WRB

Just got the word from Ron that HBC-3 was canceled. The HBC-4 is still on the table for 2009 pre spawn period, if the ecconomy recovers. WRB

Agree with Raul's thread, well written. The only experience I have with pit ponds is quarry lakes created when digging out sand, gravel and rocks in my local area. I grew up fishing these quarry lakes that have nearly vertical walls on 3 sides and one open area where the heavy equipment entered to excavate. Bass in these deep clear water lakes or ponds become very wary of any surface shaddows that may indicate a preditor bird or animal is approaching. Keeping a low profile, drab clothing and your shaddow off the water is very important so you don't alarm the bass. The majority of the basses time is spent roaming the shoreline edges looking for prey that has fallen onto the waters surface or hidding in the cover. During low light periods you have an advantage with quarry lake bass becuase they can't detect your presence as easily and prey is more active. Fishing edges with a buzzer or other types of top water lures like frogs can be very effective. If the bass are not roaming, then soft plastics like Senko's and drop shot worms can be effective fishing edges and openings in the cover. Quarry/pit lake bass are not highly pressured, so keep your lure selection simple and move quitely. WRB

For bass; the formula L X L X G / 1200 = weight in lbs., works for me over the past 35+ years, accurate within 5%. L = length tip of closed mouth to end of tail, G = girth around widest area, dorsal fin down. Any chart that doesn't consider the fishes length and girth isn't going to be accurate. You can use a factor like; 80% of the basses length can represent the average girth of a nortern strain LMB and 90% of the length for girth of the average FLMB caught in California or Texas for a ball park weight, if you don't have an accurate scale. WRB PS; the referenced chart appears to use a factor of 75% of length to equal girth and that is closer for smallmouth bass or thin bodied LMB, IMO.

School size bass in the 1 to 2 lb range are not all males, they are young adult bass of both sexes. The larger adult bass size bass; 3 to 5lbs for example are not as aggressive at chasing baitfish schools around the lake. The key is to locate compression zones where the larger bass tend to wait for the smaller school bass to push the baitfish schools to them for easy meals. The larger bass aren't lazy, they are more experienced and let the smaller bass do the chasing. Try using larger size spooks or Sammy's over points where you see baitfish activity. If the bite isn't top water, then try a larger size shad color crank bait. If the bite is deep, then use a structure spoon and let fall through the baitfish school when near structure areas. WRB

Thanks for sharing the link and I agree that it's the best. Paul made his mark by kneelin & reelin deep cranks for years. His sponsor is Mann's and he was using Manns plus deep cranks. Normans DD22, Poe's 300 series and Bagleys dreadge are also good deep cranks. WRB

LMB are a wonderful fish to catch because they respond to so many different lures and techniques, however they are not the strongest fresh water game fish or even the hardest fighting bass IMO. Spotted and smallmouth bass fight harder pound for pound, then LMB. The fact that LMB tend to live in or close to cover or structure elements can give them an advantage to wrap the line around something and break you off. The king of the fresh water game fish is the musky, IMO. Muskies jump, live in cover and can freight train you in a heart beat. Steelhead are salt water rainbow trout and like most salt water game fish can fight harder and longer than fresh water fish. The strongest bass is the Calico or kelp bass IMO or any of the salt water bass. Then the tuna, bill fish, jacks and snappers that will distroy most fresh water tackle. I have lost very few big bass over the years. Big bass are not smart, wary yes, hard fighting...yes...for a minute or two. WRB

