Scott F

I can't wade anymore but many of my friends do. This 20" smallmouth was caught last week while he was wading a river. I'd consider this a big bass, wouldn't you?

I've been a Mac fan almost as long as they have existed. The only problem the OP might have is getting one for his budget of only $600. I think the cheapest one starts at $1,000.

I don't know what kind of water you are finding or fishing. Low water is the easiest time for me to find fish. I look for any place where the current is moving fast. Slow water generally doesn't hold many active fish. The best fish are often found near deeper water where there are riffles. Getting your bait very tight to cover like rocks, the bank or trees is critical. Miss the target by a foot and it means the difference between a catch and a skunk.

What you see on the far right of the screen is directly under your boat. Moving left is the history of what was underneath your boat. Exactly where the fish are depends on how fast your boat is moving and how fast your screen moves.

I don't fish the Vermillion myself, but members of my club do and generally report nice catches of smallmouth. My club's forums do not allow guys to post specific locations to keep internet trolls from wiping out good spots so I can't help you there. Fishing from the bank may be your biggest problem. You may just need to cover more water.

Are you floating, wading or bank fishing the river?

I use fast St Croix rods, braid, and jerkbaits and don't rip treble hooks out. You just have to adjust your technique to the gear you use.

For me, the "good old days", are now. I fish a lot in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. Bass populations have never been higher and fishing pressure for bass is low. With the technology in electronics, boats, trolling motors, and gear available, fishing has never been easier. Besides, even if fishing was better back then, there is nothing you can do about it now. All you can do is arm yourself with the best knowledge you can find and go out and fish.

Right now, I'm on a fishing trip on a river where the water has been running at double the average flow rate all summer. The places we'd normally expect to catch them like eddies have not produced at all. Most of our smallies have come areas where the current speeds up over shallow, rocky bottoms that create a disturbance on the surface. The depth might be anywhere from 1-5 feet deep. These areas might be along the shore or in the middle of the river. Slower current areas have produced almost nothing. Inline spinners have been getting a lot of bites but these smallmouth are very good at jumping and throwing the baits back at us. A topwater Whopper Plopper has been working very well as has the Ned rig and swim baits with good numbers of 16-20 inch fish caught. Besides the mid-river rocks, baits thrown tight against the shore where the current is moving have also been very productive.

As far as I heard, I thought the Bass Pro purchase has not gone through yet.

10lb braid casts my lures much farther. 8lb casts farther than 10. For my style of fishing, long casts are important. For your style, maybe not so much. If I put more line on the spool, as it wears down, I can take it off and reverse it. I do like getting lures back but there are times when it's more dangerous or just not possible to pull the hooks out. I know I do not fish the same way as many members here do so what works for me may not apply to the way you fish.

Except for musky fishing, I never use anything higher than 20lb on my baitcaster and nothing more than 10 on spinning gear. For spinning tackle, 10lb casts my light lures much better, and when I get snagged, I can break if off. Just yesterday, my boat partner got a snag, upstream on the river with 20lb line and couldn't break it off. On casting gear, I never used anything stronger than 17lb mono. When I switched to braided line I went with 20lb and never saw any need to go higher. I've never had the line dig in and didn't know that was a problem for anyone until I read about it here. I don't "punch" or fish heavy cover being mostly a Smallmouth guy. I never understood why people would go heavier to match the line diameter of mono and lose one of braids best properties of being thin for its break strength.

I don't have any written sources of information concerning schooling bass but from my own personal observations, I've seen it many times. One lake I fish in the spring has two spots I can count on finding a school of largemouths. In both spots, they school by size. In one spot, year after year, they are always small. With smallmouth, just a week ago, in a river, I was finding small schools, with both large and small fish swimming together. For that river, I have seen that many times. For me, it is certainly more common for me to see schooling smallies than largemouths. By the way, these have seldom been packs of fish attacking a school of bait.

I never use a cover. My old Ranger has always been garage kept. I tried some inexpensive covers years ago but they did not fit well and got tore up the first time I travelled using them.

Go to Walmart and buy the biggest, deep cycle battery that will fit in the battery compartment your boat.

I fish for fun. Which is not to say I don't take it seriously. I try to learn what I can and apply that knowledge to be successful. I won't however, use lures or tactics that I don't enjoy using. I adjust where and when I fish so I can fish the way I like. If I can't catch them, or I lose a big fish, it's no big deal. I never get angry, or frustrated about fishing. Getting upset about a fish? Takes the fun out of it.

I think it is unlikely your lakes are turning over with surface temps as warm as 75. For the lake to turn over, the surface temps have to be colder than the water below the thermocline. Colder water is more dense so it sinks through the warmer water below. In my area, the surface temp has to be near 40 before turn over happens

The Potomac River Smallmouth Club already is doing conservation efforts including river cleanups. You should contact them.

Are you talking about the fishes anus?

Personal best means very little to me. I never weigh fish so I have no idea what my personal even weighed or even which fish was my personal best.

My club rented a cabin on a river while the eclipse is happening. One of our guys backed out of the trip because he is going to go to Southern Illinois to view the eclipse. I'd hate to make big plans and then have it be cloudy.

Does the exact percentage matter? The point of the phrase is that most fish are caught by those few who make the effort to learn how fish behave and how to properly use the tools at their disposal. Electronics don't catch fish. You must understand what the information on the screen means and then use that information correctly. All the knowledge in the world is no guarantee of success. I can tell people exactly where to cast a lure and exactly which lure to use and most still can't catch the fish that are there.

Get any depth finder. Mount the transducer on the end of a 1X2 piece of wood about 2 feet long. Using a "C" clamp, clamp the board to the transom of the boat. You can adjust the board up or down to get the transducer just where you want it. Get a small, rechargeable battery for power. Every depth finder made can be used this way.

I've been having the same issue. It happens on my Mac laptop, iPad and iPhone. It's not happening with any other forums I follow.

I'd just about guarantee that the rejection of the experts advise is written into the script to add drama to the show. "Reality" TV isn't actually very real.