basser89

Bill, that's always a fun time fishing for smallies! Bummer on not getting a pic on the big one. I had that happen to me once several years ago when I had landed what was definitely a new PB for me. I had her in my hand on a belly hold (mouth full of a jerkbait) when she shook free of my hand, hit the rocks and somehow popped free from the hooks. Still wish I could have put her on the scale! LOL!

LOL Kevin! I've thought that many many times! And I do have several larger musky baits that would fit the bill for just such an occurrence. The one bass I did catch that night, I caught right where they were throwing. Since they were set in KVD mode (boat speed wise only), they were way gone before that happened.

Glad to see you got some smallie action in Basser714! Like I mentioned, the guy clearly saw me and made a comment on the tackle bag I had with me. When he was about 20-25 yards away from me, I made a cast so he could clearly see the area I was attempting to fish. Oh well. It happens. All I can do is laugh about it now. LOL!

Yeah Ken, That was something else. I was fishing the stick ups when I first saw the boat enter the cove from the main lake side, I sorta anticipated that happening so I grabbed my gear and headed back around the point. It was clearly obvious that both goofballs in the boat were extremely inexperienced because when I saw them come around the point of the stick ups no more than 10 minutes after I left to head back there. There is no way they could have covered 1/10 of the stick ups effectively in the time they had to fish it and come past the point. It just burns me up that when I have my boat out (or even fishing from shore), I do my best to give shore bound anglers and other boaters who are already fishing a spot the common courtesy of staying away from their spot. I guess that's too much to ask from some people. I won't be out for a while so good luck this weekend Ken and anyone else that's able to get out!

Hey Bill, You guys be EXTREMELY careful putting in at Dam 4 this time of year! I refuse to put my jon boat in there during the warmer months due to the big cruiser/party boats that have absolutely no regard for smaller vessels! The last time I attempted that, I was nearly thrown from my boat because some goofball decided to fly past me about 15 yards or so away from me. I have a good bit of experience with the muskies up in that area of the river so I can give you some info. I'll PM you later on this evening with any info I can provide. I was able to sneak out last evening after work for a few hours. I hit Black Hills. Action was SLOW! I managed a small perch on a lipless crank and 1 largemouth on a grape colored plastic worm. The highlight of the evening was having some boater with absolutely NO regard for shoreline anglers that decided to stop straight out in front of me and fish for a few minutes without saying a word to me at all. It wasn't like a was hidden from his sight or anything like that, he even watched me make a cast (past where he pulled into) about a minute before he rolled up on me. I will never understand the mentality of people like this.

From one Dad to all the others, Happy Father's Day!

Welcome to THE boards Mike! Kevin, awesome report and great pics too! I'm hoping to get an outing with my Dad this weekend but that's up in the air yet. I might try for a lunch time outing yet this week but that's not for certain.

I was able to get out this afternoon for a couple hours so I hit Black Hills. Started at the stick ups and had a few hits, one felt HEAVY and managed one around 2lbs. All bites were on an Electric Blue Culprit worm. The first one that hit, hit the bait on the fall (using a 1/4oz bullet weight to give you an idea of the fall rate). Once that happened, I decided to go with an aggressive retrieve hopping the bait hard and high to let them hit on the fall which paid off with more hits and that 2 pounder. Things seemed to die down so I moved back around the corner and tried throwing the worm again, unfortunately, the wind was kickin so decided to switch things up and go with a lipless crank. That paid off with a pair of dinks and several hook ups both never landed those. When the wind would die down for a little while, I'd switch back up to the worm and picked up a few more hits. I had upped the weight to compensate for the wind. Kept with the same retrieve which is what triggered the hits. The Powell Diesel rod I ordered did show up today (picked it up after the outing). I'm impressed with it so far! It's lighter than my Tour spinnerbait rod and feels plenty of back bone to boots. Can't wait to test it out (weather permitting). Going to use this rod primarily as my frogging rod with will also be used as a jig rod on the side as well. As I get some outings under my belt with it, I'll post a review on it in the rod section.

micorps, I carry several brands of lipless cranks. I've had the most success with RatLTraps but I also throw Cotton Cordell Super Spots, Strike King Red Eye Shad, XCalibur One Knockers and the Norman lipless (can't remember the name off the top of my head). My theory behind carrying several brands is each brand has their own unique sound (and in some cases, a different profile). So if I figure out there's a decent lipless crank bite on, I can tweak things until I give them the one they like the best. Generally I stick with 1/2oz models but I've added 1/4oz and 3/4oz to my arsenal as well. That has proved to be a valuable addition on a few outings. I will add that I've built my collection up over several years so I'm not breaking the bank putting the collection together. Hope this helps some! If you have any questions, let me know and I'll help out the best I can.

Work is still crazy here. I did manage to get a for a short time Memorial Day morning. I hit one of the smaller lakes over in Montgomery Village. I managed 2 small largemoths there. One on a lipless crank and another on a plastic worm. I did loose another that was a little better (guessing about 2-2 1/2lbs). That one popped off right at shore as I was trying to play it out (hooked it on the lipless crank). The only other fishing related activity I've managed lately was my TW order for a new froggin rod (the Powell Diesil series 7'2"). Its scheduled to show up tomorrow. Hopefully the weather and everything else cooperates and I'm able to test it out soon!

Hey All, Happy Friday to everyone! It's been a while since I've been able to post. Just wanted to say, I'm still kickin. LOL! Haven't been out much lately, work has been CRAZY! Hopefully things will settle down some soon so I can get back out! Thanks for the PM Kevin! Hope everyone has a safe and fun Memorial Day weekend!!!

