Paul Roberts

Yeah, genetics. I hesitated on that one, mostly because I know few specifics about it really. Is it growth potential, or simple aggression that counts most? I suppose it doesn't matter which, the take-home message is the same: On most waters, release those big ones, and handle with care. Unless maybe your water is so intensively managed that 5lbers are a nuisance! As to the FloridaXNorthern issue, here's an interesting bit of research on the subject: http://www.bigindianabass.typepad.com/ Scroll to: It's All in the Genes

Angles, yes. And there are LOTS of "other subjects" to this question. Fishing (or let's say catching consistently) is a VERY complex game. But there are key things at work that shift in priority as the Earth spins, and the wind blows (to be poetic). Knowing how fish behave, how conditions alter things, and what lures do, puts you into the ballpark. The rest is fishing. Someday I hope to be able to just walk right out onto the pitcher's mound every time. Then, being a red-blooded male (with control issues LOL), I want to stand there and throw only strikes. Oh well, I'm at least within the diamond most of the time now, and still working on my pitching.

Start by doing some reading. This'll get you asking some relevant questions when you hit the water. There's good information in the articles section of this site. I'd also highly suggest the In-Fisherman Largemouth Bass Handbook of Strategies. Understanding how lake types, calendar periods, and bass activity, come together to make a days fishing, is the starting blocks.

Many people approach lure choice by having some confidence baits, and then looking for situations to match them. I'm the other way around, I look at the fish and conditions, then choose lures to apply. I re-think, re-adjust, adapt, as I go. We all know lots of things catch bass. But some work better than others depending on the circumstances. In my mind, those circumstances are fish behavior and activity, and sky and water conditions. I first try to decide where the fish are generally by season and in terms of actual lake lay-out (called location). Then I decide where in that location or structure they are -how close to cover, how high in the water column, etc...(this is called position). Then I try to determine what they are doing, their activity level -How easy they will be to dupe, how willing to chase they are, etc.. Essentially, I'm usually looking for the easiest fish to catch). Together these dictate the very basic controls: depth, speed. From there other more specific things enter in to the mix: -Cover present (weed type, algae, wood, rock, ...) -Visibility conditions: Water clarity, cloud cover, time of day, cover. -Other anglers present? -How spooky are they? (Often directly related to visibility and other anglers). -Prey type the bass are likely feeding on, or used to seeing. -Triggering. What manipulations you apply to turn non-biters into biters. -other stuff... -How comfortable (which boils down to how experienced) you are with the lures in your possession. If you have lures you don't know much about, read about where they shine and then go have a practice session with them, figuring out what they do. Better, pay attention to fishing conditions you encounter, then go read up on (or ask) what lures shine in those types of conditions. Then get one or two and do your practice sessions. If I'm using something I'm sure should work, then it may mean I haven't really found the fish yet, or I need to adjust the triggering -which may mean a different retrieve, or a lure change. If I'm still not catching, then I blame the fish, the lake, and the sky (LOL), meaning, I re-think parts of the above prescription; I've missed something. Maybe the majority of fish aren't still shallow, maybe they've dropped deeper now, or maybe my fish are right under that wind-blown algae on shore? Maybe they are feeding on bottom-gleaning bluegills and I need to try deeper. Maybe more speed, more aggressive triggering, more subtle... . Maybe they are holding just deep enough that with the new water color coupled with those thin clouds, the bass aren't seeing my topwater I need to go noisier, or slower, or subsurface. Maybe... You get the idea. I suppose the bottom line is: If you aren't hitting them, there is a reason, and it's all about asking the right questions. I'd work on understanding what questions to ask. Hopefully, when I finally find a bite, I let the fish tell me what details I need to adjust, to maximize the bite. I also watch conditions like a hawk so I can turn that corner with them. This is where I want to be and hopefully can get there before the sun goes down on me. Not uncommonly, I've deduced several things that will work, and I'll switch rods on nearly consecutive casts: (i.e. Buzzer, slower topwater, swimming jig, free-falling tube). This'll often pull more fish out of a given spot than if I'd fished just one before moving on. Lures are truly are tools, or maybe better, keys. They are not magic; the magic is in your knowledge of them and then ability to apply them in the right places at the right times which means knowing fish, water, and your own pieces of it. This isn't a precise science either. You may be able to apply a lure in a different way than another angler and make a key that fits a certain set of circumstances. In fact, if you get good at this you may find that making your own lure concoctions is the most satisfying. It's a nice place to be. It means you've grabbed the bait monkey by the b@!!$.

