FishinChef

You should think about usig grubs. Swim them like crankbaits or bounce off the bottom.

I think I need to up my line; I usually use 6-8# mono on spinning tackle for the smallies. I haven't tried braid as of yet although I've heard several swear by it. With mono would 10-12# test work or do I need to go higher? This would also explain some of my problems with the weeds. I'll also try the C-rig after I respool with heavier line.

I usually fish for smallmouth bass as I live about 4 miles from the Susky and about 2 miles from a major trib. SM haven't been hitting much lately (post spawn I guess) so I've been catching a few LM at the local pond. Today took the family out to a large lake and spent some time in a canoe searching for some LM. Here is where the problem lies: Every since I've started targeting SM, rocks seem to be the dominant structure and cover where I find the fish. I lost quite a few rigs until I got the hang of it. Well today it was all weeds/vegetation. My usual tactics went out the window as every thing I threw got snagged in the weeds (tubes, in-line spinners, topwater poppers, etc..) At the local pond I use a T-rigged senko that seems to perform pretty well but the larger lake has much more vegetation and even the senko came back with loads of gunk. So.. if you went from fishing a flowing water/rocky environment to a larger lake/reservoir filled with weeds and vegetation what changes would you make to your fishing techniques? I'm kinda clueless without current as that has been my main factor when reading the water/locating fish.

Congratulations on the scar. Recovery time was longer than I expected with my surgery. Tell the docs you want lots of physical therapy; none of this do your exercise at home junk. And take it easy at first.

Different strokes for different folks I guess. I went to college in Providence and am very familiar to your winters. I remember seeing snow piles still on the ground in April : And the girls were wearing mini skirts or ripped blue jeans while I had long underwear and wool socks on I'm a warm weather type of guy myself, I like the climate where you dress up by putting on your best pair of shorts and a collared T-shirt. Always found it easier to cool off than warm up. And working in hot kitchens for over 15 yrs has made me tolerant to most heat and humidity extremes (this summer my kitchen was 120', even hotter on the grill and saute stations). I live in SC PA now and enjoy everything but the winters. As I've gotten older all my injuries from my youth come back to haunt me; broken bones, back surgery, etc.. It really lights me up when there is a drastic change in temperature. Heck, I wont even buy a snowblower because I'm still in denial. I keep looking for the right oppourtunity to move back south and hope to be back one day, maybe after the kids are out of the house.

Try upgrading your rod and line test; I had the same thing happen to me with the salmon until I figured it out. One thing about this game though; it kinda gets me agitated and takes the fun and relaxation out of fishing. Don't get me wrong, I grew up on video games but I don't think it mixes with fishing, at least not for me. I don't even play it anymore.

People will steal anything that's not bolted down nowadays What goes around comes around; I know it sounds stuiped but the world has a way of sorting things out. Be patient, they will get what they deserve.

This thread got me to thinking about my fishing priotities in relation to the opposite sex. I fished as a kid almost non stop until about 14; when I got interested in girls. No more fishing at all; not through high school, college, nothing. No fishing at all until I had been married for about ten years; once again non stop fishing. It's really great, I feel like a kid again, I have a lot of fun and try to get out as much as possible. I do kinda miss the girls though

I've gotten some good info from this site as well! The other site just gave me some more specific info on both waters and technique. Some local members from my region also hooked me up with some good tips. The closest water to my house (less than 2 miles) is smallie habitat all the way and usually where I get away to fish when the time permits. Excuse me if it was bad form to mention another site, just trying to help a fellow fisherman out with what worked in my neck of the woods. Didn't mean to imply that there wasn't good info here; quite the opposite as you all know.

I usually fish for smallies in a lower Susquehanna trib close to my house. Soft plastics and jigheads are best for rocky bottoms, you will lose alot. Tubes, grubs, and swimming worms work best for me. Current breaks, riffles, and eddies hold most of the fish in my waters. Drift the bait with the current bouncing off the bottom every now and then. There is some great info on this site for lake smallies but if you want some serious river smallie advice you should go to riversmallies.com This site literally put me on fish. I've learned alot about stream and river fishing from the guys on there. The fishing knowledge is first rate. Lately the fish have not been in their normal spots?? Ever since the water temp dropped the last two weeks I haven't been able to find them. No baitfish in my local stretch as well; think the smallies are roaming and looking for food.

Alright, my kind of topic!! : My wife says I'm as cheep as they get and I'm always looking for a deal! Extra spools for line are great; I also save and recycle all my broken plastic baits; and my beads came from my 8 yr old daughters jewlery making set. My local spots are near a river and I usually target smallmouth. Lots of rocks, holes, ledges and rip-rap; used to lose just about everything until I got a system down. Lots of soft plastics, grubs and worms. I've found that the salt impregnated baits (Case plastics are my favorite) are more durable,catch more fish per bait and last longer between changes. I tend to shy away from most crankbaits because of the rocks but topwater and shallow divers rarely get hung up (except in the trees). My PB for LM (21") and SM (19") were on a .99 heddon torpedo knockoff and a walmart swimming worm (1.29/20pk)! I also look for the bargin bins and close outs at tackle shops where they just need to dump inventory. I've gotten brand name tubes (mizmo, venom and strikemaster) for .99/pk. For cats I keep all the chicken/duck and rabbit livers from work, and also use cut sections of wine/champagne corks for rig floats. I always look in the paper for yard sales with fishing equipment; just got a ton of terminal tackle from an oldtimer who used to make his own. Also go to the store with the wife a little more often and seem to find one or two things at a time that are on sale/clearance. The only regret I have about being cheap is making some poor judgement when purchasing rods/reels. You really do get what you pay for, I've passed down several rigs to the kids for cats and panfish because they no longer perfrom adequately for smallie fishing. I'm now waiting for the weather to change and will look for a inexpensive canoe this holiday season.