Check your tackle or send it via UPS to where you are going. WRB

Avid, the Florida state record bass is 17.21, Billy O'Berry. The Perry bass could not be validated to todays Florida or IFGA standards; no photo, no proof of weight. Florida removed both the Friebel 20.1 lb and Witt 19.1 lb bass from the books becuase they could not be validated. I believe there are bass bigger in Floida then the listed state record and that should be a record easy to set. We all except the fact that the IGFA grand fathered the Perry bass into the record book, based on interviewing George Perry. The fact remains, Georgia hasn't produced a bass over 18 lbs, other than the Perry bass. California's state record is listed as 21.75 lb , Mike Arujo, the Bob Crupi 22.01 bass was dissallowed because the bass was not validated by Fish & Game, he had both a photo and weight. The 25.1 Dixon bass was not offically weighed or validated by Fish & Game and I have questions about the weight. California doesn't have anything to whine about, we dominate the top 25 bass list and the odds are in favor of the next world record will be caught here. WRB

Bass use color to blend into the background and an change color to some degree. If the lake has a lot of weeds, that indicates the water is low in PH or higher in acid then alkaline. The water clarity or depth the light penetrates also affects color. Generally the clearer the water the lighter the basses green tones become, the darker the water the darker the coloration becomes. A bass hiding to ambush prey wants to blend into the background. Stress levels also change the basses coloration, the higher stress levels the more blotchy the darker color areas become. Highly stressed bass will show signs of stress with diamound shaped dark blotches above the lateral line and the lateral line starts to break up and fade. Bass loose color as the they die. WRB

Giant bass are called giants for good reason. Like a 7'6" man or woman, they grow that tall becuase of genetics. No mater how much food you feed an average bass, it will never grow to be a giant. The bass will be limited by it's genes. Several individuals are currently trying to raise a world record bass. The state of Texas has a gene DNA splicing program and selective harvest program that increases the odds to grow giants consistantly. IMO the next world record will be a wild bass caught from some unknown lake or in one of California's, Texas or Mexico's known big bass lakes. WRB

Matt, accurate reply and agree with most of the details. The fact that I have pursued the WRB for nearly 40 years now and caught several giant bass gives me a little different perspective then most bass fishermen. To make money will take good planning and better marketing skills then the average fisherman has the resources for. Perry's bass is the world record, based soley on his Field & Stream application for a lunker bass award back in 1932. Perry's goal was very modest, he was hoping to get a few Creek Chub lures. The Perry bass comes into question because the length and girth numbers are in conflict with the weight and is about 2 inches longer than any largemouth bass ever measured. Knowone knows how the bass was measured, no picture and his fishing partner dissappeared. All we have is Perry's word and that is good enough apparently. WRB

Catt, getting bass fisherman away from the bank isn't easy, it's like they are tied there by the length of a cast. Been trying to get fisherman to look back over their shoulder out toward the main lake for nearly 40 years. Your posts are excellent, we just don't see eye to eye on the seasonal elements of bass fishing. I'm not a bed fisherman, so I spend nearly 95% of my time on the main lake structure areas where, IMO, 90% of the big bass live that I'm fishing for. Keep up the good work. WRB

The problem is the current world record; 22 lbs 4 oz was never validated to todays standards, it was grand fathered into the record books. No real proof, no actual photo of the bass has ever been produced. A photo showed up a few years ago that hasn't been vaildated. California's state record bass is 21 lbs 12 oz, caught by Mike Aguiro, Lake Castiac. Bob Crupi never offically weight his 22.01 lb bass, released it before anyone could validate the catch. Knowone will ever know what Dottie weighed for sure, still waiting the length & girth numbers. Does a new world record bass exists? Hope to let you know soon. WRB

Location, location, location is everything. Seasonal periods and lake classifications help the fisherman eliminate a lot of unproductive locations and focus on locations that have the right conditions for bass, IMO. Buck Perry was promoting his spoon plugs, a trolling system using metal spoons shaped like Flatfish lures, that ran at different depths. Troll around the lake long enough and you will run across active bass because you can cover a tremendous amount of watrer. Buck Perry is considered the father of structure fishing and desevers the title. He promoted fishing outside structure when nearly everyone else was pounding the bank. WRB

