Snakehead Whisperer

3x on that echo. If I see fish that are suspended but aren't relating to baitfish, I'll usually go with a vertical presentation. Something like a jig, spoon, drop shot, etc. If I'm certain that my casts are accurate and my depth is correct, I'll give it a few casts and move on if I don't get bit fairly quickly.

Unless you're already fishing in less than 1 foot of water, don't just assume that the bigger fish will be deeper. Often they are, but sometimes you'll need to fish shallower to find them. Don't forget to try altering your retrieve speed. I hope you start to get into some bigger fish. What lake are you fishing? I spend a lot of time and do a lot of fishing out in the Tulsa/Sand Springs/Tahlequah area.

This. Timing is everything. I fish a tidal river for smallmouth, and there's not a whole lot of information out there for this type of fishing. All I can say is to use the trial and error system. Large fish will inevitably move into the areas where the dinks lurk, but if you're not casting to those areas when they're there you won't catch them. In contrast, these fish can be caught by targeting the areas where they rest when not actively feeding at times when they're not extremely active. When you're catching smaller fish try altering the depth at which you're fishing, the speed/cadence of your retrieve, and possibly the lure that you're throwing. Chances are you've found decent bass habitat but are targeting the wrong "spot within the spot." If small fish are eating your offering, the larger ones most likely will too. An example would be this rock pile that I've been dissecting as of late. I've caught large smallies on just about every part of this rock pile at every depth, but I've also caught quite a few dinks throughout. I fished it the other day on the last 2 hours of the incoming tide and the spot was on fire. Lost 5 or 6 big fish in less than 30 minutes on a football head jig. Switched over to a swim jig and started burning it in 8-10 FOW and started to hook up with the bigger fish. Problem was that these fish were more aggressive than I thought, and once I started throwing a faster moving bait by them they were striking much harder. Once the tide turned the fish moved into a shallower area behind the rock pile where there was a current break, and once again the fish were hitting the slower moving football jig and a drop shot(albeit much less frequently.) TLDR: Try something/someplace different.

I've never caught a crappie on anything but artificials. I've caught them on some very large baits while targeting bass. When I'm targeting crappie I'll usually rig a soft plastic similar to the one the everythingthatswims posted onto a 1/32-1/16oz jig head and work it until I find the depth they're holding at. A slip bobber is indispensable if you're attempting to do this from the bank.

This is an everyday thing on the tidal Potomac. I have been averaging 5 or more big blue cats per outing the last few weeks while targeting smallies. They're really agressive fish, and will eat just about anything. They're also pretty hard on bass lures. I was stung recently by a smaller blue cat (the smaller ones are the worst, as their fins are extremely sharp.) Best advice that I can give is to soak it in clean warm water for at least 30 minutes as soon as possible, and keep it clean afterwards. It will bleed quite a bit for the first few minutes, but then will feel less painful than a bee sting. The only thing that I was really worried about was the water the fish came out of, not the fish itself. I was fine. If you start feeling sick, it's best to seek medical attention pronto.

Been throwing hair jigs almost exclusively for the last few weeks with good results. Usually I'll lace them with a 4" Swing Impact or a Zoom Finesse Worm. Biggest fish came on a football jig tipped with a Rage Tail Craw, but I never boated it.

Nice fish. Water temperatures down this way have gone from low 80's back into the high 60's twice this year due to heavy rains. Last Saturday surface temps were 80.4-82.3, but on Tuesday the warmest water I encountered was around 70. For once I'm envious of the cooler weather you guys have up there.

I usually use my ML-XF 6'6" rod with 1000 size reel if I only bring one rod. The rod's a St. Croix Premier with a Shimano Saros FA reel. Reel is usually spooled with 10lb Power Pro yellow and 6lb Seaguar Red leader. This combo is sensitive, lightweight, and I have landed fish up to 45lbs on it (big blue cat.) Baits I bring are 1/O dropshot hooks and some 1/16oz. weights and a 4" soft plastic of some sort, 1/8oz hair jigs, 3 or 4" grubs, Bitsy Bug jigs with Paca Craws, and some small buzzbaits and poppers. The tackle bag I use is an older BPS Freestyle. It holds 2 3600 boxes, 2 spools of line, pliers, boga grips, and a dozen bags of soft plastics with ease. I use a carabiner to attach my canteen to it.

