Team9nine

The rivers tend to cool down much faster than the lakes, so I always found it easier to locate and fish winter/near-winter smallies - just locate and fish the deep water slack pockets/pools, which on my smaller and mid sized rivers, were few and far between. Skip everything else unless you get a temporary weather anomaly.

Played around for about 2.5 hours Thu. chasing bass, but the active fish were really scattered and the bite slow. Picked up 4 small keepers before throwing in the towel and chasing crappie - lol. Hope to be back at it Mon or Tues. Hoping the 3-day front (cooler, cloudy and light rain) might stir things up.

Still having fun with the crappie. Caught 100 on Wed., then couldn’t help myself and cut my bass trip short by about 40 min on Thu. to catch another quick limit (20) before leaving.

David Fritts is another who has made a fine living sitting down while fishing out of the front of the boat. I’m actually in a deep-V that is set up for backtrolling, myself, so I spend a lot of time sitting, too, using a hand control TM.

I do best with them in late fall, focusing on shallow windswept points, bays and flats where the white bass also congregate, feeding on shad. The two seem to intermix for the same reason.

My best spinner to date...

It happens, not too often, but it’s no big deal when it does. I learn from it, then go catch a few crappie before heading home

On the bank, in reference to those posts, I’m even more restrictive. One rod, one reel, and a handful of baits in my pocket. If I break off enough or go through what I brought (soft plastics), I go home - end of trip. It’s still better than dragging gear around all day 😉

Almost never - I formulate a game plan, rig up for it, then live or die with it, letting it play out to its conclusion. Always having a crappie rod rigged at hand on the boat saves any wasted bass outing 😎

Might check this old post out where I tracked winter rain effects on my ponds and the fishing:

If you have a good warm rain, 10 deg plus above base temp, are you really talking COLD muddy water anymore? Surface temps anywhere in the 40s, I’ll take clear water and stability every time for numbers of fish. Not saying you won’t/can’t catch a good fish or two in truly cold and muddy though. A lot of variables, including understanding what deviation from base is for a specific water body, but I’ve always fared better in clear(er) water during the coldest times of the year.

Honestly thought I had my PB crappie on the line. Came right out of the middle of a brushpile. Had the net ready when this flat faced fish surfaced. Big letdown for a second, then I looked at it closer and realized, “d**n, that’s a nice bullhead!” Lol 😆

Yes - They’re still made, I believe. Tiny’s are 1/8 oz, Mini’s are 1/4 oz., Originals 1/2 oz. and Mags are 3/4 oz.

I think I still have two of these myself - chrome and firetiger; both floaters. Original Trap dates to 1972 as best we can tell, and I believe the Tiny Trap was released in the late 80s before these lipped versions. I still have several of those (tiny’s). Here’s a picture from 1982 showing how they were assembled at the time by hand.

Bass are moving a bunch on my local lake and hard to pin down at the moment, but the crappie bite has more than made up for it. Picked off 150+ the past two trips with a lot of quality fish in the mix (12”-14”), plus I caught my first ever pickerel as well as a PB bullhead (18+ inches).

The Divin' Rat-L-Trap was released in 1991 in both a floating and sinking version.

Never - unless it gets to the point where a cast starts getting dangerously close to my connecting knot (I always use backing).

I’m not certain on the damage from tournaments, especially since they've long banned “trolling,” which is an obvious potent fish catching tactic 😉

It doesn’t - river systems, and current in general, have long been the accepted antidote to cold front situations. Even when factoring in things like the resultant weather, water levels and water clarity have always seemed to trump them…but yeah, you probably won’t get consensus on any subject in these forums, including this one 😉

Long overdue - the Opens have been the worst bang for the buck of all the major circuits…A great place to lose your money (a.k.a., “donate”) while trying for a minuscule shot at the big leagues. Guys hated them, but it was a necessary evil you had to take a chance on.

Caught this guy hanging out in a brushpile with a bunch of crappie - got me thinking I might need to try tossing an underspin or similar around a few more of these crappie holes to see what else might bite. Also got a handful of smaller bass in some really shallow vegetation of some sort, so hoping to expand on that pattern next trip out, too.

Welcome to South Carolina 😎 Sitting just on the back side of high pressure today, which peaked around Noon, and almost no wind (variable/E at 3-6 mph), I decided I’d try and chase the crappie and see if I could figure them out a little better. Finally put something together and scored big. Got my first SC crappie limit (20). Got my first SC blacknose. Got my first chance to run up the counter, and left them biting. Stopped counting at 100 today and just swung on more. I may have to let the bass rest tomorrow, too, and do it all again 😉

Maybe, maybe not - but likely not because of the screws. Will depend on whether he can either regurgitate or pass the plastic. I would guess the screw would stay embedded and go with the worm either way. A recent study determined most bass eliminate ingested plastics within 9 days, though normal feeding is often messed up until the worm is expelled (varies by shape, size, composition, etc.).

I sneak a few pics of them in from time to time 😆 You’ll see them in a couple photos from my Oct 12 report, too. Actually been using them quite a bit here lately…something the fish probably haven’t ever seen, and most people don’t own 😎