Turtle135

Got out on one of my local grass (heavy hydrilla) reservoirs this weekend. The good news is that they were pounding the jigs (the bad news is that they were all this size). The big females must be on some other structural element. The grass is breaking up and making some impressive mats but so far I am not finding bigger fish by punching that grass.

Well, I got out on the lake before work today and I was able to successfully "eliminate more water".

You are not alone! I have not had a lot of time to fish so far this month but I have not figured them out either. The hydrilla is dying but the water temperatures are still 6-8 degrees warmer than normal here in Maryland for mid October. I am heading out for a couple of hours before work tomorrow to see if there is an early morning bite.

I get my copper wire to wire tie the skirts on my jigs and spinnerbaits at a fabric/craft store as well. Standing in line at the checkout is different. Usually it is me and 10 to 12 women. They do have a lot of stuff that can be re-purposed for fishing.

Was your leader breaking at the knot to the lure or someplace else? Regarding the Berkley line that was failing, was that Berkley "Vanish" by chance?

Several of the lakes I fish here in Maryland have no shad and a white spinnerbait all the way up to 3/4 of an ounce is a producer. Don't be surprised if smaller bass still slam the larger spinnerbait.

Cabelas has them online for $ 99.99 right now. I have 3 of them (and will have a 4th shortly!). Solid reel, very durable, it is my go to reel for jigs, spinnerbaits (any technique where I am going heavy). Not aware of any known flaws, mine have been bullet proof since day one. How light of a presentation are you talking with your finesse plastics? I believe the Super Duty was designed to stand up to the type of abuse a reel takes from winding big crankbaits, battling strong fish and handling heavy line. It is not a finesse reel in my opinion but I do cast 1/4 ounce jigs with it just fine. Lew's has a wide spool model and they are coming out with a "LFS" version of the Super Duty, my guess, that is why they are discontinueing this particular model.

I like that the Nail Bomb is offered in lighter weights, a 1/32nd ounce will probably be even better in low flow conditions.

The one thing that I have found with that style of jig head (when the Potomac is shedding her grass) is that you will collect strands of grass just in front of the hook eye. I will have to try some of those nail bombs later in the season. A better hookup ratio and less hanging up in the rocks sounds appealing.

Ah Lander, one of my favorite spots on the Upper Potomac! The one problem with Lander is that it is a very popular spot. Brunswick down to Point of Rocks gets a lot of fishing pressure. My "prescription" for the conditions you encountered (low, clear and lots of floating grass) is the Z-Man Finesse TRD on an Owner Ultrahead Finesse Ball Head (1/16th ounce, Size 1 hook). I let that tumble through the current. Those Upper Potomac Smallmouth have a hard time refusing that presentation. I use 8 pound test mono.

WRM mentions Greg Hackney above and I will second that advice (check out the youtube video below). I fish my jigs with monofilament ranging from 12 - 17 pound test and I have found that "slowing the hookset process down" and starting to "load the rod tip" before I set the hook increases my hookups. I use Megastrike on my jigs (not because it gets me more bites but because I feel the bass will hold onto the jig longer, giving me more time to detect the bite and set the hook). Keep at it, good luck out there.

I applaud the concept. It sounds like you have a target group of anglers in mind where the boat size/hp limitations will work. Winning money in tournaments is fun but taking your fellow angler friend's money in tournaments, priceless! I fish in kayak tournaments and the inherent simplicity appeals to me (limited range and gear carrying capacity). We catch, photo and immediate release. We go by length for the longest bass (usually a 3 bass or a 5 bass limit).

Yes, that was the BMO tournament. Had a blast. I came in 14th out of 55. Spent too much time catching 12-inch bass on a couple of shallow river ledges. I knew I needed to move but it's kind of hard to leave biting smallies when their first move after being hooked is to launch 3 feet into the air! Are you leaning towards the Radar over the ATAK because of the pedal drive option on the Radar? I know they both are very stable platforms. My buddies stand, fish and set hooks out of either without a concern.

