MFBAB

I think BP way overdid it with the "daily migration" thing, and also with the implication that the fish dropped off into extremely deep water after every cold front. My take is that he did this intentionally in an attempt to drive home his basic premise that bass don't live on shallow water cover or structure 365 days a year (deep water is the home of the fish in his words). You have to understand that he was touring the country during the 50's and 60's, trying to teach people his trolling methods and selling spoonplugs. Most people back then looked at him like he was from outer space when he started trolling around (sometimes at fairly high speeds) dragging the spoonplugs and generally they weren't too interested in the technique, even though he was usually catching a lot of fish. You can see what this did to him in his writing style, he comes across as very definitive/authoritative, almost even adversarial at times, but it's because he had spent so many years trying to teach people about a system that consistently worked on virtually any lake all over the country.......and they ALL doubted it, or said "we don't fish like that around here", or whatever other excuse you can think of, instead of just saying "Thank You, Mr. Perry!!" There isn't any other material I've seen anywhere (and I've looked at almost all there is available over the years) that covers structure and how bass relate to it and move on it even a fraction as well as BP does, IMHO. If you read and understand this material, you will understand how to find fish, period. Spoonplugging is the first book I'd recommend to any beginning fisherman who wanted to get serious about things, I only wish someone would have turned me onto it a long time before I found it myself!

No, never tried that one. There is another one in the woods beyond the ball fields also, I haven't fished it either but there have been some reports on it within this thread that sounded positive. This is the time of year to fish those wooded ponds, the snakes and bugs are dormant! The ones behind Nashoba and along Humphreys, etc.

You can fish the other 2 ponds behind the trout pond, and the one with the fountains is full of fish too If you want to catch some trout, just take an ultralight and toss Rooster Tails or little Cleos, anything like that worked slowly close to the bottom should produce. 4 lb. test helps to keep them down. If you've heard of Trout Magnets, they should be illegal. 1/64 Oz. jig w a tiny grub, 2 lb. test, reel it as slowly as you can stand-1-2 seconds per turn, and shake the rod tip sort of like when you test a rods action at a store If you can imagine a stocker trout or a little bream trying to take the rod out of your hand, that's sort of what it feels like when they hit it!

If I get my wife around fish, there have been a few times when she has flat out embarrassed me, and only a few times when I significantly out-fished her. She is deadly in current situations Fortunately for my ego, about 90% of the time when she is fishing w/ me it's just working on a suntan or reading time for her....

Yes, ALL of these books are article compilations: Bassmaster: *These are AMAZING!! They culled out the better articles and assembled them together into books focusing on specific topics. *The Ultimate Bass Fishing Library – Article Compilations – Circa 2000: - Guide to Soft Plastics - Advanced Bass Fishing Skills - A Day on the Lake with a Pro - Hunting for Trophy Bass - Guide to Topwater - ***Guide to Small Waters (*If You Like Pond Fishing, GET THIS BOOK!!!) - Guide to Crankbaits and Jerkbaits - Angling Streams and Rivers - Fishing Rivers and Streams - Live Bait Fishing - Fishing Tips and Tricks - Smallmouth Bass - Techniques for the Elite Angler - Proven Strategies for Catching Bass - Fishing Lakes and Reservoirs - Catching Panfish - The Complete Guide to Freshwater Fishing - Top Techniques of the Bass Pros - Hooked! Americas Passion for Bass Fishing *Large (Coffee-Table) Article Compilation Books: - Bassmasters Best Tactics and Techniques – 1990 - Bassmasters Best of Lures – 1989 - The Best of Bassmaster – 1987 - The Best of Bassmaster – 1983 *”Secrets of America's Best Bass Pros” - Paperback – June 1, 1990 by Tim Tucker (Author) *”More Secrets of America's Best Bass Pros” - Paperback – January 1, 1992 by Tim Tucker (Author) Also, the ones that say "large/coffee table" are very thick books with somewhere b/w 100-125 articles in them. These aren't sorted by topic like the Ultimate Library series, but all of the articles in these books are some of the better quality articles from Bassmaster. I highly recommend these. It's just nice to have the cream of the crop articles all consolidated down to a few books. Best of all? There are no ads in these books!!! Thanks 12#, maybe I'll give Ike's book a look! I got the Tom Mann book, "Think Like a Fish", not really expecting much, it just turned up on a recommended list after looking something else up om Amazon or someplace, and that was a really interesting read. You never really know which ones will be good (at least the less-hyped ones) until you get them in your hands.

