D4u2s0t

I think it can absolutely be learned and developed, just as anything can, with practice and time on the water. One of the things that took me a while to learn was did I have a bite, or was it just a weed or a rock. With enough time on the water, you'll be able to tell the difference. Also, don't squeeze the crap out of your pole. You want to be calm and relaxed, but at the same time focused. If you're just fishing the bottom, you can also lightly put a finger over your line to get a better feel. How do you know it's a fish? a rock doesn't pull back. and watch the line. "Feeling" a fish is much more than just feeling your rod pull. Watch what the line does, move the pole slightly, and if there's any doubt set the hook!

I've been trying some crankbaits, and all I seem to be getting is some small perch. Sometimes it's every cast that they take it. I have used the bomber mainly. First off, what makes a perch think it can eat this thing, it's about 10 times as wide as it's mouth lol. But that being said, is that typical of waters that have lots of perch? I watch sunny's follow the crank all the way as well, but have never caught a bass. It's a bit of a nuisance taking a treble hook out of a perch's mouth that can barely fit the hook to begin with. I should have said somewhere in there that this is water where there's lots of bass. I know they're in there.

Try lighter line, you will be surprised by what a difference it makes. As a rule, I recommend Yo-Zuri Hybrid or Hybrid Ultra Soft #6 (.010" diameter, 11.9 pound breaking strength), but I also fish #4 (.009" diameter, 8.5 lb breaking strength). All of my biggest German Brown Trout, the fish in my avatar and perhaps the World Record smallmouth have been caught or hooked-up using #4. Coincidence? I don't think so! 8-) that's good to know, thanks for the good info. I don't specifically target smallmouth, but if I do now I know!

I would use my "secret" technique... works great.

What it comes down to is try a few things and see what works. I catch smallies on the same stuff I use for largemouth. There's 10 posts here with 10 people telling you to use different things. what does that mean? There's no 1 magic bait out there. Comes down to preference. The most important thing is to make sure there's fish where you're throwing your line. From my experience, if there's bass, and you can find them, and you present your bait correctly (regardless of the bait) they will bite. You can talk to people on the lake, or river, and everyone will tell you "The only thing that works here is xxxxxx" or "You have to use xxxx color". All that is is people telling you what works for them, and what they prefer. That being said, i've caught smallies on various stick baits, *** flukes, space monkeys, brush hogs, pretty much anything I throw for largemouths.

I catch smallmouth and largemouth on the same setup. They seem not to be as picky in my lake as other people make it seem. I have 8# mono on my pole, with the drag set properly I have never lost a fish. I'm also not going into heavy cover with it though. But when they hit, it's hard to tell if it's a huge largemouth or a small smallmouth lol.

start by reading the "Fishing Articles" on the top left of the screen. Tons of helpful info. If you have more specific questions, let us know from there. And welcome to the site!

With any product, fishing related or not, there is some advertiser that is giving reasons why that product is the best. Every product out there is the "best" according to the people pushing it. THat being said, since people are paid to push the product, you have to take a look at the info available and make your own decision. Look up product reviews, spec info, etc and base it on that.

Go to some shallow water, throw the worm in where you can see it, and move it around. Get used to how it moves, what it does when you reel, jerk the rod, let it fall, etc. Then when it's out in deeper water, you can picture in your head what it's doing. If you want to throw something out and just crank it back in, a worm is not the way to go.

In the winter, you can clearly see the lake from my property. About a block and a half.

From ***: 6" Duper fluke - A bunch of bags. These things are amazing, probably my new favorite plastic. Just ordered 50 of them. For the times i've used them so far, I haven't even considered changing until they got banged up and wouldn't stay on the hook. Great bait Super Hog - Bunch of bags With the added scent, I feel like these are better than any of the other hog type baits on the market, and being that they're so much cheaper, it's a no brainer. I catch fish every time they go on. Rage Tail: Space monkey. I also just ordered more of these. I had no luck with them at first, and was ready to stick them in the back shelf of the garage. With some advice from Big-O, I bought some keel weighted hooks, and it was a whole new ball game. I have caught fish every time with these since the new hooks. Without the keel hooks, they would not swim as straight, and would sink too slow. Only downside to these is that they are not that strong. 1 big fish can rip it apart. With the new lowered prices though, still worth it in my opinion. YMCB PRO senko. If you haven't seen these, think senko, but much smaller profile. These work great when the fish are not biting on the regular senkos, and it's time to downsize. Same great action in a smaller profile. Sometimes when i'm out, i'll throw one of these on the 2nd pole and just let it sit on the bottom while i'm using the other pole.

some guy last night got a smallmouth that was less than a foot, I would say maybe 9-10 inches. started saying "Wow, that's a 3 pounder, easy!" i was like I don't understand lol. I got one last night just under 5, and that was a "big" fish 8-)

I try different techniques, and then stick with whatever works. Top, crawl it off the bottom, twitch it, pick it up let it fall, everything.

