Bluebasser86

Good to hear the fish are finally eating out there a little bit. I've been telling myself I need to get out there soon because I know that lake gets good again all the way up until they close it every fall. Not surprised to hear that. I'm starting to think there really is no way to stop the spread of those things, maybe just slow them down a little bit.

My spinnerbait set up is a 6' 6" MH/F St. Croix LTB with a 6:4.1 Lew's Speed Spool with 15lb copoly line, fishes all standard sized spinnerbaits perfectly.

If you want a thicker version of the Stick O's then buy the 7" version, they're way thicker than the smaller baits. If it's longer than you'd like then cut however much you want off the top and fish it like that.

50 degrees is the magic mark here in the fall, 55 seems to be the minimum in the spring for some reason though.

I do the opposite during turnover, I speed up. Get out a spinnerbait, trap, squarebill, or heavy jig and just start making as many casts as possible so you but your bait in front of as many fish as possible. You probably still won't catch many but chances are you'll get a few of them to react.

Took me a minute to figure out how he even did that but I think one of the limbs on that tree hit his rod right as he started to set the hook. I thought for a minute he looked like the fish was still on there after he fished his rod out of the water too.

Went to Melvern with Hi Salenity Tuesday for a few hours Tuesday then most of the day Wednesday with Basshunter0731. I think the lake is possibly in turnover or maybe at the tail end of it. Water temps were in the mid to high 50's (56-58) and the water seemed to be a lot cloudier, not dirty, just looked like there was lots of stuff suspendeed in the water. A Ned rig ruled both days but fish were also caught on cranks, shakyheads, tubes, jigs, and spinnerbaits. Tuesday the fish were more active despite the colder temps, probably because of the clouds and wind. Curt had 2 really nice fish, one 17 3/4 and one 18 inch smallmouth, both on a ned rig. The 17 3/4" fish was back in the water without a picture but we got a picture of the big fish of the day. Temps were better Wednesday but it was flat calm. We also were having a difficult time hooking up and keeping fish hooked, not exactly sure why. No big fish but the fish are so fat right now it seems. Jon's biggest of the day. My biggest of the day was 16" and fought like it was 5 pounds, on a deadsticked Ned rig. We both had fish in the 3 pound range hooked and lost, mine on a ned and Jon's on a KVD 1.0, along with several whites, a few drum and crappie, and a sunfish.

From what I've found as long as the hook shank isn't too long it should be alright. You can always use pliers to open up the hook gap slightly if you do have a hard time hooking fish.

Not a chance. If it isn't a popular fish to eat KDWP won't stock it. I'm shocked they've made the attempt to stock smallmouth in a couple new lakes like Perry and Clinton but I highly doubt they'd do it in a smaller body of water. It would be nice if they'd listen to anglers more but if they did they wouldn't have the silly new bait laws and laws about transporting a live fish (makes it almost impossible to keep a record fish alive to be released since you can't keep it in your livewell since you have to pull all your plugs).

Nothing wrong with getting outfished by your wife, just gives her more reason to go again in the future. Those are some very thick fish and I bet they gave her a heck of a fight. 3/32oz is actually the size I believe that Ned Kedhe (the main designer of the Ned Rig) uses. I was lucky enough to fish with one of his friends that helped him refine the technique and come up with the whole Midwest Finesse tactics way of fishing. Plus there's only 1/32oz difference between 3/32oz and 1/16 and I doubt that is enough to make much difference.

I use the 1/16oz Bass Pro Shops brand ballheads. I've used them to catch smallies over 3, largemouth over 6, drum and catfish over 10lbs, and I have yet to straighten a hook. What rod and line are you using and how tight are you setting your drag? I fish mine on a 6' 10" ML/F rod with 8lb Nanofil and a short 10lb fluoro leader. It doesn't take much of a hookset either, just reeling and a quick jerk does fine. If you set the hook like you do with a shakyhead it starts to bend the hook just fron the hookset. I set my drag so it slips a little just from the hookset and then gives line pretty easily if a fish tries to run. It's a small hook so you have to kind of set stuff up to baby big fish in.

