Bassun

I completely agree, in so much as a book learning is not necessarily even remotely applicable to a career choice. The unfortunate reality is that now days you often cannot even get an interview without a degree, regardless of what your work ethic is, or skill set, etc. I know the company I work for, often tiems you cannot even apply for entry level positions often without a degree. Low level management is always asking for at least a BA/BS and anything above middle management they want MBA's. I personally think that a potential hire should be given the opportunity to prove their abilities beyond making it through college, but that's just my opinion and I don't own a fortune 500 company so -- take it as just another opinion and not much else. The reality is, a degree is vastly important in the business world now...

I just thought about the entirety of this thread and found it funny how it has transmogrified from a serious article highlighting the "Raptor Effect" and now we've take it to the point of heating our worms, lol.

I absolutely agree that scenario would certainly put the fish on high alert for non-waterborn predation. I remember reading an article a long time ago about a man who would stalk smallmouth bass. He would literally wear camo, and crawl around keeping his body and profile hidden or at least below (I want to say) a 20 degree inclined line of site. Then he would attempt to make one single cast with a live crayfish. That's the extreme, but certainly not lost on your brother. I wasn't referring to short sighted bass, I was actually referring to the short distance IR wavelengths would be able to travel in water. Your example of UV light becoming attenuated in water is a great visual, though, for how light acts in water. Oh, I don't think anyone here is thinking they are going to make the next best things because we suddenly decided IR/UV/X-Rays are visible to fish. I think were mostly talking in conjecture filling the gaps of science with our own theories and assumptions. I can almost guarentee you that there is some bad science here, lol. But, as long as we all take it as such and maybe even learn somethign along the way, then yay Course those Livingston lures were called hokum by many until Howell won the classic with one... I've not used one yet, but the idea of adding additional light and sound does seem like a potentially good idea... If I can just get over the idea of fishing with an electronic fising lure...

Here is base level site that brushes on the absolute basics of different bass. https://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/LargemouthBass/LargemouthBass.html The second is a little technical and dated by about a decade, but should be a fair starting point which discusses stocking the different fish. I, admittedly, have not read the publication - merely glanced over it. There are a TON of references at the end, I think surely if this doesn't quench your thirst you should be able to find a few of the references useful. http://www.drna.gobierno.pr/oficinas/arn/recursosvivientes/negociado-de-pesca-y-vida-silvestre/division-de-recursos-marinos-1/publicaciones/Bass%20genetics.pdf There are a ton of articles out there which are amazingly informative if you have access through your local library or university. Or, usually, you can outright buy the articles. At the highest level you have three common types of Largemouth Bass. Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides, Florida-Strain Largemouth Bass Microperus salmoides floridanus and their interbred offspring. A pure LM bred with a pure FLM gives you the "F1" or "F1 Hybrid" the first generation offspring from the two pure strains. The "Northern" strain is much more tolerant to colder conditions and seemingly more aggressive feeders, whereas while less aggressive and more anlger wary, the Florida strain grows faster and larger. I hope that helps, and that I didn't get anything wrong in my brief summary. If I did, I'm sure someone will correct me.

During tournaments we would always keep at least one rod rigged with a soft plastic just for throwbacks. If we had a blowup on topwater, the other would grab the rod and dead stick a worm right where the blow up occurred. We did the same for followers but had less luck. Although, more than once when we did get the second fish, it was actually bigger than the fish that was already on.

Even if it is only visible in a very short distance, the right IR/NIR effects could make the difference between a fish turning away at the last second vs taking the bait. I agree the transmission isn't going to pull fish from 20 feet away, but if it helps get the hit vs just being "checked out" then it may have a place in the discussion. Maybe it doesn't impact anything, but given what little we know, it seems at least plausable that it could enhance a lure.

Well, I guess I'm blessed with an ultra light 16' fiberglass Skeeter, cause my tongue weight is nominal. As in, I can lift it with one hand. I would, personally not be concerned with a short wheelbase, as someone stated earlier Cab-Over rigs are extrememly short, compared to their trailers. You will just have to learn to back it up with a little more control than someone in a 4-door long-bed truck. Conversly, you can actualy fit in a parking spot! As for towing, really I think you will be fine. It doesn't take much effort to tow anything once you get it going, save pulling hills. Now, here in western Virginia, we have some mountains to pull...but in Lousianna I don't think you have too many big mountains...do you? My one concern would be braking. If you don't have a set up for trailor braking, and your brakes are already weak in the Jeep -- I think I would be inclined to save up and do a big brake upgrade. I'm sure there are some options in JC Witney. Course then again, you may end up getting pulled down the ramp and sink your Jeep and end up up youtube...what do I know, lol. Good luck!

