What have you learned this month?

[Armtx77]

37 minutes ago, FishinBuck07 said:

I learned that I can't figure out the bass in August and fishing sucks!  Lol.  Trying to learn not to give up on the rest of the year already!

I dont know about your AO, but in mine. The small rivers and creeks are dynamite this time of year.

It seems to be below people, to grab one rod, one plano full of light lures and get waist deep in water.

A River Runs Through it, has always been an inspiration for me, even though I dont fly fish.

[LadiMopar]

26 minutes ago, Wizzlebiz said:

Id prefer just to learn to use mine. But thank you for the kind offer. 

I do hope you realize I wasn't serious.... But I am when I say it you weren't on the other side of the country I'd be more than happy to teach you a few spinnerbait tricks.

[A-Jay]

I learned (& confirmed again today) that much of the local big smallmouth population

will get in some really skinny water to feed come mid-August.

A-Jay

[schplurg]

I learned I'm not as good a fisherman as I thought I was last month.

[DanielG]

Getting back into this in my 60's after a 50 year hiatus from fishing I'm learning a lot the past couple of years. 

This month? Let me see. 

~I learned how to thumb a casting reel. I only used spinning rigs before. I have been humbled by this endeavor. (full discloser, it's a curado DC so I'm cheating a bit).

~ Trolling down the middle of the lake in 50 feet of water with a 4ft diving crank bait catches more bass here than fishing the edges.

~ The fish travel in lanes on my lake. I'm learning them with the help of my Garmin.

~ Crappies get big as the summer progresses. This is the first time I've caught them. Years ago they were nonexistent here. Now their everywhere.

~ Crappies fight for a second then float on their side on the surface. Like hauling in a mass of weeds. It's as if they're saying, "okay, you got me, reel me in."

~ I learned that I love getting a hit in front of other fishermen that are in huge bass boats wearing sponsored spandex jackets. (I know this is strange). ?

 

[Sphynx]

I learned that smallmouth bass will take a size 16 nymph imitation up to probably 2 or so pounds and that pike will too, this seriously blew my mind as I never figured a fish that size would waste its time feeding on anything that small. 

[TnRiver46]

6 hours ago, Sphynx said:

I learned that smallmouth bass will take a size 16 nymph imitation up to probably 2 or so pounds and that pike will too, this seriously blew my mind as I never figured a fish that size would waste its time feeding on anything that small. 

Even my fat arse eats some popcorn every once in a while 

[FishinBuck07]

10 hours ago, JediAmoeba said:

What laws would those be???

If that creek runs through private property, that person owns the creek bed.  You never know when you are on private property or not sometimes until it is too late.  You can float the creek as long as you don't touch the creek bed.  Like I said stupid laws.  There are only a few creeks in my area that are all on state property, those are the only ones I fish.  I am not taking a chance of getting shot over fishing!

[Ron Williams]

I learned that color and presentation really are over half the battle when it comes to soft plastics in the dog days of summer.

 

I also learned that it is a long, slow war to get an overpopulated bass pond where it needs to be...full of many a small fish fry...but 5 years later progress is becoming noticeable.

[BassNJake]

A couple of lessons I've learned over the years resurfaced recently:

 

I have better success targeting the shade spots on the sunny side of the bank than the shady bank.

 

When fishing a topwater and you pass your target and then begin to quickly reel in to make your next cast; kill the bait a few feet from the boat before making another cast. This has led to countless numbers of awesome explosions right near the boat

[Sphynx]

3 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Even my fat arse eats some popcorn every once in a while 

I generally run on the same idea that most creatures will not predate often on anything that requires more energy to catch and digest than it will provide in return, either nymphs of aquatic insects are a great deal higher in calories than I had thought, or else they have found a way to make a "popcorn bucket" out of them and dredge up a bunch of them very rapidly, it certainly has provided some introspection on my approach to fishing 

[TnRiver46]

18 minutes ago, Sphynx said:

I generally run on the same idea that most creatures will not predate often on anything that requires more energy to catch and digest than it will provide in return, either nymphs of aquatic insects are a great deal higher in calories than I had thought, or else they have found a way to make a "popcorn bucket" out of them and dredge up a bunch of them very rapidly, it certainly has provided some introspection on my approach to fishing 

I've cut open some big rainbow trout that were bursting with insects. If they eat thousands of them it adds up. The thing a fish likes to eat the most is what's readily available the most often. The can't go into a store and pick what they want 

[JediAmoeba]

This month I learned that I do not like fishing saltwater.  Not at all.