My Dad, and my friend Diallo.

Are you sure there are "big" bass in this pond? A lot of small sunnies, and few large ones, doesn't bode well for growing of big bass -unless there are some old ones still around -less likely in a public water.

The short answer is: Food. With some qualifications: -Appropriate sized food -for all year classes to bring bass to size. -Available food -catchable, meaning not living where bass don't, or tucked away in dense cover where bass cannot efficiently get at them. -A LOT of it! Well, that was my simple answer, but there's more to it (nothing in nature is really simple) ...So...here's s'more... In most waters (those that vary year to year in the above prescription) age of the bass matters. In the waters I fish it takes 8 years or more for a bass to reach 18 inches. In many of my ponds, bass hit 16inches and get really thin and then disappear. In others, the cutoff may be 18". Each year may vary too in what it offers to bass of various size classes. It is possible for individual bass to jump a forage base bottle neck, usually by being especially aggressive. The very largest bass in most waters are often the most aggressive individuals. However, these fish tend to be most vulnerable to angling, and suffer attrition over the years it takes to grow large. For an interesting study on this, see Brian Waldman's site: http://www.bigindianabass.com/big_indiana_bass/research/page/2/ Scroll down to: Pressure and Bass Aggressiveness The final sub-set of individuals that may get really big are those that are very difficult to catch by anglers even dubbed by some researchers as "immune to angling". As you can see, waters that produce really truly big bass are truly rare. Would love to hear Bob Lusk weigh in here.

For an added clinker to the discussion, females in food rich situations have been known to spawn, eat and gain more fat reserves (which are converted to eggs), and spawn again. I once saw a large female at a particular bed (two different males) over a month and a half period apart! It's possible it was a different female, although they looked very much alike. Regardless, the second time around that female would qualify as a late spawner. From what I've observed in my ponds, I think as long the hormones are raging, at least some females hang around the spawning areas. Do the biggest females come first? I haven't seen that in my shallow ponds, unless they spawn deeper than I can see. However, I've seen, and other observers have too, that smaller females (and males) seem to spawn later. It's believed that one reason is because it takes a certain amount of fat reserves to convert to eggs, and smaller bass come out of winter requiring more time to gain necessary weight. Or maybe, since experience is known to affect fish spawning site fidelity and success, it might simply take longer for younger bass to get with the program. The older bass simply know what to do. Just some thoughts.

I disagree too. But I think I know where that might be coming from. Maybe the guy is "old school". As water gets warm it often takes more speed to interest fish. As the season prgresses and I begin seeing bass (or trout) chasing, or zipping in fast, looking, then zipping away, I immediately think speed, as one potential remedy. If one thought of jigs in the traditional sense, bottom crawling/hopping, then a jig's catch rate would often fall off, compared to other lures. Also, early jigs were almost all 90degree heads, so when the vegetation grew up and bass retreated into them, we'd go to the plastic worm. I even remember reading long ago that plastic worms weren't good UNTIL the water warms -and later found that to be untrue (had to have that surgically removed from my lexicon LOL). (However, I do think that there are better options than a worm in the early season, so I don't break them out until pre-spawn.) But jigs, and worms, have come a long way since those days. I remember what a "breakthrough" the jigworm was -fishing a worm on an light weight jig head around weedwalls -which allowed a worm to be fished higher in the water column for active, weed oriented summer bass. A crawled jig, or worm, would simply miss these fish. We also now have shaky and flick-shake, wacky, 28-60degree eyes, effective weedguards, techniques that allow us to fish them like spinnerbaits (swimming jigs and worms), flipping jigs for dense cover, and sensitive tackle that allows us to fish light stuff on the drop, etc... And these things are ubiquitous, thanks in large part to tournament fishing and the internet. (We don't have to wait for our Fishing Facts and In-Fisherman's to arrive anymore!). So maybe this guy is "old school", (and never did subscribe to the old IF and FF)? No shame there, just a bit behind the curve. Just some thoughts.

