Nick

As a response, all the Ozark lakes offer good dropshotting. And it's catching on pretty good down here.

It's all good. I've fished in just about every state in the lower 48, but if the wind and weather are in one's favor, it's hard to beat Erie and Champlain for big waters. Closeby, in the Ozarks, it's hard to get much solitude if that's important, unless I'm on a float stream in the dead of winter. Just the eagles and me and the big smallies warming my cockles.

I don't like using a swivel above my dropshot worm, but the line twist really tries my patience on a regular dropshot. Any cures out there from the West coast crowd? P.S. I normally throw 8-10 lb. flouro on a baitcaster with a 1/4 to 1/2 oz. weight in 20-60 feet of water. I've tried different hooks with no success. Thanks.

Make sure that you get a unit that will allow the usage of a contour chip to be place in it. The Lowrance model that has a 480x480 pixel count locator along with the GPS is great buy for the money. They are black and white, but they do a good job both mapping and charting the bottom. Go the extra mile to get the Navionics chip and you are really set up to fish unfamiliar and large bodies of water without wasting lots of time.

LD, I spend lots of time guiding and fishing Ozark streams for smallies. Years ago, in the 70's when smallmouth saw their first Arkie rubber legged jig, the bite was unbelievable. Fast forward 30 years and today we have more ramps, the advent of 50 mph jetboats that can get up and down the river in a heartbeat and fish that get lots more pressure. I still get my licks in, but so many of the quality bass have disappeared. Instead on 100 bass days, my numbers are cut about 80%. Instead of an expected 4 pounder daily, I'm down to one about every fifth trip. I still love it doen here in Missouri, but when I go north to smallie fish, I'm stunned by the quality and numbers. How is it on your stream?

Smallies in Kentucky can be tough lots of times, but this time of year lots of guys go to the float n fly in the clear impoundments. Road Warrior had good ideas. Several posts come from Northern anglers where numbers of fat smallmouth are much easier to catch most days than they are in the South. I do know that to catch a real monster down south night time and cold water periods are highly preferred. I would join a bass club to get my learning up to speed also.

Thanks, Whittler. I've got a bunch (100's) of sugar pine turned Zara type bodies and hardware just gathering dust. Holler at me if you would like some. I also have the lead sleeves that I slipped over the back eyelet for proper balance. These make dandy walking baits! I might just try your finishing techniques, but lately, I've let the air brush also gather some dust!

Marty has a very valid point. I know of one very fortunate fellow with limited bass fishing experience who was able as a non-boater to fish the Everstart Eastern, Northern, and Central tours along with the FLW tour all last year. In addition he prefished a few days for each event with pro's also. His fishing abilities skyrocketed as he gained years of experience in 9 months in all sorts of waters and conditions fishing for both large and smallmouth bass. Can you imagine how his fishing improved by fishing with some of the better anglers in America on different waters? Furthermore, he is going to do much of the same again this year.

Increased boat traffic does seem to drive the bass deeper, or into thicker cover. That's where jigs and soft plastics shine. The lion's share of tournamnet money is won around here by excellent jig fishermen regardless of the conditions or time of year. They fish deeper, slower, and in brushy places. Those Saturday and Sunday bass are quite a bit harder to catch than they were on Thursday.

Right on, Marty. Snapping the line works if a sinker is behind a rock at times, but often it doesn't. Also, if you are using Flourocarbon line esp. Seaguar, be careful snapping it hard. It will break at the reel's level winder. I've done this three times. Ouch.

For wooden baits, what's the preferred way to get a tough, attractive finish. And will this finish work over acrylics, latex, and/or lacquers? Thanks. ???

Shimano reels, Falcon rods, Gammy hooks, P-line. Hard Lures --whatever it takes. Usually Zoom or Yamamoto plastics. War Eagle spinnerbaits.

I enjoyed reading all three posts so far. Ozark streams where I fish most for bass have both smallies and largemouth in good numbers. For me, largemouth are found near slow moving waters, weedlines, bays, any cover out of the main current. They tend to be pretty predictable in that they hit much better in low light than small mouth. Occasionally, I'll get some days where just one species will be active for no apparent reason, and the other species goes into hiding. At bedding time, I have seen a large female largemouth that has two or three bucks around her that may be both large and smallmouth. Interesting. Usually, though, one species predominates on a bedding area. It's neat too to watch the different way that each species strikes a lure. And since we have Kentucky bass on our streams, that gives us another bass and all its idiosyncrases to deal with.

I'm from Missouri and I have been fishing most of my life. I fish streams for smallmouth from my jet boat, and I fish the Ozarks with my bass boat. I write for the Heartland Pro-Am circuit, and last year fished the FLW's albeit on the non-boater side after fishing the Northern Division Everstarts as a boater for two years. Retired from teaching, so I get to fish pretty often. If the Ozarks area is of interest, I can probably help. I love going north in summer to catch smallies.