Fall Feed Bag?

[Mark K]

Mark, Those hours ;ook like they are over 3 seasons. Still a lot of fishing hours logged.

 

If I'm reading this right, your stats showed some similar stats as we did in IL with our fishing log project. September has the highest catch rate for total numbers and the fewest amount of hours between 16"+ smallmouth.

 

 

Duh. My bad. More realistic- but still an amazing amount of hours.

[ronk]

The last 2 years my best time for 16"-19+ smb was from late Sept thru Oct.It petered out by the start of Nov. just as rainbow trout fishing was beginning at the club I belong to.Good timing.

[Bterrill]

Yeah, it's a lot of hours. Still not enough.

 

I tend to think September is Summer fishing because most of those Summer days were 80-95 F. That's not Fall to me.

 

You can kind of get the idea that bigger fish spawn earlier based on the way the hours per 16", 18", 20"+ fish fluctuates.

 

I still think big fish are easier to catch in Winter and Spring.

 

In Winter, survival from elements is more pivital than hiding under the best impenetrable cover like Summer.

 

In Spring, the current pushes food up close to shore, and the big ones have to keep eating to have energy to spawn. During both anglers can be turned off by the weather when maybe the shouldn't be?

 

I like late October and November least. Truly can be a transition period where fish are on the move or shutting down.

 

I always liked the stats on the back of sportscards. Now I make my own. I also keep stats for each of the streams I fish. It is starting to point to great year classes and possible flood killoffs. Fun to let race around in my head.

[Norm M]

Over the years I've caught more big fish from mid October thru mid April than during the warmer months.

 

Many think I'm nuts when I say high, cold muddy water is one of my favorite conditions which in the long run is fine by me.

[Bterrill]

High praise, indeed.

 

One of the studies I'd like to see done (tried to get going at INSA) is a larger sample of angler fishing logs set up in a similair way to get a better idea what swims in the rivers, without electro shocking fish. Donors kept anonymous of course.

 

Then there is the study I'd like to some day do of prefrontal conditions and just plain nasty weather. They seem to coincide with some huge bites! But is it true? Keeping accurate data is a hobby in and of itself.

[Norm M]

BT,

 

I'm lucky enough to have a very understanding woman, a schedule that allows lots of time to fish, older kids and to live minutes away from prime water. You still got more time on the water in a few years than a lot of guys will do in a decade, shoot some in a lifetime.

 

Time on the water, the ability to learn from your experiences good and bad and learning to see and remember the natural cues are what's most important.

[Bterrill]

BT,

 

I'm lucky enough to have a very understanding woman, a schedule that allows lots of time to fish, older kids and to live minutes away from prime water. You still got more time on the water in a few years than a lot of guys will do in a decade, shoot some in a lifetime.

 

Time on the water, the ability to learn from your experiences good and bad and learning to see and remember the natural cues are what's most important.

 

Same for me, minus the kids. I really started in about 2003, but didn't log a lot of that info beyond forum posts. Now I wish I had!

 

Yeah, and to be sure, the rivers I fish are a different animal than the Kank. Usually late Fall is low, clear, water with ultra spooky fish. So of course, results may vary. I think the point I was trying to make wasn't that I fish a lot or caught a lot of fish.

 

Keeping track in an honest, accurate way can give us the information we always wanted when we were seeking forums like ISA/INSA/Riversmallies in the first place. Let's face it, no one is studying river and stream smallmouth behaviour. Might as well set our own studies. Mine is too small a sample size. With an organization like the Smallmouth Alliance, this kind of data from a larger group could be quite valuable.

 

I'd be curious for the more scientific types if they have any input on any inherant biases or sampling mistakes might be made doing this sort of thing.

 

Keeping a log has really made me ask a lot of question when looking at the numbers.