BigEbass

but from personal success at this point...I probably should have answered lipless crank bait...

well I answered swimbaits not because I have caught fish on em yet in the winter...but because I have made a mental commitment to toss my 3 new 8 inch huddlestons nearly all winter in search for my new PB - so I am telling myself "it is my favorite, it is my favorite, it is my favorite" despite my innexperience with it in the winter....because too many people now have told me dragging it really slow on the bottom is killer for big bass in the winter. and just last month I caught my PB on a 6 incher, so its time to beat this one

Amen...I agree...and on that note, I recall once my father in law visiting and brought him to a private group of lakes here in alabama (triple D ranch) - generally we catch at least 20-30 or more fish per person there and its a ball...2 boats went on the trip, 4 people...and long story short, he some how killed us all - caught 22 bass, and the rest of us caught under 5 fish ALL DAY - and we were doing the same thing as him?? I wanted to throw him out of the boat, lol...no really I wasnt frustrated AT him, it was more general frustration and lack of understanding how the hell I wasnt getting bit...still cant figure out that day...but at the end of the day I say good for him, and it was still a fun day of fishing and certainly memorable.... he did have this annoying snicker when catching those fish - that was starting to tick me off, lol - he knew it too

Its all about having fun..."fun" is a relative term for each person. Personalities vary. Some people love the competitiveness at various levels...smack talking for fun...other people find it annoying... But it seems like if you are the type to be competitive, but not have fun if you lose, or able to "dish it but not take it" then that is universally "no fun"....and a friendly competition is only fun really if both people are interested in a friendly competition....some may find it a tad intimidating...to each his own I suppose... But for me, the worst kind of person to go with you is the one that doesnt have fun for whatever reason...I have never fished with that kind of person, but my neighbor has told me stories...we have fun if we catch 50, 10, 5, 3, or none..."a bad day of fishing is better than a goodday at the office" Personally, I like just focusing on a strategy for BOTH of us in the boat to do the best we can do collectively...we may vary our tactics on a spot..fish differnt depths and different lures..and when we find a bite, we may home in on that strategy...its a team effort to catch either the most fish or the big fish that we can as a boat...having said that, we do compete and keep count just for fun and we usually note who caught more, or who caught the big fish for the day...but its not really a focus and neither of us really think much of it cause who "wins" almost always varies.... I wouldnt get ticked if someone wanted to be competitive and all "in your face, booyahh"...but I do not prefer it personally...to each his own I guess.

yeah, most any camera will do for general use...most importantly, the best camera is the one that you actually remember to bring with you....blahhh, my blackberry phone camera is pathetic, but at least it is something when I forget my camera. Megapixels are meaningless at this point....it has no bearing on photo quality, so dont get sucked into high megapixel crap...if its over 4 megapixels, youll be fine (all of them are now for sure). The waterproof cameras are pretty nice I think...my little panasonic waterproof was 197 bucks a couple years ago, photo quality from it is decent and does a good job overall, and I like being able to cary it on the boat, take my photos of bass in the rain, bring it canoing, take it on the beach into the water, into the pool for better shots with family.....but any basic camera in a dry spot on the boat will be more than fine for fishing purposes...... Good luck, post us some photos

Yeah, that is my suspicion, but how much is "high risk"...I think you can agree that perhaps doing this practice could for some "X" number of bass incrementally cause fish deaths that otherwise would not have happened...but the question is, to what magnitude? Since I have not been able to read journal articles that state how they do this research and what the results of that research shows, I am unable to tell you at this point to what magnitude such a practice has an effect, and if in fact that effect is "significant" to a fishery. Your point is that you do not see masses of fish killed floating to the surface...thus whatever effect there likely may be, it must not be significant. While that is seemingly logical and intuitive, its hardly scientifically rigorous...it leaves alot of guessing and assumptions...but it does show perhaps that such a practice to the extent that it is happening on your body of water is not causing mass severe fish kills... If its one thing in science that we know will lead you to the wrong conclusions, it is un-tested anecdotes But for a second, lets assume the practice does contribute to some very marginal fish kill, or fish illness...back to WRB's point, why even do it then if the fish could be adversly affected, which as we have discussed, is almost certain at some level? I am not saying that the fish kill is "insignificant" mind you, again, I am not sure of the details...just raising this minimal common denominator hypothetical (if that makes any sense whatsoever )

