Hellbenderman

Seems things have slowed down a bit due to winter, but that only means spring is coming and I'm wondering what new techniques or lures you might be thinking about trying out. Last spring I discovered Evolution2 Jigs from MegaStrike. Not being a big jig fisherman, I decided to give one a try at Black Hills and was very very happy with the results. I fished it with a 4" Yum Crawbug. After the fall or movement, the jig slowly rocks forward which raises the claws up into a defensive position and they wiggle, very slick. Be patient. I also used them in the lower Potomac and at Smith Mountain Lake with the same very very good results. No, I don't work for MegaStrike, but I highly recommend them to anyone who jigs. I set it aside when the weeds got up, but this year I'm going to keep using it into the summer and try ripping one through deep weeds in 15-20 feet like a trap. Something tells me a jig would be great used like that, but I have never...so, I'm going to. So, tell us what new thing you're going to try! Also if planning a spring trip, I highly recommend Smith Mountain Lake, 4.5 hours from Frederick. I have been four times in the last two years, from early April til the end of May and each time we had great success and if you get sick of LMs and SMs, you can fish for stripers. This is a lake you can show up at catch some great fish without a lot of prior lake knowledge. Great lake!

Went to Black Hills past Sunday. Fished shallow from about 2 - 4:30, at which time I started to fish the same deep water pattern I was fishing in July/August/Sept and caught a 4lb and three 2lbs by six. I caught nothing fishing shallow. The more things change, the more they stay the same! Also saw Buffleheads, Rudy Ducks, Coots and a lone Widgeon.

I have been fishing Black Hills for decades, probably 40-50 times a year. It is my "home" lake as it is only a few miles away and you don't have to put up with jet skis, etc. 3-4 years ago, I began catching 2lb bass like crazy. They were the result of a very successful spawn, I suppose. Those fish have grown up, and they are there in good numbers. These are the fish I am catching. I have also noticed a reduction in muskies as well. Whether this has anything to do with fish surviving long enough to get big, I don't know. Just an observation. I suspect sometime in the next couple years there will be a couple ten pounders come out. Last year there was a tremendous spawn as well. I found that on almost every cast over the summer, regardless of where I was, huge schools of 4 inch bass followed my baits up from the deep, and indeed, this year I found myself pummeled by small bass on a constant basis. I also noticed the same schools of recently spawned small bass this year, but to a lesser degree than last. In all the time I have fished BH, I have never seen huge spawns to this degree. This bodes very well for the future. But, for what ever reason, there are a lot of large bass available at BH right now, and I am just tickled pink. I have been bass fishing for 50 years, and cut my teeth in Alabama in the early seventies just before the B.A.S.S. thing went ballistic. You learn something fishing 2 times a week for 50 years. I have never filled out a fishing report or done a great deal of sharing of info, and I admit, it is out of selfishness. It wasn't easy catching those fish and they didn't just jump in the boat, and quite frankly, I was very happy to be the only boat on the lake fishing in 40 feet of water, while everyone else was pounding the shore line. A short while back, I had a heart attack. I now know that every time I go out might be my last, and have come to believe that maybe I should pass on some of what I have learned, grudgingly....hahaha. I understand your dilemma being stuck on shore and why the temp drop is important to you. I would be happy to take you out sometime and try to nail a couple big ones. I am going to Cape Hatteras to do some speckled trout fishing and won't be back until the 22nd of Oct. Maybe we can do it after that. If not then, next year for sure. Stay in touch. I will be happy to do it. In the mean time, I'll send you a few picks from the August catch, just so you know I'm not pulling your chain. A good place to look for one of these fish from shore is the bridge abutment on the west/north side of the bridge. Very close to the abutment, on the side facing towards the park, they left a tree standing. It is less than five feet from the abutment and the tree top is about 15 feet down. You should be able to reach it from the shore. Throw something odd, something you think they may have never seen before, just something different, and deep. I have caught several large fish off this tree this year, and you can too.

