Todd2

Lol...and why were you not listening to the fish?

That is how I see it too. The higher the sharpness...the better I see fish.

Yeah, not really sure. Different bottom composition, different types of cover (rock piles, brush). Even viewing fish vs cover. I'm still playing with it. Note: I didnt see Goose's response before replying.

I know this is a tough one, but when fishing rocky highland type reservoirs. Sharpness is my main question. I've read so many things that say turn it off but it seems I see fish better (although more grainy) on Med or High. This seems to be best for me most of the time. Sensitivity - 8 Contrast - 12 Sharpness - Med or High Thanks....

I use either a 1/8, 3/16, or 3/8 Brass bullet weight with a glass bead. 90% of the time, it's the 3/16. I lift the rod up to about a 45 angle in one motion. One cast will be a slow lift (drag), next cast same motion but faster (hopping). Anytime I hit good cover (laydowns included) I just stop and shake it for as long as I can stay interested before continuing the retrieve. I actually like the baby brush hog a little better. Great lure....dip that tail in Chartreuse and hold on. Good luck.

You're gonna lose rigs from the bank..heck I lose them in a boat. Two tips for bank fishing.... 1. Go up in line size with a smaller weight (sounds like you are doing this part). 2 . The second you realize its hung, drop slack and then try to shake it loose. If not, grab the line and pull..this is where the big line comes in.☺

I do quite well in the prespawn yoyoing a cordell spot on deep points. I haven't done it as much this summer but it does work at times.

All Star Rod, Johnny Morris BC....15# mono on a 3/8 oz green pumpkin jig with a Yum Dinger trailer. A windy November day with very few boats out. I actually decided to load the freezer with Crappie that day, I only Bass fished at one spot on the way back to the ramp when I caught her. Makes me wonder how I would've done had I been Bass fishing all day.

I've lost several...one this summer.

I just really started fishing it seriously this year. Some buy the specialized hooks with swivel ties on two ends. I just use a straight shank hook with a palomar knot with a tag end about 2 feet. Run the tag end back through the hook eye going through on the hookpoint side. When you pull down it should stick out and up.

I think it's just a matter of being swamped with a lot of options. Just like some of you, tubes have fallen back in my rotation. But think about it...we have ribbontails, cutter worms, brush hogs, baby brush hogs, lizards, stickbaits, unlimited creature baits, tubes, and a whole lot more. Tubes can hang with all of them at the right time.

I just added Missouri this summer...a little trip to Table Rock around 4th of July. I was doing the family thing, went into Branson a couple of days but managed to get out with the kids. My 10 y/o son caught the biggest LM on a drop shot. I caught the biggest SM on a t rigged Zoom speed craw. That whole area is beautiful.

Just a little fun....ranked in order of Bass caught regardless of how many times each was fished. 6 states for me, I did get a chance one day in Michigan but got skunked. Kentucky, Tennesse, Indiana, Alabama, Florida, and Missouri

That really does suck. That flag is why I continued to buy Norman.....that and its a great crankbait. Not sure now.

Lol....and retrieval style. If you factor in 4 each for those and your over a 1000 combinations. I'm obviously being a little sarcastic but we have to narrow down our options somewhere.

Lets see...on a t rig for example. Color matters...so lets say.. Black, Green Pumpkin, June Bug, White...we'll use just 4 for my example, even though we know many more are commonly used. Weight matters....so lets go with 1/8, 3/16, 1/4, 3/8..again, I know many more sizes are used. Action matters....Straight Tail, Craw, Curly Tail, Lizard...again just gonna list 4 So 4 colors x 4 weight sizes x 4 plastics. That's 64 combinations to go through in a day to figure it out and again, thats just one rig. It's amazing we ever catch fish...lol

I can relate to the OP....what I do to help is, for example, on a t rig I'll drag back to the boat. On the next cast, I'll hop it back. On the third cast, I'll slowly swim it with a little pump. I keep the same retrieve all the way back to the boat so I keep track what I was doing. Once I catch a couple of fish, I'll stick with that one for a while. One other thing....no need for a death grip on a rod. A looser grip will help detect light bites. You have to stay focused but it doesn't mean you can't relax.

Great story and fish!

Thanks Scott...I probably fished too much open water. The smallie and two cats were off wood. No wingdams in the stretch I fished but did fish the backside of an old abandoned concrete ramp that was overgrown. There aren't a lot of visible objects along this stretch like my lakes....I guess the stuff just gets washed on down the river unlike a lake. I'm sure plenty of rocks below the surface. I'm going to head north next time and maybe look at Google maps to see if I can find more of those types of current breaks....thanks.

I mostly fish highland type reservoirs here in KY, but I'm only 30 mins from the Ohio river and had never fished it until last month. I struck out the first time...went out again yesterday and managed only one decent smallie and had two catfish get off at the boat..lol..thats it. How do you guys fish stained rivers? I tried all of the things I'd read....stuck with the rocky banks ignoring the miles of mud. I fished the outside bends (rocky) but I'm wondering if I should've spent more time on the inside bends where the sand bars were. Any tips for boat control? The section I fished had no docks and the smallie came off some shallow wood. Thanks for any help, I felt like I was fishing in foreign lands..lol

Plastics - Zoom, Berkley, and NetBait Cranks - Norman Spinnerbaits - War Eagle (Screamin Eagle) Jigs - Arkie

The only thing about fishing deep is your oxygen cutoff. The main lake I fish is stained and the thermocline sets up around 8-12 feet so fishing below that can decrease your odds. My understanding is lakes with a lot of flow act more like a river and a thermocline will never set up. Also, clearer water usually means a deeper thermocline. But yeah, its slow here too. The State Creel survey guy stopped me earlier this week and confirmed what I already knew....fishing at night was the ticket.

This reply is a classic example of someone replying with nothing to add to the discussion. The traffic on this site would come to a halt if we didn't overthink things....lol

I tried fluoro, braid, and a few others but keep coming back to mono. My favorite fluoro was Cabela's brand however..that was probably 3 years ago. If Big Game came in Clear Blue Fluorescent, I don't think I'd ever buy any other line. I'm using BG and XT right now.

Not sure where you are going Tom... certainly the tighter the line, regardless of line type, the greater the sensation felt at the rod. Sensitivity is probably a bad choice of words, I often see a line twitch and feel nothing, especially on semi slack line. Those little twitches are often the bigger fish. Btw, I'm strictly a mono user.