I did a bit of google searching...alot of the publications require some form of university access or journal access that I do not have....but after some bits of research into the whole "slime layer" discussion...it is seemingly clear that the importance of this protective layer is critical to fish health, morbidity, and mortality...there are a good number of studies that appear to support this, I read some of the abstracts, and the premise of things like "time out of the water", "handling", "dry surfaces in contact with the fish" all have been shown to in various manners in studies to have deleterious effects on fish health...the one study I found out of university of ontario (couldnt access it) suggested that the bass mortality could increase by a factor of 68% related to handling and time out of water.... My point is, I do not think it is much a stretch of the imagination to assume that a bass flapping on a dry carpet, then picking it up, then unhooking it, could be more deleterious to fish mortality than wetting our hands, lipping the bass, and quickly releasing it...and if you use a net, you can leave the fish in the water until you have your camera prepped...and an additional thought, I probably shouldnt net the fish, then lay it on the carpet in the net...sorta defeats the purpose in part, hadnt actually thought of that really. Food for thought..... And a final thought...if you are claiming that a bass flapping on the carpet or the deck is not significantly more harmful to fish health, then at this point (given the apparent consensus about the importance of the protective layer, which is based on a body of evidence), you would have the burden of proof to show that it is in fact NOT harmful, or not significantly harmful anyway... Ok, geek time over. PS - yes, catching a fish with a hook and dragging it through the water is harmful to the fish, or at least stressful...no one can argue that I think, but that doesnt mean that doing x, y, or z in addition to that baseline stress will not be significantly more stressful and evetually more harmful to the fish...

Is there data out there that would clearly show for all of us that a bass hitting the carpet would certainly increase its chances for death after release...the answer to this question for me seems intuitive, but it can be helpful to answer these questions with research to move some people off the fence or on the other side of the fence Plus I am a science geek, and I just like to have data period

"the question is why do it?" For me, if its anything bigger than just dead lifting say a little 1 lbers and holding the line then lipping the fish (not hitting the carpet in this scenario) I use a net or lip the bass...the question above is a good question though I would think. I suppose some will argue that launching the fish out of the water will not allow them to flap around like crazy at the surface and toss your lure? I however lip it or net it, and dinks I just lift them and hold the line and unhook the fish.....I probably from time to time end up with a fish on the carpet, but I suppose that I should avoid such as it would likely cause more disruption of their protective coating for sure...something for people to think about with the health of the fish, and thus the fishery?

I had no idea that crawler (I am guessing that means like nightcrawlers?) fishing creally mattered how you rig it...boy, I havent fished with them in a while, but if/when I do again, this information here will be killer...thanks! Stripers here on lewis smith lake around docks at night loves those bluegill...I catch a bunch of them in the summer with an ultralight with a small 1/16 ouch jig head (black) and a piece of nightcrawler on it, and catch a bunch of nice bluegill and then fish those around the docks for the striper - mmmmm, I wish I was fishing right now!! For bass fishing with these bluegills, how long do you wait to set the hook? Same question with shiners? When I am shiner fishing, I get a notorious quick thud of the line many times, and that bait is gone...not sure what the heck that is about ?

lol, looked up this thread via search as I was looking for winter/rain boots for upcoming cold/rainy fishing to come...got me a pair of those sorel rubber bottom, leather tops with liners on amazon just now for 55 bucks!! 25% off cyber monday plus 30 bucks off after signing up for their credit card Thanks guys for this thread...also read the customer reviews and its amazing there were 2-3 reviews of people who owned these - one review was a guy who inherited them from his father who bought them in 1967 and only have had to replace liners of course....hope these hold up for me that long Thanks Again.

ps fish chris...when I get home, I could add a tad of contrast to your underwater big fish photo, a touch of sharpening on the fish...man that will bring that photo to a whole new level imo...to be continued.... PPS - it seems like evertime I have a great fish to photograph it is like mid-day no clouds.....I have been thinking about bringing along a diffuser and mount it on the boat

yeah, this from my pentax underwater camera and just a bit of tweaking levels post processing and got this great shot under a dock...love these underwater cameras...but recognize the difficulty with these point and shoot cameras...you need fairly clear water to have enought light and the focusing is rather impossible with these cameras...trial and error mostly will yield a decent shot on occassion....now if you had a quality little slr in a case in some shallow clear water, then you could have more predictability, but those underwater cases are $$$$$$ Awesome shots fishchris...MAN, what a giant bass...you photoshoped that thing I know man, cmon

