TommyBass

I gotta learn to fish deep more effectively and efficiently, I get a few fish now and then fishing deep, but the lure of the shallows always draws me back after a half hour or so of no bites, mostly a confidence thing i suppose. I also need to pattern fish better. I do alot of gut fishin in tournaments and i do real well with it, but i need to slow down and think about what I am doing sometimes

No one said they werent pressured overall. And you do have to be decent to catch them. >75% of the people that fish that lake dont even matter cause they dont catch those fish. And which are you talking about matt when you say 29 miles of castaic shoreling or 100 acres with 100 guys on smaller lakes. Theres a difference there in pressure, and they are still probably less pressured then lakes like lake fork and ochy. And they werent pressured originally, as gambler stated they were stocked then closed for years to allow growth, and dixon even thought of closing just to let em get bigger, probably while the DNR guys behind the fence were going to sit there and feed em tons of trout. And you are right, people do trout fish, and thats fine. We have a strip pit 10 miles from my house where they stalk trout once a year. You can sit and watch huge bass swim up and nail them for weeks to come. But if someone caught a record there doing that I wouldnt want it counted. I said if a lake naturally contains both then fine, its a record. I said shooting fish in a barrel to mean that if you sit there and throw in a trout looking lure on top a bass's head, like one youd all use at castaic, while they are throwin in live trout that month, anyone in the world can do that. Point is, if the lake is shut down and or people behind the scenes are sitting back, trying to make their bass bigger and better just in hopes of a record by anymeans possible, its just stupid. I dont know who keeps bringin up the age of the fish, it dosnt even matter. Stalked fingerling or not, they are the same strain by now and in most part will be the same generation after generation. No ones sayin they are droppin in the 20+ lbers as is from somewhere else. Giant shiners in florida live in florida waters, no one stocks them off the dock in hopes they will get huge, with exception to some lakes im sure. We got large shiners hear in the midwest too. I really dont know the answer or what to say now that its been awhile since this lake has oppened, but definately to begin with nothing should have counted. If the lake is left alone now and continues to have large bass, keeping equal with a trout population not being stocked then yea its fine, and maybe someone will get the record, and thats the only reason IGFA lets it stand. But the continuation of trout stalking and limited fishing.......... were not gonna change how it is arguing over it.... but people that dont live there and are nonpartial to those lake for the mosst part agree with me

Its a tough question. IF they stalked it with bass and fed them trout, with only a select few to fish it, then no, shouldnt count. Theres no difference in that and growing one in an aquarium. Would you count a world record buck that some dude shot while it was eatin at a feeder he had on a food plot that gave it super protein for 5 yrs? Its not fair chase, and any of you that bass fish should know that. Now, if the trout are natural to the lake, not stocked in hopes of larger bass, and the bass simply eat them because they are there and are a natural forage, that is a different story. But by the sounds of some of the stories, for example the one in bassmaster recently about the quest for the superbass or what not, they sure werent talking about your run of the mill old school bass, and yes they are starting to mix genes on these things, dont know about there yet but it will happen soon enough. A record bass should belong to someone who earned it out of a natural setting, where NO feeding or stalking is done to encourage it. Your shootin fish in a barrel. I dont care how long you sit over a 20+ pounder trying to catch it. If they have had fish fed to them that are trout, and you use a bait that looks like that and drop it in off the dock where that feeding occurs, go fishin in one of them little tubs with a bare hook like they set up for the little kids at basspro.

Alright guys, heres what I think. I have fished for many years, plus am studying biology right now in college. There are going to be bass that spend the majority of their time doing all three. What people have to understand about animals is that they behave just as people and other animals do. (including fish) Bass do move shallow to deep and back to shallow, its proven fact, and people catch fish because they know these patterns. However, just like you and me, individual fish can prefer certain areas over others, spending a majority of their time in cerain areas and its actually easy to tell which ones are which, especially during the summer. Now obviously fish arnt going to be in 2 ft of water in the winter all the time, thats just plain stupid. (not sayin they may for an hour or something but you know what I mean) But for example, have not you ever caught a fish that is so dark its almost weird? The pigment in a largemouths skin tans just like a humans, and odds are that fish spends more time shallow then others. Later on your fishing down the bank and you catch one thats dang near white. Odds are that fish is one that prefers deep water, that may have moved up just for a quick bite. Youll notice in waters that are deeper, and clearer, where the fish would naturally be more likely to go deep, that they are lighter in color, whereas waters such as ponds and lakes with muddier water, fish move shallower easier cuz the sun isnt as big of a factor to their eyes. But the UV rays still can get down through the water and tan them to a darker color. Well now that ive explained how fish get tans in detail, all I am really trying to say is that fish do move, but the majority probably do prefer something more then something else, its natural for living things. Some people like moutains, others beaches. This is my input anyways! PS..... o ya and the spawning thing, thats not really an issue, some fish spawn later and earlier then others. (another preferance) Also, largemouth beds can be found as deep as 15 ft (from what I have seen, maybe more?) when conditions are right, so they could techniqually stay down there if they felt like it. But like I said they still may go up now and then, just prefer the deeper.

Alright guys, heres a question for you guys that get out and fish before people start talkin bout fishin (before prespawn leading to prespawn). Everyone knows the classic scenarios where bass will stage and when, but most the time these are under ideal circumstances in lakes that are ideal, and for the most part do not exist. I fish many lakes that contain main points, secondaries, creek bends, large drop offs, deep cover, and all the other classic prespawn type areas. But I am doing something different this week and fishing a smaller lake around 450 acres, which is what probably 75% of bass fisherman fish, but I am not used to it. (temperatures 40-50 water temp around 43-45, stained) This lake has only a couple main lake points, two with drop offs significant enough to be conisdered a real drop off, and the rest the shores gradually go to a flatt bottom (steepest degrades are around 30 degress probably) where the old creek no longer exists due to the contruction of the lake 50 yrs ago. Max depth is around 20 ft in the center of the south end of the lake, the rest averages around 12ft through the center, and there are some larger coves, probably 10 acres or so with lay downs etc (6-8 ft deep in center). Got any tips to where to go under circumstance far less then textbook? I know not all the bass are going to be on those two mediocre points, and there are no "channels" to act as highways. Ive caught a few fishin jigs down the dam, havnt tried shallow much, and a couple in mouths of coves, but the mouths have no steep degrade into the main lake either, just gradual gradual gradual sloping. Cant find to many suspendeds either, but I know fish are in this lake when I fished it last summer, and lots of em. Tell me what you think. (Sorry this was so long) Thanks -TommyBass