Being a die hard kayak fisherman I am probably more than a little biased but I would think a pair kayaks would suit you and your girl friend better, particularly on the Susky. You can float with stealth into all the nooks and crannies on those ledges systems with a kayak. Even a jet a boat has to be careful where they go. Yes, granted, paddling up stream into a head wind is a workout when the river is up but perhaps the two of you could shuttle (drop a vehicle at the take out and head up river to the put in)? Torqueedo makes electric motors that work well on kayaks (although they are fairly expensive units). They tilt up out of the way when you get into skinny water and the batteries only weigh about 9 pounds. http://www.torqeedo.com/us/en-us/products/outboards/ultralight Here is a susky smallmouth I got yesterday right around Harrisburg. I was within 20' of her in my kayak when she bit.

Bass do get educated to lures if they get frequent enough exposure to a particular presentation. The Whopper Plopper will be like the Alabama Rig. First time through the school and the bass jump all over it. On the 100th pass they have learned that something is just not quite right. This is the reason that season after season jigs and plastic worms continue to catch bass. Those presentations have few "negative clues". The bass have a hard time differentiating between those lures and the shad, minnows and crayfish they always eat. I suspect the Plopper will lose some of it's shine over time but it will continue to be a great surface lure that most anglers should have in their tackle box for the times when the top water bite is on.

I was on the Potomac River (near Edwards Ferry). There are carp and catfish there. The surface "slashes" I was seeing and hearing could have been smallmouth or channel cats chasing baitfish. Carp usually "breach" and then crash back into the water. I think for my next attempt I will use what daylight I have to drop waypoints on a few spots to make it easier to find them after dark.

This is what I like about Trilene XT Monofilament. While it says 14 pound test on the box I can lift 20 pounds of weight lifting plates with a single strand.

Well, I would call it a draw. I did not get skunked but I did not really wack them either. As has usually been the case I was catching them pretty well when I first got to the river (around sunset into dusk). After it got really dark I could not buy a bite and there was little activity I could see or hear. About two hours after it got dark I started to hear a surface slash here and there (some type of predator fish chasing bait). I was fishing a pool that is about 150 yards long, deepest part is 12 feet. I moved up to the leading edge of the pool where the water is only 3-4 feet deep. Caught three bass, all around 14" on a small 1/4 ounce black jig with a black chunk trailer. I think they were as attracted to the splash of the jig as anything. The jig would barely make it to the bottom before they were on it. I fished around the pool for another couple of hours, the deep water, the taper up at the end of the pool but no more luck. The mosquitoes were the big winners for the night.

The reason I asked about the breakoffs is that I fish a lot with a "river smallmouth" crowd. These guys do everything with the "braid and flouro leader" approach (both spinning and baitcasting). I understand why they do it because of the type of presentations they make (light lures and long, long casts in current). I also watch them pop fish off with an alarming regularity or after a tournament they tell me about a good fish that broke them off. I am almost tempted to spool up with some 20 pound test flouro on one of my baitcasters just to see what happens. I don't think I have ever tried anything more than 15 pound test flouro before (and that did not go well).

what type of line are you using?

I am willing to bet that most of the jig bass I caught this summer were actually hunting bluegills and green sunfish. Despite my repeated attempts to interrogate them at boat side they would not admit so. Probably were too embarrassed to admit they had been fooled. If you feel some red will generate more bites just stick a red trailer on your jig. Trailers and skirts do not need to match. A green pumpkin skirt with a black/blue trailer caught my largest bass of the season.

What pound test flouro do you run on your baitcasting outfits? and how frequently do you break fish off?

I am about to give the "smallmouth after dark" on rivers an honest try for the next couple of months. I too have had very limited success at night as the bite does seem to disappear right after dusk but what I have read is that the bite does start up again (and that might not be until after midnight). Will post back and let you know how it goes. Tonight is the start.

I strive to keep them out of the water for no more than 15 seconds. I have a Fish Grip on a paracord tether attached to my kayak. For our kayak tournaments I will clip them on and let them swim while I get my camera, identifier and Hawg Trough ready to go. While a bass may swim off you never know if that fish has been over stressed with the fight and handling and die later.

not to mention how effective just dead-sticking a soft plastic on the bottom can be