Nice bomb Blue

Blue Fleck is the best carrot-topped fisherman on this site (he may be the only carrot-topped fisherman on this site!). Seriously (not) he is the only guy I know that can sling as good or better than he gets slung at. He is a pleasure to have around for his insight and experience. He may not be the best on any given day but he is a good hook and a friendly guy. He would give you the shirt off his back (if it was full of fish slime and too stinky to take home for momma to wash).

He is quick with a comeback and is truthful most of the time! I for one like and respect Blue Fleck for who he is and isn’t.

Here’s to you Blue.

I have a better feel of the bottom content with tungsten than lead or brass and like it better for both C-rigging and T-rigging. I also can tell the difference between coontail and milfoil with tungsten. The cost is more and the weights are smaller so they are sometimes more apt to snag but all things considered I like tungsten.

Typically, based on a large amount of fishery research, SM (50-55) will spawn before LM (60-65). However, many other variables can occur such as SM spawning in deeper water in many lakes and LM being in the shallower water before them or at about the same time due to differences in water temperatures at the bedding site. Spawning is temperature dependent not date dependent so LM could be on beds before SM if conditions are right.

This is Steve Hjort, the new Conservation Director for TBF

I implore all of you that live near the Mississippi River to attend the November 1st meeting. I don’t really care which side of the fence you are on but a strong turnout will show the DNR that we mean business and are united. I also ask that you contact every business owner that might make a sale to a tournament fisherman and ask them to attend the meetings or send a written letter stating their postion to DNR on this issue. We need to get as many people involved in this critical public hearing process as possible.

We will likely have only one chance to voice our collective opinions on this issue and that will be during the public hearing process. After that it will be in the hands of committees and the State legislature.

For more information go to TBF, BASS or DNR websites and look up NR20.40.

Thanks in advance for your attention and cooperation.

To zx202guy, some of us posting on this thread ARE fisheries biologists and others like JC are so interested in these subjects that he actually researches the subject. Novel idea, an average Joe fisherman actually looking for more than what you get reading the ads in Bassmaster magazine!

To JC,
I think we talked about seemingly abnormal spawning activities a while back regarding a different situation. Interesting conversation and it leads me to asking more questions of some colleagues. I am not sure that all the readers were able to decipher your last post on the subject … but I guess that is OK too!

They say “ignorance is bliss” and in some cases I believe this to be true!!

JC,
Interesting information. I am not sure if there is a predictive every other year spawn phenomenon but I have read about spawning studies done in lakes that indicated that some females do not spawn every year. The authors hypothesized that this may be due to poor or non-spawning efforts the previous year, environmental stress factors such as being caught and released, poor water quality, poor forage, etc. I think that in a completely natural setting (which is rare in the US), most if not all females bass will attempt to spawn during the normal spring early summer period. Other factors may lead to some of them being unsuccessful and therefore spawn in alternating years. I know that the rigors of spawning affect all bass and one study in northen WI indicated that up to 40% of the active spawning males died later in the year that they guarded nests. This latent mortality is likely due to stress and if you add in other stressors it may affect many of the fish that were successful in the spawn in any given year females included.

This leads to my theory that all bass do not spawn in a given year so that the species is not wiped out by successive years of poor water quality, spawning conditions or other factors. Mother Nature always hedges her bets and does not put all her eggs in one basket so to speak. This is why not all bass spawn at one time or in the same place. In nature it is survival of the fittest to the extreme. Adaptation and random actions are key for a species to thrive especially in todays world of human impacts to the environment.

Your theory about every other year spawning may be an accurate observation but the science may be more complicated than we think. If you think about the many complex interactions that have to occur for a fish to go from an egg to a 12 yr old gravid female laying eggs in a nest it is amazing. Throw in the ever increasing fishing pressure and it is clear to me that adaptation and random actions are major players in the sustainability of any fish species. The species that adapts to the prevailing conditions can spawn and create offspring that can someday be recruited into adulthood and continue the cycle. I think Darwin had the idea… EVOLUTION!

In my humble opinion, IKE is getting his just dessert! I think that BASS and others have led him astray by promoting his obnoxious antics in front of the camera. Not that they are any worse than others I have seen, Jim Bitter and others come to mind, but the acceptance and promotion of these types of outbursts for the sake of the sport are uneeded and unwarranted. Bass fishermen already are viewed by the general public as a bunch of hyped up glory seekers (which may be true in some cases), but to promote the obnoxious behavior and encourage it is wrong.

Ike should seek counseling for his anger and actions and maybe this can become a story with a positive ending. He is a good fiherman that has been led down the wrong path by many in this industry for the sake of the almighty dollar (again). I hope that this registers as a wake-up call for Ike and he gets back to doing what he does well and that is bass fishing.

Tom,
It was good to see you and BFN boys in the booth last weekend. Good luck this year and say Hi to JC for me.