Hmmmm...questions about when the "bite"is going to turn on at Black Hills. I wonder just what this "bite" is? If by "bite" you mean, "when are the bass going to start hitting on my favorite lure, which I use every time I go out, but only catch fish on in the spring or some other time of the year," as in, "I really like spinner baits but the "bite" doesn't seem to be "on" in July!" What I am getting at is that I have never found a time when the "bite" was not on at Black Hills, or any other place for that matter. Fish eat all the time. You may find it easier to catch fish in the spring on your spinner bait, but the idea that some mythological "bite" turns off and on is poopy. You need to broaden your horizons. I catch just as many bass, and on average, larger bass, in the dead heat of August than I do in May. In the dead heat of this past August, going out once, sometimes twice a week, I caught a seven, two sixes, two fives, and several 3s & 4s. There is a huge "bite" in August, but that bite is happening in 20 -30 feet. Sure, you're going to catch a few up close, but the fish you want are "biting" deep, cruising around in the tops of all those beautiful trees. Don't be afraid to abandon your favorite lure for something new that matches the conditions presented to you. As for right now, find five to fifteen feet and fish a senko on top of the weed beds, go way in the back and chuck a frog around deep lumber with weeds surounding it or a spinner bait, also work the spinner bait just over the tops of the weed beds a little deeper. There is always a "bite". You just need to figure out how to get to it. Smoochies

...put the gas motor on the front and the electric on the back...

I have an MBR843C IMX and a CBR 843. The MBR843C is significantly stiffer than the CBR843, and I use it for large cranks like a 900 series hellbender or a Rapala DT16, and big swimbaits. I think itm would be good for big jigs and spinner baits too. The CBR843 I use with smaller cranks like a Rapala DT10, Killer B1s and smaller, but even a Series 5 Strike King Sexy Shad is pushing it. The CBR843 simply cannot handle the back pressure of say a Rapala DT 16 or a DT 20. You will absolutely love the CBR843 for throwing smaller cranks, and while it may seem whimpy at the onset, it has great backbone and is very forgiving, but I don't see it as a jig or worm rod. The MBR843C is quite a bit stiffer and you may have to give it a bit more self imposed give at the strike on cranks. I love both rods and they both cast exceptionally well when matched with the right lure, etc. They are not inter-changeable, however. They are different rods. It all depends on what you are doing. I purchased the MBR843 first and was very pleased with it, but realized I needed something else to throw smaller baits. I also have an IMX MBR 784C Heavy which I use only for jigs and worms in heavy cover. I also still have and use the one that started it all, a GL3 MBR783C 6'6" Med-Heavy, and it has been a great worm/jig rod. I can't say enough about all these rods and no I don't work for Loomis The IMX is pricey, but I plan to have these rods a long time. I have had the GL3 for 4 or 5 years and it still looks brand new. So I take the long view. If I have a rod 10 years and it cost me $250, that's $25 a year. In my case that would be about fifty cents an outting. They do tend to be specialized, so know what you want it for and trust what it says about lines and weights. Stepping up to an IMX will be rewarding.

Well, I didn't want to let this out but as we speak, I am working with several respected Asian fishoscientists who have developed a 100% invisible line, with no stretch that will "saw" right through granite like it wasn't there, much less wood, and so sensitive, it can detect a fish fart 300 yds away. Unfortunately, they lost track of the end of it and no one can find it! I'll keep you posted.

I'm sure there are those who will pooh pooh my recommendation, but I'm going to stick my neck out anyway. I have several spinning rods including IMX Loomis and Kistler Helium, but for the money, I really don't think you can find a better rod than a Cabellas XML S704-1, 7 foot Medium rod at $140.00. Before I went big time...hahahaha...I used a lot of Cabellas Fish Eagle II rods which were under a hundred each, and they did just fine. My wife decided she was going to start going fishing with me so she could be part of my life...hahahaha, again...and I wanted to get her something that would be her rod and her rod only. So I ordered her one. Sheeeesh....nice. I ordered the weight system too, even nicer. It is perfectly balanced and feels very light in your hand, casts great and is very sensitive. Laugh all you want. I ordered one for myself last week. No, I don't work for Cabellas and I wouldn't own one of their new XML/Ti rods with the "recoil" guides, heard from too many about guides eating up line, but the XMLs are a great rod at any price. You can laugh now.

Thanks for all the great info, and it seems everyone has an opinion or an option that works for them. I first started using fluoro back when it first came out as leader material with mono fishing the gin clear inshore waters of NC. At the time, it was far too expensive to consider as an every day line. I also started using it as a leader for bass fishing with mono. One day, I found myself far from anywhere and had to spool some Seagar onto a Daiwa 1600SS Tournament spinning reel and just hated it. It was stiff and didn't lay on the reel well, and didn't cast well. However, after a couple days of being forced to use it, it got better, like it had a break in period or something, but I still preferred mono. I now use braid with a lengthy fluoro leader of up to 20+ feet on all my spinning reels. I will never use braid on my level winds, just too much trouble. While I suppose I could use fluoro on my level winds, I don't. I still use mono, but like my spinning reels, the level winds also get a lengthy leader of fluoro of 20+ feet. This seems to work well for me. I only have to deal with a few turns of fluoro on my reels and I get the benefit of long casts, a fast fall, the abrasion resistance and the sensitivity. Tie those knots well!

www.joesoldlures.com/wwwboard//index.html Go to the above site and ask, include foot number and whether a three screw or four screw side plate. There are a bunch of Abu collectors over there and a wealth of knowledge. However, most of those are fairly common and I would not expect more than 50, but who knows!