Wow, some of you guys are just absolutely killing it! You're averages are equal to averages weighed in at tournaments...and that's impressive! I wish I could say I average 3lbs per fish, heck, even 1.5 would be nice, but I would guess my actual average per fish caught is probably less than a pound on most days. Generally, I end up catching a good few bass that have to hit the golden rule to proove they are keepers lol, then a few nice fish on a good day. Once in a while I will catch something special that makes it all worth while. Course, I am generally fishing Claytor Lake which isn't exactly a big bass factory like some of the lakes out there.

I am quite eclectic in my musical preferences, but I can honestly say I have never listened to any music while fishing. The sounds of nature are more than enough for me....especially if I am wading in a creek. I have found nothing more relaxing than the sound of nature running around you.

Regardless of all conjecture, and suppositions, I'm really pleased with how interesting this topic became. Thanks to everyone who has replied... you've made this quite interesting.

Considering you almost caught 3 fish on one retrieve, I think you were doing something right, lol.

That second article definitely opens the thought to IR / NIR light ranges being important for sure!

Oh, I nearly forgot. There is a place called "GOOD TIMES CAFE", that we ate at after everyone was done shopping. Great food, and very cheap. We ordered everything from burgers to sirloins and everyone was impressed. The only complaint was the fried pickles were a little greasy. But, hey, we're talking fried pickles... One even mentioned their salad had the best tasting lettuce they've ever had. None the less, it was all good and cheap. Great place to refill before heading back home.

Ok, so I made it down to Lake Michael yesterday, and thought maybe I would share my findings so if someone else happens by they can have an idea of what to expect. So first off, it is a very natural looking lake, and there are some nice open walking trails etc. If you want to fish, you do need check in at the info station and pay a two dollar fee, and a valid NC Freshwater license is needed (18 dollars for 10 day out of state fee + $2 processing fee, all can be done online). There are 3 fishing piers, and 1 dock as well as a big deck at the info store you can fish from, certainly very pretty area. There is also a few hundred yards of bank you can easily access and fish. Unfortunately, it appears a lot of people do just that, and the bank fishing in those areas seems to be less than ideal. You will see in the info center plenty of pictures of fish caught, so there's no doubt they are in there. An electro-fishing study apparently found great populations of fish, and topped a bass over 10lbs. Paddle-boats and john boats are for rent, but you cannot fish from the paddle boats and the john boats are not row boats...actually they are nice fish-able johns. If you have a bolt on trolling motor or small gas motor, then they would be a great choice and would probably open up some good fishing. While I was there I saw 1 john boat on the water, so I think its a fairly lowly utilized option. On a positive note if you are local, you can launch up to 17' gas powered boats. There is NO HP restriction, according to the guy at the info center, but it is a fishing only lake. No swimming or water-sports. There is plenty of forage fish for bass, and other predators. I saw hundreds and hundreds of fish under three inches hanging on the bank, I think a mix of bream and bluegills as well as a healthy dose of yearling bass. Unfortunately I only saw a few bass cruising the shallows where you are allowed to bank fish, and only managed to pull one from any structure. If these conditions persist across the lake, but lack the heavy bank pressure, I think there could be some great fishing in the other areas. Having said that... What I did find interesting was two floating fish feeders, timed to release food on the hour every hour. They spin off some food, and instantly tons of fish are busting the surface eating. I tried to fish one of these for bass thinking the circle of life should have them there, but never even got a single hit. Maybe I fished it wrong, maybe I just got unlucky, idk. I cannot imagine bass not to utilize them as a food source. BUT I can confirm a good population of catfish do. A real good population. After spending a few hours along the bank, and watching a family pull a few catfish off floats near a feeder I decided why not give it a whirl considering my bank beating was not being very successful for bluegill or bass, lol. So, I put my gear back in the car and ran up the road a mile or so and bought a dozen worms. Come back, and the lower feeder was still unfished so I went there. Then I realized that since I only brought some of my gear I didn't have floats. I did finally find one stuck in my raincoat pocket. So, I tied on a 2/0 circle hook, loaded it with a nightcrawler and slipped on the ole round bobber and cast near the feeder. A few mins later, and the bobber was gone. Reeled down and raised the tip, quickly gave up some line to drag and was confirmed fish on. A short fight later, I had what I originally called a nice little channel cat on. After looking at pictures, I think it was actually a very nice white catfish! Nice as in citation range. None the less, I continued fishing under the float and continued catching cats near the feeder. THEN I hit the metal pontoon and busted my float. That was the only bobber I had, so I figured why not try fishing the bottom near the feeder. So I retied with a bullet weight and cast out letting it drop ... err try to drop to the bottom. Boom, another fish. The area near those feeders must be just chock full of catfish waiting for free food. I did notice that the fishing on the bottom, were younger smaller fish, but fish are fish and fun to catch. If you wanted to catch gills, you could just use a smaller hook and catch them non stop all day near the feeders as they were constantly trying to steal my worms, and the livers off the couple who set up beside me to fish the cats. So, if you happen to have a wife or significant other who wants to go to Tanger Outlets in Mebane (just a few miles away), and you want to fish --- I suggest bringing a chair, then set up for gills and cats and you will have a full day of action. Just go to one of the two feeders. The lower is where I was at, the upper has more angels you can fish it from if the lower is busy. There is a limit of 6 catfish, if you want to keep them, and you can easily hit your limit. I did so on a single dozen worms, and actually gave up 2 1/2 worms to the feeder as I managed to somehow hook it. If you are semi local and want to introduce a kid or someone else to fishing - I would go here and fish the feeders. It just doesn't get much easier. Now, if you are in a position to fish the 59 acre lake for bass via a boat, I would try it. The pressure outside of the regulated bank fishing areas, seems to be extremely low and the feeder fish are plentiful. There is a concrete ramp, and it appeared to run fairly deep and looked nice. Not much docking options so a two person launch would be suggested if your in fiberglass. The lake may be overstocked and stunted, I'm not sure. My biggest gill was only about 5" and the best bass was barely over a foot. There is a slot limit for bass, 2 of any size and 3 over 14 I think it was...I was looking to CPR so it didn't matter. But, ultimately, I ended up going back to school with worms and having a blast on a bunch of smaller catfish off the bank and utilizing the feeders. If I go back, I'll set up just like that, and maybe try a few bigger cut gills and see what happens.

