Thanks, SF. Great to hear. I assume the downvotes are people who are looking for entertainment, or simple answers. I could give simple answers, but they wouldn't take anyone very far. The simple answers are fleeting. In my book, it's better to go after the why's, not just the how's, where's, and when's. That's my 'pump'. Paul
You are the "Bob Ross" of fishing my friend, watching your videos and sucking all that knowledge that you impart to all us it's all I like to do when come home from work and relax. Sometimes I close my eyes and listen instead of watching the video!! I find my Zen every time! Keep up the great work!!! Manaste!! 😊☺
This reminds me of the statistical approach to Bass fishing. This is fishing for people who want to know the mechanics of it. I really love this content and style.
I have been a fishing fool since the age of 6. I am 52 and I thought I had a pretty good grasp on fishing but finding the videos that you make they are so informative. Thank you very much for your time from fish syco...
Hi, DRB. Great to hear. Thanks. Yeah, they take more time than I've had lately. Painful. Be sure to share with friends for me. The more the merrier is the way YT works. Best, Paul
There’s a lot of fishing channels on RU-vid, and many of them are entertaining. But I have yet to come across one as informative as it is entertaining more than yours. Learning the hows and whys bass do what they do is instrumental to becoming a great angler. Keep up the great work, love the videos.
Hi, Morty. Thanks. This one was a painfully long time in getting out. Good pond. Still not sure what's/who's in there. Hoping to get some more outings there. Hope all's well. Cheers, Paul
You have my upmost respect! I cant imagine how much work and passion went into making this. I will be watching every video you have on RU-vid! Thanks for posting these vids!
Hey, SR. Thanks, again. Yeah, it's a lot to do even a day's fishing justice. There's so much going on out there. FYI: The channel is organized into four playlists: -Documentaries that give us a better understanding of the fishes themselves, currently focused on LMB; -Fundamentals that provides important background information, in depth. Info that comes up in our Video Fishing Journals (VFJ’s). -Fishing Tackle Know-How, where we take an in-depth look at the tools of the trade, taking the fish’s perspective into consideration; -Video Fishing Journals (VFJ’s), where we hit the water together to decipher the system, and the conditions & circumstances, in front of us. And to put our knowledge and decisions to the test. Be sure to share with friends. The more the merrier is the way YT works. Cheers, Paul
Had to split the viewing into two parts, i went fishing...and was on anothers schedule, 47" long nose gar. worth it! I learned on a 320 acre stone quarry. Little different then gravel but yet your environment there is similar in conditions..I broke that lake down with info i gained from your earlier Journals. It was a face breaking grin viewing listening and watching you break this one down...again, so good to see your video. And replant the basics of observations...and it filled my Heart to see your Patreon list grow! Your info and manner in which its presented is second to no others.
Hey, Michael. That's a big gar! I'd found them east to get to strike but tough buggers to hook. Congrats. They do fight! And thanks. Yes, the list is both growing and shrinking, Supporters coming and going, pretty much holding steady. I just don't have the time to grow things here via that hungry algorithm. It really requires that I break things up into much shorter vids. Am thinking about ways to do that. Maybe after I get more fundamentals pieces out. Or, just go back to writing a book, and then produce a video series from that. My wife and I are looking to retire here soon-ish, so there may be some changes that hopefully will free me up some. Right now I'm just looking for windows of time, and it's darn hard watching them close up. Missing a LOT out there lately. :( Paul
Paul, I would be...Fishing through the Apocalypse 😉 now if not for covid Blue Lining Public Lands out yonder. Me, as a viewer prefer Quality above Quantity. I lit up when you mentioned book and DVD. I'd like to hear more of your practical and educated experience with all the spieces you've dealt with. Convenient to have you tube now, I can stop and go camp, catch gar, RTB and pick up lessons .. Gotta be tough balancing everything this close to the ...Beginning of the next Chapter.