Paul, It was published in 2005, ISBN#1-890280-13-5. It's part of a collection called the Ultimate Bass Library, use those words, or bassmaster in your search. - When I got this book, I actually bought a "lot" of books from the UBL collection, this one just turned out to be one of the gems. You may have better luck finding it that way, they sell these lots on ebay and Amazon. - There are 29 Bassmaster articles from the late 90's to early 2000's in this book, all about ponds, just a really nice collection of articles to have all in one place. They did a great job on this series, I think I owe Hootie for mentioning these books at some point on the forum, that's how I "discovered" them Good Luck! Then there's Bill Murphy's book. Great book, excellent illustrations -a lot of work done there. However, I had some difficulty with the 'voodoo' -ideas and conclusions drawn from low probability events. - I think that book is one of the more overrated fishing books, it is well loved by many on this forum though re: The John Hope study, T9 mentioned the InFisherman article, but there is also a very good breakdown of that study (Better than Hope's own book) and several more telemetry studies, and a comparison of them, in the IF Critical Concepts Book #1, Chapter 7!! Check it out.

I agree totally. You'll notice I didn't * that book, it felt like he was using statistics more to tell the story he wanted to tell, not neccessarily the story that they wanted to tell, but that's jmo

Pretty detailed, and in spreadsheet form. lake, date, time of day, daily hi/lo, weather details of the day, moon/solunar details and times of the day, water color/vis, water temp, fish caught and what on, total and special notes on big fish, structures fished, grass?, current?, sunrise/sunset times, I'm probably forgetting some things. I'm not hung up on all of these data points, but it helps to have a lot when you go back and review, because sometimes there are trends in the little details. Last year I made one of the biggest breakthoroughs of my fishing life, all because I had accurate records to go back and review to confirm a certain pattern re: light that I had suspected but never confirmed! On a spreadsheet, when you go back and look at this stuff in rows and columns, I can't overstate how quickly the patterns start jumping off of the page!! - Also, I have 1 or 2 lines of narrative for each day along with the spreadsheet data, just to make note of any general observations of the day. It takes about 5 Minutes to fill this out after fishing, the sooner the better, because you will forget details the longer you wait. When I go back and look at my reports, even from the really good/memorable trips, it is amazing how bad my memory is compared to what I wrote down on THE day :):)

You never know what you'll find in the thrift stores, they tend to be pretty disorganized but I've found one or two gems doing that. Also, just on Amazon you can find some of the classic fishing books at times for basically 1 cent plus the shipping cost (3.99), not really sure how that works but I'll take a shot on almost anything for $4

That's funny RW, I know hootie has a large list posted somewhere as well I've been meaning to sort of catalog the fishing book shelves for a while, and we just happened to have a couple of snowy days, so here it is. T9, I thought I was the only guy on the forum, or possibly anywhere, who owned the pork chunk fishin' book, you are a sick puppy I was a little disappointed in the John Hope book too, I was hoping for a lot more detail, but it was still interesting content.

