Fried Lemons

Prespawn bite is on right now.. some big fish to be had.

Yes, they do work on northern strain bass. The easiest way to get into it in my opinion is with a wakebait like a MS Slammer or a Spro rat. It's extremely simple to fish these types of lures. Cast it out over a likely spot and slowly reel it in. Play with the cadence, throw in some pauses and twitch it in place. This is more of a warm water technique but the New England guys make it work starting from ice out.

Do you eat them? I've only had the ones from asian grocery stores and I always thought they tasted like crap.

Try hitting up Keith Wilson (k7e6ith) on IG, his page speaks for itself.

Couple random bycatches

I did decently for Potomac smallies this year compared to the past few. Got a couple in the 18-20" range. The spots I can reach are fairly limited too so I am sure there are plenty more out there.

Try treating your clothes with permethrin. If I know I'll be walking through woods or any sort of grass/shrub I'm wearing pants no matter how hot it gets. I also tuck my pants into my socks if I walk off trail so they don't crawl up my legs. Ticks are especially bad in Maryland and apparently most of the northeast. It has gotten to the point where I simply avoid certain areas where I know ticks are abundant. I don't know if you have experienced chiggers but in my opinion they are even worse than ticks. You basically get covered in bites like chicken pox which eventually blister and itch like crazy for two weeks or so. I have some bites that are a year old and still itch occasionally. They live in tall grass along with ticks so exercise caution. When I was a kid I used to wear shorts and walk through woods and tall grass all summer long without a care. Something about the local ecology has changed since then and the tick population has exploded.

I think almost everyone who has ever fished $100+ swimbaits has gone for a swim at some point.

There was an 18.55 caught in CA this year, well documented.

Black Hills: 4-11 Loch Raven: 4-11 Nontidal Potomac: 5-11 Tidal Potomac: 5-10 C&O Canal: 7-4 (also have a 6-13 and a 6-7) I have not been able to catch a fish over 5 from any body of water not connected to the Potomac.

I have no experience rod building so bear with me. The rear handle on my rod completely separated from the blank and the reel seat. It is still attached to the butt of the rod but the front end moves around. I have tried super gluing/epoxying the handle to the reel seat but after a few hours of fishing the connection breaks and the handle is loose again. Here's a picture so you can see what I mean. Any ideas?

I've been getting some big bites on the coolbaits underspins but at $6 a pop it gets aggravating snagging multiple of these per trip. Does anyone have any experience with the owners and how they compare to a regular jig head underspin? Thanks.

Anyone enjoying the weather we’ve been having? Fish seem to be biting well. I had a good time shore banging on the Potomac today. Fished a little 3/16oz underspin with a keitech fat 3.3, a good match for the little gizzards the fish have been eating. My second cast along a rocky drop I felt a hard thump. For a few seconds I thought I had a pb walleye on then the fish jumped. The river is very deep and swift here so I was surprised to see a big largemouth from this stretch of river. Eyes were munching too. Hoping to break 6lbs this winter.

My final fish of 2019. Caught crawling a coolbaits underspin with a keitech 3.3 painfully slow over some shallow rocks. Turns out she was gorging on young of the year catfish and gizzard shad.

Caught far fewer total bass but had a good year for fish over 5lbs. My total this year equaled my total from all my previous years combined. Huddleston 68 special - 6lbs 13 oz in March. 3:16 rising son 6.75” - 3 from 5-6lbs in August Working Class Zero Citizen 6” - 2 fish at 5 and change in August Nezumma Rat XL - one fish at 5lbs 4oz in August MS Slammer 9” - one fish at 5lbs even in June.

I ordered one of their black widow rods once. It came on time but the first guide was very badly misaligned. The handle was also not flush with the reel seat. Rather than deal with customer service I got it rewrapped by a local builder. For what they were charging I was not impressed with the build quality.

Blade baits by far. Just part of the game.

Picked up swimbait fishing this year after a long hiatus in 2018. I had sold off most of my old gear so I figured I would start fresh with my limited options. I started in March and had immediate success on prespawn fish along deep drop offs. This was my first fish of the year, my first time throwing swimbaits. Not a huge fish, but a huge confidence booster for me knowing that the bass in my state would still go for the big stuff. My second fish of the year, caught a week later. The fish was just shy of 7lbs, a very rare catch in my waters. This was the catch that cemented my confidence in swimbaits. May, June and July were pretty tough for bass. I branched out into hard baits like the s-waver and mattlures hardgill and caught several 2-3lbers but could not seem to find the class of fish I was after. This was the one notable fish I caught in the early summer, waking an MS Slammer by a beaver hut. By August I finally had a solid pattern. My main producers were paddle tailed soft baits and topwater rats. The best days were extremely hot and humid with bluebird skies. These two I caught on one of the best fishing days of my life. My heaviest one day limit of 20lbs from a spot I thought was fished/dried out. This midday heavy wood cover pattern persisted through August. These fish were caught in identical conditions a week later. Weedless swimbaits and topwater rats. Once the summer pattern died I really struggled to catch any decent bass. To be fair I had less time to fish and got sidetracked by multi species fishing which is typically better in the cold months. Various other species. Overall an exciting season, definitely made up for 2018. The goal next year is to focus more on bass and catch the 5+lbers with more consistency.

I hear that’s a good soft bait rod. I recommend a weedless bait with a beast hook. 3:16 rising sons are readily available and get bit. You can fish it weighted for a fast presentation/bottom crawling or weightless for a slow upper column swim. The 6.75” killed it for me this year.

I couldn’t resist.

Had a two hour window to fish yesterday. Fished the canal targeting crappie. The wind was blowing at 10-16mph so it was difficult to freeline small baits. I clipped on a float and adjusted the depth until I found the fish suspended about 4ft down. The key was not to impart any action and allow the wind and waves to work the jig. Once I got the depth and drift dialed I was getting bit on every cast. 2” shads. Surprise catch of the day. Caught several of these guys. Makes me wonder if they washed in or are somehow managing to spawn. Best fish of the day, a 1.25lber Also managed to snag a sucker and a carp on the drift.

Blade baits are killer in rivers. The shape cuts down through current while a lipless will tend to blow like a kite. Not many other baits fish well cross current in 20 FOW. I have also had many strikes come when I speed reel the blade in to avoid snagging in shallow rocks. Buy in bulk as they tend to snag easily.

I've used 10lb braid and am currently trying 15. The 10 was plenty strong but tying leader knots was a serious hassle. It's much easier with 15. For leaders I run 6-8lb copolymer for about a rod length. Since switching from fc to copoly leaders I have had zero issues with the line failing at or near the connection knot.

If you are willing to spend up to $200 you should look into JDM aji rods. They have fast tapers and are extremely sensitive. They are purpose built to throw tiny jigs on light line and are far superior to comparable rods sold in the states. You can look into brands like Major Craft and Daiwa for the entry level models. The downside would be the lack of warranty coverage. If that doesn't bother you then I would recommend this route.