Nick

Several years back I did the Fishin' Hole with J. McKinniss. He didn't tell me how long he would be filming but he allowed three days to do the shoot for a 30 minute show. We had a terrible storm the morning of the second day, so it was good to have three days to film. He was very concerned with camera angles and location to shoot the scenery as much as he was in catching the stream bass. I would guess that of the 35-40 bass caught, only about a dozen made the shoot. Jerry tried to hand land the larger of the bass that I caught like it was his. We only filmed live (real)catching action, never fish taken out of a live well as some do. Worst part of the deal for me was being told to put back on my same smelly shirt worn the first day so it would appear like we shot the show in just one day.

I did make the trip and the water can get quite skinny even for a jet. The water rose and dropped over 18 inches the first day I fished and the bite was sporadic. Early I had 4 big smallies, but in the pm,, with the water dropping, the little guys took over. This is quite a dangerous river mainly due to the dark color of the water that can hide the skinny water obstacles mainly rocks. Often the water depth is four feet or less with the visibility about a foot. The musky fishing was quite good on this river, an added bonus.

Looking to beat the heat around St. Louis so I want to try out the Wisconsin River near Merril. What can I expect as far as running and bass fishing on that river? Thanks.

Some work and some don't. Most are pretty cheaply made so buyer beware. Hooks are a definite weakness. Who the heck is/was "Shoestring" DuBois anyway? Guess he's down the trail, so to speak, with Uncle Buck and his bevy of calendar girls.. Those were the days!

There's a good ramp on Marble head island near Sandusky. Find highway 163 and head east. Holds over 100 rigs. Easy to find. From here you are within 5-6 miles of the bass islands. Fish the drop offs around all of them and eventually you'll get bit. Most locals will drag tubes. Youlll lose some, but you should catch some bass also. If you get out early I'd try ripping a jerkbait or longcasting a spinnerbait to the shallow edges close to deep water. Be safe out there.

Hair jigs really come into their own when the water temps dip into the low 40's. I fish from 4-15 feet deep in very clear winter waters with them so I go quite small with a sparse amount of dark maribou or natural bucktail. The head is a custom pour with a flexible double wire weedguard which does a superior job of coming through rock and wood with ease. It doesnt lay on it's side like ball jigs, so I get better hook ups in the roof of the mouth. The heads weigh 1/8 to 3/16 oz. and I fish these on 6 and 8 lb. flouro with a baitcaster. I also use a small double tail chunk to add a little more appeal and weight to this jig. I prefer a 2/0 high quality black nickel hook and I target smallies with these very successfully. I don't make them for sale though.

Saw that a team from SIU did quite well on the Detroit River. What's the story?

Brad and his partner from SIU, according to my unofficial detective work, finished a robust 4th place out of 40 teams. They weighed in 14 pounds so maybe we helped them a bit. They won some cash and $2,000 for their bass club. I'm happy for them. Anyone who asks for help on these boards should be telling us their story in a timely manner, however.

Overrated, way over priced jigs. Glue them with gorilla super glue. Best glue I've found and the bottle tip design doesn't get clogged like so many other super glues.

This following behavior is very common. You are seeing it mainly for three reasons. First, the water is clear. Second, you have a good population of bass in this pit. Third, the other fish in the school instictively follow one another on their schooling tendencies esp. when they know no association of fear to do it. These followers will diminish over time if you continue to fish this water. You'll also note that catching bass will become a little bit tougher as they "wise up" to your offerings.

Pretty stretch of water. I've fished it for many years. The bite is not what it was couple of years ago due to the illegal gigging done the last couple of years. What a shame! Back in the day 50 bass a day was common, but you'll do well to catch a fraction of that. Anyway, the Meramec has a decent shallow water bite even on the warmest days of summer. Soft plastics such as baby brushhogs, craws and worms in 4-6 in. should get a few bass with all three species present. THe best locations have current, cover, and depth. Cover can be in the form of larger rock or trees, and I'm talking at least 5 feet depth close to the bank. Thse "dark" holes are best targeted with jet boat w/ powerful electric, but I don'tknow what you are fishing out of. If you like topwater fishing some days can be good with small walking type topwaters and buzzbait, or even horny toad type baits. Use the topwaters in the same places and do cast into shade as much as possible. Small cranks usually in crawfish tones work also and should be fished around the cover too. Good luck.

Yes, most tournament anglers agree. Dave Barker, who has won as many midwest tournaments as anyone tell me regularly that the places he used to catch multiple bass on Truman just don't hold the bass these days. Good idea moving to Lake O. Save a few bass for me. I'm also getting a place there!