Back in the 1990's there was a bass fishing magazine that offered it's subscribers/members a million dollars for a new world record bass and held a tournament at the end of each season for the top 10 bass each year with a cash prise. When the Lloyds of London insured bond was cancelled, the garanteed million dollar world record bass offered was cancelled. Anyone today will need to have a good marketing skills to make a million dollars in endosements, if they catch a world record bass, IMO. WRB

The US Open tournament is underway for those who follow major events; http://wonbass.com/pro/us_open/pro_day1.html WRB

Frogs and pegged T-rigged worms. Fish at night if possible. Look for openings in the weed mat, there are always pockets of open water within the weeds and channels cut through the weeds by animals and other fisherman. If the lake has a dam, fish that area first, should be bass around the dam. There should also be an inside weed line about 3 feet or so from the bank, fish that area and under whatever you can with the frog. Bass in this type of lake are usually looking up at the surface and for any shaddows to alert them of danger. If you see a wake, remember where it came from and go back later and give the fish another try. WRB

It's been my experience that bass behave the same regardless of where they live, however their location is dependant on the type of lake or river they live in and the prey that is available to them. If bass live in a featureless natural lake or pond without pelagic baitfish, they become more cover oriented and target sunfish (bream) like pumpkin seeds, bluegill. crappie and crawdads, worms, salamders, frogs or whatever else they eat in and around cover. Bass don't need to migrate other then to spawn in the spring and find survivable water temperatures in the winter. Man made impoundments are different; usually flooded areas that were at one time a river valley. Most of the reservoirs today have pelagic baitfish like shad, herring and smelt, plus sunfish, crawdads, etc. Bass in reservoirs tend to migrate to where the greatest concentration of prey is located. All the main lake structure elements become locations where bass feed, then in the spring migrate into locations to spawn. Reservoirs have main lake points, humps, underwater islands, creek channels etc. This weekend for example a major tournament called the US Open was held at Lake Mead, Neveda. Lake Mead is a Canyon classification reservoir where the bass locate around the shoreline deep walls and back in deep river arms. Mead is almost viod of aquatic vegetation, few weeds (some sparsh short grass areas back in little cuts) and very little wood. The prey in mead is threadfin shad, bluegill and crawdads. Mead is a big lake, each river arm is like a different lake and the bass rarely migrate to different areas. The main lake basin is too deep to fish any outside structure and usually too windy to fish. You find the shad on Mead and you will find both stripers and largemouth. Clear lake in northern CA is a large natural lake, bowl shaped, no major points, few humps, no creek arms. The bass at Clear lake relate to cover, docks and shoreline structure. The primary baitfish at Clear lake are hitch, a fresh water smelt, threadfin shad, bluegill, crappie, crawdads etc. Clear has massive weed beds, so the weedline breaks and pockets become the place where bass locate. Mead and Clear lake are very different and the bass locate where the prey is. Once you determine what the prey is, then bass are bass and react the same to lures and presetations. WRB

It really depends on the type of lure you are using and the position the bass in related to the structure. If the bass are in deep water and moving up to feed, then up hill is usually better, ie; during spring or pre spawn. It is very difficult to work jigs uphill on rocky, snagging type structure, so slightly up hill or parallel is a good alternate method with jigs. Spoons are worked verticle. Swimbaits are usually best worked up hill or accross the structure. Cranks work best down hill or parallel. The bottom line is try the method you are most confident with first, then change directions to determine what the bass prefer at that time. WRB

Most fisherman will reply with information related to their specific lake classification or regional area where they fish. The information is good for the that area and lake type. The fact someone knowledgeable lives near the region you are fishing is very helpful. Threadfin shad are common bass forage and I didn't realize they survived that far north, because threadfin can't tolerate water lower than 5 degrees C, they die off. One reason the baitfish may be migrating to the area you see them is looking for warmer water and plankton they feed on. In the fall; afternoons following a warming period of a few days can be excellent bass fishing in shallow protected areas. Out west where I fish, deep highland reservoirs, the fall bite is very similar to the post spawn transition period; major main lake and secondary points and underwater islands or humps are good locations because they compress the shad schools where bass can ambush the baitfish. Good luck with fishing. WRB

