Spankey

Guys got to thinking about this yesterday. Sorry if it’s been brought up many of times in the past. I’m not much of a coffee drinker. And I get skeeved out with communal coffee pots Especially in the work place. So yesterday I cleaned the maker up and brewed a pot up. That brings me to the point that I’m thinking about taking some worms, creatures and craws and putting them on small zip lock bags and lightly covering them with some Maxwell House. Maybe some in dry grinds and some with filter grins. Give it a week or so in the bag. Give that scent at try. Only going to do a few, not possibly going to ruin a whole bag. Anyone try doing crazy stuff like that. I never looked into any studies or experimentation on this. Bass may be offended by that scent. Who knows. Thought I saw KVD had his name associated with some coffee bait stuff years ago. Maybe it was a flop? Might be a bad idea and the soft plastics will not be able to absorb anything.

A lot of stuff is harder to find these days on a local scale. I just associate it with corporate buying. (Pre Corona Virus, this is a different story) Like most of you guys I really do not have to buy anything. I do like playing with colors sometimes. I like to try colors even if only slightly lighter or darker or if something has a flake color in it. Usually productive and I believe it’s gonna work or I wouldn’t buy it.

If my situation is the same this weekend I’m going to have to go to these tricks. I’ll also will do some Carolina Rigging in this deeper water. I do have some Kaster and Acme Spoons to try. We are suppose to go into a bit of a warm up with summer temps starting tomorrow. This might put these fish shallower. I just try to reason with the fish. And never really give up. Admittedly I know I do not have the answer for everything. Thank you.

That color has been around for quite awhile. I think before that by a bit. Pretty sure I’ve had it here in the N.E. through the early 80’s. Good color, great color but I also do better with browns, black, motor oil and camo colors. Zoom puts out a true brown finesse worm. I fell I can catch a bass anywhere with that worm. Within reason.

Recently my fish quality has been good. I hit a few tough weeks a couple of weeks back where a few dinks was the best it got. Yesterday I had high expectations. Really cold air settled in. Was 38/40* when I put in. Ok fine, cold, but lake temps didn’t really tumble. Surface temps varied differently, low 60’s to about 69*. I really struggled for two 12” fish. Caught in about 15 ft. depth. U Tail Worm. Was marking a lot of bait fish in 21-23 ft. depths. Spent majority of my time drop shotting. No results. I had high expectation that nice fish would be feeding on bluegills at grass and pad edges. Had been somewhat of a pattern the last few weeks. Suppose to warm up again. But no rain. I’ll take some rain. Might put those nice ones up into those shallower bluegills. I went with my gut feeling and was wrong. No real surface activity or fish jumping. I’ll struggle with the deeper water fishing if that where the fish regressed to. Not a strong point, weak point for me. Will see how it plays out on the weekend.

I would think majority of the guys are competent enough to check hooks on a new crankbait before use and check the trebles on crankbaits they throw a lot. But then maybe not. I lean toward they do. To help supplement your costs, the stock VMC hooks on a new Rapala DT, Shad Rap, Original Floater, Husky Jerk, or Countdown that you take off, I’ll buy them from you if you’re throwing them in the trash. It will help offset the cost of the new VMC trebles you buy. I know where you are coming from but majority of quality lures come with quality hooks. The little side note on TW website about t-hook replacements is to aid in selling hooks. I don’t see a bad set of hooks very often. As someone else posted years ago crap hooks were common. Please don’t take anything in my post to heart. I love your posts. I respect your efforts you put into bass fishing.

I hear about guys changing out a lot of hooks on Strike King Products. One series of baits they have I love their trebels they use. Yes maybe a bit light but, razor sharp and the best needle point I've used. How I'm using them on North East river smallies and greenies 4-6 lb. they hold up and present no issues. If what I was fishing for was 10-13 lbs. that could be a different story. I wouldn't consider those crankbaits for monster bass.

I guess it a matter of how much you want to get caught up in the craze. I have not tried them yet. I’d like to. But I’ll get some over the winter prior to next season. I have things that are working and don’t want to go another direction right now. They will work when I try them. Look good. Berkley.

I’ll have my two grandsons (14 & 11 yo) out with me Sunday morning. They will be fishing for nice fish. They have caught and seen them. They know what the potential is. I can only hope it goes well. Like a guide I’ll try like heck to put them on fish. If they get a good fish or not. Before we pack it in for the day I’ll have them fishing for bluegill, yellow perch, crappies and maybe some bullheads. Whatever they want to go for. To me I think it is important for them to catch fish in general. They are happy with that. I think it means more to me than it does to them about that big bite. They are happy to be out. They enjoy going to the diner on the way home also.