I fish from shore and out of a float tube. I limit my fishing to relatively similar waters: strip pits and small reservoirs. I have a huge possum belly box, an over-sized (saltwater/muskie) lures box, several large compartment boxes and bags for soft plastics. These stay home. I use compartment boxes on the water. These are stocked with the basic tools I need for the techniques I like, and are adjusted each trip for season and for particular water bodies -first by water body type if I don't know them well (key parameters are depth, water color, cover type, and fish size), then more specifically as I get to know them. I too keep empty boxes, for new waters. But I do keep my shore fishing pack and my float tube already stocked with the essentials -I have almost duplicate tackle in each, ready to go. I can't spend my valuable fishing time choosing lures and rigging. I consider versatility essential. I try to carry two basic colors for each lure: a dark for dark conditions and a light/translucent for brighter conditions. I carry extra spools for my reels for line adjustments. My tube is rigged to carry four rods. With the limited space of a pack or float tube I need to be both smart and ruthless. Smart: I don't want to be without something important so I make sure I have the basics covered (adjusted somewhat each trip as above): Topwater -popper, walker, twitcher, buzzbait, weedless topwaters. Cranks: -super-shallow, shallow, med, deep (shape and size depends on water I'm visiting), jerks, lipless. Jigs: Weight, dark/light, trailers. Style dependent on water. Spinnerbaits: Single, tandem -dark and light. Extra blades, and trailer hooks. Worm box and bags: Sticks, straight tail, swimming tail, finesse. T-rig, Carolina, drop-shot, split-shot, wacky, flick-shake -rigging materials not all that much in a small box. Tubes/grubs/creatures: Light and dark. Big Lures: Swimbaits, big plugs, 10-13inch worms. Optional box, since big fish are mutually exclusive to much of the above, requiring more time than tackle. Marker buoys: made from large floats. Hook file, leader material, nippers, hemostats, pliers, extra spools are in/on my compartmented flotation vest, or backpack. Ruthless: I'm careful not to get caught up in the hype. I try not to be lure crazy. Lures are tools -not magic. But I value versatility. In the course of a trip I may only use 4 or 6 different options, but over the course of a month I'll go through them all. I trade lure count for versatility; I don't have space for too many duplicates, except for certain lures that I tend to GoTo in a given water body. Except for soft plastics I carry one or two of each lure type. If I lose a lure I may have to simply make do with something else. Most water bodies allow for that. All lures are pre-configured, tested and ready to fish, so I don't have dead weight with me. I bring trailers, jigheads, stick-on lead, spinner blades, etc... to adjust basic controls on the water.

Prespawn, especially in the north where there is a pronounced coldwater period (ice) and a rapid-warm-up period, females will be concentrated (after wintering together). Once you find them, it'll skew your expectations for the rest of the year! (This happens in the late fall again too BTW). After spawning, females go to summer quarters that may not be together. Likely your big females are distributed around the pond. It truly is a hunt for individual fish. But, look for the best areas, those that have really good cover and the most appropriate-sized prey: 5" or better bluegills, or 6" or better perch, or what have you. Several larger bass may occupy some areas, if the areas are large enough to support several larger bass. Post-spawn and pre-summer, if you have bluegills, spawning gill colonies offer concentrations of mature gills that attract big females. Fish outside of them, especially those with some depth and cover close to the edge of the colonies. Pre-summer into fall, if there is away-from-shore structure (humps, or long points) these would be key locations. I find these, mark them with a buoy, and re-visit them throughout the day. If there are shallow slop (dense matted surface vegetation/algae) areas, these would be worth checking too, provided the weeds have some depth (3-4feet) and preferably a canopy so bass are not restricted in their hunting. (However in some of my shallower ponds just two feet of water with matted algae -often windblown- can hold pre-summer bass. In a shallow pond in MI, you may find bass in such areas all summer). Slop areas with hard cover pieces, like wood or boulders, and weed type transitions (reeds?), may be focal as they offer breaks in the slop for hunting. Come summer, when the water temps get higher (~>85F) the mature bass may become less active in midday, and when the weed beds get denser they'll be harder to get to. If this happens where you are, try deep water (if available and oxygenated), at night, early AM, periods of deep overcast, and evenings. The former three are often the most consistent, at least in my waters that heat up above the mid-80s. Since you are in MI, your waters may not heat up too high and you'll likely get into some good fishing all day. Those dinks you are catching become heavy feeders of insects and young of the year fishes as water warms. They become aggressive biters that are willing to chase making them easy to catch, even a nuisance. They exist in hunting groups I call 'wolf packs' that cruise around making a nuisance of themselves to those looking for bigger fish. Bigger fish are less apt to cruise so openly or at least so continuously as they are energetically more reserved. I fished a pond yesterday that has a large year class of 7-8 inchers, (which bodes well for the future), so many in fact that I caught two doubles on a crankbait! I avoided them by going up in lure size, and not setting into those smaller pecks and grabs. I did find 3 bigger fish (4-5lb range) and they were each in different locations around the pond, and all associated with heavy coontail patches. Good luck.