Basically the ML is going to flex more an allow the rod to load better with that small bait and generate more energy to help with casting. I'm sure someone who is better with the actually physics of it can explain it better than that but that's a really watered down version of why it will cast them better.

My wife had them once. I was taking notes when the Dr was telling her how to avoid having them again, I have no desire to experience what she was going through, and hers were small they said!

If it's allowed you may try adding some new cover like brushpiles to help attract fish. If you can do it don't just go dropping them everywhere though, find that little 1' creek channel and drop it along the bend of it or where it swings in close to a point or around the edge of the 20' hole you found. As for the interference, it sounds like it might just be a really poor signal due to all the silt and mud but it's hard to tell without seeing it.

Good luck man. It sounds like you have your head right for quitting, you have to want it. I'm lucky that I only tried it once and didn't like it and chewing tobacco is disgusting so I've never had to try to kick the niccotine habit.

I grew up in Manhattan so I've been loving this year I have confidence that even if they win out the rest of the season that they'll still get screwed out of the title game. They have been a tough, tough team all year and if they win out I certainly feel they deserve to go.

My wife goes fishing with me fairly often, she's even pretty good at it when she wants to be. I do my best to make sure she's happy when we go. Bought her the St.Croix Avid Pearl with the Quantum Energy with the hologram finish to match the rods reel seat like she wanted. She doesn't hold fish without gloves so I found her a set of pink gloves small enough to fit her tiny hands. Then I make sure the weather is going to be good, that way if we aren't catching anything she's at least comfortable. I try to select a body of water where she's sure to at least catch a few fish, hopefully more. I make sure to bring a cooler full of whatever she wants to drink and some snacks for her. And the most important part, the lounge chair that fits on the back deck of the boat so she can lay out and sun herself while I fish if she just isn't interested in fishing that day She surprises me once in awhile with some of the terminology she's picked up and her ability to ID even fish we don't have around here. She really wants to catch a big bass. She had one that would have been over 6 hooked at Table Rock a year or two ago and then one over 4 hooked at a local lake last fall but both of them jumped and tossed the bait right near the boat. Even if she doesn't go with me all the time or isn't super into it every time she does go with me I still appreciate the fact that she's trying for me.

Depends a lot on the jig size and the water temp for me. Sometimes an oversized trailer on a finesse jig gives the super slow fall you need to get bites. Other times a small trailer on a heavy jig allows you to fish the bait quickly to get a more reactionary strike. I'm sure it will work fine but you should experiment and let the fish tell you what they want.

Spinning gear is the way to go with #5 or #7 shad raps. They can be casted on casting gear but it's so much easier with spinning gear. I use a 6' 8" or 6' 10" ML/F spinning rod with either 6 or 8 pound test and get plenty of distance out of them with those set ups.

You might do a search if you have any power plant lakes close by with warm water discharge. They usually provide good fishing all winter long for all different species.

This is always a good time, I'm in!

My reason for releasing them is simple, I don't like the taste of freshwater fish. Saltwater fish is a whole different story. If bass tasted good to me I would probably keep a few small ones on occasion. We have several lakes packed full of small fish but not many big fish because nobody keeps any of them so they don't have enough room or food to grow. Then some of our lakes if it gets caught its going home regardless of species or size or limits.

I'm an LEO and I've never written a traffic ticket in my 6 years of doing it (other than the senerios in the academy and core training anyways). Mainly because I've chosen to stay in the corrections division of our agency. I work in a building out of the weather with heat in the winter and AC in the summer. Plus if anything ever goes down I've got back up less than a minute away. The job is plenty interesting and entertaining on a day to day basis and it pays better than a lot of people probably think it would. If you make it to Sgt here and don't mind working some OT you can pull 6 figures, we have straight deputies that come close but they don't have a home life because of all the OT they work. It's steady work, great benefits, and with all the stupid people in this world it's great job security . If it was easier to get into I would seriously consider going into being on at a fire department but that can be a long, drawn out process since it seems most of them want you to volunteer for a year or two along with all the school you have to go through.

Yep, they can be just as effective in the fall as they are in the spring.

Nice! I could not imagine catching that many big smallies in a few days fishing.