Steve Hjort

Jim,
CONGRATULATIONS Awesome job, you kept your cool and figured those fish out and had a great finish. You made us all proud in Wisconsin and the midwest. Your hard work and dedication has paid off again and I think your future is looking brighter all the time.

Send me PM after you get back and have a chance to relax.

I think it may be the sights. I am not thrilled with the open sights on the T/C. I would either take them off and re-mount the open sights or get a low power scope. At 50 yards a maxi ball should not be that wild if the sights are right. My $.02.

I think it may be the sights. I am not thrilled with the open sights on the T/C. I would either take them off and re-mount the open sights or get a low power scope. At 50 yards a maxi ball should not be that wild if the sights are right. My $.02.

I will echo the recommendation for the PowerBelt slugs. They work great and are very accurate in my T/C.

I will echo the recommendation for the PowerBelt slugs. They work great and are very accurate in my T/C.

Yes, we call him the “shadow man.” You get a glimpse of him in the sunlight!!

Yes, we call him the “shadow man.” You get a glimpse of him in the sunlight!!

Here is a photo of my WI gun season buck. My brother made a 1 man push to me on Tuesday morning the 22nd at 7 AM and it came right to the smokepole.

Here is a photo of my WI gun season buck. My brother made a 1 man push to me on Tuesday morning the 22nd at 7 AM and it came right to the smokepole.

I have been using (occasionnally!!)the Bag-em tags and they work fine if used as they show you. Once in a while one will fall off but that is the exception rther than the rule. Overall this system works great and is most imporatnly easier on the fish.

Happy Birthday Casey and good luck with the inevitable “expansion” that goes with getting wiser (older!). Try to keep expanding your mind and leave the buffets alone!

Happy Birthday Dan, unfortunately the next 50 likely will be at a slower pace than the first 50!!

3 fish for 8.5# but at noon he will have 5 fish for 14.25# and be looking for a piggy LM in the current wood along the WI shoreline south of LaX!

Common “scents” may the best sense to use on a regular basis.

I broke down and bought the 100 MPH Bass Pro suit last year and could not be happier with this product. It can get a bit warm in 90 degree weather but if it is raining hard and 90 it feels cooler than that and it does breath somewhat. I give it a 5 star rating and feel it was money well spent. Helley Hansen is also very good commercial grade rainwear but it does not breath like goretex.

Curt,
I would go to the net and type in the latin name and search for hits. You will come up with some resource sites that you can save to your computer for future use. You will see a bunch of journal type articles from students and professors on studies and also hit Internet vegetation sites like Nature Serve and various State University photo catalogs of plants. That should help although viewing in a boat at speed will not alwyas allow accurate ID but where it grows in the water resource is in shallow areas. I have not seen too much of this plant except in select backwater areas off the main river.

As the great Buck Perry once wrote, they are either shallow, deep or somewhere in between. It is nice when you can answer your own questions.

Good luck in your fishing efforts. I personally have not caught many bass from deer tongue but mostly nothern pike. This plant likes cooler water it seems and grows around springs in some lakes. Hope this helps but don’t not fish it because of my experiences.

Curt,
Good job with the photos and the second one, Potamogeton illinoiensis is what is commonly refered to as deer tongue. Water smartweed has many common names but I have personally never heard it refered to as deer tongue. Maybe in other circles it is but being an aquatic biologist it has never been refered to by peers.

The “snot weed” that we have all seen and dealt with is actually a macro algae called Cladophora. It is borne by too much nutrients and as someone stated it kills out the vegetation that it adheres to and also the animal life, including fish that normally are found in healthy stands of submergent aquatic plants.

Moral of the story is that if you see the “snot weed” all over your favorite weedbed, move around until you find some that is not covered or go elsewhere. This algae is very common in waters with too many nutrients.

I use a AC66MF or AC70MF, both St. Croix in a medium action with fast tip. I agree that with thick plastics that a medium action provides more “horsepower” to set the hook and move the fish if needed. Medium light action will work fine if you use superline but I prefer medium for mono or co-filament lines.

I saw some Excalibur at the Gander in Germantown yesterday but not in the line test I am looking for. They had some of it in the old black packaging and some new in a clear plastic package. I asked a clerk and he said they will be getting more in soon.

For flipping I use P-Line Fluoroclear and Excalibur in 15-25 # test. I like them both and used the P-Line almost exclusively last year and am confident in it now. I used to use only Excalibur and still do use it as this is about the toughest copolymer that I have seen. Both have good knot strength and abrasion resistance. The P-Line seems to be “slipprier” (if that is a word) and goes through weeds well. I use 10 or 12# Excalibur on a spinning reel for fishing docks (skipping) and on a big spool it handles well. I tried 10# P-Line fluoroclear on a spinnng reel last year and it was a bit stiffer than Excalibur and I had more “nests” due to this.