senile1

I fish Zoom much more than Berkley. The few Berkley products I have purchased did not compare well with the Zoom products in fish-catching ability. That's not to say that Berkley is bad. I doubt if I have given Berkley a fair shake because I don't fish them as often as Zoom.

2 lb 8 oz

I've often wondered who might actually be participating on this site. When you google for bass fishing sites this is always one of the top choices so it obviously receives more hits than most. It makes sense that some big names in bass fishing would be checking it out.

Yep, get ready to chop holes or call it a day.

Cold means different things to different people. If you're in southern California or Florida cold might be 50 degree water. I live in Northwest Missouri and the water temps get down in the 30s and there is ice in the winter. We have quite a few days in the 0 - 20 degree range for air temperatures and occasionally will have sub-zero weather. I think the coldest it ever gets is -25 or so and that is rare. When the air temperatures are like that the water is ridiculously cold and there is a lot of ice. Further north, it gets much worse. On days like these bass tend to not bite as much, obviously. However, there are days when you'll hook 'em good, though the slow days are much more common in the cold. Bass still need to eat but their metabolism has slowed so much, they eat quite a bit less.

I read some things after I read your post, Raul. I know you're a veterinarian and you have studied a lot of this but are you quoting the classifications from when you went to school or are you quoting the way they are now. It seems there are a couple of different methods of classification used now, and there is some disagreement about the classification of sharks as well as other creatures. I know little about this since I haven't studied scientific classification since college (about 25 years ago.) For instance, I found this: Chondrichthyes are fish with the following characteristics: a skeleton made of cartilage, jaws, paired fins, and paired nostrils. Chondrichthyes are further divided into two subclasses: Holocephaii and Elasmobranchii. 1. The subclass Holocephaii includes fishes known as chimaeras. They are characterized by the fusion of the upper jaw and cranium (the part of the skull that encloses the brain), one pair of external gill openings, and no scales. 2. The subclass Elasmobranchii includes sharks and batoids. Elasmobranchs are characterized by cylindrical or flattened bodies, five to seven pairs of gill slits, an upper jaw not fused to the cranium, and placoid scales. According to the wording of this, sharks are fish. I found other information that opposed this view.

I've always liked St Croix, however, I bought a rod from Powell this summer and it has blown me away. I bought it because of this test on Tackletour.com: http://tackletour.com/reviewpowell683cxfast.html. The Powell Max 683c is now my favorite baitcasting rod. Without consideration for price, I would choose G.Loomis but this Powell rod lists for only $170. I got a deal on it for $159, but if feels like an upper $200 - $300 rod. Since I haven't tried other Powell rods I can't pick them as the best, but if their other rods are this good they are a force to be reckoned with.

Welcome to THE FORUM, Cigarlover.

It can only be one of three things: (1) Flooding as suggested by Flechero, (2) Someone placed those fish in that body of water, and (3) Aliens abducted those fish and brought them back to the wrong body of water. LBH, you didn't happen to notice if the vegetation around this lake was pressed down into nice geometric shapes, did you?

If your boat floats you should take it on the water. A 528 acre lake is still fairly small. Even when the boat traffic is bad you should be able to find some coves to fish with your 12 foot aluminum boat.

3 lb 10 oz on the bass Whoops, sorry. Someone else already guessed this weight. Ok, 3 lb 11 oz is my guess then.

It appears your questions have been answered. The only thing I can add is that I have noticed very little digging in with braid on spinning reels.

The Rapala, mentioned above, is a perfect lure to start out on topwater. Although I've fished it the way Roger suggests above, I've also fished it at a moderate retrieve with intermittent twitches distributed throughout the retrieve. And I've mixed the retrieve that Roger describes above with the more moderate retrieve. I've grown to love a number of topwater lures, but the Rapala original floater was the first that I mastered. Just remember, if you want to learn to catch fish and build confidence with a lure you need to spend time with that lure. Late Fall is usually not the best time to concentrate on learning topwater. . . . . and welcome to the forum, Bionicman. (Or is it Steve Austin?)

