senile1

It wasn't a flavor of the month. We still have acidic rainfall but just not at the levels we once had due to decreases in sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions. The Clean Air Act required that power plants make significant cuts in sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions and they did this by installing "scrubbers" in smokestacks and switching to coal with less sulfur. Catalytic converters on cars also contributed to the decrease as well as "cap-and-trade" programs implemented for both of these compounds. Statistics from the National Emissions Inventory of the EPA show that sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions have decreased dramatically from the 1980s. All it takes is a little research to discover these things.

It sounds like you are on the right path. Once you learn the concepts affecting bass location, you still have to apply it on the water. On the water don't be in a hurry and spend some time analyzing and applying your newly found knowledge using your electronics. And by the way . . . . do you really know how to interpret every detail on your electronics? If not, study that as well. It is a process and you will have good days and bad, especially on very large lakes. As your skill in applying your knowledge increases so will the good days, hopefully.

The Sufix Performance braid you are using is a fine braid. I have used it for years along with others and never had any complaints. Just about any brand of braid mentioned on these "best" threads will be a good product. For someone to give you a fact-supported opinion on the best braid he or she would have had to try and analyze every one on the market. Right?

Nice catch. Spots are a blast for their size!

That's a solid fish . . . . and a tough one munching down on catfish.

I was raised by wolves.

Yes, and you can only guess at how good some players would be with different teams but you can never know. Still, you have to admit Green Bay is a completely different team with Rogers at the helm. Another example: I watched Jamaal Charles average well over 5 yards per carry in Kansas City without anything resembling a good offensive line. I always wonder what he could have done with a different team. Now with two bum knees and his career near the end we will never know.

I would normally agree, but I have so much going on personally right now that I am not sure I will be able to get over there any time soon. I would probably only get to go once, twice, or maybe not at all before Spring. Between my work, my Mom in a nursing home 6 hours away, and the weather it may be difficult to get there this winter.

How can you not like, or at least highly respect, Brady as a quarterback if you are a true football fan? The man plays the game hard, is extremely competitive, seems to always come through under pressure, and has the stats and championships to back up an argument that he could be the greatest to have ever played. Having said that, I am tired of New England winning all the time. It is time for some new blood. That is the only reason I have rooted against New England lately. I also think if Aaron Rogers had Brady's supporting cast and coach he would surpass Brady as he is the better athlete. But things being what they are, Rogers won't come close to exceeding Brady's championship work.

I hope it works out for you, Ben. If you do have to move it, the SternMate link I posted above is some of the best information I have found. It is very precise and explains why old rules of thumb such as "15 inches" really don't apply any more with the different transoms that exist. I don't think you can go wrong following their instructions.

I have caught the most with a finesse jig and subtle craw trailer, followed by a jerkbait, and then a flat-sided crankbait. Our lakes have been frozen solid for the last 3 weeks so there has been no fishing for me since December. I need to get a Kansas license and hit the power plant lakes over there from what I have seen from @Bluebasser86. He has brought in some hawgs over there though it is an hour and a half drive for me.

If you wait for a good report to go fishing, the conditions will have changed by the time you get there.

I agree. It would be right behind the prop. I was thinking he needs to go further starboard but to pick a spot I would want to see the rest of his transom.

You want to keep the transducer away from any strakes or anything on the bottom of the boat that will cause disturbance in the water, while positioning it where it will be in the flow of water when you are on plane. Without seeing the rest of your transom all the way over to starboard I can't be sure of a better location, but I would be concerned that you are too close to the keel on the left and then you have your drain just to the right of your transducer. Both of those may create disturbance. There are some on this forum who have a great deal of knowledge for transducer placement. I found these instructions from SternMate to be very helpful. http://www.sternmate.com/Where.html

It looks like someone else already posted about this. See the thread below. It definitely reinforces the idea of paying attention to your surroundings.

Geez. Such incredible negligence by the driver of the cabin cruiser. That is hopefully a lesson he will not soon forget. Everyone is very fortunate to be alive in this one. Yes!!!!!!!!!!

Tom, My condolences to you and his family. It sounds like you had a number of great trips together.

If your cover (the vegetation) ends at 13 feet more or less, the structure (point, ridge, hump, channel, etc) typically continues beyond that and bass do use that structure beyond the cover. Not to belabor the point, but structure consists of the different projections, humps, etc that form the shape of the bottom of the lake. Cover consists of the trees, stumps, vegetation, docks, etc that are on the structure. Breaklines are lines formed by a sharp change in depth, outside line of vegetation, change in bottom substrate, etc. You might want to research these in depth as it will help you in your search for bass and I am only providing a cursory explanation in this post. Your vegetation will end where the turbidity of the water and the depth no longer allow enough light for it to grow. If your lake is deeper than where the vegetation ends, bass will use a structure that extends beyond that depth. As for exceptions to the rule, if bass are not the apex predator and some other organism exists that will feed upon them, bass will be less likely to use the part of the structure that is in open water with no protective cover. Also, during the summer when a thermocline develops if it forms at a shallow depth bass will not go deeper than that depth because there isn't enough oxygen to support them. It is likely you are missing out on some good fishing if you don't fish beyond the vegetation, but then again if your lake bottoms out at 17 feet you may be fishing most of it anyway.

These comments are based on the assumption from your post that you have had stable cold weather for the last couple of weeks. If you are going to have a few days of higher temperatures I would expect more bass activity by the second to third day of those temps even though that activity may not be significant enough to notice much difference. A few days of stable warmer temperatures can make a big difference. For water temperatures in the low 40s to the 30s, and for Northern Largemouth I typically use the following with the first three being used 90 percent of the time: Jig and subtle trailer in holding areas near the deepest water Jerkbait when they are not hunkered on the bottom around the same areas, as well as shallower areas near deep water Spoons Flat-sided crankbaits when they are active in shallower water (less than 10 feet) Others may use different, or additional baits like bladebaits, A-rigs, swimbaits, etc. but I just listed what I have the most confidence in.

When the surface water temperature is in the 30s or the low 40s catching a few fish of any size is a good day.

Keep 'em coming! Those are some amazing bass.

I would use a similar type of lure - the Rapala floating minnow. For the most part though, I would be looking at other presentations.

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.

That is a very nice fish , and catching it through the ice must have been a real surprise. Congrats!

As stated previously by others, to attempt to determine if one is a good bass angler is a subjective task. And while we all want to be good enough to obtain maximum satisfaction from fishing, the desire to always be better than the next angler can evolve into an egotistical undertaking which is something I choose to avoid. I am not saying that competing is a bad thing, but I am saying that if your only reason for improvement is to beat the next angler, at some point you will tire of bass fishing. I have improved over what I was before. Every time I think I possibly have arrived, something happens on the water to show me I can be better. All I can do is strive to become better and the fact that the process never ends is what I love about bass fishing.