut early -in terms of the fisherman's side of the water's surface- and I chased off by the next front that came a few hours earlier than predicted! Wind and waves too heavy for a float tube. I was still game, knowing the fish didn't likely care, snug in there resilient H2O, but boat control was gone and I was left pitching willy-nilly pelted by big fat rain/snow globs. "GET OUT!!!!" I swear i heard from that blackened sky. I had to anchor the boat on the downwind shore and hike to the other side for my backpack straps. Also telling, in terms of fish activity, the carp I saw breaching did so in those wind and waves! (In that 54F downwind water). On my hoof out, 5 herons lined the lee-side bank, still game! I went home. So, the news from Lake Wobegone continues. Good luck out there. It'll get better, or more comfortable, soon.

It's been a cold year here too. Winter hung on late. Spring has seen the usual fronts rolling through, but they've been a bit colder, and more frequent, than usual. Some serious snowfalls have come with them too. Between that, the wind bookending those fronts, and my being sick (and taking no chances with that, for everyone's sake), it's been a spring to make lemonade for me. Yeah, it's been a bit painful, watching The Binge pretty much pass me by. Just came off another good snowfall the last couple of days, with air lows dropping into lower teens for several nights. I left my target pond just before this front with a ~55F core (52F@15ft; @58-61F ST). Looks like tomorrow will be the most comfortable day, should hit 50F, so I'm headed back to my target pond. Will be interesting to see where it's at. I'm expecting that it won't have lost all that much. Ice at the very edges, but core still in the low 50s. Regardless, spring is here, and it'll heat right back up. However, there's another front right behind, and then warming again on the weekend. That's the news from Lake Wobegone. Keep fishing, when you can.

Spawning will start at different times in different areas. Shallow well wind-protected areas -back embayments, marinas,...- are where things will happen first.

Well... We've got back to back fronts with snow here this week, continuing into the coming week. I see avg air temps will be in the 30's for the coming week. This is the week that I traditionally start looking for the first beds for the year, in the smallest of my waters (a week or so later in larger waters). Core temps in my ponds were in the mid-50s just before the first front hit. They will bleed some heat though with a week of ~30deg air. Cold air could conceivably continue further. But, fronts are usually followed by warming trends that, with the sun high and days lengthening, the water will start sucking in heat again. The spawn should start with an intense wave of fish.

Water sucks up heat, and holds it. The air, and terrestrial objects, change rapidly by comparison. A quick-n-dirty way to ballpark protected shallow water temps (away from cold upwellings; i.e. spawning areas) is to average daily high and low air temps for the previous couple days, knowing that a cold snap is working against a reservoir of accumulated heat. Water is special stuff. Not sure which would make a better candidate for a God, or the main instrument, sun or water. I guess they work together... His/Her, Ying/Yang?

Hi, Steve. No, this is not a knife blade. As scaleface said, angle does matter , but the big difference is that a knife blade has a long edge all to cut at the right angles. It takes some precision. A hook is a single point, so it's a cake-walk. The angle is low {EDIT: Glenn in his vid says ~10deg}, you don't want to cut the point off, or round it! Stay low nearly parallel with the base of the point and shave off a tiny bit of metal. Like you are trying to lengthen the point I suppose. Try a few, you'll see. It's so easy. One stroke can often do it. It merely has to stick into your thumbnail, not... filet them! But, hey, if you figure that one out, let us know!

Fish man fish! Won't ruin the spawn. Might push it a bit later. The sun is so high now that thing will heat back up. look for an intense wall of spawners at some point. Ignore the air. It's the water that counts most. Be positive. And dress for success! That is, a good set of thermal underwear.

It's so easy and fast to do. I couldn't imagine not having a file with me, or paying for perfectly good hooks that need a few seconds attention. Any fine flat file will do. I've even used those cheap Chinese files you can get in the bins at a hardware store. My favorite, for bass sized hooks and up, is the Luhr Jensen Hook File. For really small hooks I use one of the diamond files. One good firm low-angle swipe will usually put a nail-sticking point on. I start on one side. If that doesn't do it, I make a second swipe on the other side. If the hook is really dull, I'll make a third swipe on top. I replace hooks only when the point is too short to sharpen. Hope this helps.

