Hyrule Bass

ive caught a lot of bass fishing a buzz bait below the surface like a spinner bait, never actually caught a bass fishing a buzz bait on top though lol go figure...

you dont need to get a new pole. your ugly stik will do it all and wont break on a hook set. now im not discouraging you if you want to buy something different. just saying ugly stiks arent as bad as people here seem to think. some people here seem to think they can tell major difference in 0.000000000001 fraction of sensitivity, and that you need a $500+ combo just to catch fish...

perhaps theyre done spawning and have vacated the beds? or are you sure theyre not vacated bass beds?

haha i hope all the bad luck is gone. i was actually excited to get that little striper as i didnt get one at all last year and put in more time for them than any year in the past, go figure. another thing against me was the batteries on the trolling motor werent charged enough to use it, just drifting along the boat would get out of position too often. the fact my initial plans got stymied could have factored in also, i didnt put in enough time to figure everything out after that...

spent last weekend fishing at SML. Didnt really get to fish as much as i wanted. My uncle has a house on the lake there and decided to have someone come do some work to his dock, where i fish from by day. Typically theres lots of nice bass swimming around the dock and in this cove. I couldve fished from the actual shoreline but didnt want to deal with the trees and shrubbery. but between the pressure washing, building a small addition to the walkway on the dock, and staining the dock(which took three friggin days) i didnt get my usual fishing time in for bass, as i typically fish for cats and whatever else wants to bite at night. I probably would have never went if i knew he was having all that done this weekend. but atleast i did get some good rest and relaxation, which was much needed and a mental refresher. So while things werent ideal to me, i still managed a variety of fish. the main problem being they were all small. im not sure i caught a fish of any kind over 12 inches in 4 days of fishing. just wasnt my weekend. I did manage to pick up a few bass around the dock when i did get the chance to use it, including my first ever bass on a jitterbug, the rest came on various soft plastics. never had any luck on jitterbugs before though. also threw around a rebel tad fry on my lightweight setup and caught some bluegill and white perch. by night time the dock was dry and i was able to atleast get my nightly catfishing in when i visit there. the problem was the size of the fish, i normally catch a truck load of 3lb channel cats every memorial day weekend, i couldnt even get a 1lber this weekend. also caught a couple small flatheads. also went out on the boat two evenings with my uncle. after trolling around for striper with no luck we decided to cast some shorelines he has had luck on before this time of year. after a few casts he gave up and i continued fishing. managed to pull in a 1/2lb or so bass and quickly threw it back. next cast my strike king 5xd crank went over a tree limb hanging out over the water and was hanging there. i told my uncle watch out im bout to give it a jerk. next thing i know i got the front treble stuck through my shirt, jeans, and in my leg, the rear treble was in my shirt and hooked into the back pocket of my jeans. luckily i was barely skin hooked and got the trebles out. avoided potential disaster there. while ripping the bait out of my back pocket and shirt the treble broke. decided to tie on a red eye shad, chrome with black back. a few casts and next thing i know my rod separates(2-piece rod, maybe loosened from yanking the crankbait from the tree) and the top part goes flying down my line through the air and into the lake, a couple quick cuss words and i start reeling in fast as i dont want my rod getting caught up in the downed trees along the banks there. my uncle looks at me and says, dont catch no fish like that. well, turns out i reel in a small striper that i couldnt even feel fight because of the rod down on the line. little guy mustve been real hungry. had trouble getting the treble hooks out of his lips/mouth and by the time i did he was a floater, which sucks because this was one pretty little fish and couldve been a nice trophy or meal someday in a few years. anyways, being frustrated i told my uncle lets just go in, as it was about 10pm. next evening out on the boat resulted in a skunk. so while the fishing wasnt great for me, i did get out on the water. and i did get to relax a few days without the worries of everyday life at work and home. i still had fun, but cant remember ever having such misadventures on a fishing trip. all the fish being small is what bothered me the most though lol. biggest fish of the weekend belonged to my 3 year old niece Zoey who caught a 15 inch catfish on her Dora pole...

my catfishing usually comes from sitting on my uncles dock all night chunking out chicken livers, nightcrawlers, shrimps, and minnows. The part of the lake is a cove in the back of the craddock creek area of the lake. i catch channels, bullheads and occasional small flatheads. if you want big flatheads i hear your best bet is up either of the river arms in shallow water with live bluegills. sorry i cant help more, ive never actually cat fished from a boat. usually the only time my uncle goes fishing in his boat is when he is after stripers and occasionally he will sit back and relax while i fish for bass

the next half the day includes a 4-5 hour ride down there lol...i hate I-81, needs more lanes...

