smashingsmallies

Been out twice for smallies in last 3 wks. Water high, dirty and cold. First trip, 1 smallie, 2 lbs, 1 largemouth, maybe 1lb. Second trip, 1 smallie, again, 2 lbs. I was OUTFISHED both times and the smallies were caught by a "rookie" and a woman...MY WIFE!!! I've got 'bout 37 yrs experience fishing...she's got maybe 4 months total and she smoked my butt both times. Imagine what it's gonna be like when she actually figures out what she's doing......sure am glad she's my wife and has no "male-ego" genes in her cuz it would be miserable. As much as I love the part of being on the water and enjoying my surroundings, my wife actually does enjoy being out there and that's the reason she likes to fish. She want's to enjoy herself first and fish second. Hmmmm, I'm sure more lessons will be cast my way that I can learn from--To me, my wife is THE wife. Fish on. John.

Great information my fellow fishers. I'm takin' notes in a little notebook and I've got 8 pages now...whew, alot of things to get! I can't tell ya how much I appreciate your help and I gotta feeling there will be alot more smallies caught this year. Best site I've found for immediate responses and the willingness to share techniques and lures. TOP NOTCH. John.

Boy, alot of responses, good deal!!! It's good to see young, old, male, female, black, brown, white fishing. Of course there are knuckle heads in the fishing world, there's knuckle heads in every facet of life. But just like there are knuckle heads, there are also alot of pretty cool people out there in the fishing world. I am also talkative and I'm 43 and I experience the same cold shoulder most of the time and hey, that's o.k. The way I see it, the're the one's missing out on something cuz' I'm the kinda guy that will freely give out tips and locations. And really, most of the time, the guys with the uppity attitudes you speak of are the same ones who can't seem to catch fish, although they talk a mean game. So it's not just cuz your young, it's just people being people. As for Mike Iconnelli, I have to watch his fishing epsiodes with the volume on MUTE cuz I get sick when I hear him screaming like a 10 yr old kid. If he did that in my boat he would be finding out what the water felt like pretty quick. As for women fishers, I agree alot of them can just plain fish and that's just the way it is. I gotta feeling we're gonna see a woman at the top of the fishing world helm. THERE IS AN OLD SCHOOL MENTALITY and a certain aire about alot of the tourney fisher's. That being said, there's a tremendous amount of STRESS a fisher has to go through in the tourney's and grumpy is understandable. I'm sure the old gaurd will fight the promotion of women at first, but eventually, they will be letting them in. And that goes for sponsor's. If the sponsor's have the mentality to just go after sponsorship for men, then that's saying something about PUBLIC DEMAND for the products making the money for sponsorship. And if public demand steers the direction of the advertisements/products, then that's saying something about the society we live in. What I'm saying is, it's easy to point the finger at anyone we want, but, it seems that there would have to be a whole lotta pointing at various people/entities cuz no one person or group is responsible for the decline or hindering of females in fishing. So let's just all take it in and maybe reflect a little on where we stand as a person. Hmmmmmmm......Keep fishin' people and keep postin' and take somebody fishing and forget about crap for awhile. Fish on. John

Nice outting buddy! I believe being on the water is alot like church with the meditation! Thanks for making my body jolt hearing that smallies were caught-rivers/creeks still too high to fish yet--I'm off today so I gotta get out and do some kind of fishing--I gotta spot for some spots and largemouth--not smallies, but fish to be caught, none-the-less!!! Do you mind saying how you caught them? John.

Another good response! I agree. I took a look at the post Deb made on the female side and I highly recommend it's reading. I'm 100% for women fishing the Bassmaster's tourney's or any other tourney out there. Yes, I agree that women should have to travel the same "path" that men have to, but are they afforded the same opportunities as men? I don't know, that's why I ask. I'm just curious if there are any men out there who have a problem with women fishing any tourney they fish. I mean, really, are there actually people in the fishing world in the year 2010 who have any kind of a problem with women fishing the Bassmaster or any other tourney? Are there? If so, those are the kind I don't wanna be around. I fully understand the male ego thing and pride cuz' I'm a male. I can't stand being out fished by anyone, male or female, and it bothers me to my core if I'm out fished cuz' MY PRIDE always seems to get me from time to time. This site is truly the only place I've found sound and willing advice from male anglers and what they've taught me in this short time will without a doubt, put me on more fish this year and I love it. It's generally hard to gleen information from male fishermen out in the world cuz' their PRIDE makes them withhold information for fear of somebody finding out their secret. Fishing has been around a long time and male ego has as well. The two combined causes a stir in the pot from time to time. If I find out that women are not afforded the same opportunities as men in both access to tourneys and EQUAL payouts, I will boycott those businesses and brands and make due with what I got and what I can put together. Anything short of equality is UNACCEPTABLE. Fishing is fun most of the time for me but there are times my ego and pride get in the way and I screw it up for me and anyone else with me. I try not to be that way but it happens. I really hope there are men out there who support women in ANY tourney out there and I would hope they would stay away from those who don't-or at the very least, be active in promoting women fishing in whatever game they're in. I wish all women the best in there fishing adventures with tourney's and I hope it can be rectified soon. Fish on. John.

Aaaah, so I'm not the only one! I have a few holes that are notorious for numbers and size and then poof! "gone" I gotta feeling they are still there, I just haven't figured out how to catch them--thanks to this site I've got plenty of ideas from others on here and I believe they will work. However, I'm still kinda confused on a smallies behavior from spring to fall--where do they spawn, besides gravel, do they make a trip or generally stay in the same location for all seasons? Anyone out there got any idea's where I can get this info? Thanks, John.