I am lucky enough to live less than 2 miles from the Susquehanna river in PA; I really enjoy the smallmouth fishing here. Smallmouth habitats are very relaxing for me to wade; small streams, creeks, riffles, eddies,etc.. But the excitement from seeing fat smallmouth launch itself out of the water and fight like the devil is quite the opposite. I catch quite a few in shallow water, less than 3 feet.

Good idea with the tablespoon cheeks probably just pop right out. Hey Jim, I can talk about cooking as much as I can talk about fishing. Sounds like you know your way around a kitchen.

I have the same problem with stripers; the meat is very flakey and flavorful but the bloodline is nasty. I either purchase small to medium wild stripers (8-14 oz filet) or extra large filets (4-7 lbs). The smaller filets don't have such a dominant bloodline; most comes right off with the skin. For the larger sides I skin them first, then split the filets lengthwise down the lateral line. You can then get in and trim out the bloodline and have a clean, white filet. The milk will bring out impurities but also the fresh flavor of the fish. I pan roast and grill fish alot at work; very rarely fried. The extra moisture added by soaking in the milk can also affect a direct dry heat method, most likely by sticking to the pan. Fresh fish cheeks ROCK! I usually run Alaskan Halibut cheeks in the early summer as a featured menu item. Grouper cheeks are good as well. Never had walleye cheeks but I honestly think walleye is the best eating freshwater fish I've handled.

I have to agree, LM or SM Bass are not anything I would even consider eating. I save the Cats that I catch and filet them up for my dishwashers to take home and eat. Gave a Cuban prep cook some larger walleyes that I caught early this spring; she fried them up and man; let me tell you! Never had Cuban Fried Walleye before but it was good. I do like some panfish and cats once in a while but I'm very picky about the origin, processing methods, and cleanliness. Occupational hazard I guess. One quick rule of thumb from a Chef; if the fish smells fishy or has to be soaked in milk to cover up the flavor; don't eat it!

My first strike was actually on a zoom superfluke, tried for an hour afterwards and switched to the senko. The fluke actually caught alot of muck on the end but I think anything I throw in this pond will. Went out this morning and tried again, several strikes but no hookups. Still getting the hang of this. They seemed to hang out on the deeper edge of the lily pads. Most of my strikes were on the edge rather than in the middle. I don't have any weedless topwaters yet either. I usually fish streams and small rivers for smallies. Do have plenty of jigs and plastic chunks and plan on using them. I'll be back out tomorrow and am going to try the fluke again and I found some 6" salamanders laying around one of my boxes. Thanks again, anybody need any cooking advice let me know. My handle ain't FishinChef for nothing.

Thanks for the advice. Haven't been able to get any frogs yet but weightless senkos dragged on top of the lily pads got me a 12" LM. Now for the rest of the pond; the lily pad area is very small in shallow water. There is a small section of deeper water at the tail end where a stream flows out and down a hill. Weeds and muck still cover this area but there are spots in the open depending on wind. What would be my best bet in deeper water with weeds? I was thinking heavy jigs or maybe a carolina rig. Thanks everyone!

Found a new pond with the family last weekend. Caught a mess of bluegills and sunnies; also saw some LM cruising around the surface. This is a small pond in a park with algae and weeds over 80% of the surface. A few lily pads but mostly muck. There are tons of baitfish in the shallow water by the banks. I've gotten a few bites on larger texas rigged plastic worms but wasn't able to hook up. Everything else I throw comes back covered in scum; jigs, cranks, spinnerbaits, etc... My question is what bait/lure performs best weedless in algae and mucky conditions? Also what techniques should I use? I know there is better water nearby but the kids like this pond and it's hard enough to get them to go fishing anyway. Thanks.

I usually fish streams and creeks for smallies and walleyes. Seen some small LM but nothing big (6"-8"). One of my normal spots today produced a fat 21" LM Bass next to a few stumps piled together. The stumps are fairly new, being deposited by all the rain this summer, the bottom structure was also changed resulting in a larger pool with more wood cover and a slower current. It's also at a point where a feeder creek empties into a small river. Caught me by surprise, I've never seen largemouth this big. This flow is known mostly for smallies.

I live in South Central Pa and the water temp in my home river is in the 50-52 range. I haven't seen any active crawfish yet but there are several places in the rocks where I find legs, claws, and shell fragments from crawfish devoured by hungry smallies! Natural tube and grub colors are catching me some decent 12-15" fish. 8-) I've never used live crawfish as bait.

Caught two smallmouth on a wal-mart golden shiner floating minnow last fall. First smallmouth that I ever caught!! First was 14", second was about 8". Haven't caught a smallmouth since.