I've seen a lot of these threads asking for some good bass or fishing books, so here is my list: These aren't ranked in any particular order, but... An *asterisk* means it's worth reading, more than one means it's REALLY worth reading!! Books List - MY Bass Fishing Library: 1-6-2017 *”Hannon's Big Bass Magic” - Paperback – June, 1986 by Douglas Hannon (Author) Paperback: 280 pages Publisher: Atlantic Pub Co; Copyright 1986 edition (June 1986) ISBN-10: 0937866121 ISBN-13: 978-0937866122 *”Doug Hannon's Field Guide for Bass Fishing” - Paperback – 2000 by R. Douglas Hannon (Author) Paperback: 204 pages Publisher: Great Outdoors Pub Co (2000) ISBN-10: 0937866016 ISBN-13: 978-0937866016 “Catch Bass” - Paperback – June, 1984 by Doug Hannon (Author), Don Wirth (Author) Paperback: 89 pages Publisher: Great Outdoors Pub Co (June 1984) ISBN-10: 0820001236 ISBN-13: 978-0820001234 **”Largemouths and Tournaments ... Good or Bad?” - Hardcover – 1979 by Billy Westmorland (Author) Hardcover: 239 pages Publisher: Westmorland (1979) ASIN: B0006DXPKS **”Billy Westmorland on Smallmouths: Them Ol' Brown Fish” - Hardcover – 1976 by Billy Westmorland (Author), Larry Mayer (Editor) Hardcover: 224 pages Publisher: Parthenon Press; First Edition (1976) ASIN: B000URLG56 **”Big Bass Zone” - Paperback – February, 2005 by Bill Siemental (Author), Larry Jones (Author), Michael Jones (Author) *”In Pursuit of Giant Bass” - Paperback – 1999 by Bill Murphy (Author) *”Denny Brauer's Jig Fishing Secrets” - Paperback – August 1, 1997 by Denny Brauer (Author), Monte Burch (Author) “Denny Brauer's Winning Tournament Tactics” - Paperback – May, 2002 by Denny Brauer (Author), Monte Burch (Author) *”Roland Martin's 101 Bass-Catching Secrets” - Paperback – April 17, 2008 by Roland Martin (Author) *”Rick Clunn's World Championship Bass Fishing” - Paperback – 1978 by Rick Clunn (Author) **”Charlie Brewer On Slider Fishin'” - Paperback – 1978 by Charlie Brewer (Author) **”Catch Big Bass Consistently” - Hardcover – 1979 By Charles Robbins *”Lucas On Bass Fishing” - Hardcover – 1962 by Jason Lucas (Author) *”Finesse Bass Fishing & The Sonar Connection” - Paperback – 2001 by Don Iovino (Author), George Kramer (Author) *”The Complete Guide to Finesse Bass Fishing” - Paperback – 1991 by Michael Jones (Author) *(Co-Wrote BBZ w Siemantel) *”Think Like a Fish: The Lure and Lore of America's Legendary Bass Fisherman” - Hardcover – April 30, 2002 by Tom Mann (Author), Tom Carter (Author) Hardcover: 256 pages *”Secrets of a Champion: Bass Superstar Reveals His Winning Tips” - Paperback – May, 2002 by Kevin VanDam (Author), Louie Stout (Contributor), Bill McElroy (Illustrator) *”Kevin VanDam’s Bass Strategies: A Handbook for All Anglers” - Paperback – January, 1996 by Kevin VanDam (Author), Louie Stout (Author) “Sowbelly: The Obsessive Quest for the World-Record Largemouth Bass" - Paperback – February 28, 2006 by Monte Burke (Author) *”River Smallmouth Fishing: The Best Techniques & Best Rivers” - Paperback – November 18, 2011 by Tim Holschlag (Author), Ron Nelson (Illustrator) *”Stream Smallmouth Fishing” - Paperback – October 1, 1990 by Tim Holschlag (Author) *”Pursuing River Smallmouth Bass: Ouchigon” - Paperback – 2001 by Ken Penrod (Author) *”The Last Smallmouth - The Definitive Smallmouth Bass Fishing Guide” - Paperback – 2010 by Tony Bean (Author), Darren Shell (Author, Foreword) Paperback: 238 pages Publisher: Fideli Publishing Inc. (2010) ISBN-10: 1604142723 ISBN-13: 978-1604142723 *”Tony Bean's Smallmouth Guide” - Paperback – 1986 by Tony Bean (Author), Don Wirth (Author) Paperback: 134 pages Publisher: Tony Bean Fishing Publications (1986) ASIN: B000MW3WY2 “Smallmouth! America's Top Bass Waters” - (Destination Series) Paperback – December 1, 2000 by Russ Warye (Author) “Catch Fish with Maps” - Paperback – June, 2001 by Robert Knops (Author) *”Kayak Bass Fishing: Largemouth, Smallmouth, Stripers” - Paperback – September 1, 2011 by Chad Hoover (Author) “Kayak Fishing: The Complete Guide” - Paperback – October 1, 2010 by Cory Routh (Author) “The Complete Kayak Fisherman” - Paperback – October 10, 2007 by Ric Burnley (Author) “How to Rig and Fish Natural Baits” - Paperback – February, 1977 by Byron W. Dalrymple (Author) *”Blaisdell's The Philosophical Fisherman” - (Second Printing W) Hardcover – 1969 by Harold F. Blaisdell (Author) *”The Art Of fishing with Worms and Other Live Bait” - Hardcover – June 12, 1977 by Harold F. Blaisdell (Author) *”Tricks That Take Fish: The Definitive Guide to Catching Freshwater Gamefish on Bait, Lures, and Flies” -Paperback – June 1, 2012 by Harold F. Blaisdell (Author), Jay Cassell (Introduction), H G. Tapply (Foreword) “Book of the Black Bass” - Hardcover – 1978 by James A. Henshall (Author) “Black Bass Fishing: Theory And Practice” - Hardcover – 1952 by Robert Page Lincoln (Author) *”Pork Chunk Fishing” - Paperback – 1950 by Royce R Mallory (Author) “The Journey Of An Old Big Bass Fisherman” – Paperback – 2016 By John Lee Smith (Author) Toes in the Water Publishing “50 Years of Shallow-Water Bass Angling” - Paperback – 2001 by Jack Lewis (Author) “Catching Fish” - Hardcover – 1978 by Chet Meyers (Author), Al Lindner (Author) “Catching Bass Like a Pro” - (Falcon Guides Fishing) Paperback – February 1, 2001 by Steve Price (Author), Guy Eaker (Author) “Best Bass Tips: Secrets of Successful Lure Fishing” - Paperback – June 1, 2001 by Steven D Price (Author) “Bass Wisdom” - Paperback – April 1, 2000 by Homer Circle (Author) “Larry Larsen on Bass Tactics: How You Catch More and Bigger Bass” - Paperback – December 1, 1992 by Larry Larsen (Author) “Bass Fishing 101: Your Guide To Largemouth Bass Fishing” - Paperback – May 14, 2009 by David B. Pruet (Author) “Big-Bass Secrets: Catch Trophy Largemouths and Smallmouths, With The Experts Of Outdoor Life” - (Outdoor Life) Paperback – March 1, 2000 by Outdoor Life Magazine (Author), The Editors of Outdoor Life (Author), CPi (Author) “The Bass Angler's Almanac: More Than 650 Tips and Tactics” - Paperback – April 1, 2002 by John Weiss (Author) “Mont Burch’s Black Bass Basics” - Paperback – May, 2002 by Monte Burch (Author) “The Complete Book of Jigs for Bass Fishing” - Paperback – August 27, 2015 by Carlton "Doc" Holliday (Author) “How to Find Fish - and Make Them Strike” - Hardcover – 1974 by Joseph D. Bates Jr. (Author) “Secrets of Successful Fishing” - (1965) by Henry Shakespeare (Author) “Advanced Bass Techniques” - (NAFC Complete Angler's Library) Hardcover – 1993 by Rich Zaleski (Author) Regional Books: *”Home Waters” – Mid South Fly Fishers – Every Known Edition MSFF.org *”The New Fishing Guide to 26 Mid-South Lakes” – Paperback Author – “Doc” Omar Smith (U of M Biologist) - Published by the U of Memphis (*Impossible to find now) *My Freshman Biology Teacher and an avid fisherman, and fishing buddy of Bill Dance – Doc Built A Large Observation Aquarium for Bill Dance back in the day. **”The Compleat Tennessee Angler: Everything You Need to Know About Fishing in the Volunteer State” -Paperback – July 27, 2008 by Vernon Summerlin (Author), Doug Markham (Author) Paperback: 404 pages Publisher: Thomas Nelson (July 27, 2008) ISBN-10: 1401605109 ISBN-13: 978-1401605100 *”Bass Fishing Central Alabama” - Paperback – 1994 by John E. Phillips (Author) *”The Ultimate Guide to Alabama Fishing” - Paperback – January, 2014 by Mike Bolton (Author) Bass Science and/or Scuba Observations: *”Knowing Bass: The Scientific Approach to Catching More Fish” - Paperback – July 1, 2005 by Keith A. Jones PhD (Author) **”The Scientific Angler” - Hardcover – October, 1984 by Paul C. Johnson (Author) *”John Hope's Trackin' Trophies” - Paperback – 2001 by Jesse Miller (Author) *”Bass Forever” - Hardcover – 2011 by Glen Lau (Author), Ken Duke (Author), Homer Circle (Foreword) **Also, the Bigmouth and Bigmouth Forever Video Collection – AWESOME!! **”Lunker!” - Hardcover – October, 1975 by Bob A. Underwood (Author) Seasonal Patterns: *”Guide to Successful Bass Fishing: Today's Newest and Most Effective Techniques” - Paperback – June, 1979 by Rick Taylor (Author) “The Pocket Guide to Seasonal Largemouth Bass Patterns: An Angler's Quick Reference Book” - (Skyhorse Pocket Guides) Flexibound – March 15, 2016 by Monte Burch (Author) “High Percentage Fishing: A Statistical Approach To Improving Catch Rates” - Paperback – January 10, 2016 by Josh Alwine (Author) “The Modern Angler, Including The Solunar Theory” - Hardcover – 1936 by John Alden Knight (Author) Buck Perry Books: ***”Spoonplugging” - Paperback – 1979 by Buck Perry (Author) Paperback: 275 Pages Publisher: E. L. Buck Perry (1979) ASIN: B000TC4VVS *”A Spoonplugging Lesson” – Pamphlet *”Structure Situations” – Pamphlet *”Coleman’s Journal on Spoonplugging” By Tom G. Coleman, Jr. September 1993 **”Buck Perry's Guidelines for Fishing Success” - A complete and thorough Home Study Program to improve your fishing knowledge and skills. 9 Volumes (8 ½ x 11) of over 650 pages ; - Volume 1- Introduction to Basic Movements - Volume 2- Controls & Tools - Volume 3- Structures, Breaks, Breaklines - Volume 4- Weather & Water - Volume 5- Presentation of Lures - Volume 6 - Lake Types - Volume 7- Part 1 - Mapping & Interpretation - Volume 7- Part 2 - Mapping & Interpretation - Volume 8 - Buck Talks - Summation, Mental Aspects, Examination Bassmaster: *These are AMAZING!! They culled out the better articles and assembled them together into books focusing on specific topics. *The Ultimate Bass Fishing Library – Article Compilations – Circa 2000: - Guide to Soft Plastics - Advanced Bass Fishing Skills - A Day on the Lake with a Pro - Hunting for Trophy Bass - Guide to Topwater - ***Guide to Small Waters (*If You Like Pond Fishing, GET THIS BOOK!!!) - Guide to Crankbaits and Jerkbaits - Angling Streams and Rivers - Fishing Rivers and Streams - Live Bait Fishing - Fishing Tips and Tricks - Smallmouth Bass - Techniques for the Elite Angler - Proven Strategies for Catching Bass - Fishing Lakes and Reservoirs - Catching Panfish - The Complete Guide to Freshwater Fishing - Top Techniques of the Bass Pros - Hooked! Americas Passion for Bass Fishing *Large (Coffee-Table) Article Compilation Books: - Bassmasters Best Tactics and Techniques – 1990 - Bassmasters Best of Lures – 1989 - The Best of Bassmaster – 1987 - The Best of Bassmaster – 1983 *”Secrets of America's Best Bass Pros” - Paperback – June 1, 1990 by Tim Tucker (Author) *”More Secrets of America's Best Bass Pros” - Paperback – January 1, 1992 by Tim Tucker (Author) In-Fisherman Books: *”In-Fisherman Critical Concepts 1: Largemouth Bass Fundamentals” - Book - (Critical Concepts (In-Fisherman)) Paperback – January 1, 2002 by In-Fisherman Staff (Author) *”In-Fisherman Critical Concepts 2: Largemouth Bass Location” - Book (Critical Concepts (In-Fisherman)) Paperback – July 1, 2006 by In-Fisherman Staff (Author) **”In-Fisherman Critical Concepts 3: Largemouth Bass Presentation” - Book (Critical Concepts (In-Fisherman)) Paperback – March 15, 2010 by In-Fisherman Staff (Author) *”Largemouth Bass: An In-Fisherman Handbook Of Strategies” - Paperback – March 1, 1992 by In-Fisherman Staff (Author) *”In-Fisherman Crappie Wisdom: Handbook of Strategies” - Paperback – July 1, 1994 by Al Lindner (Author) *”In-Fisherman Smallmouth Bass: Handbook of Strategies” - Paperback – June 1, 1994 by Al Lindner (Author) Fishing Facts: **”Lunkers Love Nightcrawlers: The New & Complete Book of Nightcrawler Secrets” - Paperback – 1972 by Fishing Facts Magazine (Editor) Paperback: 239 pages Publisher: Northwood’s Publishing; Second Printing edition (1972) ASIN: B000K28CLW Trolling: “The Art of Trolling: A Complete Guide to Freshwater Methods and Tackle” - Paperback – April 1, 1996 by Ken Schultz (Author) *”Precision Trolling "The Trollers Bible" - 8th Edition - Spiral-bound – 2005 (*Gives Dive Profiles of all Major Crankbaits!!) Crappie – Panfish - Flyfishing: **”Ozark Trout Tales : A Fishing Guide for the White River System” - 1st Edition by Steve Wright (Author) *”Grizzly Fishin' for Bluegill Includes: Crappie & Reelfoot Lake” - Paperback – 2001 by Tim Huffman (Author) - **W/ Louie Mansfield *”The Ultimate Fly-Fishing Guide to the Smoky Mountains” - Paperback – May 1, 2011 by Don Kirk (Author), Greg Ward (Author) *”Smoky Mountains Trout Fishing Guide” - Paperback – May 1, 1995 by Don Kirk (Author) “Fly Fishing in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park: An Insider's Guide to A Pursuit of Passion” - Paperback – 2009 by Jim Casada (Author) “The Fly Fisherman's Guide to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park” - Paperback – May 1, 1998 by H Lea Lawrence (Author) “Great Smoky Mountains National Park Angler's Companion” - Paperback – October 1, 2002 by Ian Rutter (Author) *”Winning Crappie Secrets” - Paperback – 1997 by Tim Huffman (Author) “Seasonal Structure for Crappie” - Paperback – 1998 by Tim Huffman (Author) *”Masters' Secrets of Crappie Fishing” - (Fishing Library) Paperback – November 1, 1992 by John E. Phillips (Author) “The Crappie Fishing Handbook: Tackles, Lures, Bait, Cooking, Tips, Tactics, and Techniques” - Feb 1, 2012 by Keith Sutton “The Crappie Book: Basics and Beyond” - Paperback – November, 2006 by Keith Sutton (Author) "Secrets of America's Top Crappie Guides" - Paperback – October 1, 2008 by Don Wirth (Author) “Secrets to Catching More and Bigger Bluegill” - Paperback – February 25, 2013 by Ryan McCaw (Author) “Panfishing” – 1991 NAFC by Nelson & Sutton Martin (Author) “Monster Crappie” - (Instructional Fishing Series, Volume 5) by Tim Huffman (2002) Paperback by Tim Huffman (Author) “Advanced Fly-Fishing Techniques” - (Second Edition) Hardcover – June 1, 2002 by Lefty Kreh (Author) “Fly Tying and Fly Fishing for Bass and Panfish” - Hardcover – August, 1977 by Tom Nixon (Author) “Flyfisher's Guide to Missouri & Arkansas” - (Flyfisher's Guides) Paperback – February 2, 2012 by Dan Limbaugh (Author), Larry E. Kinder (Author) “The Soft-Hackled Fly Addict” - Hardcover – September 1, 1993 by Sylvester Nemes (Author) “Bluegill Fly Fishing & Flies” - Paperback – April 19, 1999 by Roxanne Wilson (Author), Terry Wilson (Author) “White River, Arkansas (River Journal)” - Paperback – November, 2000 by Greg Thomas (Author), Danny Hicks (Author) “Ozark Blue-Ribbon Trout Streams” - Paperback – December 1, 2002 by Danny Hicks (Author) “Emergers” - Hardcover – March 1, 1991 by Doug Swisher (Author), Carl Richards (Author) “The Orvis Fly-Fishing Guide” - Paperback – October 1, 1988 by Tom Rosenbauer (Author) *”Dave Whitlock's Guide to Aquatic Trout Foods” - Paperback – October 1, 1992 by Dave Whitlock (Author) “Fly Tying Made Clear and Simple” - Spiral-bound – May 1, 1992 by Skip Morris (Author), Richard Bunse (Illustrator) “Nymph Fishing” - Paperback – August, 1995 by Dave Hughes (Author), Richard Bunse (Illustrator), Jim Schollmeyer (Photographer) “Fly Fishing Through the Midlife Crisis” - Paperback – January 3, 2006 by Howell Raines (Author)