UV is certainly a possibility. We've all seen tests which show UV coated paints preform better than no UV offerings --- and tests which show no difference, lol. I think, on a personal level, that there is merit to UV being in the fishes spectrum, whether as a "see-able" color or merely a brighter reception of light by the rods - who knows. Either way I would love to see more research to verify what really is going on.

I would contest again that you may not be seeing a result from the fish necessarily "seeing" the specific color, however, we do know that rods are most effective with certain wavelengths of reflected light. I think it stands to reason, that what could be happening is you are stumbling into the correct wavelength in which the rods are most capable of registering the light reflected. You could simply be stumbling into the best case scenario to build contrast and make the lure more easily seen by a bass. The difference in color choice could be influenced by any number of variables in the water. Beyond that, I think it's also plausible that certain shades of grey could be the actual trigger. If bass cannot see full spectrum at night - it would stand to reason they would learn to focus on certain shades of grey and target that. Conversely, they may be able to utilize a mix of rods and cones even in ultra low light and be able to differentiate certain colors. I think as the depth increases, we would have to agree the amount of reflected light is going to drop - so there will eventually be a point where color, of any hue, just simply wont matter. New moon, turbid water, 50 feet deep, on a wilderness lake -- there just isn't too much light to begin with... All kinds of possibilities!

I agree with "no wrong fish" as a staple, but sometimes its not a fish... I was about 12, fishing a canal leading to Okeechobee with a borrowed ultra light for panfish under a bobber. I discovered realing line in, infront of a 4' gator could cause a strike. So I hooked into him, but had no chance of doing anything with him. He promptly dove and I was broke off in some reeds. It was fun, and we all were shocked that it happened. I've been lucky with birds. I've had a few pick up lures, but none have gotten hooked up yet. Even had a crazy sea gull trying to steal my rapala for about 15 mins down at Fort Fisher NC. He managed to pick it up twice, and fly with it once but luckily he dropped it. I had a bad cast put a big bucktail on the menu for a pelican once down in the keys too. He never managed to get ahold of it but it wasn't for lack of trying, lol.

My appologies, I did mis-speak and absolutely triploid not diploid, lol. Thanks for the catch!

LOL that's epic! In my daily driver, I have a teloscopic rod rigged up with a Silver and Black J-9 Rapala, and a chartreuse and white spinner bait for back up. I can stop at pretty much any creek or river along the way and have shot at a fish. I keep 90% of my gear on the boat, so generally I can hook up and go with little notice. Assuming I kept the batteries ready... Unless we are gonig to target catfish or something like that. Then I would need time to set up my rod holders, etc. Creek fishing, I'm ready in a moment. Just grab my vest, boots, a rod from the boat and my box of "creek" lures and I'm off.

