test your spawn i.q.

[Bassn Blvd]

Ok Mattm,  I concede.  You were right and I was wrong about Q #10.  My IQ is so high that I have a hard time reading fundamental questions.

[mattm]

Fortunately I don't have that problem.

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

I haven't read any of the responses and didn't do any research. These answers are based soley off my own experiences:

1. False

2. True for all

3. True.

4. True

5. True

6. True

7. True

8. b

9. a - always pay attention to where he/she will run, and position your boat for the best advantage BEFORE making that first cast.

10. True - most often earlier

Always with the disclaimer,...... :

[Catt]

I haven't read any of the responses and didn't do any research. These answers are based soley off my own experiences:

1. False

2. True for all

3. True.

4. True

5. True

6. True

7. True

8. b

9. a - always pay attention to where he/she will run, and position your boat for the best advantage BEFORE making that first cast.

10. True - most often earlier

Always with the disclaimer,...... :

CYA  

[dmac14]

1.false

2.d

3.true

4.false

5.true

6.false

7.true

8.c

9.d

10.false

[6pointbuck2003]

1 false

2 d

3 false

4 true

5 false

6 true

7 true

8 b

9 c

10 later

[JUST]

1 F

2 D

3 F

4 T

5 T

6 T

7 T

8 B

9 A

10 T

[Jake.]

1. False

2. A

3. False

4. True

5. False

6. True

7. True

8. B

9. C

10. True

[Mattlures]

1.F

2. A and B

3. F. you use the male to get the female hot.

4. T

5. T kind of. You can guage a little from color but you can tell more from behavior

6. T

7. T

8. This depends. Water clarity is the most important but pressure will push the bigger fish to spawn deeper

9. A and then B

10. T

What do I win Paul

[paul.]

********spoiler alert!!!!!!**********

if you have not taken the test yet and want to, stop reading now because i'm about to post the answers!!!!

this quiz came from this article.  this is one of the best spawn articles i have ever read.  

http://www.fieldandstream.com/photos/gallery/fishing/bass/how-fish/2007/11/going-deep-name-bass-research

now i realize that everyone's experiences vary.  and i realize that some will want to argue.  if so that's fine.  argue with field and stream or if you think you know more than john kerr, argue with him.  or argue amongst yourselves if you want.   i didn't post this to argue with anyone and i'm not going to, so don't try. ;D ;D ;D

i'm sure this will generate some further discussion among us, and that was my goal.  i hope y'all enjoyed this little exercise, and more importantly i hope we learn from the article and each other.  

best of luck to everyone this season whether you bed fish or not.

without further delay, here are the answers as per the field and stream article.  everyone please post your grade now along with any thoughts you want.  no going back and changing answers!  obviously, each question is worth 10 points.  did anyone get a perfect score?  

oh btw, matt old buddy, if i have stumped everyone who responded and no one got a perfect score, then do i get a prize? ;D ;D ;D

1.   false.  this approach could cut off the bass' "escape route" and make them more spooky instead of less.

2.  b.  when you cannot find the female, the male will often "point" right towards her, making her easier to locate.

3.  false.  many times the only way to engage the female is for her to see the male get agitated first.

4.  false.  somewhat of a trick question.  while it is true that there are "sweet spots" that will aggravate bedding fish more than the other surrounding area, these are not always IN the bed itself.  quite frequently the female will have a different "sweet spot" than the male and it may not be in the bed at all, but somewhere on the perimeter.

5.  even though it sounds somewhat silly on the surface, this is true.  

6.  true.  beds which have a "backdrop" (stump, log, etc.) are easier to defend.  hence fish will seek out these type of areas to make their nests.

7.  true.  bass prefer to bed on flat or mostly flat surfaces whenever possible.

8.  b.  although the other answers might be in some situations somewhat correct, the best answer is "water clarity" since this determines the essential element of light penetration.

9.  a.  a fish hooked on a bed will most likely move to cover when possible.  

10.  true.  the idea that big bass do things differently frequently applies to the spawn just like it does to other fishing scenarios.  