Welcome to THE boards DewWhat! There's several anglers on this thread around Germantown (as you've probably noticed).

Brian, I keep forgetting about the club scenario, that makes sense. My take was more for the non-club mindset. pagliaroj, were you able to get a temp reading? It's been a few years since I've actually fished Greenbrier and can't remember how much cooler that place runs from the other bodies of water around. Given that Black Hills is in the middle of the spawn now, that may make sense on why you came up empty handed with the lipless cranks if the temps are close to what they are running at Black Hills. Good to see you getting out! Still not sure when I'll be able to get out next. I just received my order of spinnerbaits that I had made, it's killing me to get out and try them out!!!!

Nice little ride you picked up Bill! My river knowledge lies in Washington county as well. Check out DNR's site for boat ramps in Frederick county, I believe there are a couple you could possibly use as well. Brian, I'll disagree with you to a point about the spawn bite. Part of my argument is based on water clarity, if its stained, that will make it really tough but if the water is clear (and you have the patience) I've had success bed fishing (from the boat and from shore). The other part of my disagreeing would be that not all bass spawn at the exact same time so you do have the opportunity to fish for some bass that are either pre or post spawn. Jay, I'll start by saying I don't own any but I know 2 guys that do and they have caught on them once in a while. That bait is one of the baits that is kinda frowned upon being discussed. The result of those talks is usually a locked thread. PM me if ya like about any questions about them. I might be able to get some info for you on when and how my friends use them.

Hey GOFORIT, welcome to THE boards! Wish I could help you on spots for you to fish but I don't make it out your way. I believe there's a few members around you that are on here. If you skim back through the pages, I'm sure you're come across so members that can help you out! Good luck in finding some spots and keep us posted on how you do!

Welcome to THE boards Jay! Like Brian had mentioned, I don't get up that way to fish either but I'm fairly sure there are a few members on this thread that do. If you skim back through the thread, I'm sure you'll find some that's close to you! Bill, I believe Brian pretty much summed it up rather well. I'll add that boat registration is free for outboards under 7.5HP (if memory serves me right). Anything above that is $24 for 2 years. Keep us posted on your progress!

I did manage to get out saturday morning for a little while before it was time to pick up my daughter. Tried a change of pace and hit the Dam 4. Lost a decent one (guessing 17-18 inch range) on a tube shortly after I got there. Managed a little scrapper and had three other hits as well. One of those hits I'm 99% sure it was a musky. I was throwing the tubes on my flipplin stick with 20# mono, I felt the hit and dropped the tip and swung away. Never even felt any weight at all, inspecting the line it was a clean cut. I tried switching up and threw cranks for a while and got nothing. I even narrowed it down a little further finding they only wanted junebug tubes, I tried a few other colors couldn't even get a panfish to peck at it. Even though I didn't catch a ton or even had a lot of time to be out, sure was good to finally get on the board with my first smallie of the year!

All good Brian, was just jokin with ya. I knew there was a pair of eagles at BH, didn't realize there was 2 sets. Also didn't realize there were eagles around Shepardstown. Cool deal!

Ha ha ha! Very funny Dr Jones! Tell me that one I lost wasn't a good one! Also have my daughter this weekend, karate and a soccer game on saturday, not sure what sunday has in store for us yet.

Great reports guys! Keep them coming! I've posted some novels before as well. Makes for a good read when you can't get out! Kevin I, shake off that big one! It happens to everyone. Brian watched me loose a really good one about 5' from the shore last year (near the beginning of our outing), took a little while to shake it off (I can still see that one rolling on the surface and coming unbuttoned in my head anytime I think about it) but turned around and landed one bass that went 3-10 and another that weighed 6 even.

I certainly can attest to that! LOL! I made it out sunday as well. Started off in the backwash area and managed 2 dinks in there. 1 on a spinnerbait and the other on a Sweet Beaver. I moved back to the stick ups a little later on with no luck there. Moved back around further and got a little more action back there. It seemed the beaver style baits were the bait of choice for me. Only caught one more back there but lost 2 others. 1 of the ones I lost felt like a better one. She was at least a smart one since she went straight into the wood and wrapped me up, ended up having to break the line. Water temp is getting up there (I got 61 on my el-cheapo thermometer) so I can see them starting to spawn shortly.

I have used lure retrievers from shore and have been successful with them. Brian is right that you won't be able to get the right angle (or distance depending on your cast) but it's a better option than having to just break it off. Looks like I'll be getting out somewhere on sunday. Not sure where I'm hitting yet, there's some issues I'm still trying to work out.

Nice work! Yeah, muskies definitely like spinners! I've actually stopped using them when fishing for smallies because of that. I've had them hit small cranks and had a large musky follow a Strike King Rocket Shad! The largest I've caught, while actually fishing for them, was a 45 inch monster. One of my buddies actually landed a 51 incher on a small bandit crank while fishing for smallies. That one weighed 36 pounds and the best part was, no leader and was using 12 pound test.

Always enjoy reading your reports Kevin! Thanks! I might try for a lunch time outing tomorrow or friday. Not sure yet where I want to go.

Generally, I stick with 1/4 or 3/8oz for both large and smallmouths but don't think that size is all that important. I've had smallies crush 3oz (9inch long) top water musky baits! I've also caught smallies on the larger profile (3/4oz) Ledgebuster spinnerbaits as well.