Craw

Great photos. I love fishing new water!

Great story telling. You might consider publishing your memoirs someday. You have a gift for writing.

Good stuff! I love reading about smallies.

I also use those Spot Remover heads. I also like the Bite Me heads for swimming the bait. With all the hype about shaky head techniques, I sometimes have to remind myself how effective a bullet sinker and a regular t-rigged Robo can be.

AWESOME!! Those are some beauties.

I can't speak for the fish, but for me, I think it appears to be white in stained/muddy water. If I drop my chartreuse spinnerbait down into the water, just before it goes out of sight, it looks white. I'm with RoLo's opinion on it being highly visible. I also think there's something about this color that just excites fish sometimes(especially smallies), even in clear water. I wonder why I don't see pure chartreuse jigs for sale by more manufacturers. That would be one ugly jig! Chartreuse head, skirt and chunk trailer...GROSS!

I had to go swimming last week to rescue my boat that drifted out into the river while I was parking my truck. Water in the 40s!!! Congratulations on breaking your fish-less streak. That Rebel Crawfish is one of the all time greats! I like those trick worms to.

I went to WV Bridge Day this year and I stood looking down at that water thinking the very same thing. I thought it would be cool to lower down a Hopkins spoon and jig one up from the depths.

Cold and rainy today, here in the Commonwealth. I was determined to fish though, so I loaded up and headed for the water(New River). Fished for about an hour before I finally hooked up. The action then became pretty fast and furious for about an hour. Got this little pig on an Eakin's Finesse Jig. I had been tossing a jerkbait on and off, with no luck. Hit a small stretch of river where it finally started to pay off. Got this one on a LC Pointer 78DD. This little guy fell for it also. Moved up to the 100SP, and got this one. I'm still not to good with my camera. This one is kinda blurry. Ended up getting 8 today. 7 smallies and a redeye. The weather was miserable but I had one heck of a good time. These are my last fish of 2006...Hope you guys like the photos!

Thanks. I fish New River in Virginia. Water temp. is 42 degrees.

I'm sold on the Lucky Craft Pointers. 78SP, 78DD, 100SP and 100DDs in ghost minnow, chartreuse shad, pearl ayu, shell white, aurora black and nishiki. I haven't yet purchased any of the other high end brands, but I'm still looking to expand my Pointer collection.

Hello members. I have some questions for those of you who have been fortunate enough to fish this month. What baits have accounted for any fish you've been able to catch? What water temps. have you been dealing with? Have you managed to land any quality fish that winter is notorious for producing? For me, I've been fishing the river exclusively all month. Water temp. has been in the low 40s all month long but we've had unseasonably warm weather here in Va. Baits I've scored with are- Lucky Craft Pointer 78, 78DD and 100 Rapala X-Rap 8 and 10 Pig-n-jig 3/8oz. GYCB Senko 4" and 5" Rapala Shad Rap #7 Silver Buddy 1/2oz. Hopkins and Cotton Cordell Spoons 1/2 and 3/4oz. This month I've managed to catch largemouth, smallmouth, spots, redeyes, 1 musky and 1 flathead catfish. I got one smallie that measured 19"(silver buddy) but other than that, no size to speak of. The musky and flathead I caught were both small for their species. It's been tons of fun though!

Went out on the river again today for a few hours. I'm still playing with my new camera so I took a few pictures. Caught 7 today. Got 5 smallies on pointer 78s and 100s, and 2 redeyes on a spoon. Didn't catch anything of much size but what a beautiful day to be on the river. Looking kinda cocky here. Don't know what I was thinking!

I was sick as a dog yesterday, and still didn't feel good this morning but I decided to hit the water anyway. Smallmouth fishing was dead, but I did catch one on a silver buddy. I caught this little musky on one of my prized Lucky Craft Pointers(ghost minnow). I was sooooo thankful that I didn't get bit off again! I love to catch these things, I just hate donating my baits to them gators!

Don't forget to swim the jig in and around cover also. That's sometimes how the bass want it.

Get yourself one of Strike King's Bitsy Pond Minnows. http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTextId=29847&hvarTarget=search&cmCat=SearchResults

Super nice gear!

Nice outfit! Those ebay wars can really be stressful but what a great feeling when you manage to get a deal.

Am I the only one that's had trouble with the 3X baits? I can't seem to thread this goop on a hook and make it look halfway descent. I've been fishing a long time and I've threaded many a soft plastic, but I can't work with this stuff.

I primarily use two different finesse style jigs, Eakin's and Buckeye Lure's. Neither of these come with an attached rattle and I've never thought to add one.

Welcome!! I look forward to reading your posts. Glad to have you aboard.

Pig-n-jig and t-rigged soft plastics. Plastic craws and lizards are good choices, as well as tubes. Don't neglect the all mighty senko either! For all that riprap, I'd suggest a #7 Rapala Shad Rap(firetiger). This crank is legendary for early spring.

I've been so successful with jerkbaits this year that I bought an outfit just to use for them. I prefer a casting setup for fishing with jerkbaits. 6'6" ST Croix Premier MF Team Daiwa Advantage 153H7(6.3:1) 10lb. Stren High Impact(clear) mono I've been using clear mono because I can see it good and it sometimes enables me to see when I get a strike on the pause.

Great story! Love those pictures. Merry Christmas!

Welcome Jolly! Great to have you aboard.