senile1

Matt Fly, Do you think that Largemouths that aren't taken from their territorial waters would do this same type of migration, or do you think that only fish who have been taken away from their homes will do this? I have heard stories of fish that were captured and released trying to return to home waters, but I have never heard of a largemouth migrating a great distance from its home waters when not taken from them. Either way, that's quite a distance for a bass to travel, and I wasn't aware that they would go this far under any circumstances. Thanks for the info.

Largemouth bass do not migrate 30 - 40 miles as far as I know. Largemouths tend to be territorial and aren't known to travel more that a quarter of a mile, at least from what I've read. If there are largemouth bass in the creek area and the Lake is 40 miles away they will use the deepest pools in their home area. Smallmouths will travel further but I don't think they will go 30 or 40 miles either. If anyone knows of any new research that contradicts this, please let me know.

Well, we knew the Mets bats would eventually come to life. Weaver is on the mound tonight. Can he pitch as good as he did in game 1? We'll see. What has happened to my favorite player and why is he shooting his mouth off? I'm sure you guys have heard about Pujols comments concerning Glavine. If not, read the link below: http://www.sportsline.com/columns/story/9730509/1 I'm still a Pujols fan, but I think he needs to relax a little.

The Cardinals picked the right time to rattle some bats. When Carpenter gave up the two home runs to Delgado, I thought it was all over. I don't think the Cardinals can afford for Carpenter to have another bad day.

It bothers me too when I gut hook a fish. When I'm bird hunting and I wound a bird I have to kill it by banging its head against a post. Otherwise, it will suffer. This really bothers me too. Get used to it. If you have any respect for your quarry you're going to have some of these feelings. It sounds like you handled these situations in the best way you could. I agree with Chug Bug. It is unlikely the fish in scenario #2 survived.

I absolutely love music, but when I'm fishing or enjoying nature, I want everything quiet. I don't want to spook the fish, but also, my enjoyment of nature is increased when everything is quiet and peaceful.

That's interesting. I just assumed it was because the Black bass have the darker colorings while the White Bass are lighter colored. Like White crappie and black crappie.

I think most lakes in most states that I have fished in use the minimum length limit for bass, and most of these are 15 inches. I've fished a few with a slot limit. As long as most anglers are practicing catch and release, I don't think it will destroy your large bass population if the lake is managed properly. If your department of conserveration is doing their job, there should be plenty of predators available to eat the dinks and keep them from overpopulating a lake. I've read that bass reproduction cannot keep up with Bluegill reproduction and the bluegills eat a ton of the bass fry. In fact, these lakes have to make sure they control the bluegill population to leave enough fry to grow to acceptable levels. After the males watch over the baby fry for a week or so, they start eating them too. As for the sharelunker program, I think it is a great idea for every state.

Quote from K_Mac: Yeah, you're right about Beltran. He has hurt the Cardinals a few times. (Don't tell Muddy_Man, but that's the real reason I don't like him.)

Yeah, Muddy, you're probably right about the blondes and redheads. I think tonight is a must win for the Cardinals. If we lose with Carpenter on the mound, it will be very hard to recover.

Quote from Muddy_Man: Lets talk about hitting JETER DOSENT SWING AT MUCH THAT IS OUTTA THE STRIKE ZONE this is well known through outthe leauges. Jeter struck out 102 times this year. Pujols struck out only 50 times. Pujols is well-known for having the best eye in baseball. Only once in his six seasons has his strikeout total been above 69 and that was his first season as a rookie when he struck out 93 times. Jeter's strikeout total has never been below 88 and is usually over 100. Having a ring doesn't make Jeter better. It took 8 other players with him and a payroll the size of Manhattan. If you replaced Pujols in the Cardinals lineup with Jeter they would not be in the playoffs. They wouldn't even be close. He has more of an affect on his team than Jeter has on his. Hey, I know these are just opinions, but the strikeout thing is fact. Jeter does not have the eye for the strike zone that Pujols has. Look up the stats including game winning hits. Pujols exceeds Jeter in just about every category. Jeter only exceeds Pujols as a fielder. 'Nuf said for me. Muddy_man, your Mets played some great defense last night and Glavine pitched masterfully. Great game. Sorry, but I can't brag on Beltran. When he was with the Royals his mind and heart weren't in the game. He made stupid fielding errors. Once he went to the Astros and then the Mets, his play improved dramatically. I can't respect a player who makes good money but will only play his heart out for a contender.

