Ratherbfishing

When I spoke to employees at our (then) Gander Mountain, they said their only real money maker was the firearms department while the rest of the stock was just expensive overhead. I hope Gander Outdoors uses a different business model-otherwise, they, too, will go the way of the dodo bird.

All of my largest crappie were caught on soft plastics fishing for bass. Nice fish there!

Agreed. But I enlarged the pic 300% and could not find what looked like a tooth.

You didn't, I don't think, mention the weather. Judging (only) from the pic, it appears to be, perhaps, a cold front day with clear skies and lower temps. If this is true, even a good fishery can shut off and you'll be lucky to buy a bite. A Ned Rig would be a good choice on a cold front day. OR I could be completely off. You tell me.

Still blows my mind that we had people tromping around up there. We'd have a difficult time doing this even today.

Until I need orthopedic shoes, no more than about 50 dollars. I've paid much more for some Red Wing shoes but they weren't sneakers and I expect them to last until I can be buried in them.

Saw one of these (didn't go in) in Indianapolis area last weekend and there is, apparently, one in Springfield, IL. Is this an offshoot of Gander Mountain? I thought Gander Mountain went belly up. Same store, different name?

There have been times when, if I put too much weight into the sport, it would "let me down" and I'd be tempted to hang it up for something which is more consistent (in terms of outcome) but, really, there would be a void in my life without it-and I'll be darned if someone else is going to get all my fishing gear. So, until such time as it simply doesn't appeal to me or when my body finally says, "enough", I'll keep it up.

Besides...bass already shrink three "sizes" when you take pictures of them (or put them on a scale). Might as well compensate somehow.

Because they don't grade on a curve?

This IS the "other fish species" thread so he's right where he needs to be.

Alluding to HenryPF's post above, For BIG water it's not a terrific choice but for smaller water, assuming it's as sweet as you describe it, it sounds like an outstanding deal.

Thanks! It's difficult to know if the temps there were any cooler OR if the shade and shelter/edge were what the bass wanted. With the higher water we've had this year, this seems to be a more dominant pattern on numerous lakes I've fished.

I'd say it's a combination of letting your bait sit long enough and, perhaps, the very subtle movement of your bait as you're picking out the line. My tongue in cheek advice: keep your thumb OFF the reel spool and let the backlashes begin! ; )

Fished Newton Lake last Friday. The surface water temps were around 90 degrees and yet we were still able to find bass in the shallows. The "catch" was that we had to cast in the shade no more than a few inches from tall grass which borders the lake. If we were more than a few inches off the mark, we got very few bites. We did not try to fish deep because this pattern held throughout most of the day. But man was it difficult to remain cool when floating around in bathwater!

Unless..... Might need a temperature gauge, too.

That bass is a natural at somersaults.

We have rock bass (goggle eye) in the river here (and probably a few creeks) but few, if any, in still water. I love 'em but with the water being so consistently high, strong, and muddy, I haven't had the chance to try for them.

My friend would call it "irrigating" (a combination of aggravating and irritating).

Did you work out COMPLETELY an old backlash? If not, your line isn't going to go any further than where that backlash begins.

That the north side of lake heats up first/quickest because the sun hits it longer. While there might be HINT of truth to this, I believe it's MOSTLY because warm water rises and then is pushed to the north end of the lake by a southerly wind.

If you have (or can find) an old transom mount trolling motor which still has a good mount (one that pivots at different angles), remove the old TM shaft and replace it with a wooden paddle. You may have to shave off some of the handle with a file so it will slide in and fit properly (snug is much better than loose) but I've found this to be a terrific keel.

I want to live in that place where nothing bad ever happens. Came very close to breaking off a rod tip yesterday when a crankbait on a spare rod grabbed some flooded timber as I attempted to navigate through it (just as the trolling motor ALSO fouled on some weeds and I was suddenly at the mercy of the wind). Life's a beach and you get sand in your shorts.

Were these fish breaching the water or just busting the surface? Bass seldom do the former and if it's this, likely as not you were casting to carp. Topwaters are fun but for my money, soft plastics (especially worms) cast to where the splash was will produce more fish.

I run two, sometimes 3, electrics on my boat all the time- one cable steer on the front and one or two pushers on the back (each with it's own dedicated 12 volt battery). It seems excessive except my boat is fairly heavy (17 footer with a deck) and the lake is pretty big. And when the weather turns ugly (like two weeks ago), I don't want to dilly dally around. They won't be fighting each other IF you rely on the one on the front to do most of the steering and the other(s) on the back is/are pushing straight back. If not, you will likely use and waste energy fighting each other.