"If movement is important, is it better to slowly raise your rod to 12 o'clock and wait to take in the slack or to just slowly reel in a worm?" For me (and I will be interested to see others' responses), I get just a tad nervous with the thought of getting a bite with my rod at 12 o clock...especially if I am fishing with a low gear ratio reel..ill need to reel up slack fast and then hit them...I usually dont go much higher than 10 or 11 o-clock personally when I am doing such a retrieve. I vary up my retrieve with a worm, I will most of the time hop it a bit from 8-9 oclock up to 10-11 o clock...I may also drag it up from 9 to 11 oclock slowly...other times I may snap it up violently off the bottom 1-3 feet...and sometimes I do steady reel it on the bottom really slow...and of course let it just set there for a while from time to time...who knows what will work best on a given day. But it is also worth mentioning about in worm/jig fishing you have to be a "line watcher"...cannot tell you how many times I didnt feel a bite, but saw that line moving a bit in one direction and that was the only indicator of a strike...I have wondered how many fish I have missed when dazing off into the horizon or something waiting for a bite, and didnt see that line move "Why will a bass hit a solid color watermellon Zoom worm but won't hit the same size Zoom with flecks of color in it?" Of course the question assumes causality, in many instances the cause that we may assign as such may be misplaced? I could ask the question "why will a bass hit either color on a given day"...or even different baits alltogether on a given day? I think your question is a perfectly valid one as this absolutely can happen and it does, but it is I believe in most cases the exception to the rule? Again, I am just raising questions really for discussion rather than making strong assertions...hopefully this will generate useful discussion for us all

http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.thebbz.com/articles/color%2520blind.html&sa=U&ei=cnHKTrTcOMTg0QH_xvki&ved=0CBUQFjAC&usg=AFQjCNFpjx853IDpioDXNZlkNhVyjX-Nsw well, for me from time to time I feel as though color may matter, but in most occassions I think it is not the big driver for bass fishing success...the first things as a beginner to stress as far as variables go: location, casting angle, depth of presentation, type/speed of retrieve...then perhaps down on that hierachy you can then figure out what type of bait will do the job, then what color...(of course depending on some of the previous questions it will dictate to some degree type of bait you use) If you are in the right spot, the right depth, the right speed or type of retrieve with a given bait, in more cases than not, you will be doing everything right to get a bite...and color likely will not be a large factor by a mile. The trap for beginners is when you get hung up on lure selection and/or color and forget the other principles...I have only been fishing in my spare time for 3 years at this point and I STILL catch myself doing this!! I think this happens to the best of us innexperienced folks because we havent put enough time on the water and lack the confidence in choosing good fishing locations and presenations...thus the only thing us new-b's feel like we can control, is say lure color..THAT MUST be what I need to change, the purple worm to the pumpkin worm...granted sometimes that may be why we are not getting bit...but I doubt it is most of the time. I do certainly switch up lures as I go along, but that is only after thinking about the other questions, covering those bases and just giving the bass something different at that level in hopes of that being the difference...but I suspect most of the time the color is not the difference...as I learn more about fishing, I realize more and more it is about the choice of the spot, the depth of presentation, and focusing on what kind of retrieve is doing it that day...but I am still learning and it is a struggle.. Hope these thoughts help...I think a clear mind in the beginning with a focus on simplicity as far as bait selection is key to build confidence...

yeah, I live in Alabama...we have some water issues here between alabama, GA, and FL...but I have read that out in yall's neck of the woods, the H20 issues are huge...read somewhere that LA can really only sustain like 3 million folks based on its water resources, but yall send water from like 1000 miles away (northern CA) and from other places to achieve sustain the urban population.

I have thought alot about this, and I think there are outside factors that come into play that decide the outcome... Is it possible to do everything right and they will have a good time, but they simply will not get "hooked" and become a junky like us? Even if they enjoy it to a degree, they may take liking to other things growing up, sports, gaming, riding bikes with friends, whatever.....their attention and desires are in constant flux between us and their friends...and honestly, I worry that my son will not take to fishing cause well, I am not a blockbuster fisherman - aka Im not all that good trying to work that out though. So, what I have been telling myself is just to spend the time in whatever way without too much care, and just let happen whatever happens....till then I am trying to furiously learn to be a better angler....I think I need to dabble a bit in live bait soon too though since Ive been reading this thread.

I got a 4 month old boy now....I have heard all of this advice already....I fear the little guy will never grow into the fishing buddy that I envision him to be, but I suppose you cannot force feed him - each experience has to be good, even if it is brief - if he goes along, but is forced to stay longer than he wants or fish in ways he does not like, he will never really "take hook, line, and sinker" I imagine - hang in there and perhaps he will come around.

