Josh Smith

This is an excellent way for some irresponsible dog owner to get a couple pets shot. My only encounters with dogs have been positive. One place I fish has a Rottweiler that regularly goes seeking pettings from all who pass through his territory. His name is Caesar and he appreciates treats too. Josh

Last winter I caught a nice smallie while river fishing. When I released it, it refused to leave. Just swam up next to me and stayed put. I picked it up and tried to release it again. Again, it swam back to me. Finally, I picked it up for a third time and released it a ways downriver. Josh

Knowledge-wise, no goals. I've learned this all my life and have been studying hard these past three years. There's always more to learn, but I'm going to take a more leisurely attitude this year. My main goal will to be to fish more with my wife. Josh

My wife had a rod rack custom built for me. It's really very nice. Her father passed unexpectedly in October, and we inherited several rods and his tackle. Not a lot, but he had a couple of good rods and favored spinning tackle, so I'm rebuilding one or two reels for the wife. One of these setups I remember him using when we'd go fishing with him as teenagers. (My wife's brother and I were best friends since age 10.) I'll post pics when I get a minute to set the rack up. Regards, Josh

I do both. I measure success in how healthy the bass is, and I feel it's our duty to examine each fish for disease or malnutrition. Each bass I catch gets a physical. Josh

Yes, especially if I'm fishing on a rocky bottom. I carry a hook hone in my vest pocket and an all-purpose diamond hone on my belt. I'm a big believer in if you own it and it's supposed to be sharp, then you have a responsibility to keep it sharp. Josh

Yes, I buy a lot of my stuff through eBay. I always go through and rebuild each reel, though, and don't ever expect to be able to go right out and fish any reel, used or new. Josh

Yeah, for about 20 years it wasn't a priority. Shooting guns took its place. I made guns into a business, and got back into bass fishing when I started needing breaks from business. Coming back in, I discovered the equipment evolved to the point that I can do in practicality what I wanted to do in theory before. I've played with the idea of tournaments, but I'll never make the mistake of turning fishing into a business beyond selling a supertuned reel now and again. Josh

That's a different ballgame altogether. I'm talking typical Northern Indiana bass. Point is, don't play them to exhaustion of you can help it. Regards, Josh

Two weeks ago a favorite frog snagged. Because I was using 65lb braid, I decided to straighten the hooks. I picked up a stubby branch, wrapped the line around it a few times, and pulled. The braid snapped and the branch flew backwards, striking my thumb. It then shattered, burying splinters under my thumb nail. First aid included removing part of the nail and most of the splinters before bandaging. Afterward, I tried to fish but it hurt to much to really enjoy myself, so I packed it in. (I later removed more splinters and bandaged it properly.) Lesson: Before using braid and a stick to bend hooks, make sure stick is not rotten, with green being preferable. Josh

Anyone I could learn from, or anyone I could teach. Josh

Yessir! I believe they may eat in self-defense, but that they may rather run. I do tell my boy to "try to bonk 'em on the head and make 'em angry" but I also clarify that they don't feel anger the same way; that it's a reaction and not an emotion. I do not know if I got through to him or not. He's 8 and has plenty of time for understanding. My wife, on the other hand, told me that the bass she caught looked at her with sad eyes and she knew it wanted to go home to be with its babies. I told her that if it wanted to see its babies at all, it's because it was hungry and wanted to eat 'em. She didn't like that. Regards, Josh

Tom, Thank you for the detailed response. To clarify "moods", I mean exactly what you do: Active, neutral and inactive. I believe it's the In-Fishermen series I have that calls them "moods". Likewise, if I may compare it to firearms, another hobby of mine, wood-and-steel rifles have "personalities" while plastic guns do not. Anthropomorphism, I know. It does help me relate these things to my wife, however. Regards, Josh

Excellent. Thank you for addressing this. I'd like to see this made into a sticky. Josh

Hello, I have been thinking about this a lot lately. Why do bass eat? I recall Dad telling me a story once about one of the pioneer bass fishermen. Seems this feller was out fishing with a buddy and they were catching a lot of fish. The buddy was talking about how great his new lure was, and the bass pioneer rigged a stick with hooks and caught a few on it to prove that it wasn't necessarily the lure but rather the mood of the fish. So, following this logic, bass should strike at nuts and twigs falling from overhead trees. I've never seen this, but do they? When it comes to reaction strikes, is the color (or even type) of lure ask that important? Would a weighted hook (for splash effect) work just as well? At what point does realism become important to catching bass? I've just never seen this addressed in any book I have. I understand bass moods. I do not understand what makes an aggressive fish strike at a lure, say, or at a plastic worm, but not at the seaweed it's hiding in. Or, do they sometimes strike at everything that moves and spit out what's not good to eat? How often do natural "artificial lures" fool bass? Josh

I wonder if you could retrofit surge brakes to that boat trailer? They would ease the tow vehicle's braking system, no matter which you're using. Josh

The Patriot will do it. Not ideal, but it'll be fine. My parents towed a 1/2 ton camper with a Chevy Citation, and later a Cherokee with a 4cyl and 83hp. That Same Cherokee later became mine and I towed a boat larger than yours with it. The main issue isn't power but rather frame size of the tow vehicle vs the towed vehicle. Theoretically, I could have towed a largish travel trailer with my CJ5. Realistically, the wheelbase was too short. If you move up in boat size at all, you'll have to move up in vehicle size. If you tow long distances on a regular basis, a larger tow vehicle is a good idea. Josh

Heck, I cast using whatever method loads the rod properly while allowing me to put the lure where I want it. I grew up with pistol grips and so will cast one-handed about a third of the time, maybe. Josh

Strangely, the topwater frog. I've used various styles, though, to replace my Hula Poppers and, to an extent, walking lures. The jig follows that, with the spinnerbait almost tying. Fourth in line is the squarebill crankbait. The river, however, shows the squarebill and spinnerbait going neck-in-neck, just under different conditions. Josh

Good job -- although bass have died from long fights. I no longer play them all the way out. I let them run twice but don't let them turn and run a third time even if they're so inclined. Sure, the critter might flop a bit more til you get the Vulcan jaw grip on it, but I won't play it to exhaustion. This goes for all fish. If I'm keeping a fish to eat, it tastes better with a short fight; not do much acid build-up in the muscles, or something. Regards, Josh

What sauce sauce do you use on fish? Every one I can think of seems like it would overpower the fish's taste. Josh Didn't those come out the Second Century A.D.? You have a GREAT memory!

Drew, Right-hand retrieve, please. Regards, Josh

Hello, Baitcaster. Thank you! Regards, Josh

Hello, My wife and I went fishing yesterday, and I introduced her to topwater frogs and spinnerbaits. She can't recall if she's ever used artificials successfully before. I sat back and watched her do some fishing. It's clear that she needs a slightly different setup, at least for frogs. I fixed up and gave her an '80s Shimano Bantam 100. At the time she was used to a Zebco 33 and its gear ratio -- which is pretty slow. OK for bait fishing, but not so much for hollow body frog fishing. She's a short girl, about 5' even. I'm looking for a reel that's the size of the old Bantam 10 but with faster gears and, preferably, an anti-reverse bearing. I prefer a metal frame. I'm looking to spend about $50 and used is OK. Because I prefer round Ambassadeur reels, I'm not too familiar with what's out there as far as small, low-profile baitcasters go. Any help? Regards, Josh

Truth is, I'd likely keep more of them (and more walleye, too!) even in public waters if I didn't have to clean 'em. I'm not a fan of cleaning any game. Love to fish and hunt; hate to clean. Regards, Josh