Big Indiana Bass

End of Year Open Water

December 28, and we are back to fishing open water again. Been a fun December, catching crappie out of a reservoir that was 90% iced over, and that we had to blaze a quarter mile trail just to reach the only open water on the lake. Then there has been the smaller ponds, where I've been casting my baits onto the ice, and then pulling them off and having bass eat them on the drop...then fighting them while they run under the ice sheets, trying not to get my line cut by the rough edges.

Crappie have all been on small jigs, sometimes cast, often times just fisher vertically or pendulum style at best. The bass have been biting the Ned Rig, a nice change from my usual mini blade bait fishing. Some cold weather and snow still inthe forecast, but looking more and more like open water at the start of the year. Would love to get that January bass out of the way quickly :)

 

Bass Bite Still Going Down

Water temps have now hit the low 40s, but the bass are still biting pretty decent in the cold weather and water. I've hit both a couple local ponds, as well as a couple reservoirs this past week, and managed to catch several bass at each. Water clarity has been pretty good most everywhere due to the cold water, and bass have been biting jigs, blade baits and jerkbaits. Here's a few fish from the past week.

This Year's Winter Weather Forecast Is...

Been a "Crappie" October

Seven trips so far this month and over 750 crappie landed. Best afternoon was 280 in a single trip. Been asked a lot how we manage to catch so many. Pretty straightforward answer;

• We fish structure
• We're always looking for the big school of fish

Walleye Tourneys Are Big...In Wisconsin

From an interesting study in the journal Recreation, Parks, and Tourism in Public Health comparing the expenditures of tournament anglers in Wisconsin. More specifically, bass, salmon and walleye tournament anglers. During the summer of 2014, they surveyed participants in 15 tournaments for anglers' expenditures in nine categories: housing, grocery stores, restaurants, automobile transportation, boat operation, fishing equipment, boat launch fees, entrance or parking fees, and entertainment. Maybe not surprisingly since it was Wisconsin, but walleye anglers spent the most money (median, $1,562), followed by bass anglers (median, $555) and then salmon anglers (median, $371).

Housing accounted for both bass and walleye anglers' largest expenditure; salmon anglers' listed 'boat operation' as their largest expense. But while cash output varied between tournaments studied, researchers summarized, "It can be concluded that anglers participating in all fishing tournaments spend significant amounts of money."

There were several key factors that contributed the greatest to expenditures per angler. They were;

• High rates of non-local participation
• More time spent in the host community
• More time spent practice fishing
• Higher participation of anglers over the age of 36
• Long tournament durations
• Greater tournament sizes
• The generally positive reputation of the tournament.

We're Still on the Crappie

Commentary (Article) On Invasive Species

A good piece on the issue of invasive species, especially in light of the controversy going on around the Geist Reservoir milfoil treatments.

...Technically speaking, smelt are not an invasive species. Instead, they are classified as a non-native species, a larger category of which invasive species are just a subset. According to a 1999 executive order that established the National Invasive Species Council, an invasive species is a non-native plant or animal “whose introduction does or is likely to cause … harm.” But what counts as “harm”?

...This isn’t just trivia. Invasive species control is always expensive, and you only get the resources to launch a full-court press against a plant or animal — like the hundreds of millions of dollars spent in the last six decades to get sea lamprey populations under control — on the rare and shining occasion when everyone in power agrees on what “harm” is. And so the definition of invasive species has also created fights within the biological sciences.

 

What Happens When Humans Fall In Love With An Invasive Species