Thanks, i just cant wait to get there, this is the longest 5 hour day ive ever worked lol i find SML is just such a relaxing place. but to be honest in the summer, that place is a madhouse everyday. so many boats and jetskis racing around, sometimes the water looks like its boiling. if i were you, id plan for the fall, after Labor Day atleast. the traffic slows down a lot then, plus it may increase your chances of running up on some schooling stripers. never been to Claytor or Anna though. i usually end up at SML because my aunt and uncle have a house on the lake there...

^^ this, and it seems that bait changes from year to year...

seriously though, it doesnt make sense to me. how do i know if im using the right bait to begin with, there could be fish where im throwing said "search bait" but they just dont want what im throwing. how does one determine what to throw as a search bait when one doesnt know what theyre biting that day to begin with? ok, so how do you determine your "search bait"? how would you know if any fish is going to want that on a given day? and what if that first bait you choose to throw does land some quality, you going to change up then? sorry, but i cant buy into the search bait thing, at one time i may have thought there was something to it, but now i realize their really isnt. i can buy confidence bait, but not search bait, and they are two different things...

sounds like fun, good luck and i hope you have a great time fishing with your daughter next week...

i havent got to fish since March but finally get to go this weekend. Getting off work at noon and heading down to Smith Mtn Lake to fish for any and everything. I cant wait, I get to stay there till Tuesday before I have to be back at work on Wednesday

ive yet to catch a smallmouth from SML. it will happen one day though. last two times i went, there were a pair of crawdads in the minnow trap. im hoping for a couple more in there this time, havent caught anything on them yet, but someone told me a new way to hook them without killing them that i hadnt tried. got pinched by one last time, was wearing cheap berkley fishing gloves and still felt it good, didnt know those suckers could pinch that hard though. also plan to do some catfishing there, this time of year i usually catch a ton of 18 inch 3 pound channel cats and some decent sized bullheads, and if im lucky a flatty...

dont believe in search baits.

try live bait =]

some people here have posted some pics of pretty elaborate set-ups before of how they store their tackle,

im probably going to go striper fishing this weekend at Smith Mtn Lake. Will probably end up trolling mostly, and doing a little casting for them. Casting for them i have a Penn Captiva CV2 6000 with 20lb Stren mono that came with a 7ft H Penn rod, but i changed the rod to an 8ft MH Ugly Stik Catfish rod(i do a lot of catfishing with this setup). But i also have a new Abu Garcia Ambassadeur 6601 C4 reel i may use, especially if we can get some live bait like shad or alewives.

the second your topwater is underwater is the time to set the hook. some guys say count to 3 then set it, i disagree with that. i figure by the time i count to three then set its too late, whereas just going ahead with the motions and setting the hook is probably a couple seconds in itself...

im sure theyll find time in the tent while camping

ok, i misunderstood and thought you were leaving part of the hook in the fish. Regardless, you could be saving your hook too, and i still would recommend that everyone learn the through the gills method.

it could be some of both. try throwing them something you havent thrown before. or something you think they havent seen much of before. or you could try being more stealth and backing away from the bank some until you hook a fish... sometimes when artificials just wont seem to draw a bite, i will not hesitate to break out some night crawlers and throw them, sometimes right in the basses face. i've only seen one bass in my life that just refused to eat a fat live night crawler and the one time it was semi-interested a bigger bass came in and took the bait instead... also, it would help to find out what theyre feeding on at the time. try catching a small bluegill about 4-5 inches and throwing it out on a bigger hook, when that thing starts yanking on your line and is swimming funny, the big bass will come in and most likely eat it... a lot of people think ponds are easy, but they can be real tough at times too...

anyone got any info on what SML is like this week so far? i cant wait to get down there friday, i havent fished since March...

grab the ultralight and catch a mess of bluegill

ah yes, i briefly forgot about baby bass. add that to my prior listing of red shad

wouldnt you rather save both? learn the through the gills method, you will save the fish and your hook. once you get it, its quick and easy and you dont leave anything lodged in the fish. its one of the best things ive ever learned on this site...