i still use the slider heads in bass sizes with plastic worms.really a great rig for submerged trees and weed beds.slides right thru.

have no idea why you guys that have open water all year would fish a power plant.i wouldn't.they are ugly affairs.they are called perched lakes for a reason.they are not really dug out so much as dammed on all sides and are "perched"above the surrounding flat land to take advantage of the cooling effects of the wind.they are ugly and dangerous people drown every year and there are boat collisions as well as the high waves when the wind is up.but some fish species thrive in them and get to incredible size.i could hop in the truck and be fishing in an hour on such a lake.still have at least a foot of snow on the ground and probably 20 inches of ice on most ponds and lakes.the problem is the fog/steam that comes off the water when its still this cold.you get wet as it condensates on you.

I dug around last night and came up empty handed. I could not find a single piece of scientific, or academic evidence to support the idea of moon, or solar influence on spawning, freshwater fish. On the contrary, the evidence tends to reflect no correlation whatsoever.

Still, there are reams of firsthand accounts all swearing to the validity of moon influence. Of course, in order to be taken seriously, the results must be confirmed, and duplicated, by academia. This is where they appear to fall short. As I am fond of saying, "belief in a subject does not equate to proof".

But, I recognize that there may be factors in play, heretofore undiscovered. Actually, I wonder if a correlation exists between those who support the moon's influence on spawning, and time available to fish. Some of the times listed in solunar tables as being optimum, are at best, unhandy for many anglers. It would seem to me then, that those who base their fishing efforts around the tables might well have a lot more time to fish than the average angler. I further hypothesize that those same anglers, by virtue of devoting a greater percentage of time towards fishing, are actually subconsciously aware of varying degrees of success or failure. And when coupled with their belief in the astrological importance of peak fishing periods, they  may associate bedding or active fish with such  things as moon fullness, or solunar tables.

But that's strictly conjecture on my part.

back on track here with the "old baits" comment and fly rods...

Lets say I have a wooly bugger, a nypmh, a popper and a spider and I am gill fishing in a warm month. Why do I feel the need to tie and use other flies?

Ray Ditzenberger - You are right on the thermal maximum of fish. Each species has a point at which it commonly starts "shutting down" and stops feeding to conserve energy. Much beyond this point ultimately results in death. It seems to be less studied in the warm water fishes, but there are quite a few studies on cool water fishes like trout, salmon and even striped bass. The 95 percentile limit seems to be around 90 degrees for fish like bluegill and bass. Highest survival temps I've seen for bass are near 100 degrees, with channel cats coming in a bit warmer at 105 deg.

"belief" = confidence. Just like some people swear by lures others swear at. If you believe in it you work it carefully and are alert for it being bumped. I think the same sort of thing can apply to believing the fish are active.

Totally agree Andy.

blue cats can tolerate an even higher temp.they have been stocking them in the nuke lakes and they are getting to incredible size.30 lbers are becoming common.our nuke lakes used to be mush better as the power produced stayed in state.with deregulation they can sell the power whoever they wish so the plants run at a higher capacity than the lakes were designed for resulting in much higher water temps.many species have disappeared and are no longer stocked.the backup coalfired plants are going off line as smaller more local gas fired plants that dont require water are replacing them.these lakes are now going into a more natural state.no more fishing the ON switch when the lake would have a c strong current when the plant was turned on.i sold my big boat and concentrate on smaller queiter electric only or shore fishing these days.i am actually having better success and my beat up body likes me to walk a few miles.. the waves in those cooling lakes beats the heck out of you.

well they are either feeding or not feeding.all the confidence in the world wont make them bite.

Since I grow fish, I keep a close eye on my water temps. Our bluegills do fine even in 95 degree surface temps, as do the largemouth bass. Feeding certainly falls off, but survival has never been an issue. The hybrid striped bass we have in two of our ponds however, are another story. We don't fish for them in the heat of the summer.

I hear you, Jim. I sold my bass boat about 6 years ago, bought a 16' jon boat with a 10 hp engine, and have caught more fish since. This year I've promised myself I'm going to pull out the fly rod and the long pole and check out a few more overlooked waters from the bank.

well tony,thats good to hear but surface temp and temps near the thermocline can vary.the problem with the cooling lakes is the water is mixed.more like a hot river than a still water that stratifies.some fish do survive and in the heat of summer stripers congregate near the intake as it is the coolest water and people target them.i dont think they are stocking them much anymore.yellow bass seem to thrive and nave filled the niche once occupied by sunfish and crappies which were plentiful years ago.one of the lakes used a cluster of old strip mines as part of the lake and the tailings were left as islands.one actually looks like a volcano in the middle of the lake.this lake still has bluegills and some smallmouths.smallmouths are my canary in the coal mine as this used to be their peak range.