The tide coming in and out is creating a current, so it will fish more like a river during those times, and the stronger the current(like spring tides, etc.), the better it will position the fish. We have a similar situation on river run impoundments like the TN river lakes. Basically, there is no current unless the dams are pulling water. During the times when there is no current, the fish tend to suspend off of structure, but when the current is running, the baitfish and predators pull into the eddys (feeding/holding stations) and there tends to be a good feeding spree, particularly near the beginning of these periods. In a tidal situation, you have the current coming in, and then you have it going out, in the opposite direction, so there will likely be structures that fish better on an incoming or outgoing tide, you just have to find the ones that create the best eddys adjacent to the current itself, and the fish will tend to hold there as an ambush point. Those types of places will not produce much without current on them though, the fish will tend too pull off and suspend or go inactive, especially in a situation where they are programmed to the tide movements every day. Those are even more structured than the dam schedule on the TN river impoundments! Eddys/feeding stations are anything that breaks the current, it could be a point or small protrusion from the bank that water flows around, an island, a grass bed, an underwater rock, a dock, there are many possibilities....but the best ones will be in some way related to structural elements and access to deeper water, deeper water being a relative term depending on the area you are fishing and other variables like season and water color, etc. The access to deeper water gives the fish somewhere to pull off to when the current isn't running, this is the basics of how fish work, they tend to follow rising water and they also tend to follow falling water, and they like to be on the leading edge of either one-leading edge of rising water=first to feed, leading edge of falling water = not getting stuck somewhere, to them.