You keep doing what you are doing. It’s work for you. I really think you’d be pleasantly surprised by using some artificial craws but maybe in time. You are becoming one of the resident in house crawfish experts. I use both hard and soft plastic crawfish imitations. I could shoot you a few pics or post some if that helps but you know about them I’m sure. The day you catch a 15”-20” river smallie on something as simple as Rebel Wee Craw you’ll be hooked for life.

“Never give up”. I put two nice fish in the boat yesterday. Had a couple of long distance releases also. The last few weeks have been some tough fishing. I’m finding them still not being very active or aggressive. Slow plastics presentation has gotten them for me. Cranking has yielded nothing for the last few weeks. Hang tough and fish your way through it. Every time out I’m fishing for that 6 lb’r. Weekend can’t get here soon enough to keep trying.

I’ve gotten some nice quality bass this season. I can’t kick on that note. But my numbers are way down. I’m after the larger fish so not catching dinks should not be a complaint. Not having days catching numbers of small fish does not make sense to me this season. The lake is healthy, fish are healthy, lake does see a lot of pressure. I’m gonna say I’m having a good year with quality fish and leave it at that.

Real nice. Good luck with the boat. See you Sunday. Well most likely not don’t know who I’m looking for, but good luck if your there.

I haven’t been skunked but the last few weeks have been no prize. I’d like to do tomorrow morning but it’s gonna have to be Sunday. I’m going to be fishing for a new PB, can only hope. We’ve been getting some rain but I wish it were more of it. Not planning to fish any different. Gonna add some more/different craws, creatures and grubs into the mix. Good luck.

Your situation is identical as mine when I do the road trip. I’m solo also. And not getting any younger. I generally will force myself to fall asleep real early and shove off between 12:00 - 2:00am. All I have to do is pull out and go. I’m hooked up and rigged up to just drive. Get there and try to make a full day out of it fishing. On many occasions if not all, I’ll grab something to eat at the rest stop and catch a bit of a snooze there on the way back. Safe and no troubles. I’ll have my wife call me so that I don’t sleep any longer than I have to. I do not want to fall asleep driving. If I don’t pull back in to home till 1:00 am that’s fine.

I ordered a few things with the Labor Day sale. Took the free shipping. I’m not real hard pressed for anything, delivery has been slowed some. I’ve never had one bad experience with TW. We are about as far as you can get across the country from each other. Always got my stuff.

Not that I feel he had the greatest show going at the time but as a man I liked him and sort of liked his message he was sending. That was Jerry McGinnis. I got to meet him on the Delaware River when he was filming for a few days. It was a neat thing at the time. Got a good tip he was going to be there and made it a point to be there. Many moons ago, talking smallies with him was great. His production crew was really not that big on site.

Well I don’t think anyone wants to get skunked but you could be fishing a piece of structure today and catch a 3 lb. bass (that’s not too shabby). Release him there on the spot. Go back there tomorrow all amped up, same time, same lure and catch a 10” fish. It happens. Happens to all of us. Your intention was to catch that fish again or his bigger sister. Big, bigger, biggest it’s all relative to where you are fishing. I believe there are some 7-8 lb. bass here where I am. Can only go by what I’ve seen. Or perceive and lost. My personal best is not there. I continue to fish for that.

Catching the big one, breaking your personal best is what it is all about. Or even a day Of fishing with a few respectable fish. This is the driving force that keeps you going. I don’t fish in the bass Mecca of the country. It’s only gonna be but so good for me. I’ve been rewarded a few of those nice ones on my waters. As hard as I work at it, I think the man upstairs will let me beat my personal bests of Greenies and Brownfish. When it’s time I guess.

If I have my grandsons with me. Or if an acquaintance wants me to take them out because they want to know why I’m so obsessed with bass fishing I’ll try to put them on bass any way possible. Generally with River smallies some type of dinks and runts are always on the bank. When I’m out fishing regardless of time of year, season or non season I’m trying for a new personal best. I practice 100% catch and release bass fishing.

I’m no biologist by any means but physical damage inflicted to a fish in nature is one thing. If catching fish like that is common I’d think it is soft plastics stuck causing that. The body is skinny also compared to the head. If a fish swallows a soft plastic it can’t be helped. They will hauk things up. Maybe some they can’t. I fish the river near the power plant and no fish looks like that.

So you think it’s normal. I don’t think it’s normal. Don’t look normal.

^^^^^ good advice ^^^^^

I made wall hangers out of a couple river smallie rods I use to fish the heck out of. Wore them out. Could not part with them. Sentimental? Probably. A lot of good times with them. The BPS Billy Westmoreland still has life in it but decided to retire it. Many ways to get creative I guess. I really didn’t do anything special like that posted pic. Mine are mounted just under the ceiling on the wall with reels attached and lures on the line. Looks cool. Have fun with your project. It will look good.

Probably has plastics stuck in his intestine and guts.