I fished the last 3 winters here in AL and I have only been fishing for 3 years....so far from my limited experience I can echo nearly all what has been said - my catch rate is dramatically lower in winter, but you know there are some guys that can find some deep grouped up fish and get on a spoon bite lets say and rip out a good number right? I am now trying to learn the spoon, I really struggled 12/31/10 to get even one bite, but the wind was really kicking my butt.. Anyway, I also am picking up the float n fly technique and have read from alot of forums that is a great tactic for cold cold water bass suspended - I tried it for my first day on 12/31/10 and caught one fish that then got hung up and lost him, not sure how big the fish was or anything > And I have started to throw big swimbaits and it stands to reason that a big huddleston for example SLOW ROLLED SO SLOW on the bottom for example would be a decent bait to go after a big un as the bait fish I believe during the winter approach their largest sizes and bass still eat big fish then...so there is that caveat to consider I suppose (although I have yet to try this, but understand that it certainly works). Good luck - I am going to be focusing on learning float n fly, spooning, and drop shot this winter primarily, all new to me

alternatively just get lasik, I did in september, freakin love it now ;D ;D ;D My insurance covered pres. sunglasses, but NOT in addition to new reglar glasses for the year - only one pair per year, or contacts.

Read some of the articles on a google search - this is a pretty versatile bait it seems in fishing shallow, deep, middle, verticle.... wonder how well they work for winter bass vs. a traditional spoon....?

This year I am focusing on extremes - finess and ultra finess, but also bigger baits.... Learn the spoon Float n Fly - got my rod, line, and custome flies from georgia tackle - watch out big spot!! Drop shot, shakey head, flick-shake Going to be tossing 6 inch huddlestons, 7 inch triple trout, punker, oh man I want a wake bait but cannot decide which, and I want a bullshad 8 inch gizzard shad (hard to get right now), maybe a couple bbz-1 8 inchers as well - going to probe my waters with swimbaits this coming year - and I am going to do a few trips with hopefully a really good guide over in ATL - triton mike....hes whackin giant spot on these baits - I want a piece of that action

I have been fishing for only 3 years - 2 out of my boat - only probably 18 or so saturdays per year due to a very busy schedule....I have contemplated the idea of joining some form of bass fishing club for learning purposes. I live in Hoover and primarily have started fishing lay lake and sometimes smith. What skill levels exist within your group? I am not even really sure if I truly have the time for a bass club I suppose...

Just starting to learn the spoon - have only tried it my last trip and didnt commit much time to it...but will be doing more and more of it this winter as I hear its a killer tactic! I havent tried a "flutter spoon" yet, but just got one of those lake fork spoons in the mail last week, so I will be trying it out along with some other spoons friday. I noticed yesterday at a store in Tuscaloosa AL there were some really basic hand made ones setting for like two for $2.50 - let me know what you guys find out - I imagine a basic white pained flutter spoon with little detail would do the same thing... Any tips on working the flutter spoon for a newb...?

Exactly, im sorry, I had read it in that article as well....I have spoke with an apparently well known tackle shop in georgia known for float n fly and other ultra finess stuff - the owner informed me the same premise..."NO slip bobber".....I have not actually tried this yet, but I have been told that the slip bobber paired with a 1/16 oz jig makes it difficult for the jig to fall and that you dont get the same precise depth control...... However, some of the guys out west and other folks do not have an aversion to using slip bobber rig, stating it does essentially the same thing..... Dont really kno who is "right" - but I figure one of those 10 foot steelhead type rods will do a good job handing a big fish on this light line....this point was confirmed by the tackle shop (natures tackle box) - they related that they have seen 25 lb stripers, big catfish, and big spots and large mouths landed on these long rods and they feel strongly that they do a better job playing the fish, casting, and keeping the fish hooked (constant pressur from the rod). Alternatively, I could use a 7-8 foot rod and slip bobber rig that could be used for other purposes besides F/F.... I was told by natures tackle box (chrisie is the owner, very helpful) that most low cost rods for this application will all do the same thing - so dont break the bank - they sell a silstar 10 footer for 40 bucks that they all use (including Mike Bucca - aka "triton mike" and the owner herself)..... Cant wait to get out and try this on some spots suspended in a couple weeks....they say that the worse the winter weather, the better the f/f bite.