Crank Addict

Hey Nitro, Why is the black light better?

Guess I don't have enough post to insert that pic so I'll when I get there I'll put it up and let you know.

Thanks to those of you who gave me some feedback on this post. I just wanted to provide an update that may be of some interest. Just for a bit more background I feel compelled to reiterate I generally do not target smallies so I my information was not fully accurate in my original post. Also, the vast of majority of the waters I fish (and had in mind when writing this) have no currents associated with them. So the good news is I visited the exact spot I had in mind when writing this post last week with excellent success. It produced several quality smallies early in the am then agian late the following night. (pic of best fish attached, 3lb 15oz caught on buzz bait @ 11:30pm). The fish were caught in 4-8 feet of water and as stated on a sandy bottom but, here's the kicker. These fish are still spawning!! On the large fish she looked suspiciously red on her anus? (feel free to help me with my fish A&P) which made me very curious. Then I ran into some other anglers that night that I knew and they mentioned that they had just cleaned some smallies a couple of nights prior that still had eggs inside. That means these fish were caught on one of the last two days of June or the first of July! We had a very long winter this year with a long tough transition to spring. It honestly never would have crossed my mind that these fish were still spawning. Does anyone experience this in their part of the country? Don't smallies generally spawn before the Largemouth? One final comment I'd like to make in regards to catch and release: While I am a catch and release fishman, I have read several comments from members using poor judgement when dealing with others those who do not practice catch and release. I'd be the last one to claim to know whats best for the fishery and will leave that up to the experts but, I will admit I'd love to see those potential trophies returned to be caught again. My real point is if some are going to keep and eat these fish, us who don't may as well learn as much from them as we can. I spend my fair share of time and money on this crazy pursuit called fishing. It only seems logical that if I had the abilty to know what they were eating the last 12-24 hours it may help me out. So I can either criticize someone who is going to open up the stomach of these fish or I can befriend them and find out whats inside too. Just a thought. Thanks for listening.

x2 on Google Earth. Which lake in Washington State? There are quite a few members from here that may be able to help. Also, there is a site called WashingtonLake.com you may find helpful. It has reports on a ton of lakes and some crude topo maps are available and you can't beat the price for them. Free.

I took my fiance out to try and get her 'hooked'. We were in a small (maybe 14') aluminum boat with her sister and brother in-law. Three of us were standing and facing the same direction. She is in the middle and she goes to make one of those 'reach back as far as you can casts', as decribed above, and manages to hook one of her brother in-laws rods sitting behind up and actually lift it up and over all three of us, depositing into the lake directly in front of us. Just yesterday she asked him if he wanted to speak at our wedding, which he really didn't want any part of so, he threatened to tell that story and was off the hook. Of course we never let her live it down but, to her credit she has stuck with it and does pretty well now.

I talked with a friend here in the Northwest who has a successful pond. Along with not having any competing fish he added crawdads, snails and leeches. I believe he ordered them from the Great Lakes area.

Roadwarior, How have gravel bars produced for you. That would be my best comparison, as I really do not come accross too many. I should mention these are not spawning fish. Most have been taken very early in the am or at night and would be what I would possibly classify as 'cruisers'.

I have been reviewing my catch records for the past two years and comparing notes with two others who fish the same or similar lakes. What caught my eye was that many of our largest Smallmouth catches were in areas with sandy bottoms. I'm in the Northwest and am fishing lakes and reservior that are generally clear, colder and relatively deep in spots. Usually I am targeting Largemouth and if I was pressed to pick up some smallies my first instinct would be to head for rocky structure. Please give me your two cents on what you know about smallies relating to sandy bottoms. Have you experienced larger catches in these areas?

Vinegar get my vote also. That stuff works great! Some of the organic or fruit (apple, wine) may be a bit more fish friendly. Purely a guess on that. I also use those moisture absorbing crystals you can find at your local hardware store to help fight mildew and related odors if I'm storing the boat for any lenght of time and it's not totaly dry. Good luck, let us know how it turns out.

Has anyone out there been to Noxon Reservior recently? If not do you know where to find some good information about the fishing and water levels there? Thanks in advance for all the help.

Hi Chad, Welcome aboard! Glad to see yet another Spokanite join the club. Eloika is a great lake and should really start to be heating up soon. When the spawn gets going I have always had luck in and around the dollar pads and near any grasses. Not to mention its a good sized lake for your set up. I've read some other suggest some great fisheries to you but with a smaller boat I would approach some of them with caution. With our winds it's not hard to be blown right off of the bigger lakes. I used to have a small set up like yours and the nice thing about them is can take advantage of some of the smaller lakes that some of the big boat avoid or can't get too but still have some great fishing. Bonnie Lake south of Cheney is one that comes to mind. There are quite a few small lakes in the Cheney area that area great; Downs and Chapman are a couple. Closer to you: Jump off Joe can be fun. Also Long lake has quite a few launches and has both Smallies and Largemouth.

Hi Everyone, Have been reading lots of helpful posts on this forum since last year so finally decided to join. Looking for bass partners to share expenses and techniques anywhere in the greater Spokane area. Well equiped for almost any size lake but just started fishing larger lakes (mostly Cd'A) last year. My boat or yours doesn't really matter. Up to now I have mostly played host because most of my buddies either don't have boats or just don't fish that often. I feel like I have much more to learn than to teach but really like sharing techniques and am happy experimenting all day or using same pattern. Really just looking to broaden my knowledge by fishing with different partners. On a side note I remember reading a post or reply last year made from by a biologist from Noxon, MT. Made a couple of trips there last year and plan on going again. I believe it was John. Would love to know if you're still on this site.