MNGeorge

Where do you order them? How much are they?

Talk about weird...guess what showed up in today's mail. Yep, my map from Atlantic Mapping. First impression of the lake after looking at the map...much narrower than I had imagined.

That's the one I was looking for...thanks.

Can someone please re-post the name of the good source for KY Lake Maps...I ordered one way back when, but haven't received it yet. Thanks.

Primary scent is JJ's Magic...use it to dye baits as well. If it's a bait I'm just appying scent to, not dyeing, I dump the bag out and dip each individual bait before replacing it in the bag. If I'm dyeing, I do whatever needs to be done, let the baits dry completely and then put them back in the bag. When I'm out in the boat, I also use MegaStrike on baits that haven't been JJ'd because I don't carry JJ's in the boat. I also use MegaStrike on the 3X plastics because they don't get along with JJ's at all.

Don't overlook the baby ringfry...sometimes it works better than the 4" version, even wacky rigged.

Slower fall rate and larger profile, the rings also displace water and create a bubble trail making them easier for the fish to find. IMHO LFT has a great line of plastics, with very few "duds" in their lineup! X2 on RR's response.

On the river, there are spots that almost always hold a fish, sometimes more than one. If it's apparent we are the first ones to hit such a spot on a given day, we work it over from several angles and with several different baits until we find the presentation that triggers a bite.

Magic Shad and the crawtube have both brought many river Smallies to the boat. We mostly fish the ring fry wacky style...if you use the o-ring, they last much longer.

Loomis MBR 782 with a REVO STX HS...throws a weightless wacky rigged senko a mile and still has enough backbone to handle the good fish.

Amen, I hear you brother. When I first started fishing the upper Mississippi, it was rare to see more than another boat or two on a Saturday or Sunday. During the week, I was virtually assured of having the river to myself. Fast forward 30 years...even during the week there is considerable boat traffic and the weekends are just ridiculous. :'(

It's not the hook...we rig Houdini Shads on 5/0 or 6/0 EWG offset Superline hooks and get the same horizontal fall. Not only does the Houdini Shad fall horizontally, but it has a nice enticing wiggle while falling...many Mississippi River Smallmouth have fallen for that wiggle over the years.

Longer rod, mine's 7'10", extra heavy, mine's rated 1/2 to 3 ozs., fast action. Tough to cast smaller frogs sometimes, but when I set on a fish, it's head comes up and I can keep him up.

Matzuo makes a tube jig, comes with or without a rattle if I remember right, that has the eye of the hook extended out from the lead head a bit making it very easy to poke through the tube far enough to facilitate tying. The only place I have ever seen them was at Dick's...since we moved a few years back, I don't get to Dick's very often so I can't say for sure if they still carry them.

Heard from a friend GAMMA has been sold and the new owner wants to turn the company around. Anyone else heard anything?

If your not in hurry and don't need a brand new reel, keep your eye on the flea market forum. I've picked up some REVO STX's for about the $100 your looking to spend...much better bang for your buck.

Not to mention, the Northstar jigs are wire tied. I noticed those are not.

Swimming Senkos are the strangest bait from our experience. They are either hotter than hot or absolutely worthless...never anything in between. We always try them though, just in case it's one of those hotter than hot days.

X2...liked the looks and the idea, but never got a bite on one. Another guy in our group also had no results with them...I guess that makes it X3.

My thoughts exactly! :'( :'( :'(

Topwater: Horny Toad Subsurface/Deep: Sweet Beaver, 4" tube, Ragetail Craw Subsurface/Shallow: LFT Magic Shad or YUM Houdini Shad

Thanks for the responses...the answer actually occurred to me as I was logging on just now to see if anyone had responded yet. You are both correct and the 22 does appear on the rod...it is pictured in the listing.

Saw a Loomis SJR 783 - 22 on an auction site. I've never seen the 22 before on a Loomis model number. I asked the seller, but he didn't know either. What does the 22 designate?

Below a nuclear power plant discharge, there has been fair to outstanding action most of the winter. When the Smallies are going good, many typical winter presentations work well...hair jigs, scrounger jigs, even the fly fishermen get some fish on wooly buggers and Clauser minnnow patterns. When the bite is slow, live minnows are about the only thing that will produce any significant action. Spots that produce are just what you'd expect...slower water with a little depth.

Hasn't happened lately, but several years back there was a nice Smallie everyone in our group caught at least three times one Fall...some of us caught him/her more than once in the same day. Anyway, it had a huge black spot on one side, so we called it "spotty".