Scott F

Over the years, I've travelled all over North America targeting at some point, almost every freshwater species. These days, I spend most of my time on the water chasing river smallmouth.

I've got one. Before I take any pictures that I'd post online, I'd need to spend an hour (or 3) cleaning it up first.

Bass Pro Shops is buying Lund, Yamamoto, Shimano, WalMart and Apple

Drum, or also known as a sheephead.

Tri-hull boats ride very rough in water that is even a little bit choppy. Before you invest any time or money, take the boat out on the water and ride around to see if this boat will be something you will want to spend time fishing from. Re powering, adding decks, floors, seating, trolling motors and electronics, will take a lot of time and money. It could be the most expensive "free" boat you've ever seen. Buying a used bass boat would probably be cheaper and certainly be much less work.

I've never had problems towing my boat because I've always had a powerful tow vehicle. My friend who always has towed his boats with smaller cars and minivans constantly has transmission and brake problems. Granted, he bought used cars that were not upgraded with towing packages.

If you are going to tow with a small vehicle, get on good terms with your auto mechanic. You'll be seeing him regularly.

Please explain how turning the handle to close the bail will twist the line.

The Striker has GPS but NO mapping capabilities. The mapping on the echoMap series is excellent. There are 17,000 lake maps built in with about a third of those high def. it also has Quick draw to create your own high def maps in real time.

Largemouth bass.

I also use my fly tying vice to hold the lure in place while I attempt to replace the small hooks.

You sure you can't keep some wood and the boat in the garage?

If you are hearing noises when you turn the bilge pump on, it may be OK. Pieces of plastic baits, sticks, leaves or other junk can clog the bilge pump and lock up the impeller. Pull the pump out and make sure nothing is stuck in the pump housing.

The width of the boat is not always the same as the width of the trailer. Some trailers may be wider than the boat. It would be a shame to go by the width of the boat only to find the trailer doesn't fit. Measure BOTH the garage door opening and the widest part of the boat/ trailer to be sure.

The Garmin echoMap series of depthfinders come preloaded with 17,000 lake maps built in including 6,000 of those in high def. Also included is their QuickDraw Contours feature that allows you to create your own high def maps in real time right on the unit, no computer needed. Even their 4" screen units have these features and can be had as cheap as $300. Just the map chips on other brands can cost half that much alone.

While fishing in Canada, I caught the same, little, hammer handle pike 3 times on consecutive casts. I was walking along a short river that connected two lakes to fish below a small waterfall. On the way, I stopped at a spot and caught the small pike. When I released it, it stayed close to shore where I could see it. I made another cast and I watched the pike shoot out and grab the bait. I released him again, cast out, and once again he charged out and grabbed my spinner. I felt sorry for the fish as he must have been starving. No telling how many times I might have got him if I stayed, but I thought for his sake, 3 times was enough.

They won't necessarily go to the deepest parts of the main river. They may not travel as far as the main river at all. You'll just have to explore to try and find them.

In many rivers smallmouth will migrate out of the tribs into the main river toward their wintering areas when the water temps drop in the fall. Next trip go to where the tributary meets the main river.

In my smallmouth club, most of the guys fish in rivers. From the posted fishing reports of those who are catching fish, everybody is using different baits. Just in the last week, smallies were being caught on a float-n-fly, swim jigs, topwaters, jerkbaits, plastics and a fly rod. Every type of bait was catching bass. The type of bait isn't as important as presenting it correctly and in the right location. In your case, the bent shaft on the in-line spinner prevents it from running properly. I fish spinners a lot and they don't twist line any more than any other bait as long as they are running right. The blade is supposed to spin, not the lure. A snap is OK for quick changes, but the swivel is not needed. The blades on Rooster Tails in my experience don't always spin. You have to give them a little jerk to get the blade turning. When its spinning, you should be able to feel it as you're retrieving it. If you can't, than it's either not spinning or your rod is not very good. Location in rivers, as in any place you fish, is everything. You must pay attention to the current. Bass do not hang out in the current. They tuck in behind rocks, logs, or weeds, in slack or slow moving water, next to the fast water. As the fast water pushes food downstream past the spots where the fish are laying, they wait, dashing out to grab a meal as it goes by. Your job is to find where the bass are laying and present the lure to them. When bass are feeding, they generally aren't that picky about what they eat. If they aren't real active, they won't chase the bait very far so you have to get it right in their face. That can be a challenge when you are dealing with current, trees and the rocks they are holding close to. Now that the water temps are dropping and the leaves are beginning to fall, the time to catch them is fading. Here in Northern Illinois, the prime time is starting to wind down. The bite is starting to slow and in some rivers, the bass are migrating to their winter holding areas. It may take you some time to locate the spots in your river that hold fish but the bass will use those spots repeatedly and you can return there time after time.

Here's an interesting concept.

My smallmouth club doesn't do tournaments at all. The lack of competition means everyone shares info without worrying about hurting themselves in future events. I've been in several clubs and none of them were about tournaments.

When you aren't catching fish on a river, lure selection is seldom the problem.

Depends on what part of the country you are in. Contact your local DNR for normal growth rates in your area.

I'm sure you could because as far as I know, they are the same thing.

Not all tournament fishing is about bass. European match fishing tournaments are about total weight of all species caught. The Elite pros would get their rear ends kicked by the top anglers in Europe fishing those tournaments. No bass boats, no electronics, all bank fishing. Not much cost involved.