Bluebasser86

Just use a slow, steady retrieve and make sure to feel the weight before you set the hook, unless you like trying to dodge 2 sets of trebles that you can't see.

Rage craws Zoom trick worms, baby brush hogs Yum Wooley bugs, wooley booley, craw papi Berkley Havoc pitboss

Sometimes they'll sit just under the pads waiting for things to fall into the water off of the pads. It could have been a combination of a hunger/reaction strike. The fish was hungry and waiting for food and reacted to your bait falling in front of it. It probably just missed the bait a little bit and that's why you didn't hook it.

I've done it before, pretty good time with some friends and good dogs. There's so many raccoons running around the rivers here it wears you out pretty bad keeping up with the dogs. Wasn't real impressed with eating them though. We had them BBQ'd and they were pretty greasy and gamey tasting to me, but you can put enough BBQ sauce on anything to make it taste decent.

@Gavin-is floating one of those rivers tough if you do a solo float? I've never floated any of those rivers, which would be best for quality smallmouth and any thoughts on what outfitter to go through for the canoe and transport? @Basslaw-I agree, I enjoy fishing the rock about as much as any lake, when they're biting. I've heard Grand is similar to Table Rock with a little dirtier water, does that sound about right? @Skunked-I've thought about Melvern and I'll probably end up fishing it one weekend. The only hard part about Melvern is my small boat and there really is no where to get out of the wind on that lake. Not really any good back up options close by either. Still, when the smallies and whites get their feed on during the fall out there and they're both slamming cranks it's tough to beat! It would be nice to have the time to play around out there a little more and try to learn the lake a little better. I usually just fish the same spots because of the limited amount of time I normally have to fish.

Another vote for at least 20 pound InvisX. If you have the money I've heard great things about Tatsu but it's a little much for me and the InvisX has done everything I've asked it to do.

Get the reel serviced and possibly replace the bearings. I have several of them and if you take care of it they perform great year after year. If you are really wanting distance be on the lookout for one of the old Bantam Curado super free reels. I still have one of them and with a fresh spool of line and a 1/2oz rattle trap I can dump half the spool without much effort. I'm sure you could get the reel you have supertuned and probably do the same though.

I've had really good luck with orginal stren. I've used Trilene and seems like I get more break offs than I should with it. It isn't my first choice for fishing line but I will use it when I need to.

I do mainly for trout or to catch bait for catfishing. For the trout I fish spinners, spoons, and small jigs. For catching bait it's hard to beat a 2" grub on a 1/32oz jighead. Little tiny cranks are a lot of fun to take to a pond and just see what you can catch. With my ultralight even a 8 inch bass feels like a giant!

I get that same thing with the trick worms a lot but I usually cut the first half inch off to make them easier to rig anyways. I get some brush hogs that look like they got pinched sometimes but they still catch fish.

Any catfish where you were fishing? I've caught a few on a buzzbait and they absolutly crush it! My friend caught one night fishing one night that was probably 8 or 9 pounds and the hit was so loud I thought he fell in the pond. I missed one on a spinnerbait in Mexico that was over 10. I don't want to guess how big it was because it was a few years ago and they get bigger over time but I was shaken so bad I had to sit down. I was pulling my bait past a tree and a bug bit the crap out of leg so I stopped to swat it and when my bait slow rolled down she about jerked the rod out of my hand. Had her just long enough to see her.

Deep cranking usually seems to produce quality fish like that this time of year. It's a big bait and big target and it gets down to where the big fish hang out during the hot weather months. When it hits the bottom or a piece of cover it can trigger a reaction strike from a fish that may not have hit a slow moving worm or jig too. It can be pretty tiring if you're planning on throwing big baits all day long though!

Go back and guy a couple 200e7's and I'll buy them from you for $80 apiece shipped

In that case, I throw the small ones, #7 and smaller, on my 6' Avid ultralight and 4lb test. I love tossing the #5 and just trying to catch whatever will bite. I've caught everything from little bluegill and crappie to walleye, wipers, and catfish on them. It's a nice change up from tossing the meat sticks when I'm bass fishing.

Sounds like a really good day to me! Hopefully the cooler weather we've been having will get those big fish active again!

Fish that size around here would be so full of worms right now it'd look like it was crawling. Plus with water temps in the low 90's it would probably be halfway cooked .

I've done pretty well with the magic catfish bait, never fished with the regular Berkley catfish baits but the Gulp catfish baits are great. The downside to the Gulp is the price. You might try a dipworm with some Sonny's wicked sticky or some other kind of punch bait. It's fairly inexpensive and all you have to do is use a stick to push you dipworm into the bait so you don't have to stink up your hands.

I like them for a surface twitch bait or just a straight cast and retrieve. I mainly use the #11 and #13 and fish them on a 6' 8" M/L crucial with 6 or 8 pound test. If I'm around a little heavier cover I'll switch to a 6' 8" M LTB with 8lb. I don't think I'd use an ultralight unless I was fishing a #7 or smaller.

Nice fish Red! Getting up early and beating the crowd is the only way to do it in that little boat! I got used to doing that and now even though I have a bigger boat I'm usually on the water from 4am-4pm. A lot of the time when it's hot I'll catch a majority of my fish before 10am when it isn't super hot yet.

Looks like they got a few solid fish and had a good time. I'm sure you'd much rather see them catch fish then catch them yourself anyways right

Nice job man! Nothing like the feeling of sticking it out all day and feeling like you really earned it at the end of the day!

What type of baits/rod/reel/linehooks are you using? All those things can be big contributing factors to why you aren't hooking up.

I think if I was to pick a spot off that map that you have marked that you can get to it would be either by the bridge with lily pads on each side or on the rocks between the first two stretches of pads. It looks like there is a fast drop between the first two patches of pads and they could use those rocks to look for crawdads and travel back and forth between the pads for cover. Plus they'd still have close access to deep water. The bridge area is just a good funnel and looks to have a good amount of cover from the pads and maybe some from the bridge if it has any pilings or anything. As for baits I'd probably try a green pumpkin trick worm on the rocks, around the bridge, and edge of the pads. Switch to a texas rigged worm if you are fishing in the pads. A wacky rigged Senko casts to the edge of the pads will probably catch fish when nothing else will too.

If you have to stay under $40 you could get a Pfluegar Trion but it is a big step from a Trion to a President and I would save the extra $10 and get the President. The only thing I don't like is the tiny little wooden handle but you get used to it.

If you're just after some channel cats to eat just get some cheap hotdogs. They're easy to use, cheap, easy to get, and catfish love them. Plus if the fish don't bite you can go home and eat your leftover bait!