True, Jim, but some of our ponds are aerated at rates that give us two complete turns of the entire water column per day. There are no thermoclines established in those ponds, so surface temps are very close to the temps at depth.

Funny thing about this high temp discussion is that the remark I made about 100+ degrees was actually about air temp. I was talking about factors that invalidate using angler data to determine fish activity. I think the most fish are caught when the weather is ideal for fishing, not when it is ideal for fish. The better studies use catch rate - fish per angler per hour. But even doing that will give you some wildly varying numbers at times when the sample size is really low. There is also angler proficiency. The average fisherman out in bad weather is likely better at than the average fisherman in good weather. The point of all this is that we have lots and lots of really suspect data that we use to try to interpret what the fish are doing. It is almost impossible to prove or disprove any correlation.

A few years ago there was a big striped kill in the summer at a near by lake. I read an explanation by a fisheries biologist that was interesting. He said they didn't die from overheating, they died from expending energy faster than they could replenish it; basically starved to death swimming around in bath water.

thanks tony good to know.the winters have been the problem up her.winter kill is becoming a problem.the old limestone quarries give off an element that aids in oxygen deprivation,at least thats what their thinking.combined with almost 2 feet of snow coverde ice has devastated a couple really good bluegill fisheries.one had a complete kill last year.i remember a n indiana lake we used to vacation at and it would be like bathwater swimming in it but the fishing was always great in the evening.

andy i rarely pay attention to those rate samples put out by our dnr.our dnr is operating on half the money of 10 years ago and the studies are old.the whole state is in a crappie boom cycle right now.several good spawns last several years.the bluegills have been declining.dont know if it is related.i pay much more attention to the local fishing forums and people i know in different areas.i catch a lot more crappies on flies fishing for bluegills than i ever have.

Hope your waters come through the winter unscathed, Jim....I fear it may be a sickening spring for a few folks however.

The only widespread fishkill I've ever suffered here in our ponds has been from Hybrid striped bass in the heat of the summer. Turns out, some pondowners down in Texas carry oxygen tanks with them when they fish for these brutes, most notably during the hotter, drought months, in order to revive and rejuvenate the fish before release. These fish can literally fight to the death.

i hear ya andy-have caught bass that would be true trophies length wise but had no body mass.the head was the fattest part.we should have kept them and put in someones pond.thought about driving to a nuke lake today that opened the first.you can catch eating size cats all day long but i wont eat em out there.

Hybrids have pretty much disappeared near me. They found that the breeding rate is higher than they thought (most but no all are mules) and a few Houdinis were getting through dams and mixing with the sea run stripers. They don't want to taint that stock, so they have started only stocking stripers that are the native sea run strain in my local lakes. 

you are right.had a nice baked striper dinner 2 summers ago.caught on a bluegill sized roadrunner on an ultralight.he got in to open water and nearly spooled me twice.well it was hot out and there was no releasing him.he did fight to death.

andy those pure stripers are something.remember fishing for them in lake cumberland years ago.never got a big one in they broke line staightened hooks.even our native white bass are some tough little dudes.

I've found there is lots of merit as to what Tony says about the Hybrid stripers. I can honestly say I have had good luck with mine. My first batch I purchased 6 or 7 years ago disapeared don't know why but I know they were easy to catch. Anybody that fishes my pond I do have rules and #1 rule is you keep no hybrids but it wasn't followed and they were gone. I put in another batch 12 fish 4 years ago. There going strong but all the kids who have fished it have gone grown and go  elsewhere now. I do catch them in spring summer and fall and in summer I have to cage them before turning back or they will go belly up. In the cage I keep them moving till they want to go on there own then put them back into the pond. They are a fun fish to watch well really you just see a streak of white under the water and more fun to catch but you really have to be careful with them in the summer months I don't target them but they do not discriminate they eat everything and there fore some are caught..

My kids catch HSB on hot dogs while catfishing. I think they'll eat durn near anything. You hook a striper tail-to-tail with a comparably sized largemouth, and the striper will pull that greenback backwards through the water until he drowns it.

Then he would probably eat it.....

There's a fish for your fly rods, boys....hybrid striped bass.