Whew! I'm glad to hear that women are allowed! Thanks for all of the responses and good luck with your fishing. I'm a pretty lucky guy in that I get to go fishing whenever I want, but my wife likes going as well! Nothing else matters cuz all is well in life with my kick *ss wife! And no, she doesn't have any sisters-Ha! I'm gonna have to check out that article you posted Deb and thanks again to everyone for the swift responses. I love this site. John.

I don't know where to ask this question so I thought I would try here. I love watching Bassmasters fishing programs and I was watching it today with my wife. It dawned on me and I wondered out loud why I don't see females fishing on Bassmasters. It can't possibly be because people think they are not as good cuz I've fished with and have seen many-a-woman outfish alot of people. Are they allowed to fish the tourney's with the men? If not, why the heck is that? Any helpful info would be appreciated. John.

I have to agree with ya' There is alot of information to be learned from others here. I've been on just a short while and I've got pages of tips I've been given by members on here and it's top notch information. Only hope I can help as much as I've been helped. Just ask and it'll be answered. Good fishin' this season to ya'. John.

I'm curious as to the locations that smallies will be in small to medium creeks. Such as pre-spawn, the actual spawn, post-spawn, moving into summer and fall. Do they migrate any serious distance? It seems like because of the smaller size or medium size's of the creeks that the fish would generally stay in the same general locations or do they move all the way upstream and then back down? I understand that forage supply is one of the ingrediants to locations but if they have access to food, how much movement is there in the changing seasons? I've looked for the info here but I'm having trouble finding anything on creek smallie pattern/locations seasonally so if anyone can help me with this I would appreciate it. Thanks, John.

I gotta quick question please. I read about the swivel being some wait to get it down. Is there any time or any depth that any of you would or do put a split shot on?

Wow, a load of info-thanks. I need some time to process this a little. Anybody else got some tips or wanna talk this type of fishin'?

I pretty much fish exclusively 2 small to medium sized rivers in a city and 2 small to medium sized creeks, one in city and the other 10 miles out. Both rivers are of the muddy type, one shallow. One creek stays relatively clear and the other is hit and miss. I grew up fishing a river in my hometown in Minnesota and rivers are my favorite. For the last 4 yrs I've fished nothing but the above rivers and the fishing has been incredible. I do very well in how I fish them now-mainly twister jigs, sluggo's, some various other's but the number one method I use is an 1/8 oz jig head with 4" - 6" twisters in various colors which can change from hole to hole. I'm looking for others who fish these type of waters to maybe exchange idea's, techniques, lures, presentation's. Maybe talk about the cycle of the smally on a creek and river and there locations throughout the year,etc... Even though I do pretty good, I just feel like there is so much more out there to learn--I wanna crank bait more etc...One of my favorite ways to learn new things is to ask every single local I see on or off the water what they know about the fishing in this area--I've received several tips that have put me on many-a-fish. I just crave knowledge when it comes to fishing and I would like to talk more with those who do this kind of fishing. I fish a kayak with a dog behind me and I get to fish all kinds of water that most can't imagine getting to. So if your up to swapping some techniques or styles of fishing I would love to hear from you. Thanks for your time. John

GO BUCKS! John. Columbus. Big Darby. Big Walnut. Olentangy. Scioto. Top notch fishing very very few fisherman. Smallies. Largemouth. Saugeye/Sauger. Panfish. Muskie. It's just insane fishing.

Thanks-I've noticed that fishing up stream seemed to produce better but I just didn't know. Most of my fishing has been down stream and even though I do pretty good I think I'm gonna have to tweek my approach and make an effort to fish up stream and learn the nuances of it. Have any idea why up stream seems to get a reaction better outta the fish? It seems like the lure would be in the zone of the fish up or down stream the same amount of time. Does the coming at them style from upstream make them aggressive?

Without question, 4'' grub twister tails, multiple colors cuz' it can change literally from hole to hole, on a jig head sized to depth and current. I use 6" grub twisters in early season thru mid June in Ohio. Deadly, deadly, deadly. The twister tail give's you the opportunity to fish it as a swim bait or with a pop/crawdad presentation on every single cast.

Got a crankbait question for smallies out of creeks and rivers. Understanding there are a variety of crankbaits out there, I'm just curious if any of you out there have any special "tips" on how you fish the crank in creeks and rivers for smallies, and large mouth. How do YOU go about presenting your lure on the cast, location, and retrieve. Up stream? Down stream? Many colors available, but what is your general rule in colors with clear and not-clear water? Fat wabble? Skinny wabble? Fat body? Skinny body? I'm talking generalizations here. What would be your "GO TO" lure for dark or clear waters, deep or shallow etc...any comments are already appreciated. Thanks.

I'm new here and good topic. I dreaded high dirty water in my favorite creek for smallies until I stumbled across a realization. As I'm paddling my kayak up stream in muddy high water, a nice smallie jumps out of the water from the side of me, hits my paddle and bounces off my boat into the water. I had to check my pants from the startle it gave me. Then, awhile later, the same thing happens, smally out of the water and just misses my paddle, startling me again--this time my jack russell launched into the water for the fish-darn dog. Then again, as I'm going down stream and just about to get out, another smally launched out of the water and hit my paddle again!!! Never had it happen before or after. However, I'm a little slow, but I eventually pieced together that the smallies were at the surface in this higher muddy water and I just startled them, a kayak is quiet. Next time it rained, I went back and went to poppers and bam! the smallies were willing to hit. The previous trip I had the jumpers next to me I was fishing a black sluggo, super slow, and landed one largemouth-3 lbs and one nice 5lb smally. That trip I landed 14 smallies and had a blast. Good luck and fish on.