Hi, BMF. Thanks. That's the long-term plan. Lots has popped up lately that is getting in the way, so ... wish me... godspeed. I'm going to need it. Best, Paul
Hi, Rich. Thanks! I can't get enough of making them. In fact, I can't clear the time to make very many of them. Painful watching the time roll by. Paul
Another great video as always, keep up the awesome work Paul and just a suggestion maybe try other spieces as well it was so cool to see you catch a catfish and even if it was foul hooked that carp was just amazing it nice to have a little diversity and I loved the ecological approach it's so interesting and again such great content I can't wait till your next video
Hey, Jonathan. Thanks. I would LOVE to hit other species! Have been a "mutli-species" guy. I wish I had more to time to put into it. So much cool stuff to do out there! Paul
You do such an awesome job on these videos! I tell all my buddies about your channel. I wish more people Knew about it. Your hard work and dedication needs more attention!
Hi Paul, another great informative video. I keep applying what I learn from your videos and continue to improve. I had fun turning off the fish finder using habitat characteristic to guess where the fish were with great success. Thanks again! Cary
Hi, Cary. Thanks. Great that you are having fun finding habitat characteristics. I keep applying what I'm learning too. The world sure keeps things interesting, and me on my toes. My sonar is a great tool that adds another source of info, like another set of eyes. I use it less as a "fish finder" and more as a "habitat finder"; thus it doubles as a "fish finder". Can't wait to do a piece on reading sonar. That along with more complete coverage of food chain sources should be really interesting and helpful. (But first, I've got decks to refinish, a shed to re-roof, a sink and toilet to replace, fire mitigation to attend to, firewood to cut and split, ... .) I chose this current Lab pond bc of the possibilities for some offshore fishing. I finally got a day out yesterday (phew), and blanked out there. Tough being out of touch. The shoreline areas though still turned out to be a tip-off to good habitat and I finally found a really good one (I lost!) fishing tall shoreline trees. So cool how that is. Hoping to follow up soon before things change. All the best, Cary. Paul
Just caught back up to you with the last two videos, Paul. I've been out a lot fishing and also assisting a couple of relatives who have been affected by job loss. Great work as always!
Hi, Ed. Really good to hear from you. Thanks. We too are assisting relatives, and elders in our local community. Glad to hear you are getting some fishing in. I'm not getting much fishing in so far this summer, and watching it stream away daily over the horizon. :( Was hoping to cover the Post-Spawn/Pre-Summer this year. But, I've got to knock off home maintenance and renovations: decks refinished, bathroom renovation, shed re-roofing, well maintenance, grounds work, fire mitigation/firewood, ... . As you can imagine, I'd rather be wielding fishing rods and video cameras, rather than power sanders, sawzall, and chain saw. I'm finding joy in the work (my body needs physical work) and the headway, as long as I can stuff that call to be on the water; Something that bubbles up often, esp as I see clouds building! >--
@@thenatureoffishing7591 Yes, that home maintenance stuff can really interfere with fishing time. I have some things coming up that need to be completed as well. Some can wait until autumn when it is cooler. I find myself wanting to get it all done, but it really helps out if I back off and spread it out throughout the year. Otherwise, I would never get out on the water or do anything else.
Thanks. Pacing oneself is the way to go. However, my wife is a teacher and off for the summer, so we work together on projects then. Just have a bunch of them this year whose time has come.
Hello again, Paul! This is my second time through this journal, and I wanted to acknowledge your attention to protecting the waters by not divulging too much information. That is awesome, appreciated, and just downright chill of you. By the way, I was curious about how you attach your transducer to your float? I use a small inflatable boat (oars for now), and have to settle for spot checking the depths with my finder.. Thank you again, Paul! Much love.
Hi, Anthony. Thanks. Yeah, I'm not in the business, messing up other people's fishing. Trust goes a long way. My transducer is affixed to a flared piece of pvc electrical conduit. Then a stitched one side of a wide velcro strip to the nylon jacket of my float tube. The conduit is sandwiched by the velcro. Since you're in a different kind if boat you'll need to be creative to attach it. Just need to get the transducer vertical and 90deg from the water's surface. Mine's kindof "jury-rigged", but has worked very well for a lot of years now. You might be able to get a screenshot of my setup. I've wanted to do a short vid on rigging a float tube. Although I'm not convinced I can make short treatment of any topic! Paul
Appreciate you walking us through breaking down a new body of water. If you didn’t have time and a raft, do you typically use swimbait & spinner, and ned (Texas/wacky?) type rigs on breaks and structure to learn new water?
