Neil McCauley

Retail stores won't really have great deals any time of year. I'd watch craigslist. Fall and spring. People will dump them barely used for less than half price.

So I am on the lake as we speak and Navionics isn't zooming in as closely to the depth contours as it used to. Anyone else notice this? This is as close as I can zoom:

Had a group of 5 to feed so I kept a couple SMB, around 15-16," for the heck of it. Also had the usual 2-3 rock bass and yellow perch. Cleaned and chilled the fillets then panfried them in butter with a flour/egg-milk/breadcrumbs coating. Made sure nothing was under/overcooked. The rock bass and perch fillets were excellent, as usual. But the smallies... really unimpressive! Firm, and yet a little mushy, not really flaky like the smaller fish, and had a bit of a meaty flavor, definitely moreso around the lateral line. Kind of reminded me of frozen tilapia. I found myself washing it down with beer. Everyone devoured the panfish. Anyway I'm back to catch and releasing SMB again. Anyone actually like to eat bass?

Thermocline here is 30-33 ft. Don't catch any below that but regularly catch them suspended near it in 50+ fow.

Really bad idea imo unless you have 1 tiny pond to fish. These boats develop leaks and lose their shape with repeated inflations. They are not stable in wind/waves. Not efficient to paddle or to motor more than a couple hundred yards. And you will NOT be able to get a 27 size deep cycle TM battery on it without totally messing up its balance. Save a little extra and get a real boat you can use for many years, resell, store lots of gear in, use in non-ideal weather, modify/upgrade, etc.

Maybe this would work in Georgia swamps but definitely not everywhere. Shallow fishing simply does not produce on deep clear lakes up north in the summer, at any time of day. Any good size LM bass is in 20-30 fow even in lowlight dawn/dusk, and including at night. Only shallow fish are the juveniles.

Caught 2 huge SMB on the same line yesterday. DT16. Broke the hook off the split ring! Have also broken the shanks of the hooks themselves...they weaken after removing with Pliers from so many mouths. If you upgrade the hooks and split rings these things are unbeatable.

Finally caught a Northern this week, by accident. Just an axe handle but was nice knowing they do still exist in the summer. Trolling a Rapala DT16 pumpkinseed pattern.

Have tried it 3 times now. One trip with skeg only, one rudder only, one with both. No big surprise, the skeg improves tracking the rudder seems to help more with turning. With both on it both are better, glad I added them. With the 2 batteries up front in the bow the canoe is like a tank cuttinf through waves/wind without bouncing or changing course, handled 15mph gusts this week. Downsides are the rudder adds a bit of drag and with the skeg up front it can be a huge pain in the a$$ to launch but is doable if the bottom is mud or you can just use a dock. It's detachable but not really possible to attach once it's in the water.

You do not need electronics. Forget the fish finder. You need to start with the basics...what type of lake, what structure and cover is available, seasonal movements of bass, etc. You will never do well no matter how fancy your electronics unless you understand these things.

RE: soft mouths. About half the fish I've lost lately have been just upon reaching next to the boat when they surface, thrash, and head throw, the hook rips out and then they're gone. They aren't throwing anything, the hook seems to actually be ripping clear out. Maybe only 1/4th are actually throwing the bait on a jump. The rest get off the hook while underwater if they're out past 20-30 yards and I bet they are ripping the hook clean out as well. So there does seem to be a change in their skin and tissue pliability. Fish are not humans (duh!) their body temp isn't 98.6 year-round, In the spring after ice out hold a caught fish against the back of your hand- it's literally 40-50 degrees. They act like it...terrible fighters...and so does their tissue, it's stiff and rubbery and holds hooks. Landing fish in the early spring is nothing, just about a 100% success rate. But right now hold a fish on a cool morning the same way, the d**n thing is steaming hot, they're 75-80+ degrees. They act like they're on crack when hooked, and their mouths are almost like tissue paper. It is sometimes to the point where when you lose 9/10 that fishing doesn't even seem worthwhile.

The bass industry seems to be doing just fine: But on another note... even if the hobby were in decline, I would be perfectly fine with that. The fewer people on the water the better, sorry. A deserted lake is a beautiful thing.