[IdahoLunkerHunter]

1.  False

2.  I think all will work and should be done.

3.  True

4.  True

5.  True

6.  True

7.  True

8.  b

9.  a

10. True

I don't know If I answered 10 right. It just didn't sound right. And #2 is all of the above I don't care what ya say

[Mattlures]

But I did get them all right. read the wording of #4. Answering true does not make it wrong. Your explanation just meand there are times when her spot is different then his.

BTW John is my friend and we fish the same lakes and tip each other off. We also compare notes about bed fishing . I am not as good as he is though. He can see better then anybody else I have ever seen. He has bionic super sight.

John gave away alot of good tips in this article but he still kept a few secrets  

Also I have a question for you. of all your questions which is the most important?

[paul.]

Also I have a question for you. of all your questions which is the most important?

the most important of my questions you say?  well i guess it would have to be this one:

oh btw, matt old buddy, if i have stumped everyone who responded and no one got a perfect score, then do i get a prize?

because so far it looks like i'm batting 1000.  how about one of those new hard baby bass like randall posted.  well, actually 2 would be better.  one autographed by yourself, mike long, john kerr, fish chris, and jay.

the other one i'll fish with.   ;D ;D ;D  

[Mattlures]

alright since you dont want to play I'll give you the answer. You probably already knew it.

The most important thing is how you set up on the bed. Before you ever start you need to let the fish be as comfortable as possible. This is what John was talking about when he said blocking thier escape route. If you position your self badly you have greatly reduced your odds before you even start.

I can get you an autograph from Mike and John but JaY and Chris might as well be in TX. CA is a big state and they are no where near me.  

[Bassn Blvd]

1. False

2. I think all will work and should be done.

3. True

4. True

5. True

6. True

7. True

8. b

9. a

10. True

I don't know If I answered 10 right. It just didn't sound right. And #2 is all of the above I don't care what ya say

I knew I would find someone like me, or to agree with me.

[FordNFishinLover]

1.  true    

2.b.  watch what the male does.

3.  true

4.  true

5.  false

6.  true

7.  true

8.  c.  water temperature.

9.  c.  move towards the resistance of the angler's line.

10.  false

[paul.]

alright since you dont want to play I'll give you the answer. You probably already knew it.

The most important thing is how you set up on the bed. Before you ever start you need to let the fish be as comfortable as possible. This is what John was talking about when he said blocking thier escape route. If you position your self badly you have greatly reduced your odds before you even start.

I can get you an autograph from Mike and John but JaY and Chris might as well be in TX. CA is a big state and they are no where near me.

matt this is great stuff. thanks you very much.

my thoughts on "the most important thing" in a bed fishing scenario, or any other fishing scenario go a little sumpn' like this:

"the most important thing" is always the thing that we failed to do correctly, thus causing less than optimum results. even the most insignificant detail becomes "the most important thing" if doing that thing or not doing it results in failure.

"the most important thing" also varies from fish to fish in the bed fishing game. for some fish, how you set up on them seems to make little difference if any as long as you are stealthy and avoid foolish blunders. there have been a few fish that i have realized this with and actually gotten closer to them so that i could more easily see the drama unfold before me. with these fish the set up was not the most important thing. it was the bait presentation that was most important. with other fish i have encountered, they would hit just about anything i tossed in the nest regardless of how it was presented as long as it wasn't downright clumsy. but if they saw me, it was game over. in this case the set up was the most important thing. and so on and so on with the important aspects of sight fishing.

i guess what i'm saying is that the smart move is to treat every aspect of your fishing trip, no matter how small, like it is the "most important thing" because it just might be.

[Mattlures]

The entire spawn fishing game is a process of elimintion. There are many factors in each chess match. It all starts with your aproach but there are alot of other things that you can do wrong or wright. I see soo many guys that keep doing the same thing without getting posative feedback. Its actualy a simple process. If something is working keep doing it. If something is not working do something else. If something spooks them or you get a negative responce DONT DO IT AGAIN.

Eventualy you will learn to read the fish and you will know from thier body language what is a posative and a negative and a non responce.

The biggest mistakes I see guys make are #1 they set up bad. and #2 the get no responce but they keep doing what they are doing. Each fish is different and Johns article is a general guide and a very good one at that but as you and I both know there are always exceptions. Thats what makes it soo challenging.

