Shane J

Absolutely. I use Mega Strike, especially when they are barely taking the bait like they were yesterday. Very light, subtle bites, so I like to give them a little flavor to savor while I figure out I got a fish eatin' my stuff. Might only be responsible for an extra hookup or two, but hey, I'll take it!

If your sale goes well, I got one up for bid also. Haha. Beach ball!

Always nice to catch 'em, especially when it's in adverse conditions like you took on. Nice going! Jigs look good, too.

Haha! Ain't that the truth!

Thanks, guys. Yeah, I just can't NOT fish!

Thanks. Both of those guys had the classic red eyes. Such beautiful fish. Pretty good day, despite the wind. It was cold, my brothers!

No you don't. Learn your rivers! Got 5 of these guys about this size today... And one better one... I did not have one stitch of a hit on a jig or swimbait, so I went to a drop shot with a couple different baits, and started getting bites, but man, it was SLOW goin'! Had to drag and soak that sucker to get bit.

Yeah, it will affect the spawn. They'll be moving up later than usual,and we have to look for water warmer than usual.

More often than not, it's a jig for me.

Sounds about right.

Baby Craw has probably been eaten by more smallies than any other bait in my bag. The Grub is a close second.

Yeah, Dick's has 'em. They are kind of like a stick worm, but with a tail that makes it looks very bait fishy when it swims. http://www.ragetail.com/news/rigging-info/rigging-diagrams/

Yeah, I should be able to do something this weekend, too.

Rage Craws for jigs and Rage Rigging, and Menaces to Tx rig and drag. If you're flippin', you'll also need Lobsters and Space Monkeys. The Menace or Grub on a swim jig or a drop shot does pretty good in the rivers around here, too. Also, the Cut'r on a shakey head will catch finicky bass in cold water.

Nice one, Big O!! Sounds like she may have been up looking for a place to get busy! That Bug is tearin' 'em up!!

Funny you should mention that, Darren. I had just purchased the Life Proof case for my iPhone 5 days before heading down there. Big O had his in one of those Otterboxes, and mine was fine, his got swamped. After I checked mine, I actually threw it back in the compartment that was half full of water. Best investment for a phone ever! Still gotta get the float thing for it, though.

It may be a regional type of deal, but when I say break line, I'm most often talking about a river current break or difference. I have also used the term to describe weed lines, and ledges.

Yeah, Nev, it should be. When I was out there yesterday, the big icebergs were floating down, a sure sign that up river has begun breaking up. Oh, and by the way, do not get in the way of those! had a couple of them almost take my boat down last year, luckily, I got pushed to the side of the river, and the ice went under and passed before capsizing me. That woulda sucked! Some of that ice is as heavy as a bus. You cannot just push them out of your way, and they are dangerous. The trout guys will be all up and down the river in a few days, and it should be ice free by then.

Great fish! Congrats on the PB!!

Yeah, a good fish can warm you right up! Funny how that happens! He is wrong about one thing, though. I had switched to a Bug when he wasn't looking! Love those things!

My vote would be to start it in May, just because everyone doesn't fish rivers, and we still have 24" of ice. Getting softer, but still tons of it. It will be quick, though, once it starts really warming up.

Welcome, smalljaw! Yeah, that part of the river is no problem to navigate. Your plan of jigs and drop shots sounds good to me, too. They tend to like pearl and silver on the drop shot stuff.

Grizz, I see what you're saying, it's just that giving bad info (to kids in particular), is not gonna fly in my book. So yeah, take it for what it's worth. With him, that's just not much, is all I'm saying.

And right there, is why I have a problem with half the stuff wrb posts. There are a lot of guys and gals on here, and quite a few youngsters, that come here to learn, and get better, and when a (cough) respected member puts up garbage, sometimes I just can't help myself. And as far as 300 DD bass goes, man, he might just be right, when he says they must have been the "retarded" ones, because anybody fishing big fish waters like in Cali or Texas, should have accidentally caught more than that in 50+ years, heck even if they were fishing for crappie! Big O has over 4500 DD bass pics just on his laptop, and has probably put the people he fishes with onto more than that.

I bailed after a couple hours. Couple yay-hoos around throwin' live bait and only catching a couple crappies, so I said "screw it, not hanging out in this wind for nothin' ", and packed up. I'll try again this week if I get a chance.