Hi, RVfishing. That's a good question. Going practical on me huh? :) My approach is more time intensive than for most folks. I blame a rock bass I caught when I was 5! I like to do some homework on a water body before I even get there. Then I start exploring, both on foot, walking the shorelines, and with sonar. This actually saves me time, able to make more casts that count. But... with or without that preliminary exploring, I still have to match tackle to the conditions. So, when I start casting, it's still the same game as everyone else plays. I use all types of lures, depending on what the conditions call for. A broad example would be the changes in my tackle as the season progresses. In the cold water periods when vegetation has died back and the water is often clearest, I tend toward lighter lines and rods, often spinning gear. I may go fully UL at times. As summer approaches and vegetation grows thick I gravitate to heavier tackle, to H gear at times and places. Lures that allow bottom or cover contact often tell me the most about what’s down there. Jigs, and diving crankbaits with known diving depths, are great for this. Maybe the best way to get to know this stuff is to read and discuss with others. Discussion forums like Bassresource are excellent sources of info, in terms of articles on site and the ability to ask questions of other fishers. If I were to suggest a starter book it would probably be the In-Fisherman “Handbooks”. The new one are the Critical Concepts series. I believe the bass ones are 3 volumes, and they aren’t expensive. The older ones are very good too, called, “Handbook of Strategies”, each targeting different species. Hope this helps. Paul
Im enjoying these videos because im teyinf to uderstand the small 53 acre lake that is local to me. Oddly when bass fishing you have to fight thr catfish off. Probaly a 3-1 ratio on spinner baits. Also bluegills nipping the tails off your soft plastic trailers with the random catches from the really brave ones.
Hi, RHG. Yeah, fisheries can be puzzles. Cool puzzles though. Catches of good target fish requires, first, that they are there in good numbers to begin with. I'm figuring that out in my new home waters here, too. I've had cats (channel's) aggressively take lures too. Most likely when they are either spawning and very aggressive/territorial, or when they are heavily feeding on something concentrated. Keep at it. At 53 acres you've got some looking to do. You'll likely find the mature fish, but you'll then have to decide if the catch rate is enough to keep you coming back. Best waters have good numbers of quality fish, and... fit your skill/versatility set. If things get too tough, switch waters. Sometimes you have to hit a number of waters to find a good catch rate. Then come back to your "tougher" waters. It's a process, but yeah, the results are certainly important. Good luck with it. Enjoy the search. Paul
Your new test waters seem more related to lakes with deep water structure than others you visited in the past. Small lakes formed from mining operations provide more bottom structure fish relate too. A five acre lake that has an average depth of 12 to 16 feet holds as much as three times the amount of water of a shallow one. That makes the bottom area much larger as well. Even being small in appearance the depth makes room for larger fish populations. I found it also often holds a small population of giants too. Small deep water stocked trout lakes are notorious for harboring giant Bass, Pike, Musky, Walleye and Channel Catfish. Once the public discovers that trophy fish are in these small waters they soon become overfished. The giants disappear long before overfishing does. This a microcosm of larger waters as well as oceans. This important issue is up to all anglers to understand.
@@thenatureoffishing7591 I am looking forward to seeing if the fish in your new test lakes compare with others. I would think there may be some exceptional size fish swimming in lakes with deep water.
My plan has been to hit this water type to focus on an "open water", and somewhat deeper water, bass fishery. I get questions about how shallow and deep fisheries compare. They share a lot, but the fishing can look a bit different. Not to mention different species potentially involved. However, I’ve not been able to get out with all my other responsibilities (at this point home maintenance projects for the summer and I can’t afford to hire out, and a CT scan that I couldn't do myself :) ). I’ve missed the shad spawn, am missing the bluegill spawn, and I was also hoping to do some BIG bass hunting as well. Am watching those windows open and close, as the clock ticks. Hurts.