[Fish Chris]

Hmmm. A few were asked in kind of a goofy way, that doesn't usually pertain to my fishing.... like #9... the fish will move towards cover ? Most often, in our CA lakes, their is no cover, so the fish moves away from you, and towards the deeper water.

Or #3..... I'm not supposed to target the usually WAAAY bigger female bass first ? Heck, if I can avoid catching the male altogether, I will. He will still get plenty fired up enough, for that to rub off on the female.....

Anyway, I did get #10 right. Yes, often the biggest bass spawn first. Surprised so many missed that one.

Think I got 8 out of 10.

Peace,

Fish

PS, John Kerr is an awesome angler, for both tournaments, and trophy bass fishing. For anyone who might not know, he is Mike Longs long time friend, and fishing partner.

[ChazfromVA]

1.t

2.a

3.t

4.t

5.f

6.t

7.f

8.b

9.b

10.t

[Paul Roberts]

Fun thread.

Matt and paul, just great follow up posts on "the most important thing".

Fishing sure can be an intricate game, highlighted especially well in sight fishing. Now...extrapolate this stuff to your blind fishing... fish that aren't necessarily tied down to a single spot, and you can't see their reactions. Sure puts some perspective on things!

[WRB]

********spoiler alert!!!!!!**********

if you have not taken the test yet and want to, stop reading now because i'm about to post the answers!!!!

this quiz came from this article. this is one of the best spawn articles i have ever read.

http://www.fieldandstream.com/photos/gallery/fishing/bass/how-fish/2007/11/going-deep-name-bass-research

now i realize that everyone's experiences vary. and i realize that some will want to argue. if so that's fine. argue with field and stream or if you think you know more than john kerr, argue with him. or argue amongst yourselves if you want. i didn't post this to argue with anyone and i'm not going to, so don't try. ;D ;D ;D

i'm sure this will generate some further discussion among us, and that was my goal. i hope y'all enjoyed this little exercise, and more importantly i hope we learn from the article and each other.

best of luck to everyone this season whether you bed fish or not.

without further delay, here are the answers as per the field and stream article. everyone please post your grade now along with any thoughts you want. no going back and changing answers! obviously, each question is worth 10 points. did anyone get a perfect score?

oh btw, matt old buddy, if i have stumped everyone who responded and no one got a perfect score, then do i get a prize? ;D ;D ;D

1. false. this approach could cut off the bass' "escape route" and make them more spooky instead of less.

** most bass beds are in shallow water, less than 4'. approaching with a boat between the shoreline and bed will spook the bass. The place to position the boat is with the sun at you back and your shadow off the bed area.

2. b. when you cannot find the female, the male will often "point" right towards her, making her easier to locate.

** females are only on a bed a short time and move between nest sites after dropping a portion of their eggs. Once the female has deposited eggs on a bed the male will chase it off.

3. false. many times the only way to engage the female is for her to see the male get agitated first.

** see #2, if you don't see the female return after a few minutes, it more than likely moved on.

4. false. somewhat of a trick question. while it is true that there are "sweet spots" that will aggravate bedding fish more than the other surrounding area, these are not always IN the bed itself. quite frequently the female will have a different "sweet spot" than the male and it may not be in the bed at all, but somewhere on the perimeter.

** female bass don't protect the bed, the male does all that work. You can aggravate the female into striking, if she wants to lay eggs in that bed.

5. even though it sounds somewhat silly on the surface, this is true.

** females intent on laying eggs are often lite up light green color.

6. true. beds which have a "backdrop" (stump, log, etc.) are easier to defend. hence fish will seek out these type of areas to make their nests.

** true

7. true. bass prefer to bed on flat or mostly flat surfaces whenever possible.

** true

8. b. although the other answers might be in some situations somewhat correct, the best answer is "water clarity" since this determines the essential element of light penetration.

** water clarity is important to sight fish, water temperature and lack of current are far more important than water clarity.

9. a. a fish hooked on a bed will most likely move to cover when possible.

** It has been my experience they run straight out into brush in deeper water.

10. true. the idea that big bass do things differently frequently applies to the spawn just like it does to other fishing

scenarios.

** big bass usually spawn earlier or deeper, rarely later.

** my 2C on the subject

WRB

PS; Kerr & Long are without question phenomenal bed fishing experts.