Contact your state fish and game department.

My guess is it has to do with your "mile high skies". If your bass are shallow and there is low light, (clouds, low sun angle, chop), they should hit a topwater.

KT, Now there's the post you needed -from NBR. Best advice yet. -Paul

In general, I pay close attention to heating, and anything that obscures bass' vision: Clouds, wind, water color, broken weeds and other cover. How this all pans out depends on the time of year for me: Believe it or not, I like post frontal conditions (brilliant blue) a lot, especially very early in the season, coupled with slightly turbid water which it tends to be that time of year. I like heat and stability, with clouds, and a full or new moon, for the onset of the spawn. I like the 2nd or 3rd day post-frontal (brilliant blue) for post spawn and pre-summer. At these times our summer weather patterns set up brilliant blue in the AM giving way to towering cumulus. What's great about this is that we get great heating with the sun, then overcast rolls in that obscures bass vision. They aren't nearly as spooky my waters are mostly very clear, until plankton blooms come in during the heat of summer. I like pre-frontal in general for the warmer times of year the warmer the better, except in mid-summer, when early morning, evening, and night are best. During the day, just having clouds roll in to knock the smile off that sun helps in mid-summer. Early to mid-fall I like those heating days again, but I need to spend more time at this time period to understand it better. Late fall doesn't matter just no snow. If I'm fishing from shore, I like a heating day. In general I pay close attention to heating and anything that obscures bass' vision: Clouds, wind, water color, broken weeds and other cover. I haven't looked at the barometer. I guess I should, to see what kind of window it may offer. Lots of other things to, at finer scale.

That is a good tip. But, it's not the weighting part that's missing in the industry, it's hook size. We need 7/0 and 8/0 EWGs.

Don't know your waters, but in mine, I have one thing to say: Bluegill spawning colonies .

KlubbaT, I've never fished in NH. But I'm originally a NE'er and have traveled through, and know a bit about the geology of NH, but that is all. You'll really have to scope out your waters. But largemouth bass are similar all over, and love cover. If you find your chosen waters are more rocky and clear (doubtful if you have both pickeral and LMB) and have more smallmouth you may need to lighten up your tackle a tad. I'm guessing that your rod with 8# and 12# line in pickeral/LMB waters are perfect. The recommended line tests have more to do with matching to hook sizes, and lure weights. Spinnerbaits, rubber-leg jigs, and Texas-rigged plastics have pretty course (wire diameter) hooks. Also, if you have cover to fish, like vegetation or wood, you need more pulling power to muscle fish out. A 2lb bass can bury in vegetation quickly with 8lb line and can be tough to pull out. Come summer, weed beds will get dense and you'll really appreciate the stronger line. So, use the 12lb line for the heavier hooked lures and in cover. I'd stick with the 8lb for a lighter line for largemouth bass, and the suggested lures. It's thin enough to work well with finer hooked lures -smaller hardbaits, smaller jigs, Mepps, the Rapala. However I'd use the 12# for the walking topwater as it offers better flotation -helpful for this one lure type. If there were more smallmouths, yes, I'd probably go with 6lb. You'll know more as you fish your waters. (If you end up with more smallmouth, then you'll need to start this thread all over again (LOL). Ditto Skillet on the swivels -nix 'em. For most lures, tie direct. Now with the Mepps spinners, if you decide to go with some of them (if you like pickeral, it's a must have), then you could use a small ball-bearing swivel. I don't though. I tie direct but bend the line tie wire up at about a 40degree angle (see pic), which helps reduce line twist some. And you'll need to cut off that Mepps every now and then and let a good 30 feet of line hang out in the water to un-twist.

