Steveo-1969

My favorite bait to throw is a jig. My "go to" bait when the bite is tough is a t-rigged 4" YUM Dinger.

Great fish Hootie!

I feel your pain OP, but at least it's rain and not snow!!!!!!

One of my biggest "mental blocks" is thinking a bait is too big to catch smallmouth. For example I would be more confident fishing a 3" or 3.5" paddletail than a 4" or bigger. Or more confident with a 4" Senko-style bait than a 5" bait. Or a Baby Rage Craw more than a Rage Craw. Even though I've fished with guys who consistently catch fish with bigger baits than I like to use. I need to work on that!

Fishing a jig is my favorite way to catch smallmouth in a river. I make a diagonal cast upstream and I use a jig just heavy enough to get to the bottom quickly and stay there. Then I lift my rod until I feel the jig started to drift with the current and fall back to the bottom. Reel in slack and repeat. For me I'm usually fishing 2-8 feet of water and a 3/16 ounce jig is the weight I'm usually throwing. I'll go down to an 1/8 or up to a 1/4 occasionally. My trailer of choice is a Baby Rage Craw with the first 2 segments bitten off.

I've used 3" and 4" Berkley Ripple Shads for several years now and like them. Last year I tried Keitech Swing Impact and FAT and now use those more than Ripple Shads. I've also tried BPS Speed Shads and will buy them again.

Good luck!!!

Sounds like we have found the cause of the bankruptcy!!! j/k

I only recognized 4 of them. Dangit, thought I would do better than that!

I'm not sure what you would call the technique I use most often. Maybe "hagging" (hopping/dragging)? I make a cast generally quartering upstream and let the jig fall to the bottom. Lift the rod tip until I feel the jig come up and move with the current, then let it drift and fall back down. Repeat all the way back in. I'm not standing up in a boat, I'm wading in the water. So when I lift my rod tip the jig isn't hopping up very far, just enough to catch the current and move a little bit downstream before hitting bottom again. (My heart just starting beating a little faster imagining what it's like to anticipate that "THUNK". Man I love fishing a jig!) I will adjust from there. For example if I get bit as I'm quickly reeling back in to make another cast I will hop it more and fish faster.

Because I primarily fish bottom contact presentations my #1 criteria is the most sensitive rod I can afford. I now have one spinning and two casting combos that I'm very satisfied with and the Rod Monkey hasn't been whispering in my year for the last year! They were expensive (by my standards) and I handle them more carefully than I would a newborn baby, but they get used every time I fish. I don't understand why some people will by an expensive rod and then not use it because they are afraid of breaking it. "Looking for a cheap rod to use for bank fishing rather than my expensive rod". Really? Rods are made to be fished with! However, if you ARE afraid of breaking your rods then buy a rod that won't break your heart if it uh... breaks.

Great info here! I also fish a river for smallmouth and started using jigs a lot more last season. I've settled on 3/16 ounce as just about perfect for water from 2' - 8' deep. I can feel the bottom well and don't get hung up often. I'm assuming you are putting a trailer on your jig? I've been using a Baby Rage Craw and biting off the first 2 segments to shorten it a little.

I am echoing other comments. I only have one spinning rod I use and it's a ML/XF (lure weight 1/16-5/16 ounce). With 10# braid and 8# FC leader I've landed a 15# muskie and 20# carp in river current. Lots of fun and with the drag set properly there's no reason you can't land even big fish with a ML power rod.

You said it, personal preference! Whatever is most comfortable FOR YOU is the reel you should be using. I'm right-handed. I use a right-handed baitcaster but reel with my left-hand with a spinning reel. If I try to reel with the other hand in either case it looks and feels like I've never used a fishing rod before...

Yup. After trying it I decided it wasn't for me, but I would definitely suggest trying it yourself. When I first spooled it on I was amazed at the casting distance! It's not technically braid but is no-stretch and felt like I was using braid. After a couple months the coating started to wear off and the line was fraying, and my casting distance was not as great as it was when the line was new. But YMMV...

Tough as braid but as translucent as fluorocarbon or mono? I don't know who "they" are but that is not my personal experience. I used 24# Gliss on a spinning rod for about 3 months and stopped using it because it started fraying just by running through the rod guides. In this way it reminded me of Nanofil. A week ago I went back to Sufix 832, Gliss experiment over... If you search BR for "Gliss line" you will find a bunch of threads with other member's reviews and feedback.

I rediscovered fishing in 2010 and started over with rods/reels/tackle, and I was definitely THAT guy. But I think it was important for me to figure out what gear and techniques I enjoyed the most. Over the past 6 years I've accumulated stuff that I saw on TV, read about, saw in a store that I had to have... then never used it or used it once, didn't catch a fish and haven't touched since. But I'm gradually narrowing it down to what I need for the way I like to fish in my particular river. And it's becoming pretty simple. I still like to pick one new bait or technique to try for an upcoming season (while always trying to get better with what I already use), but it's usually some variation of a technique I already enjoy. With that being said, the Bait Monkey never sleeps and I always have to be looking over my shoulder!

Thanks for the reminder Avalon. I live about 35 minutes away and have peeked in the windows after they closed but have never stopped in. I don't get to Winchester often as I live 10 minutes from Hagerstown but I need to get down to Jake's and check it out. When I do drive to Winchester for fishing items it's always to Gander Mountain and I agree with you, the fishing department is going downhill there...

Thanks Avalon, I forgot all about this place! This is about 35 minutes from me and I don't get to Winchester often but I definitely need to stop in and visit them.

Man, do I feel old. I had no idea what "vaping" was when I opened this thread........

I assume you are talking about Tommy Sanders? I've never been able to find confirmation that these two are related?

Superstition - only one is to be wearing my camo Chicago Bears hat. No confidence without it! Ritual - I always say "Thanks buddy" out loud to each fish I catch before gently placing them back in the water.

Welcome to BR FluffChucker from a WI transplant and a BEARS fan. Glad to hear you aren't a Packer fan, we have enough of those...

X2

I saw this thread last week and didn't open it because I hadn't watched the Feb. 14 episode yet and I was afraid of spoilers... ha-ha. Finally caught up now. Count me in as another TWD addict!! For the first 20 minutes of last week's episode I couldn't figure out why everyone was talking about it being such a great episode, and then the group of motorcycles exploded and Daryl walked around the truck with the RPG over his shoulder. "Sorry it took so long, he was tougher than he looked!" WOW!!!!!