Yes, it's true. But they aren't all bad. My house is in a natural mountain meadow, and gophers abound. They are important ecologically in natural landscapes, by turning over soil which aerates it, and increases plant diversity by renewing plant succession opportunities.

Guess you only have to catch them once. We were doing mark and recapture -tagging them. We never did try an empty bag of chips though. Hey, might have worked.

Not taken that way at all. Wish I'd put a smiley behind that quick reply. You made a very good point. Which could lead into an interesting discussion. But... I'm finally! headed out fishing this week. And... Dwight popped in with a much more concise response that I could have. :)) ^^^ POW!

Agreed... I'll adjust my statement... not just ANY lure though.

While the buzzbait is a great choice for big bass, and after dark, what's most critical to his success is not the lure. It's the place, time, and sheer number of hours he dedicates to them.

Not. Outdoor exercise is deemed a necessity here. My fishing is generally physically/socially isolating. I've been sick though, so I've been cooped up. Looks like I'm finally clear to go! ?

I gave up on barbless jigs. Bass seemed to throw them like... a hot hook in butter! (How's that for a description ) That was with UL/L tackle. I wonder if this is, partly, why Ned uses M weight tackle?

Is this due to hook weight? And length?

I found 1/3 of a Zinker on a weedless Slider Head effective in weedy waters this winter. Weeds died back a lot leaving open pockets, and the bass sluggish -or at least short-lived- fighters, so I got by with 6lb FC leader.

Yes! No one's built a better mousetrap. That adage is still going. However, I've gone to a plastic type that is just easier to set, and to clean. Not sure it's "better", only easier. It needs a more powerful spring. Takes a bit longer to do the job it seems. Certainly better if there are children around. For a while, when my son was young, he helped me live trap those mice. We lived in a little 1800's cabin with plenty of mice. We released the mice a ways down the road, at "Mouse Rock" we called it. One issue became, what happens when we catch a tiny barely weanling or two? We started popping the little ones into an aquarium until we could catch mama. Then we could release the whole lot. After we released 24 mice at MR, I figured it was over-saturated with mice. Not a good scenario despite "having a heart". So... SNAP!!! Better all around. My mouse wrangling days are over. Of all the live-trapping I've done, I only caught one fox. A red. BTW, don't know if you've tried them, but raccoons KILL for marshmallows. I had one that after release, would hang out until I left, then go right back in for those marshmallows! So, before I pulled that trap, I sat down by the trap with a camera and waited. Sure enough, down he came, walked right by me and into the trap again, eating each mallow on the way in.

They're effective though. I think the "Ned" name has become a marketers term. I see "larger" cigar-type baits as baits that nearly fish themselves as well. A 4" stick-worm, on a wacky jighead is killer, even in open water like the Ned grub is. People have sworn by the 3" Senko. I've never used one, but... I take that back. I've certainly used half a ZinkerZ on a jighead! What was this thread about? Lotsa options out there. Hard to argue with a cigar shaped bait though. Either the whole cigar, or just a chunk of it. How to fish it? Throw it in the water. If something tries to swim away with it, set the hook. It's a lot easier, but not necessarily more fun, than trying to ricochet a crankbait off a stump or weed clump.

What's been portrayed in articles I've read is drive: energy and dedication; The sheer number of hours he's spent on the water, usually at night after work, every night!

I've trapped... a lot. Started as a youngster fur trapping: 'rats, 'coons, ermine, and foxes. Bought my first 35mm camera gear with that. Became a research trapper in university: raccoons (pre-rabies popn study), woodchucks (viral hepatitis and liver cancer study), spotted owls with USFWS (university buddy), small mammal survey (mammalogy class), trap-netting, gill-netting, electro-fishing, for fisheries work. Nowadays... it's mouse season here in the mountains. Gave up on the soft-hearted live-trapping. Got too labor intensive. SNAP!!!

@plawren53202 The side it's matting on is probably the downwind shoreline. The downwind shore will collect heat too. Could be dyno! Wouldn't hurt to, inadvertently, drop in a dead bush or two there, since there's little cover. One bush could wind up a magnet. Add overhead cover, and this time of year, heat, and... potential carnage zone!