[LadiMopar]

6 hours ago, FishinBuck07 said:

If that creek runs through private property, that person owns the creek bed.  You never know when you are on private property or not sometimes until it is too late.  You can float the creek as long as you don't touch the creek bed.  Like I said stupid laws.  There are only a few creeks in my area that are all on state property, those are the only ones I fish.  I am not taking a chance of getting shot over fishing!

If you think that law about the creek bed ownership is bad you ought to see the ones that concern the selling/buying and use of air. Not kidding here, people buy and sell rights to the freaking air....gosh I love being a paralegal! ?

[FishinBuck07]

59 minutes ago, LadiMopar said:

If you think that law about the creek bed ownership is bad you ought to see the ones that concern the selling/buying and use of air. Not kidding here, people buy and sell rights to the freaking air....gosh I love being a paralegal! ?

Yeah that is just plain stupid right there!

[greentrout]

the older i get ... the harder it is to take the heat ... gotta be careful and follow drs. instructions ...

 

regarding creeks ... mississippi has laws on the books that only a trained attorney can understand ... but make no mistake private property owners do have unequivocal rights ...

 

i only fish national forest creeks and streams to avoid any possible confrontation ... 

 

good fishing ...

[813basstard]

I learned a 1/4oz weight and a worm catch more fish than those fancy things most of us have...most of the time

[NYWayfarer]

Something I learned this week creek and canal fishing. The more expensive the lure the better the chance you are going to lose it. 

 

I lost 6 of my Panther Martin Classic gold in-line spinners this week. Still have my $1 Walmart ready 2 fish one though ? Can’t lose it if I tried!

[SeaCrow]

I learned where to find an old favorite plastic worm thanks to a couple of members here. Luck-E-Strike ringworm. Thanks again..

On 8/14/2019 at 4:16 PM, greentrout said:

the older i get ... the harder it is to take the heat ... gotta be careful and follow drs. instructions ...

 

regarding creeks ... mississippi has laws on the books that only a trained attorney can understand ... but make no mistake private property owners do have unequivocal rights ...

 

i only fish national forest creeks and streams to avoid any possible confrontation ... 

 

good fishing ...

You are absolutely right. I spent most of my life in Florida and it's a whole different world here..

[Shimano_1]

I've learned that working 6 days a week along with over 90 temps and high humidity plays hell on the chances to get on the water.  I bought a new boat 3 months ago and its sat way too much already.  Hoping for some cooler weather and normal work weeks in the near future so I can hopefully get back to learning how to not catch fish again lol

[Deleted account]

What have you learned this month?

 

I learned I should have gone to HVAC school...

[fishwizzard]

Get up early and go fishing, if I wait until 10am to leave the house I might as well stay home.  

[Fried Lemons]

I learned that big fish can be caught on hot cloudless summer days in the middle of the day on big baits. It goes against all conventional wisdom I've ever read but I guess fish don't follow the rules. I actually caught my biggest ever bag doing this.

[fishwizzard]

3 minutes ago, Fried Lemons said:

I learned that big fish can be caught on hot cloudless summer days in the middle of the day on big baits. It goes against all conventional wisdom I've ever read but I guess fish don't follow the rules. I actually caught my biggest ever bag doing this.

I believe this, I have gotten some really nice bass under these conditions, but;

55 minutes ago, fishwizzard said:

Get up early and go fishing, if I wait until 10am to leave the house I might as well stay home.  

This rule came from trying to do that and getting myself closer to heatstroke then I would like to admit to my wife. 

 

So let me amend mine to "If I am going to fish past noon in July/August, bring 50% less tackle and 100% more water.  Also don't chug a 24oz coffee right before leaving the car"  

[DogBone_384]

I learned that the fish are deep, drop-shotting works, and I don’t fish enough.