You know, sight fishing is an eye opener. It can show you how tough it is to dupe fish, especially in clear water and bright sky conditions. This is mostly going to be a timing thing, rather than a magic lure. Best bets: Low light conditions -very early morning and evening when the sun is low, overcast skies, wind rippled surface, slight turbidity, etc...Or, at night. Of course under these conditions you can't see them then, but they are easier to dupe. At least you know your on exceptional water. Do not let them see you. This is not always required but often it is, especially when visibility is good. The turn off can be subtle enough you might not notice it. Big bass are often more composed and less apt to expend the energy to chase, unless it's a sure thing. Slower and more subtle is more often the ticket. Experiment with lures. A big jig w/pork, a large worm, a creature bait, a soft plastic craw, a walking topwater (Zara/Sammy), a buzzbait, a big crankbait or swimbait. If under somewhat high visibility conditions go more subtle -a 7inch tranluscent straight tail worm with little or no weight weight, or a wacky-rigged stick worm. Observe: Look for possible "in's". Adjust your expectations. Don't expect to catch the big ones every time. You should be proud of yourself when you do.

That's a good all around rod for largemouth. You can do quite a lot with that. I'd definitely get an extra spool for your reel, and fill it with 12lb mono. No need to bother with braid or fluoro at this point. Mono floats and requires no special knots. Here are my recommendations for basic lures (considering the rod you own, and location): Topwater: I'd get a three topwaters: -Rebel Pop-R, or Rapala Skitter-Pop -4 walking plug like the Zara Spook Jr, or one of the BassPro versions a little easier to manipulate. Tricky but well worth learning. -A small buzzbait I like the Strike King Triple Wing, in 1/8oz. The small one will interest the majority of northern bass in a variety of conditions. Minnow Plugs: -#11 or #13 (or both) Rapala floating minnow in black/silver. This can double as a great calm water topwater. -X-Rap (suspending) size 8 is great for northern bass. Crankbaits: -Rat-L-Trap Optional: -2 Cordell Big-O or Bandit in crawfish finish. Great relatively weedless plug. Deep and med/shallow runners. Spinnerbaits: Although these are MUCH better for casting (levelwind) gear. -A 1/4oz tandem blade. I believe you have one! -A 3/8oz single spin for slow-rolling. Jigs: -Rubber-legged jigs in two sizes -a large and small (1/8 and 1/4oz) with a conical head and weedguard for weeds. I like the Zorro Booza for the larger and the Strike King Bitsy Bug in 1/8 with a matching trailer (down-sized). There many good brands though. Get a dark (black or brown) and a light (pumpkin). Get a trailer for these. I like pork frogs (#11), but you have to soften them. Or plastic craw chunks with pincers. Tubes!!: -Pick a 3-1/2 tube you like (lots of them out there). Rig with a weighted EWG hook (BPS Vertical Drop Hook) in 1/16oz. Great bait fished on the drop. Plastics (you've got the Senko): -Zoom Trick Worm 7 Texas-rigged.weightless or with light bullet sinker. If you go with the 8lb line only, use a wire weedguard hook, rather than Texas. Read about Carolina rigging too not a great $ investment for a great deeper water technique. -Creatures. I like the Zoom Sooie (4 ½), but there are many good ones. Fish on weedless conical jig head or texas-rigged. Frogs if you have slop (surface weeds and algae): -Generic terms for weedless topwaters. ScumFrog and/or Stanley Ribbit (Texas-rigged), etc... Choose one you like. Do NOT get the BPS XPS frogs they are way too hard for good hooksets. Pickeral are attracted to flashy lures. If you like pickeral (I do) then a Mepps #2 or #3 are great. They catch bass too. The floating Rapalas are good for pickeral too, and are long enough that you won't need a leader, although the 12# line for a leader will do it for most pickeral anyway -but be checking you line for nicks after each one. In general I like to catch pickeral on lighter tackle, a softer rod. They are really zippy if the rod and line will allow them to keep their fins dug in. I'm sure I'll think of other must-have's later, LOL. Excellent lists provided by RW too. Good luck.

