Craw

BANG Garlic formula. I like the kind in the aerosol spray can. I use it all the time and I have for many years. I hope you will give it a try.

No leader. I've toyed with the idea of using some type of leader, in the event I hook a musky while bass fishing. I really can't come up with a happy medium that will reduce my chances of breaking off, and still not effect the action of my (bass)baits. Believe me, I to have lost my fair share of baits to these critters. One thing I've been doing lately when hooking one of these toothy gators is applying as little pressure as possible, during the fight, while still maintaining a taught line. I've been fortunate to land the last 4 I've hooked, but that's not to say I'll land the next one. I have no intention to ever specifically target musky, so not being prepared with leaders, stout tackle, huge nets, etc...is just a risk I'll have to take. I'm much to devoted to all the bass I've yet to catch.

pig-n-jig

Went out this evening just before dark and fished until midnight. I caught a few redeye, along with several smallies on a black spinnerbait. I got 2 pretty good sized hybrids on a black and blue pig-n-jig, and one heck of a musky on a Bomber 7A(red). It was a real challenge to land this particular musky. My crankin rod was loaded with 10lb test so I wasn't able to put much pressure on the fish at all, for fear of breaking off. After a pretty good tussle, I finally saw that it was in fact a musky, and the whole crankbait was inside those jaws. I loosened up the drag and just kept gentle pressure on the beast while I followed it around with my trolling motor. I have to say, this fish was by far the strongest and most determined that I've encountered in quite a while. Needless to say, once I had it boat side, I had to use my net. I hoisted it over the side just as the nylon webbing tore away. From that point, it became a wrestling match to finally gain control over it. Tore up my left hand(again) on those little razor teeth. All of this is going on mind you, fishing by myself with nothing except my stern light to see by. I felt truly blessed to enjoy yet another night out on that wonderful New River. Pictures didn't turn out so good, but here's a couple of that musky. This is one of the hybrids Caught several smallies about this size

Good stuff! It's good to see you out enjoying yourself. I really like the phrase below your avatar, and your personal statement rocks!

The closest I've been to that stretch of the New was a trip to "Bridge Day 06". I know those guided trips you can take through the rough water is probably the way to go for trophy smallie fishing at its finest. I've always wanted to book a trip through the gorge. My knowledge of this wonderful river system is limited to the area where I was born and raised. Specifically Radford, and the New River Valley.

Thanks for the nice comments guys. Check out my left hand in the picture. He got me pretty good with those little razor teeth while I was removing the jig. Oh well...live and learn.

Very nice! I love those LC RCs.

There's nothing like having a girlfriend who enjoys fishing. Tell her that Craw said, Way to go!"

God bless both of you. That kind of stuff is priceless. Awesome post! Great job "Mom".

Way to go! That was one heck of a days fishing. Good photos as well.

Went bass fishing for a couple hours this evening. I was fishing one of my hand tied finesse jigs when this gator hit. I was in my boat, talking to a game warden who was standing on the shore checking another fisherman when...WHAM! They stood there quietly while I played the fish, and gave me the big "thumbs up" once I landed it. I caught a few small bass also, but the musky was definitely the high point of my trip.

Nice job! Those power bait worms are no joke. I use the 7 and 10" versions all throughout the warmer months.

I like Uncle Josh's #11 bait frog I also use the Zoom chunks from time to time The Paca Chunk also looks very promising. I've only used them a few times, but they definitely add a new dimension to the overall look of the jig, and I caught some bass on them first time out. I like to use the pig-n-jig about as well as any other bait, so I'm pretty excited about this particular trailer.

Great photos dude. Congratulations on completing your freshman year. You've earned a little time off, so hit that water as much as you can. It looks like you're already off to a great start. Keep'em coming!

Congratulations on breaking your personal best. Those are some great pics.

That bass looks to me, to be a little shy of 5lbs. A darn nice bass anywhere.

Hey everyone. Got out this evening for a little time on the New River. I wasn't going to fish at all today. Been feeling like crud. Could be allergies, sinus infection, a cold or who knows. I was in bed this evening, thinking about all the factors that were coming together at one time...full moon, sunset and moonrise only an hour apart today, several days of unseasonably warm weather, front moving in, pre-spawn and spawning movement and the list goes on. Well, you guessed it. I talked myself into loading up and heading out. I had an hour or so of daylight left and planned to fish after dark for a little while. I'm sure glad I went! The smallies were hitting lots of different baits. They were coming up for jitterbugs and buzzbaits, chasing spinnerbaits and smacking jigs and cranks dragged across the bottom. I boated lots of smallmouth with a few decent ones and a real hawg that was almost 22". You know, I wait around all year to fish at night from July through Sept., so this trip was a real treat for me. Craw out on "The Dark Side" in early May. Awesome! Here's some of the decent smallies from the trip. Well...here's a couple of that ol big'un

What a predator!

Out on New River today. Fish were really active. Caught smallies, largemouth and a couple redeyes. Here's my best 3 smallies of the day. First 20" smallie. This fish is bleeding, but NOT from the gills(bleeding from inside mouth)! This one was just a frog's hair over 19" This 20" fish was my last catch of the day. Sorry for the poor pictue quality.

SWEET!!!!

Great post! I love them smallies. What a great trip!

Great story Scott. You must be living right! Looks like it's time to head your way. I'll talk to you soon.

I love this post! Great job GMAN.

I love to go fishing with my dad. Great post!