Steveo-1969

I joined Riversmallies.com about 10 years ago and learned a lot about catching river smallmouth in the first couple years as a member. There were some very knowledgeable river smallmouth fishermen on there. The last couple years it wasn’t about sharing fishing knowledge as much as a contest to see who could make the most outrageous insult. Purely a spectator sport for me but it was very entertaining and I miss it… ???

I’m not sure how long it takes before new seasons show up on MOTV. My suggestion is subscribe for a month or two and try it out. You can always cancel if it’s not what you had hoped for or expected.

To echo others here my MOTV subscription is definitely worth it. You won’t get CURRENT seasons of shows but you will get past seasons. For non-smart TVs I use an Amazon Firestick. You can get one for as little as $20.

Do you have a specific price point you are looking at?

I’ve caught fish on every 2.5”-3.5” paddletail I’ve ever used regardless of brand. Even baits out of the Walmart bargain bin that are labeled “Assorted Plastic”. If the tail wags they are going to get bit. If the tail doesn’t wag they will probably still get bit.

I’m going to send you a picture of a Hobie Pro Angler 14 fishing kayak and my delivery address.

Every time I buy a new rod and reel it’s the last combo I will ever need. This has happened every year for the past decade.

Being a member of Bass Resource is the closest I get to using any kind of social media. For years I was told “You need to join Facebook so you can keep up with what’s going on with family!”. Instead this is what I’m told now: “I know you’re not on Facebook so I wanted to let you know blah blah blah…”. Perfect!!

I use a Trilene knot for every line type. For braid to leader I use the uni to uni.

I’m not smart enough for most of the recommendations so far but I’ll throw my 2 cents in anyway. I’ve found anything written by Stephen King or Neal Stephenson is a very enjoyable read.

I have been using Sufix Advance mono in 10# on a baitcaster for several years and for me it IS the holy grail of mono! I use this rod almost exclusively to fish finesse jigs in a shallow rocky river. The line needs to be abrasion resistant because of the rocks, sensitive so I can feel rocks, branches, weeds, fish, etc. and low stretch so when I set the hook it doesn’t feel like a rubber band. Sufix Advance mono (at least in 10# on a baitcaster) checks all these boxes for me. And it’s not expensive. I use KVD L&L or Bass Pro Shops line conditioner (sacrilege!! Haha). No problems with memory or coiling.

I only peg the weight when fishing in river current with rocks. I get snagged less often with the weight pegged. I use a bobber stop.

I was just watching an episode of In-Fisherman the other day and Doug Stange was saying he’s never heard a scientific explanation for why some smallmouth bass have red eyes. If he hasn’t heard a scientific explanation I’m guessing there’s probably isn’t one. Just opinions and guesses…. Beautiful smallmouth by the way!!!!

Sorry for that, weird sense of humor here. When I saw you are from Canada the first thing I thought of was the show “Letterkenny”. The degens from upcountry are always causing problems on the show. Pitter Patter…..

Catching river smallmouth makes it a great fishing trip in my book! Hope the degens from upcountry didn’t give you any problems.

Walter Payton was the greatest running back of all time. This is not an opinion. I know this is a FACT because I’m a Chicago Bears fan! Good night Irene……………..

I used to hold a spinning rod 2x2, then I watched a short video of Aaron Martens explaining he holds a spinning rod with his whole hand above the reel stem so he can put his index finger on the blank. I tried it and really liked it.

Upper Potomac River smallmouth: 1) 3/16 ounce skirted finesse jig with Baby Rage Craw or Baby Menace Grub trailer. This caught my new 21.5” PB this spring. 2) 2.8” Berkley Power Swimmer on 1/8 ounce jig head. 3) SK Ned Cut-R worm on 1/8 ounce jig head.

Sniper jigs are the nicest finesse jigs I’ve ever fished with but because of the amount of jigs I go through in my shallow rocky river I use a cheaper brand. At the $2 price point I couldn’t resist though and ordered 25 Sniper jigs on Saturday.

Maybe @cyclops2 is looking at this issue with only one eye open?

First props to the OP for asking so many good questions before trying to catch a musky. It’s nice to see he’s concerned about the health of the fish when released. With that said I hope the OP reads the above post a couple times until he really understands the high water temp concern. It was mentioned earlier in the thread but doesn’t seem to have sunk in yet. I caught a 40” musky while wading for smallmouth on my local river in August a couple years ago. I tried to get her in as quickly as possible but it was still a 7 minute fight. And of course no net. After I released her she laid on the bottom for a couple minutes and slowly swam off. I really hope she survived but there’s a good chance she didn’t. In hindsight I probably should have just broke her off quickly before she got tired but, you know….. ??

I use the Trilene knot for every line type and weight. I just adjust the number of wraps I use so that I get a snug knot when I tighten it.

Welcome to BR!! I am a shore bound or wading angler that fishes smallmouth in the Upper Potomac from Dam #5 down to Shepherdstown. I mainly fish around Williamsport. Yes, I’ve caught more young smallmouth this year than I have in the past couple years for sure. Unfortunately there’s no recent info on the MD DNR website to back it up. The last update I could find was from August 2020. But it seems the supplemental stocking and better spawns the past couple years are making a difference in smallmouth numbers!!

The Ned Cut-R worm in Moon Juice is probably my top producing Ned Rig plastic.