I think the quest is to turn gold. Good luck with that LiftedSquare.

When the going gets tough, the real fishing is just beginning. Fair weather fishing is nice and all, but if I turned around and went home every time I heard "the fish aren't biting today" I would've missed some of my greatest days on the water. Some of the most fulfilling days I've had have been with sub freezing air temperatures, or water temps in the 90's. When you can catch fish in those conditions the rewards are much more satisfying. I have friends who come out fishing only when the conditions are ideal, but when it's too cold/hot they are in the house with the heat/ac. I have to bite my tongue sometimes because I don't want to be that guy saying "You should've been here last week, I was slaying 'em."

From the list of techniques you want to use this spinning rod for, I'd suggest buying 2 $100 rods. It's kind of difficult for me to imagine throwing a wacky rig and a dropshot on the same outfit.

This.

The only scent I ever use for smallies is Spike-It Lure Dye. I use it mostly to dye the lure, but also to cover my scent. I'm not necessarily convinced that it works as an attractant though. Anise scent is an old favorite for smallmouth. The Spike-It "Gamefish" flavor is anise scented. I also have had good results with the Crawlic (garlic/crawfish) scent. I also use Keitech Swing Impacts and Jackall Cross Tail Shad's quite a bit, and both have a squid scent that definitely does not deter smallies from crushing them.

I C-Rig them and fish them almost year round.

Nice evasion there.

Sounds like a trick question. I'm assuming you're talking about rod building, but either way this is how I like to balance my outfits. Are you talking about a Tennessee grip rod? Place it wherever the reel balances best. I usually like the rod to balance out about an inch above the reel at the top of the grip, so I place the reel accordingly. If this can't be achieved, I am using the wrong sized reel.

Yes, you can catch smallies at night. This is going to sound like a boring reply, but just use the same baits/techniques you would in the day time (bait fish don't change color at night.) They may move shallower in the dark, but this is relative. Shallow may mean inches to 10' or more, and they may not move shallower at all.

To me skin hooking is either like this... or like this...

No hooks on those plugs.

You could also view it full screen and take a screenshot.

I catch quite a few that are similarly colored, although they're usually on the smaller size. Around here even the smallmouth are light like that until they reach 10" or so.

Since a lot of things come with stern warnings, I figured I'd share my story. A friend of mine bought a used boat for a really good price. The hull and motor were in great shape, but the wiring was done by the previous owner who was obviously not an electrician. Everything worked, however. The first day that he had the boat we took it out for a test spin. Apparently the trolling motor wires had some areas on the shielding that had worn thin, but we hadn't noticed it at first glance. While on plane, the wires crossed and the hot wire shorted to ground. Sparks were flying everywhere and the wires were too hot to touch. I was able to cut the ground wire because I happened to have my tool bag with me for the test ride. If I hadn't acted quickly, there definitely would have been a fire. Touching those wires at that point could prove fatal, and being on a boat that is on fire is not a good thing. The trolling motor was stowed and not running at the time that this happened. Had there been a circuit breaker or a fuse on the TM, there would have been no issue. Breaker would have tripped or fuse would have blown, end of story. Needless to say, we spent the next several hours re-wiring the entire boat. The boat is reliable and a pleasure to fish from nowadays, but could have been a costly anchor if it had caught on fire. A fire also could have cost us our lives.

It is a fire hazard to run the TM without a properly rated breaker. If adding a breaker to the wiring, install it as close to the battery as possible. You could also use an inline fuse, which might be more streamlined if you're removing the TM from the boat after every outing. This should also be installed as close to the battery as possible, and be sure to carry spare fuses. If it were me, I would install some sort of circuit protection before using the TM. I like breakers for TMs, but a fuse will protect you all the same. Installing screw down battery terminals will also improve the performance of your TM over the alligator clips. I also can't overemphasize the importance of having a fire extinguisher on board your boat.

Glad you signed up. Welcome to the site.

I use this stuff too. It reminds me a lot of the glitter on Norman crank baits, which I like.