Bass_Mr. wrote:
Chris,pick up the Glen Lau series of videos called "bigmouth" and "bigmouth
forever" and see some great footage of bass in their habitat and how they
react to prey and lures.
"Chris Rennert" wrote in message
.. .

RichZ wrote:

Chris Rennert wrote:


I just want to get your opinions on my approach to bass fishing (or any
fishing I do). The approach I use is to not only study the biology of
the fish I am fishing for, but also the biology of the forage that the
prey upon. I just ordered 2 books on crayfish biology from Amazon. Am
I getting to crazy with all of this. I figure if I understand the prey,
and their movements, I will understand the fish and their movements
better.

I have started to read about wetlands, and different types of aquatic
vegetation as well, and what types of bottoms certain aquatic plants
require to flourish, and what temps they start to grow. This is the
same info i found about Crayfish, when they come out of their winter
haunts, and start to molt, and then reproduce. I figure every little
bit helps.

Chris


I love your approach. I have long maintained that in order to really
understand bass, we need to understand who the fit into the complex web
of an aquatic environment. everything in that environment relates to, and
affects everything else in it, either directly or indirectly. That why I
spent so much time with my head buried in limnology texts 30 years ago,
and its why I make it a point to learn about the other species --
both fish and non fish -- that compete with, coexist with, or provide
forage for the bass I'm after.

Exactly Rich, Our fishery which includes 5 Lakes, and 2 Rivers, and
dozens of tributaries is so diverse and is so fertile the fish have so
many options. Bottom line , during the summer, walleye fishing is very
tough, it seems only the best catch bigger fish during the summer. There
is so much prey out there (Grounder Minnows (trout perch), rusty crayfish,
young of the year white bass & sheepshead,yellow perch, bluegill, gizzard
shad, and various other minnows. You then throw in Largemouth,
smallmouth, whitebass, and mature sheepshead and the competition for that
food is unbelievable. Our smallmouth fishery has just exploded in the
last 5 years. 10 years ago you were lucky to catch one, or it was a
fluke, 5 years ago you were catching them on reefs here and there, and
already this year you can see by the pics of our last trip, that the fish
are growing and flourishing. Zebra mussels have invaded Winnebago big
time, and the water is starting to clear. Still our deepest weedline is
at about 5 feet, and it is hardly a distinct weedline. But we do have
distinct reefs , that are from a fly spec to hundreds of yards of rock.
And all the above just describes Winnebago. Now you have the Fox & WOlf
Rivers, Lake Butte Des Morts, Little Lake Butte Des Morts, Lake Poygan
,and Lake Winneconne. Which are all different. There is so much to know,
and that is my goal, is to understand Largemouth and smallmouth movements
based on the different competitors, and prey.

Now I probably won't be able to apply everything I learn on this system to
other systems, especially in a competitive enviroment such as tournament
fishing, but I think it will help in my understand of the fish as a whole.

I wish we could have some kind of classic here on this system, but we
already have a great Wisconsin excursion up north, but I would like to get
some of you guys on this water and see how you would fish it.

I tell you what, fishing has just completely consumed my every thought for
some time now, and I can't seem to consume enough information from books,
magazines, and videos, so if anyone has any suggestions on books to read,
videos to watch, or magazines to subscribe to please feel free to post
them here.

This is what I currently subscribe to:
Bassmaster, bass times, bassin, in-fisherman, & salmon trout & steelheader

Videos:
The whole in-fisherman series on Bass (SM & LM) & Walleye

Books:

Denny Brauers Jig FIshing secrets, Denny brauers tournament tactics,
In-Fisherm LM Bass, In-Fisherman SM Bass, Knowing Bass, Advanced Bass
Tactics, Doug Hannons Big bass magic, Doug Hannons field guide to bass
fishing, Bass Wisdom, various steelheading books, various float fishing
books.

Once a teacher told me knowledge was power, hmmmmmm... we'll see I guess..
All of it is useless without application.

Chris



Very sweet, gonna search for them now ! Thanks a ton!