Ha ha, I hope it grabs a-hold of you! One of the first things "Buck Sez" is that he's not a writer, and he's got the writing style to prove it. But there's a wealth of info in there. As Team9 said, it's one of those re-read sort of deals, things from this book will sort of "hit" you at odd times like the middle of the night or during a slow fishing trip, etc...

What I meant by scientific method was more about the process of elimination and less about "scientific fishing" perse. I don't think he was running around with a ph meter or anything like that In other words, if his theory was that the fish would tend to retreat to a deep spot on structure, and not just any one, but the fastest breaking one with the most logical access to deeper water, then he would test all of the other options on that piece of structure and many other similar ones, before stating it as a fact. He would set out to disprove his own theory, rather than look for ways to support it, and if it came through the process still standing, then it's considered a fact (to him) for all intents and purposes. Gravity is still just a theory too

I don't think BP would have thought of himself as anything resembling immortal. I just think that he decided to focus his energies on finding out where bass went when they were hard to catch (Summer/Winter/Fronts, etc...), and being a genius (Physics Prof), he just started applying logic and scientific method to his theories. The good part about the scientific method is that it is basically an effort to refute or disprove your own ideas by testing them, so the ones that survive the vetting process are at least somewhat unassailable. I think BP goes WAY overboard on how deep the fish go after say a front, or during winter, and I think he exaggerates how often they may migrate from shallow to deep, I think maybe he does some of this on purpose to drive his points home harder, but it's anyone's guess. On the other hand, he managed to figure out some of the most basic, yet most repeatable and reliable tendencies of these pea-brained little green jokers, things that as simple as they are, mystify us because they all occur in an underwater world that we can't actually see. IMO, like I said earlier, I think that underwater world is laid out as clearly to the fish as a football field is to us, but BP was the one who really figured that out and explained it so clearly to us