2wt fly rod caught on my dragonfly nymph.

http://bigbluegill.com/photo/hybrid-stripper?context=user

The hybrids grow faster and I think in the 5# range they are harder fighting fish. I have first hand knowledge of both in that class. Second hand knowledge generally agrees. I only have second hand knowledge of the 8# and above class but there seems to be consensus that the pure stripers fight harder in that size class. In the 17# and above class there are only stripers.

I definitly agree with you guys!!  a stripe; in my opinion;; will out fight a bass big time! and I have hooked into a couple of them on a fly rod!  if there is a definition of fun-- that has to be it!!

Hybrid Striper

Speaking of hybrid striped bass, this is my 2014 Indiana Fish of the Year winning HSB - 29.0 inches. Probably about 14-15 pounds. I caught 4 double digit hybrids this past year. This was the largest.

Keeper sea run striper season just opened on the Roanoke the other day. You could probably cross the river at Weldon this weekend by hopping from boat to boat. No fishing for me this weekend though. Winter is finally pulling out and I am getting on a bus to go say goodbye to it; promised the kids a ski day. They run a bus from here to VA and back in a day. Way safer than driving yourself; sleep on the way up (leaves at 4AM) and watch a movie on the way back (they show one). Gets cheaper in March.

always seem to catch them when fishing for something else.an old secret bait for shore fisherman for hybrids is chicken liver.why it works i have no idea.guys fishing for cats on the bottom catch stripers all the time on chicken liver

Congrats B. W. on that fine fish!

ive talked with the DNR about stocking Wipers in Wixom Lake.... all their time and money is spent devoted to muskies... which to me is a nothing fish... hardly any one targets them around here.

that's another thing to like about hybrids; I think they are easier to catch than "pure" rocks.

Wow you guys have filled my Inbox up today with all this banter.  Stripers here on Lake Norman failed over a 15 year program, so now they have concentrated on hybrids for their stocking program

Wipers (white/Stripers) or Bodie Bass

Anticipating your next question...

http://www.ncwildlife.org/portals/0/Fishing/documents/Bodie_Bass_pr...

The Bodie bass (or striped bass hybrid) was named for Bodie McDowell (now retired) who was the public information officer for the Wildlife Resources Commission.

Really? It sounds like the member of the royal court with the worst job...

Obscure fact time!

There are actually TWO hybrid striped bass variants. The one most commonly available to private pondowners is a cross between a male striped bass, and a femal white bass...wiper is one common name, while sunshine bass is common in the south.

Then there is the reciprocal cross....a female striped bass, and a male white bass...this one is also known as a palmetto bass, and they are the fish usually raised by state owned fish hatcheries and stocked into public waterways. One school of thought claims they get a lot bigger than the "wiper" variant, with weights around 20 lbs or so not uncommon.

Wipers, seldom get over 10 lbs or so.

So the Bodie is also the Palmetto. Our record is just over 17#. 

I happen to live in one of the four places in the country where land-locked Stripers can pull off a successful spawn.  There's a lot of Striper fishermen that are P.O.'ed at ODWC for not being a little more protective of them; not to mention all the freaking developers that want to dam the river, destroying their habitat.....

On the few times I target them, I usually end up going with my catfish gear.  40 lbs test braid, 20 lbs test mono leader, 3/0 circle hooks and live shad.  Haven't lost a fish yet that way.

I've caught a few on lures.  A couple years ago, caught an 11 lbs Striper on my light-action 7' rod, strung with 10 lbs test braid.  I'm lucky I got that one in and revived.  Since I knew that the bigger fish were there, I went to the heavy gear.  Caught a 6 lbs Hybrid shortly after that.

I've caught some small Stripers, up to 3 lbs., on my 5 wt.  Yeah, they're a blast, all right....

I went to one of the ponds I fish and the ice had melted the day before.  I noticed fish were dimpling the surface with feeding activity.  Large midges were hatching.  I started out with my go to fly a #12 olive wooly bugger and I had no success.  I switched to a midge nymph pattern with a strike indicator and it was game on. I caught about 15 good bluegills before I called it a day.  I don't know what the water temperature was but I'm sure it wasn't much more than mid 30's range.  This same event happend year only it was in Feburary.  Ice stayed on a little longer this year.  It felt great to feel the first fish of the season.

Fellers I have a question that I need some guidance with.  My great grand keds want to learn to use a fly rod.  I thought I would start them out on 3wt 8 1/2 but I am not sure at to the line.  I thought about up sizing the line to 4wt and using a double taper instead of a weight forward and the target will be bluegill from a pond.  I'm 74 and looking forward to this test of my endurance, by the way they are 10 and 11. If you can.t  help me with the line selection a hardy gook luck will be helpful.