And they don't seem to absorb water and start sinking like some monos either!

Sue them, just don't make it a class action lawsuit!

Coming in at .8333 cents each? Sign me up for a 1000, Francho!

Any advice on colors for water that is clear?

Thanks for the Stormhide suggestion. I'll check into it. My Goretex does a good job as long as I do the ReviveX treatment every year or two. If your Goretex loses its water shedding ability, get a bottle at Bass Pro for renewed life!

That was really hard to avoid when the amber colored boxes came out a few years back. Turned me on to the best Long A Bomber ever! It sweeled up like a tick, and that bouyant rascal catches the thunder out of bass now. I've even begun boiling the older models just to make them more bouyant. Silk from a sow's ear indeed!

Some baits do get hot for a period of time! I wish your buddy had let you fish that hot Little John for a while... Anyway, I'm am pretty sure that some baits are just hands down a better option on some bodies of water for a certain time. The biggest example I know of was this year's FLW Major on Beaver Lake. Nearly every pro fishing the clearer part of the lake was throwing a 110 megabass in various shad colors for a reason. They outcaught all the other brands far and away. You'd have to ask the bass why, but that's the way it was with big bucks on the line. Most of the pro's I know were fiddling with lots of brands during practice just to determine what was better for them. In the Ozarks, better bring your Megabass to the lake during the cold water period. $25 a pop, but for some, well worth it!

Look at a satellite view such as Acme Maps 2.0. Free on the net. Locate the largest creeks and fish them for greenies. The west side channel behind Grosse Ille island is quite shallow so it should be protected from big boats. Might consider throwing shallow cranks and spinnerbaits in there early. Believe it runs about a mile. Hit the point on both North and South on the Grosse Ille island. Next, east of Grosse Ille are several small marina and private dock cuts dredged out for boats to moor. All of these cuts can be good for greenies. The better ones will have deeper water as a rule and also have quite a few patches of sub and emergent vegetation. I like the ones with the most corners. Also skip around the shade of boats anchored. Senkos anyone? If you don't get bit in 10 minutes of any of these cuts, keep moving. Just North of the Canard River is Fighting Island. Many small cuts that hold boats in here as well. The small creek at the north end is worth exploring a bit as well. These Northern bass are quite aggressive. Fish as fast as you can. You'll know if they are there! Not familiar with the Rouge River, but I'd fish the upcurrent point of it if it is available. One last thing. Lots of bass will have been caught and probably released right around Elizabeth Park. Would'nt hurt to fish for throwbacks right outside of the off limits area. Too bad you aren't prefishing.

I have fished a few summer tourneys there this decade, but I'm no local. I remember the river traffic is quite dangerous in the channel. Lots of big boats can make your life hazardous after 9:00. Ships use the channel as well and as they suck water through their mammoth props one can actually see them create good current a quarter of a mile before they get to you! Smallies do react to this esp. near points and it's a neat trick to use to catch them. So do take advantage of this manmade current. Tubes and dropshots always good here esp. in the green/brown tones. We were never restricted to river fishing so we fished the Lake mainly. Now if you like largemouth fishing do explore the small creeks and weedlines available. You also don't need to fear the big boats in these protected areas. Frogs, jigs and worms are good, and I'd def. go braid in these areas. I guess you'll be chaffeured by an Everstart pro who probably knows these waters. Tell him you either want to fish points for smallies or backwaters for largies and he should get you going.

Haven't been up lately, but there's lot s of color and high water now. Buzzbait, spinnerbait soft plastics pitched near the points as the water begins to recede is always good advice there. Never fish this place deeper than 6 ft when it's murky.

Confidence is a big factor, and knowing the basics of cranking helps too. If you are banging into stuff, that sounds good as long as you're not throwing such a big lipped bait that it rarely swims a lick before it crashes into something else. For more bites, go to 1/4 to 3/8 size baits used in stained waters with a bit of a chop. Might want to mimic the forage base either bluegill or shad and definitely make long casts with a parallel flavor to them. Keep trying to hit the rocks and wood with the square bills, and pull those lipless models through the grass with braid. Cranking gets better with the temps above 50 for the most part so don't rely on them in really cold water for the best bite. WHen the spinnerbait bite is good the cranking usually is too. You could be getting bit and not know it, but that's another story.

Shouldn't make one iota of difference. If you are on fish and patient with them, you'll catch them.

I'd call it an 8 pounder since you look like you go about 6'6" and 245 yourself. (Nearly all my friends catch 8 pounders when I'm not around to see them do it.)