Another vote for a shad rap. Bigger and a true Yellow Perch pattern like below, not that anemic pale yellow + green but actual orange and black. Current shad rap line also isn't big enough. I'd like a deep diving one with a 5+ inch body, and might even be interested in an oversized 7" version if it's the right price. I have had a lot of success with oversized crankbaits lately but it is hard to find a good balance of size and action. Strike King 10XD has the right size but the action is not as good as a DT16 or a Shad Rap. Rapala seems to really have the buoyancy and action aspects perfected for these lures, but they just aren't big enough. I'll still catch blue gill, rock bass, and dink SMB/LMB on a Rapala DT16. I think the reason they've kept them small is that they still use actual balsa wood while other companies use hollow plastic bodies. A block of balsa is exponentially more expensive for a 5 inch lure than a 3 inch lure. It is for sale in Europe currently under the name "Hart Knocker." Someone from Germany is selling them on ebay. Shipping to the US = $70+

Probably related to your particular body(ies) of water. I don't think bass across the country convene and decide which baits to favor. Hard baits are very productive in the summer on the lake I fish, though I think it's an exception. It's super clear, rocky, lots of deep structure, fairly short thin weed beds. Bass don't seem to even use cover, they suspend at 25-30 ft down near the thermocline over deep structure in 40-50 fow. No way to catch them efficiently other than deep diving crankbaits and lonnnng casts. Jigging and drop shotting just doesn't cover enough water when they're this spread out.

Agree with this...haul them in faster. The fish I always seem to lose are the biggest ones that can't just be horsed in.

Fish stock! Bones/cartilage when simmered long enough release proteins- mostly gelatin and collagen- that thicken and flavor broths. It completely changes any soup or sauce or whatever it's used in. The trick with fish is simmering the right length of time. Too little (<30 mins) and the broth is thin/clear, too long (>1 hr) and it can have some bitterness. Beef/chicken bones can simmer for 10+ hours. It helps to just use a LOT of carcasses, 8-10+ lbs worth, for a decent batch of stock (2-3 quarts). The more the better. You can freeze the carcasses for about 3 months to gather enough and they will still be good. Also should avoid oily type fish (Salmon, Trout) and use lean fish like Bass, panfish, Pike. Clean the blood/organs out very well and taste will be great. Another trick is use spring water, tap water has chlorine, calcium, fluoride, etc. Here is the recipe I use. When done I double bag the used carcasses and throw them out. The smell isn't an issue.

"Invaisive" is a somewhat meaningless term in regards to man-made bodies of water.

Mono: Soft, supple, but stretchy, has high memory. Casts far but damages easily, absorbs water, gets twisted up. I like this for casting long distance topwater in clear water, or casting very small lures like small plugs, spinners, jigs. That is about it. Everything else FC does better. Especially for lures over 1/2 oz when casting is easier. Mono is a really bad choice for anything when you need to detect a strike and set the hook firmly, mainly plastics and crankbaits. It does better when you can visually detect a strike and don't have to set the hook through 20 feet deep of water. In other words- topwater and small panfishing gear. I like it a lot for casting, when it's fresh it just flies off the spool, can 50-60+ yards with certain lures. But it wears out quick, I usually re-spool it for every trip. FC: very stiff, it is like fishing with a wire directly connecting the bait to you, has amazing sensitivity. I swear I can feel even just a leaf of weed brushing by. Downside is it doesn't cast well at all, especially with small lures. It's a fantastic trolling line. I can tell by the way the rod tip vibrates whether the lure is running clean or has some weeds clung to it. The best part is it doesn't absorb water, doesn't stretch or retain kinks/twisting damage as much. So you can go a long time without changing it. Worst part is it costs about 3x as much as mono. But worth it! I can't stand fishing crankbaits and plastics without FC now. Braid: I don't really use it.

Anyone know anything about this combo? Need a few extra rigs for a trip coming up and am looking at budget med-light/medium spinning set ups in the 6.5-7 ft range

Great idea, finally have a purpose for this feature now.

Rolo made an excellent point questioning this theory: If the barometric pressure rises, meaning there is added pressure on the swim bladder and the fish wants to relieve some of that pressure, it could just move up in the water column. As RoLo pointed out it would be a very very minor change in depth- less than a foot probably. Anyone who has free dived or even just swam to the bottom of a pool knows the pressure difference between 10 ft and 15 ft is very remarkable. Maybe there is some physics going on that is over my head...We are talking liquids vs gases. But if it really is the pressure then it should have been explained at some point. Someone had to create these theories. I'd like to see what the real idea is behind this. No offense to Bill Dance but I am tired of settling for the lay person version from fishing celebrities, I'd like to hear the scientific account.

Me either. I am still losing 3/4ths what I am hooking last 2 trips. Including a few monsters of course. Even after replacing all my trebles with Mustad KVDs. It's the hot water, they have tons of energy and their mouths are soft. Probably only thing to do is try to use baits that are harder to throw. Would love to see an article on that, couldn't find anything.

I throw nuisance fish- pickerel, juvenile bass, etc- back... Invasive nuisance fish- ie carp- should be destroyed. Boo-hoo. There are designated invasive species disposal bins at all boat launches on some of the lakes I fish.

Selling the canoe and buying the kayak is a pretty bad idea imo, but to each his own.

Nope.