If you need any more info about your Abu, go to: www.joesoldlures.com/wwwboard//index.html and put it up for answers. There are people over there born with Ambassadeurs in their mouths. There is so much knowledge over there it will freak you out. Smoochies

I had always been told that Fluoro had much less stretch than mono, but while watching Bill Dance, I think, they presented a chart which showed that fluoro actually stretched slightly more than mono. The added sensitivity of fluoro is not brought about because it is less stretchy, but because it is much more dense than mono and thus transmits strikes better with more sensitivity. Comments?

I have an MBR843C IMX and a CBR 843. The MBR843C is significantly stiffer than the CBR843, and I use it for large cranks like a 900 series hellbender or a Rapala DT16, and big swimbaits. The CBR843 I use with smaller cranks like a Rapala DT10, Killer B1s and smaller, but even a Series 5 Strike King Sexy Shad is pushing it. The CBR843 simply cannot handle the back pressure of say a Rapala DT 16 or a DT 20. You will absolutely love the CBR843 for throwing smaller cranks, and while it may seem whimpy at the onset, it has great backbone and is very forgiving. The MBR843C is quite a bit stiffer and you may have to give it a bit more self imposed give at the strike. I love both rods and they both cast exceptionally well when matched with the right lure, etc. They are not inter-changeable, however. They are different rods. It all depends on what you are doing. I purchased the MBR843 first and was very pleased with it, but realized I needed something else to throw smaller baits. Great rods.

Anyone doing anything at Black Hills during these dog days?

I bought what appeared to be two Lucky Craft Live pointers. They were not, but I was aware that they looked just a bit off, and did not have the feathered tail, and I did not pay much for them, so I don't feel cheated. However, They suck. First, while the paint job was ok, the hooks were cheap crap. Second, the segmented parts were all "glued" together by paint and coating. It took about an hour to cut out all the crap between the segments on just one lure. The crap was also between the two wires that run the length of the lure. The segments moved and had to be re-spaced, and they did not suspend, but dropped like a log. I will use them to quick troll in trees and won't feel bad when I lose them! The lesson is learned again. There is a reason, Lucky Craft is expensive, they work just like they say and they aren't made with cheap crap. Don't expect these knockoffs to equal the original. If it doesn't come new in the proper package, don't waste your money. It ain't Lucky Craft!

Hellbenders are the best crank bait ever made. I have fished them religiously for 40 years and have never run across anything that could match them for trolling or casting, period. I would love to know what you found in that tackle box as I collect the rascals, too. Can't go wrong with a hellbender.

I have used the DTs religiously for two years. I broke my first one slapping the weeds off and have not broken one since because I stopped that. I figure about 50 real hours of use. I have caught many many bass on these, including an 8lb with no problems. I prefer the DT 10 which I can get down to near 20' holding my rod tip in the water. I have used the new DT 20s and can get them down to at least 25 feet using the same method. However, my DT 20s came with Sure Set VMC hooks and I believe they are much more likely to grab weeds and hold on to those weeds due to the level below the lure to which the hooks extend. I am going to replace the VMC hooks with smaller regular hooks from a DT 16 and I'm sure they will serve me better. They have become my go to crank.

I have found Mustad Ultra Point Big Mouth Tube Hooks in 6/0 7/0 and 8/0 are great for this. They seem to be somewhat more available than others and are a good heavy hook.

Can't find large weighted swimbait hooks? Go to Wally World and buy yourself a bunch of rubber core sinkers, those elongated oval weights with the black rubber core with the nubby rubber ends. Remove the rubber and pry open the lead weight enough to slip over your hook shaft. Now, you can either squeeze the weight back together enough where it will hold the rubber core snugly and keep the weight from sliding around, (you can place the weight anywhere on the hook shaft you wish). If you don't like the little rubber tabs, you can cut them off. Or, I forego the rubber core and just squeeze the lead weight together. On most hooks, this will let the weight slide a bit, but it's easier than fooling around with the rubber core, and is usually tucked up against the belly anyway. Use your favorite hooks and stop hunting for big weighted hooks. It's simple!