How cold and muddy is your water? Extremely muddy water that is cold can be very tough to fish. Under these conditions, I would use a jig, as stated by jomatty. If the water is upper forties to low 50s and fairly clear, a silver x-rap fished slowly is one good choice.

2 lbs 11 oz

;D Yeah, CyBasser, we have those ugly catfish in Missouri too. I wonder what the Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana girls think about those ugly gators.

Pond Hopper stated: Pond Hopper, so you're saying that size does matter. :

Wow!!! What a beautiful sunset. I should have been able to see almost the same sunset, KU, but I worked from 7:30 am til 10:15 pm last night. Excellent picture.

I don't agree with Chapman but he has a right to his opinion. Maybe Iaconneli's antics just bother him more. That's fine by me if he's bothered by the antics but he obviously made a bad choice in words when he stated that Iaconelli is "going to be a flash in the pan." If I had said that about someone who has the ability of Iaconelli, I would make a retraction. Brent Chapman is a K.C. Metro angler trying to make good. I wish him well in that endeavor but he would be wise to choose his words carefully in the future.

Yes but those bass were White Bass not any species of Black bass... Also you didn't state all the article said...If this Biosonix was that good for BASS anglers wouldn't all the other anglers get one? If everyone has one it levels the playing field. Also it said that it isn't automatic. You have to take out the right sound for the right situation. You can't just throw on any sound and the bass come running. Just like a lure. You gotta have the right color, type of bait, retrieve etc. etc. You can't just put anything on there throw it out and catch 20 fish in an hour. Also the thing can't be used for ever, only in short bursts. If you leave it on for to long you can spook the bass....then your really screwed. They weren't biting before. Now you put this "magic" tool on and make it worse! ;D So anyway. I wouldn't get one because it is too exspensive. If that article is being truthful then Biosonix is another tool that you have to know how to use for it to be effective. Just like a new lure or presentation. It isn't automatic out of the box. Good reply. I too agree that it's just another tool and has to be used in the right situation. I agree, but there's no rocket science involved in determining when to turn the thing on and off.

Cool. I've watched Bill's show since the 70s. I still think it's one of the best fishing shows.

Same here, Bassassasin. Who or what's next?

This is true, especially on small ponds. The deepest areas are limited and there's not a lot of space. They bunch together in this environment.

Good to see Ted is still at it. I get kind of sentimental about this kind of stuff. You hate to see these types of places disappear. It reminds me of a time when things were simpler, lakes were more secluded, and being on the water with no noise and clamor was a spiritual experience.

I agree that voting is a privilege and I always vote. However, I do understand how GMAN and others feel. And all of us who are voting need to realize that if we keep voting for the same old parties with the same old garbage coming out of their mouths we're not changing anything. So how do you ever come up with a great candidate for office? First, money and contributions need to be completely removed from politics. Completely. Those who say spending money on issues is a free speech issue don't understand. Those with the most money have the most free speech. Second, the government should provide the same amount of money to each candidate, or each side of an issue, and only allow them to campaign for a period of no more than 6 months. All contributions other than this money would be outlawed. In this way, no one is tainted by money and no candidate is pressured to payback their contributors. This will change our political system and we will get candidates who haven't been ruined by the system. I truly believe that most candidates for office started out with good intentions. By the time they reach the level of running for congressional representative, senator, or even governor, they have been ruined and tainted by campaign money. Why do you think that the vast majority of candidates are lawyers now? They have to be experts in double-speak and slipping the B.S. by the electorate. If you vote, it should be obvious to you that we will never have a great president, such as Abraham Lincoln, again unless we change our system of campaign contributions and paybacks. And if all you do is vote within this corrupted system and don't seek to make it better, in a way, you're apathetic too, just like the non-voter. Thanks for letting me rant. >