Valascus, everything I've read up until the 11th stated that the fish were still being caught on drop shot and carolina rigs in 25 - 40 ft of water on main lake gravel points during the day. Some fish were coming up in the shallows early and late and hitting topwaters. Decrease that depth by about 10 ft on the James River and Kings River arms or on the upper end of the White River arm. I haven't been out there in three months so all I can give you is what I've read from reports.

Hey, Muddy. I've going to disagree with ya'. Howard played 159 games this year, .313 avg, 58 homers, and 149 RBIs. Let's see if Howard can do this every year. Pujols played only 143 due to his injury which also affected him after he came back and he still batted .331, 49 homers, and 137 RBIs. Plus, no player ever has put together a group of first six seasons like Pujols. No one, and that includes the greatest players in history. Jeter was probably the best clutch hitter this year, especially in the second half of the season, but he doesn't do it every year at the level that Pujols does. Pujols doesn't get much credit as a fielder but he has improved tremendously here as well. He only had 6 errors this year and a .996 fielding percentage. Of course, I'm biased because Pujols is a Cardinal, but there is a reason why just about every sports commentator is calling Pujols the best hitter in baseball today.

I learned to cast with the palm down and the handle up so long ago that I don't even remember the reasons for doing it this way. Chris's statement regarding the wrist sounds pretty good to me.

Well, if you guys are needing some food brought in from Missouri I'll bring some possum that will pin your ears back. Too bad Ouachitabassangler Jim isn't still here. He'd turn us all on to some muskrat. Mmm . . .Mmm.. 8-)

Thanks for the answers, LBH.

I have painted a school of shad on the bottom of my boat.

I didn't know you had a sense of humor, RW. So how does this work? I assume a location is chosen and then do we all make our own reservations or what? Is there a time frame in which we need to respond as to whether we will attend or not? I'd like to be there but I can't confirm yea or nay at this time.

So, is anybody going fishing this Friday, October 13th?

And if your team loses, who will you be rooting for? If the Redbirds lose, I'll root for the Mets in the World Series. The National League has won only three of the last ten series and overal the American league leads the series something like 60 - 41. The National League needs to even it up a little.

I agree with what has already been posted regarding the situations where fish are spooked by trolling motors. I think the strength of the wind and the thickness of the cover affect this also. High winds on the water will tend to mask the sound of the trolling motor, and if bass are hidden in thick cover they respond little to a trollling motor handled properly.

I tend to agree if someone has a habit of doing this. On the other hand, if they tend to always be on time and it was a one time thing, I would let it slide. Even the most prompt among us can have unexpected things occur that can cause them to be late or oversleep. This should be very rare, however.

Thanks, GMAN.

This is very interesting. Not to put a damper on things, but when the water's really cold (i.e. low 40s all the way down to freezing) you usually have to drop the lure in their face anyway because their slowed metabolism has made them lethargic. Improved vision isn't going to change this under most circumstances. But that's only when it's really cold. This might be something to keep in mind when the water temps are in the 50s and 60s.

FIN-S-R, If you have the time to collect the empirical data needed for such an in-depth study, more power to you. You may discover something that will help you key on more fish. It can't hurt as long as you stay flexible and understand you're tracking trends and generalities, not behaviors that are etched in stone. From your last post, it appears you already know this. For me, I've found that when I analyze the behavior of bass too much, my success will often decrease. Then, I'll settle down and go back to the basics, and, "Voila," I"m catching fish again. But that's me.