Craw

I also enjoyed Catt's article. I love night fishing and relish any opportunity to hear different points of view on the subject. Good stuff!

My lakes around here are "highland reservoirs" and the mid to lower ends are steep and deep but if they're(the bass) any deeper than 20' then I have a lot to learn. 20' can really be key but I have no experience any deeper than that.

I'm with RW 100% and I also believe that LBH hit it right on the head with his analogy. Myself, I voted for smallmouth but I pursue largemouth and spotted bass as well. I'm blessed to have an abundance of all three species in my area and over the years I've learned to be grateful for each and every strike, regardless of size or the particular species.

OMG! Did you say 14+? Thanks for the update. Can't wait for the details.

Uncle Josh #11 Bait Frog.

I've been upgrading my gear lately and so far I've bought 2 St Croix Premier casting rods. I picked a 7' MF and a 6'6" MF. I got the 6'6" one this morning and took it out for the first time today. I'm extremely pleased with both rods so I plan to buy a few more as soon as I can.

Beautiful specimens. Great photos to, as always. Keep'em coming.

My last name is McCraw. Gets confused with McGraw quite a bit so I would always say, "it's Craw" after it was mispronounced by someone. That's how it all started. I get called crawdad, crawdaddy, crawfish, quick draw and even mac sometimes but Craw more than anything. My first name is Mark but people seldom use it.

http://www.xpressboats.com/series/jon/tunnel.html Here's a pic. of the boat I have. I have a hinged piece of sheet metal that extends from the rear bench to the transom. It covers the gas tank and batteries and makes a pretty nice back deck. I'm trying to gather ideas for rod storage. Ideas please?

I've got a 16' jon with decks front and back but has an open hull. I've been racking my brain trying to figure out what would be the best design for rod holders(for rod storage). My old jon boat had the little Velcro straps along the inside of the gunwale that secured the rods at the handle and the tip. I've got a friend who will cut me any design I want from Lexan for a gun rack style rod holder. I figure my only option is to somehow fasten my rods to the inner gunwale on either side(or both). Right now I have rod straps in the floor of the boat. It keeps them in place good enough but my gear keeps getting stepped on by the people I take fishing. Hell, I've done it myself! Anyone have any ideas or pictures of what works best?

My all time favorite is a warm, clear summer night. I enjoy fishing lakes but my heart belongs to the river. I try and plan my fishing around the full and new moon cycles. I will however, go whenever I can.

I prefer the versatility of a jon. I have an Xpress 16' tunnel boat(alweld) with a 40/30 Yamaha jet and I couldn't be happier. I have decks, front and back and probably push close to 30mph when I'm by myself. I take it everywhere, rivers and lakes. This is the 3rd jon that I've owned and is very comfortable. I would recommend it to anyone except a serious tournament angler. Good luck, whichever you decide on.

Thanks Senile1. Great reading! I have all his DVDs and read his books. Super guy!

Great feedback guys! I've been checking on this thread everyday since starting it and doing research on my own based on the suggestions I've received here. I've been weighing the pros and cons and the best advantage I believe for me will be just getting to certain stretches of river that have before been inaccessible. My "float boat" is a 13' Leisure Craft(somewhat like a Coleman "Crawdad"). This is the rig I use to float these small streams here in Va. It weighs 110lbs. empty and I use a 12 volt batt. to power a 36lb. trolling motor. That being said, you can imagine the effort that goes into hauling that beast around. It does the job though. My interest in the Kayak continues to peak and even though I do agree that it will certainly be an adjustment to fish from I see limitless opportunities. Thanks to everyone for all the great input!

Welcome to the boards Lady Bass. You're going to love this place!

I enjoy Salmon, Trout, Catfish and Striped Bass.

I've been tearing up and down the river this year in my jon boat and seeing more kayaks than ever before. Man those things look fun. I've stopped and talked with several of them and everyone tells me how great they are to fish from. Here in Va. where I live, we have lots of small rivers and streams where wading is the only way to get at those fish. Even with my jon boat and jet drive I couldn't run these shallow waters...until now. I'm thinking that in a kayak, armed with a couple of spinning rods I could really open up my fishing opportunities. Could any of you folks who are "in the know" about these vessels please provide me with some info about brands, style, size and comfort level of kayaks. I grew up fishing "small waters" and I'd like to get back to my roots. Thanks

Very cool. Class act. Thanks guys.

Black

Very cool stuff SENKOSAM. With bass fishing popularity at an all time high I believe small modifications to existing rigs are sometimes the way to go.

The pig-n-jig is my first choice around docks. I like to pitch to all the sweet spots first and lift and drop across the bottom(standard jig fishing). I then will swim the jig through different depths around all the edges. If I have some wind or if fry are visibly present around the docks then I always use a dbl. willow spinnerbait first. Gentle twitches of the rod tip while retrieving will "click" the blades together. One of my best days on Smith Mountain Lake this year was doing this around all the docks in Gills Creek where fry were present.

Welcome to the boards. I would guess about the same as "tmacdaddy055", 3 1/2 to 4lbs. Nice bass.

Catch and release of a Muskellunge is a whole different animal altogether. I catch them once in awhile here on my home river in Va. You can't just horse them in and flip them up into the boat, unhook them and then toss them back. Musky require much more attention so I'm not at all surprised that their mortality rates are high after being caught. As far as bass go I believe that they have a much better chance due to relative ease in the catch and release process. As anglers, all we can do is try and make sure we do our part to handle these little gems with care. As for me, I am much more concerned with the pollution that companies in my state are allowed to dump in our watershed.

Thanks RW. I just wonder how the fish position themselves when they are inactive in this particular system. Should I stay around the thickest cover available, maybe fish bottom hugging lures or throw some jerkbaits for suspending bass? Any ideas?

The city I live in dammed up a river some years ago(50+) to produce hydroelectric power for it's residents. Behind this dam lies about a 3mi. stretch that is accessible by boat. The water is stained to muddy all year long and subject to approx. 3' of water fluctuation a day on average. Depending on rainfall amounts and the dam generation schedule, the turbines will pull water for approx. 2hrs. thus dropping the river level to the maximum they will allow. After that, the turbines are shut off for about 10hrs. to allow the river level to rise back to the top of the spillway. The process is then repeated. I have fished this area for about 15yrs. and typically the best fishing is during high water and also about the first 2hrs. they begin to generate current. The river has a good population of LM and SM, and a ton of spots. Other species include sunfish, crappie, catfish and carp. The river channel is deep and navigable with abundant shoreline cover in the form of wood. The 2 main structural features are channel bends and mudflats. The toughest fishing occurs when the river is very low. Even after the level begins to rise the fish don't usually become aggressive until the river is within 1' of full pond. Fishing will usually remain good until the river drops again to the same level. This finally leads me to my question. Do you think that these fish suspend during this time, making them difficult to catch? Or could it be that the fish are just inactive until they feel conditions are optimum for aggressive feeding? I honestly don't know if these bass burrow up tight in the cover, suspend over deeper water or hunker down tight to the bottom when they are inactive. Could be all three I suppose but after all the time I have invested in this area I would enjoy some fresh opinions. What do you folks think?