Sounds like he was fine-tuning depth and speed Y'all are cracking me up with all of this 'Why" talk. I don't think "Why" means the same thing to all of you guys in this conversation One mans why is structure, anothers is wheres the bait, anothers is some other variable in the equation. The structure is why they are there from a big picture standpoint, the water color(light penetration)/weather(cold front, stable, etc.)/current seasonal pattern and temp will have an effect on what depth and what type of structure they are relating to currently, so there's another why, Then the location of the food source will pinpoint their location further still-are there weeds? Current? There's another why. What baits would they react to? Why one retrieve or color and not another on this day? You can drown in the details sometimes, but the one thing that always seems to remain constant is the structure(the foundation), they'll be relating to it and moving on it along those predictable routes more often than not, so you've narrowed the search down considerably once you begin to embrace that concept. You can come up with whatever story you want to for why they were on that specific spot at that specific time eating that specific bait on that specific day, but you either a ) stumbled onto them completely by accident, or b ) you were eliminating water on a given piece of structure where you expected to find them at some point shallow-deep-or in between :):) The big thing is, getting it in your head right and understanding it. Dated or not, there's no more thorough explanation of the concept than BP's. If you read and understand that book, and I mean really pay attention to the details, it all starts to click better. On the other hand, you can get lost pretty badly if you try to pick and choose which parts of the concept are important! I didn't mean for any of that to sound like a rant, I just honestly believe that the structure concept is a great way to actually simplify the process, even though it takes an investment of time on the front end to learn it and change gears so to speak. And no, it's not 100% perfect, but it's answered more "why's" for me than any other book or article I've ever read, or any fishing experience I've ever had, and combined they are many

The fisherman in the boat is Kevin Van Dam on his way to winning on Cayuga Lake with 75+lbs. There are bass on this structure, likely all year round. We can just leave it here if you wish. I was hoping to get some people’s thoughts here. Imagine the possibilities on such “structure”. After all, there are bass there; What could be at work there? This may be obvious to some, but not necessarily to others. Fun game? A waste of time? A trick? My guess is that the open areas are big rocks or something that grass doesn't grow on, and the grassy areas are probably softer bottom. I'm thinking he is dropping plastic into the open areas, this is a fairly standard grass strategy. As far as why the bass are there, I guess that's where the food is. Also, in that part of the country it was probably equivalent to late spring in my part of the country, in terms of water temp, etc...Wasn't that tourney in June or early July? I don't think there has to be some major daily migration if the fish have food, stable water, oxygen and security (cover). Those fish would probably just bury in the grass during a bad front and get lock-jaw rather than leave, but they would definitely evacuate the area if the water started falling or got ridiculously cold, etc. (A good example is one of the MLF tourneys last year, I think on the MS River up north. There were lots of backwaters loaded w grass, and about 90% of the field got sucked in to those areas, which were virtually fishless. The problem was that the water was low, it had fallen prior to the tourney....and guess who? KVD stayed on the outside edges of the backwaters on the first downstream breaks (structure) and found those fish stacked up!!) It would help to see a more zoomed out view to see what leads in to this flat, I assume this flat is hard water in the winter and the fish would likely migrate to something a little deeper.

WRB, I can't say whether BP used any type of sonar, I think team9 said he may have made a needle type depth gauge. As I understand it, BP trolled his spoonplugs around to map out the lakes, he made various sizes that were designed to run at certain depths. He would troll them fast, like probably 5-8 mph in a little v-hull with a 5-10 horse motor. He had no gps or si, but he could learn the lake bottom with his spoonplugs, and maybe in some cases with topo maps as an aid. Also, he was using the spoonplugs as a school locator, he would stop and cast when he got a bite or two on a spot, it wasn't just trolling by any means. Another lesson from BP is how good of a trigger speed can be at times, he was triggering inactive bass in many instances by banging those spoonplugs into structure at fairly high speeds! I guess my point about what he would have done w modern sonar was that he would have a detailed topo map and gps, so with his knowledge of structure, he would be able to find the structures he used to have to troll spoonplugs for hours to find....in seconds on a map. He'd have caught more, and faster today