I don't think color matters, I catch just as many fish regardless of color. That being said, I mostly buy some variation of watermellon, just because I like the way it looks.

sounds fun, just don't ever post any pictures lol

I've used the "in through the gill trick" a few times since reading that post, never would have thought of doing it otherwise. I'm sure i've saved a few fish that way. I have always been able to get the hook out of a gullet hooked fish, but i'm sure the way I did it was much more stressful and damaging. Before I knew this "trick" my logic was get it out at all costs, if I was a fish i'd rather have a torn gullet than starve to death. very helpful.

practice! Most people I see cast completely wrong. It's like making a good golf swing, swinging a bat, throwing a ball, whatever. I see lots of people practically throw their whole body into a cast when trying to get it to go far, not using the pole the way it's mean to be. Like the golfer that swings as hard as he can, yet the person that swings slower but has good form will hit it further, and more accurate. You want to use your pole like a whip (is easier if it's not a super heavy rod) and mostly use your wrists. Say for a basic overhand cast, hold your hands out in front of you, bring the pole back, (don't move your arms too much. use your wrists!) and then snap it forwards, ending with the tip pointing to your target. The goal is to use the rod to do the work, not your arms, back, and rest of your body. If you're not using a telephone pole for a rod, the rod will get a real nice bend in it, and will throw the bait out, kinda like a slingshot. Also keep in mind that what you're throwing, line weight, wind, etc all have a part in how far you cast. Last night I was throwing a fluke, which is heavy, and it was getting way out there. Put on a space monkey, I was lucky to get it 20 yards. Creature baits tend to cast less distance because there's more drag as they fly through the air, and they are not that heavy. I also try to cast big profile baits at a lower trajectory, keeping them not too far off the water. With the fluke, which is heavy and aerodynamic, I just throw it out with some nice height. Do that with a space monkey and it will come back and hit in you the face if there's a breeze lol. Also, line weight plays a part. Lighter line will cast further. Don't be afraid to go outside and make some practice casts. Get a bucket, or something similar, and try to get the bait in the bucket. Start out close, to where you can get it in all the time, and start working your way back further away. Will not only help your distance, but will help with putting your bait where you want.

I'm not familiar with the owner hooks, but I am using the poor boys hooks that also have the twist lock on them. I know what you mean about them sliding up the line, happens all the time on normal hooks. What's happening with the space monkeys is when the fish hits they're practically ripping the monkey in half. but it's staying put on the hook. It holds it very well actually. just checked those owner hooks, i'm using pretty much the same thing. thanks for the tip though!

I think that majority of people get a scale they will be disapointed, i know i was! big reality check to actually know the weight. Having a scale also helps to better guess a fish' weight. I don't weigh the 2-3 pounders, if i think it's bigger than 3 or 4 it's going on the scale.

haha, yea you do. I didn't even go out in the boat, right off the dock. If you want to come one day let me know. I had a good laugh when someone caught a tiny *** small mouth, and said "Wow, that's gotta be 3 pounds" lol. No way it was even 1. you can get up here in the off season, there's no one really checking. But summer time there's badge checkers at the parking lots, have to have your badge and parking sticker. but let me know. We go out most fridays unless i'm filming, and I go out in the mornings alot. If you want to go out early one day that would work.

1/8th keel weight on a 4/0 hook. I've tried the space monkey so many times, and have only caught 1 sm on them. I pretty much gave up to be honest. But watching the way it moves with the weighted hook, it's a whole new ball game. Only thing is that they tear so easily, got 1 fish and the monkey pretty much ripped in half... put a new one on, got a fish right away, same thing. I can easily see going through 2 packs of these on a day where the hit is good. I do however have a renewed confidence.

Had a great night tonight, from 730 - 9 got 10 fish. 1 was a baby, I really have no idea how he ate the hook, was probably 7 inches lol. 8 were in the 2-3 pound range, didn't weigh them, one was just under 4, and one was just under 5, which is a pb for me. All caught on *** flukes, hogs, and space monkeys.

Finally!!!! At Big-O's advice I got some keel weighted hooks, and what a difference it makes! Got 3 on the space monkey tonight, 1 just under 4 pounds the other in the 2-3 range, didn't bother to weigh them. Also got one just under 5 pounds on a brush hog. the keel hooks make more of a difference than I thought thy would.

the last few times out have also been pretty slow for me... last friday got 2 all day, monday got 1 but was only out for about a half hour. I'll be on the boat all day tomorrow though, and tonight if it's not raining so we'll see.

I also took a hook out of a fish last week. Seemed to be doing fine, and seemed like it was in there for a while since the hook was starting to rust. With a few treble hooks I doubt the fish will shake it out, but you never know. Best bet like you said is to get better at knots, and if you find yourself breaking line, you need to ease up on the drag.