Great video, Paul. I enjoyed your intro and it make me seriously consider my fishing habits. I wondered if I have been doing it right. Have I been examining all forage species? Have I been examine All predators, and have I seen or even noticed all available cover? Your video has brought to light these issues to me, and if you could be so kind, could you explain how a bank angler without any electronics figures these things out? I know I’m late to the party, but I hope you see this eventually. Thanks for this great video! - Spider man (P.S. what does a red mouth mean for bass? I know it happens in winter but I’m wondering if I should pay more attention to it)
Hi, Peter. Some waters are tougher to read from the bank than others. Or, at least some waters have more offshore habitat than others. Some, esp many small waters, the shorelines hold a lot of the feeding habitat. Sonar is essentially a time saver. And boats, even little ones, give you access to so much more water. But I have always bank fished and still do. It’s more limiting but by goofing around fish can be found. Oh… the red teeth is something that is common in largemouths during the cold water seasons. It’s pretty much a curiosity for me. I’ve spoken to scientists about it and no one has really looked into it. The guess seems to be that it’s stress related owing the the cold water.
Hi José! Good to hear from you. I really enjoyed the website you've put together on Spanish fishing and nature. Wonderful! My wife and I went through it a bit ago. Maybe there are some blessings behind this COVID event, some creative time carved out of our busy lives. I do hope all is well with you and yours. Take good care of yourself, and others. We're all in this together on this one, keeping the potential for mutations down. I wish the US could hold up our end better. :( On a brighter note, I hope you are able to get some of that wonderful Spanish bass fishing in. Cheers, Paul
Hi, Jesse. There are commercially available "stomach pumps" for trout fly-fishers, but they are too small for larger piscivores. So, I made my own. I used a rubber pipette bulb (50 or 60ml) and non-toxic soft Nalge tubing (1/2"), fitted together with a nylon barbed tubing fitting, all from a laboratory supply shop on a university campus. I see similar items on-line and at my local Ace hardware. Similar bulbs I've also seen at aquarium shops (for aquarium suction). At the business end of the tubing, I've cut it at an angle and used a heat gun to round down the cut edges, to potential reduce abrasion. This also softens the plastic a bit too. Hope this helps. Paul
My local pond a seemingly overrun with tadpoles. How would bass react to such an abundance of readily available prey, especially in regards to my attempts to tempt them with plastic?
Hi, td87. Thanks. Hmmmm... depends on the tadpoles possibly. Some carry toxins that make them unpalatable. I'd always wondered why there can be so many bullfrog tadpoles in some bass waters, the bass seemingly disinterested. So, I dunno. I've had some people tell me they've seen bass eating tadpoles. I've... yet to see it. Paul
Hi, C b. Some studies I've seen show bass use salinities up to 12ppt (parts-per-trillion). One study testing for growth at various salinities showed bass grow best in freshwater with growth decreasing up to 8ppt. Bass quit feeding at 12ppt. Hope this helps. Best, Paul
Hey, Scott. Thanks. I'm missing it too. Going to be a bit longer, but we're making progress. I think I see light at the end of the tunnel. Should know more tomorrow. 🤞
Hey, Rich. Coloration is pretty variable on bass, esp near the spawn when, esp females, take on beautiful dark spotting and vertical striping. I doubt these are "Tigers", as they would be an expensive undertaking, and would be advertised as such and special regs applied. For other readers, Tigers are a first-generation (F1) Northern/Florida cross. They are an investment in time and outlay for hatcheries, and usually supported with large numbers of stocked prey-fishes. Also, I'm too far north for FL bass to do well, much less reach the potential the Tiger hybrids were designed to be. The bass in this pond are the same as others in my state, but growth is be a bit better in this pond, it appears, due to productivity and pond volume. Remains to be seen. Paul
We ❤️ya ,thanks for the journals,removing the hook,the way you have taught us,has helped me and the Bass,I now try to fish from a biologist perspective in learning ,watching the water,or let the water talk to me in observation,when I hit the water,thanks for teaching us many lessons in our approach and advancement in angling skill and knowledge.