Another way to help visualize how fish will relate to structure is by watching the wind. Go out on a windy day and look at how the wind hits various objects. If you just walk around your house, you will see that if you stand in front of the house with the wind blowing in your face, there will be some areas where it is stronger or weaker, water currents work the same way. The fish will get on the edge of the current, but usually not right in it unless they can find an obstruction. The sides of the house will tend to block the wind, but if you move very far from the sides, you'll feel the wind at full force. If it's fall, you will actually see leaves gathering in these little "eddy" spots along the side of the house, those are the type of places fish like to hold in! Obviously, there will be a rather large slack area behind the house as well, but the most active fish will usually be closer to the current edge. Look at the top of the roof on the back side of the house where the wind is coming over it with the slack right behind the high spot of the roof, that is where you will find that feeding edge, not at ground level! So the sweet spot on the front edge is low, but the sweet spot on the back edge is high. This analogy applies to current mostly, but the idea of those edges can also be applied to slackwater too, just look for shade edges or other types of breaklines and then look for the cover or irregularites along them, and always be trying to find the ones that connect to deeper water in a logical way. Here's another analogy: Take a football field, the whole thing is marked out, end zones, sidelines, yardage markers, everything is laid out and everyone knows what they are supposed to be doing. The concept of structure, and why it's important to your fishing is that to the fish, the structure in a lake is as clear as the markings on a football field are to us. They all naturally relate to the contours and structures, breaks, break-lines, etc. in the lake. They are almost NEVER just hanging around without relating to some type of structure, it's just not how they are wired. Understanding structure isn't like a magic bullet that will instantly make you an expert fisherman, but if you invest the time to learn about it, it will probably become the bedrock of your fishing strategy. In other words, even though all lakes are different, once you begin to grasp the structure concept, you can zoom in on the likely holding areas and migration routes that may be in play at any given time. Also, you will begin to develop a better understanding of why the fish you caught on a given spot at a given time may have been there to begin with, and this will allow you to start constructing your patterns much faster! That's it in a nutshell to me. You've still got to understand seasonal patterns, weather influences (fronts, wind, clouds, rain, light penetration), water color, food sources, is current present?,and more....But if you at least get educated about the playing field (structure), you will always have a foundation to build all of these other elements on. IMO, there isn't a faster or easier way to get that education than by reading BP's Spoonplugging book. It won't change your catch rate overnight, but it will change your mindset about fishing overnight

I think we both know. He'd have saved COUNTLESS hours of dragging Spoonplugs around to map out the lakes he fished, but... He would have still caught the same fish on the same structure situations he located with the Spoonplugs, just probably more, and faster Thanks for starting this one Catt. I hate how these threads immediately devolve into a discussion about BP though, I want to talk about bass fishing!! One thing about STRUCTURE and its LOCATION, to me it's just like deer hunting. You can look at a Topo map of your deer woods and find funnels/ridges/saddles/structure galore, but the ones that are productive are the ones that connect the dots, like a funnel b/w a CURRENT food source and a bedding area, or b/w a buck bedding area and a doe bedding area or food source, etc. These can change as the seasons/food sources change, and fishing seems to work the same way. I think a lot of people look at the maps and sonar, go to a great looking spot, and don't catch them, then get discouraged because they maybe fished it at the wrong time. I guess my point is, some nice looking structures just aren't productive at all, or aren't productive at all times during a given year. What are you're thoughts on this? Of course I've read BP and many other variations on the theme, but we've got Catt on the hook here so let's get class in session

Guts, Drains, etc... I think you are referring to FUNNEL POINTS, which is basically a structure that looks like an inverted funnel, which is a GREAT place for bass to corral baitfish during feeding!! Google John Hope, author of Tracking Trophies. He coined this term and offers some other useful insights pertaining to structure fishing.

Hootie, Thanks for posting this! I wasn't even aware that these books existed. I searched "Bassmaster Best" on Amazon and found 5 of these compilation books!! They are around 350 pages each with lots of great articles that are all still new-to-me, dirt cheap too :) I put the can in the pic as a size reference. There's more reading here than War and Peace, without all of the literary symbolism and complexity to bog you down...sorry Tolstoy, it needed to be said :)

Sweet! 15.2 Lbs. is the state record for TN. You need to reel one of those babies in and get your name in the books!! I've been looking for a pond full of 15 Lbrs. for a while myself :)

Those were 2 different ones, but one of them was from Landsdown park in Germantown. A good way to find catfish places is just to look up where the local fishing rodeos are held-do a google search, I think TWRA has a master rodeo list somewhere on their site. Audubon Park, Appling Lake, Johnson Park (Germantown), are a few. These ponds are stocked w catfish annually for the rodeos (during summer) and there are always some holdovers that get big. I have heard of, if not actually witnessed nice catfish being caught at most of the park ponds I've fished. They are there. And yes, I let those nasty slimers go :)

ha ha, if Squatch is real, I really want to believe he (or she) is into power fishing!!! :)