I think that's quite plausable. Considering that and how the lower angle of inclination of the sun would increase the traveled distance of light in water, thereby reducing its intensity - combined with the vertical field of view, it does make sense that they would be most impacted when the sun is high. Seems reasonable to me.

I absolutely agree 100% with this. Mostly conjecture and supposition - but lots of fun discussion. And I hope my views are not taken as insulting to any opposing views, that certainly is not my intent. Just fun debate and discussion. And wow, yeah there is a ton of debate in the field especially about UV sensitivity. In regards to that, I think the science is behind the tech and we are seeing lure manufacturers prove more in the UV arena than anyone!

I think you're right, as tatertester and Paul both conveyed the same in that casting directly over the fish has a negative impact in which they have personally noticed. I'm not sure that I would focus on being "below" the fish (if I understand what you meant correctly), but certainly coming alongside vs directly from behind would probably yield better results. I read somewhere that a fishes visual acuity is greatest at roughly 90 degrees. I took that to mean in the lateral monocular vision, so it would stand to reason that a lure presented beside or to the side of the fish would certainly be noticed. They would then utilize their binocular vision upon approach where their depth perception is best to hopefully target and attack your lure. If only it were really that easy to get these critters to hit lol.

LOL --- You know I was actually thinking about the same thing when I replied. ..... now "I'm" that guy.... It's all good though, and absolutly no offense taken.

I agree, SHaugh, with the extended FOV a bass has, positioning would be key if they wanted to avoid light. If I remember correctly, the only real blind spots bass have when combining the monocular and binocular fields of view is basically directly below them and a trailing angle directly behind them. It's kind of crazy to imagine how much more they can see just by moving an eye then we can. I guess its a good think I only have to look at my plate to find my food, lol.

Well, I guess I'm the odd ball again here. While I absolutely agree that you must focus on an education first, otherwise you are just wasting thousands of dollars, I see no reason NOT to fish competitively with the school if you can. College fishing is similar to competing in any other NCAA sport, and although I could not quickly find current numbers, in 2011 there were almost 450,000 student athelets! Obviously, most of those went to the work force upon completing their degrees, not to play professional sports. Committing yourself to more than just studies is not outlandish. I would personally suggest spending more time researching the fishing teams at the schools you are intereseted in (not to choose a school, but to better understand college fishing) it's not really what a lot of people think it is. Contact some of the members and ask them if they have room for non-boaters. I'm not sure what "college requirements" are for a boat, and I suspect if you have not yet asked them, you probably aren't sure either. You may find that the requirements are little more than a safe and legal vessle, with an aeriated livewell, and a minimum of $100,000 insurance coverage. As a boater, you would also need to meet requirments of whichever affiliated tournaments you are fishing, be it a B.A.S.S. sanctioned event, or a FLW one (or others), and of course have the appropraite memberships. One must also consider if pro-fishing is really what you want to do. Sure it sounds fun off the cuff, but there is a lot more to it then just heading out and fishing. If you understand what it takes to be a pro, then you can have a better chance at one day of becoming one. I don't know what you have done thus far, but research, research, research. Pro fishing is about so much more than just catching fish. I've read that many pro's are spending 300+ days on the road/water now. That is a major commitment, and huge financial outlay. There was a breif time when I wanted to go pro, and even worked out a series of goals and milestones as checkpoints along the way...but the more serious about it I become, the more I realized that for me personally the pro circuit was not a commitment that I could make. Mike Iaconelli released a CD titled, "Blueprint on Professional Bass Fishing" (available at his website still) - getting something like that and really understanding, from a pro, what it takes to become a pro would be a great step. I would actually suggest first reading the article, "Going Pro or Bust" by Neal Robinson (easily googled) and really pay attention to the "Road Time" and "Money" portions. Here is a scary quote from the article, "Usually, there are only about 25 to 30 anglers on the Tour that either break even or better." Now, having said all that - you have a dream, and that can be a powerful thing especially if you match that dream with commitment and determination. But, ultimately, it all starts with education (which brings us back full circle), and that your primary focus must be on getting your degree and finding a way to support yourself if you want to eventually go pro. Realistically you may find that pro fishing is not what you want, but by understanding the nature of the beast you may find an even better situation which keeps you involved with the sport. Either way, good luck and tight lines!