I'd love to keep it simple, but nature just isn't. As to a useful computer database, I can see if you fish a particular water body, often enough, you could use that power to delineate seasonal patterns and basic baits. I prefer prose for my records it's a lot more fun. Cheers!

Don't buy anything until you've answered some questions for yourself about where you'll be fishing. You can do plenty with $100, for starters. You can adjust, upgrade, add to, and replenish over time. First, I'd start with the rod -since you've already purchased it. It will have range of what lures it can effectively use. What's the line test rating? Next, I'd look at the waters you are choosing to fish. Pick a couple that you'll be fishing most and describe them. Are they deep clear and rocky? Shallow and weedy? Mud, rubble and wood? Streams or rivers (fast or placid)? Are these natural waters? Or man-made? What's the water clarity like: Clear, stained, muddy? How deep are they? Are there shallow areas? Being in NH, with LMB and pickeral I'm guessing you are fishing small clear natural lakes with a mix of rock, mud and weeds?

Tyrius, I see. That makes practical sense, especially with the text part. Falcon, Not sure what you're agreeing with. Tom never mentioned anything about database software. And I never said keeping records was a gimmick. I always play nice, but I'm not timid.

I'd bet more than half of the fishing pressure on the waters I fish drops away after the spawn. Once those bass aren't visible, and/or close to shore, a lot of anglers hang up their bass rods. I fish small waters, yet, most bass move away from the shoreline. There are shorelines that still attract bass but it seems most relate to the main basin. Offshore humps, weedbeds and even isolated pieces, attract bass.

Catt, I guess you've said what you wanted to say, with an edge. Why the barb, I dunno. I too have kept a detailed journal, since 1976. I didn't question the use of a journal or log. But I do question the value of a full blown database -the question asked here. To this question I ask: Just how do you put things like weather, water temperature, how the wind factored in, what bait was present (species and activity), how many other anglers were present, not to mention presentation details, etc... -the myriad of details that make up a day, into neatly categorized fields? Take water (surface) temp: i.e. "62F" -Where? The whole lake? So you should have a sub-field for each micro-spot on your lake? How about time of day? Was it a rapid change? Or a slow one? Did is start heating, then fall? Take weather: i.'e "Sunny" -The whole day?? What about the previous 2 days? Take presentation: i.e. Jig -Hmmmmm, there are a ton of possible configurations and manipulations to fit the day, or the hour, that are worth describing. Weight? Trailer? Color? Did they take on the fall, an acceleration, at splashdown, hopped, ripped, ...? Did you make any adjustment that mattered? Have to adapt in any way? Was it the same all over the lake? How many sub-fields there? Or did you just fish a "Jig". Fishing requires an awful lot of variables that would be practically impossible to fit neatly into database fields. Someone could do it I suppose, but you'd have an awfully complicated base. And then you'd have to sit down and enter it all in appropriately -after a days fishing . I had a guy contact me directly (he knew I keep detailed records) from a company that produces such a database for fishing. Site was very exciting, (all jazzed and hyped up) even had testimonials about how his software had helped anglers catch more fish. It's touted advantage was to provide the weather and astronomical data for your very lake. Sounds GREAT, at first. Turned out to be mostly gimmick in my book, for the above mentioned reasons I've already suggested, but also considering this: I asked where the weather data came from. It came from the nearest airport 30 miles away from my house. Now, In my immediate area (a 5 mile radius) we have about 40 weather recording stations, and the readings vary enormously over this area, because weather just isn't the same everywhere, even close to one another. When I upload weather data it's from within a mile of my fishing site. I also choose sites that fall within the same micro-drainage (cold air flows like water), and proximity to urban landscapes (concrete holds heat). Best I can do. Would love to have a weather station at each of my ponds though. That's just temperature. What does "partly cloudy" mean? What about amount and density of cloud cover? When did those clouds roll in? Did they impact your fishing? As far as fishing logs in general, they are a VERY useful tool -if you record enough good info, and keep it up. A printed log can be used to fill in the modicum of useful info. If you prefer booting up a computer after a day's fishing, fine. That can work. (I prefer a journal style, written in prose to flesh out the day.) I view a true queriable database as overkill -way more power than most people will see, or bother to record. But, maybe someone out there has done it successfully?