Excellent post and great advice! 8-) Agree, good advice. Keep in control of the bass, it can only fight about 2 minutes. WRB

Lets see it's OK to remove a hook by working through the gills with pliers, hold the bass by it's lower lip, bounce the bass off the boats carpet, hook the bass with large hooks, but you will kill the bass by puncturing a .040 diameter hole in the thin membrane tissue behind the lower lip. It's somehow OK to put the bass in a small bucket or makeshift live box with an aerator stone designed to keep minnows alive, then in the lake water. Amazing, simply amazing. I agree that running a rope type stringer or clip through the basses gills or clipping both lips together will kill the bass. That is why articles have been written to warn people not to use stringers incorrectly. The young man is fishing a tournament from a canoe or float tube and doesn't have any other way to keep the bass alive and asked a simple question. A good designed weighted stringer, used properly, works and is less stressfull to the bass. A makeshift livewell over heats and sufficates the bass, a basket removes the protective slime, which is like removing your skin. WRB

Livewells in most bass boats have between 15 to 20 gallons of water at full level. Bass require approximately 1 gallon of water for each pound of bass, the water must be cooled below 75 degrees to hold the proper levels (no less than 3 or more than 12 mg/L) of dissovled oxygen to keep the bass alive. Bass boat livewells pump in warmer surface water than the bass came out of. The result can be thermal and DO shock. That is why I rarely put bass in my livewell, unless the bass need to be transported for tournament weigh in. My livewell is 30 gallons, equiped with a digital thermometer and DO meter. I keep the livewell water temperature at 68 to 72 degrees during the warm water periods and DO at 7 to 9 mg/L. I target giant bass and occasionally fish charity or special event tournaments. Ohterwise when I catch a big bass and don't immediately release it, it goes on my stringer, lowered down 8' where the water is well oxygenated and cool. Being clipped through it's lower lip is no more stressfull then being hooked. When pulling the up the bass that has been on the stringer, it is swimming hard and very healthy. I will usually release the bass when moving to another spot. Tournament bass fisherman must put the bass in a livewell to transport the bass for weighing and that is the only time I use my livewell, to offically weigh the bass. WRB

You can make a good stringer that will keep bass healty by using D type stainless steel safety clips, size 1/0 370 lb swivels, 300 lb test marlin leader and a 1 lb topedo sinker. Make the stringer about 8' to 10' long and use dog lease snap swivel on each end to clip onto the boat and add the weight on the opposite end. Use the large barrel swivels on the 300 lb mono line to attached the D clips onto. To keep the bass down on the bottom 24" of the stringer, add a large plastic bead with a rubber band for a stopper to keep the barrel swivels from sliding up the main line. You attach the bass to the stringer D ring by piercing the thin membrane close behind the lower lip and this doesn't harm the bass any more than a catch & release tournament culling clip/float. I have been using this type of "keep alive" stringer for over 35 years without loosing any bass. Putting big bass into a livewell causes tremendous stress, clipping onto to a stringer that keeps them down into cool fresh DO water is far better. The reason stringers are not used in torunaments is because fisherman stake out a stringer full of bass before the event, it's called cheating. Lakes that have alligators or other fish eating critters, a stringer isn't a good idea. You must also remember that you have the stringer in the water before operating your engine so you don't cut the stringer or harm the bass. WRB note; the D clips are sometimes available on a good quality stringer from Cabelas, look at thier Pro series. If interested PM me with your email and will send you a photo.

That is a small pond to have a good bass population. Using the biulding on the SW shore line by the trees as a reference guide, the pond only looks to be 2to 3 acres. You should be able to walk the entire perimeter and fish a frog, buzzer or plastic worm to learn what is going on in this pond. WRB