idabass

I live in north central Idaho so I feel your pain. We had a late winter with a huge amount of snow pack in the high altitudes. To say our rivers are extremely high right now is an understatement. Every year is different and challenging until water levels are stable again. When you find the right spot and presentation, it can go from one or two smaller fish to a slam fest in minutes.

I have caught my fair share of fish as a youngster using eyeballs when out of worms. Mainly trout and bass. That being said, I agree with bluebasser. Crawdads would be my #1 suspect if the bluegill looked unharmed other than missing eyes. Throw out a craw trap with the same bait and see what ends up in it. Could be a good way to learn more about your fishing area. You could even catch some appetizers for dinner

I have never fished with ikes neko hook. That being said I really like all the other styles his line provides. Most all the hooks in my box are ike approved. Never had a bad experience. the price is better than most other brand also.

Landed a six foot white sturgeon that same way years ago. It turned into a three man circus trying to get it to the bank. We had a blast though and a good celebration after. Wish smart phones existed back then. Would have been a YouTube hit.

Looked at the river flows online Monday night to see if any water nearby was fishable due to the snow run off causing high flows and colder water temperatures. Have not had a chance to wet a line in several weeks, so I had the itch bad. Snake river seemed to be my best bet so I high tailed it to the Rocky river banks after work Tuesday morning. working nights does have its advantages sometimes. Upon arrival it looked like my best chance would be to go with the ned rig and a shad rap. Walked the bank casting both lures in every crevice I could for a good hour but nothing. Now this next part was the key to my success. I came to a large bluff exposed to the sun. While standing close to this bluff I noticed I was a lot warmer than before, hmmmm. A few minutes later i finally hooked a dink inches from the rock face suspended in five to eight feet of water using the ned. Beat the water for awhile after that, changed colors and styles of finesse plastics, but still nothing more for my effort. In desperation I tied on the smallest lucky craft jerk bait I have ever seen to my med. Spinning rod with 6 lb. Test line. Do not know the exact size of the lure yet because it came in a pan fish monthly subscription box. I proceeded to catch five good sized fish in five casts right next to the heated bluff. Ended up catching a total of 15 good fighting bass in that little sliver of a hole before losing my jerk bait on a snag. What I noticed was a cast more than five feet from the bank would not get a nibble at all. The fish seemed to be literally laying against the vertical cliff taking advantage of the warmth I was enjoying also. The combination of the rocks holding heat and that little lucky craft saved my morning. No other lure (including the lucky craft 65) got a bite, and no other holes produced the rest of the morning. Learned a valuable lesson about looking for subtle differences in my surroundings and down sizing baits when the bite is tough. I also have a funny feeling my wallet will be a little lighter very soon stocking up on these great little jerk baits.

If I was fishing your area I would start with a medium power spinning rod with 10 lb. Test mono Line. Get some 4/0 or 3/0 wide gap worm hooks, a few bags of zoom flukes and senkos in a few different colors. That will get you catching fish and having a blast. Just cast out the bait let it sit for a few seconds then twitch your lines a few time and repeat.

Awesome thing your doing. I'm sure it's great fun to watch him gain skills and knowledge. My eight year old son is my best fishing bud and I love seeing him get better and better.

If I was to start over I would buy zoom plastics more than any other brand. 4-5$ a bag and you get plenty (20 with trick worms). They don't make every style (swim baits unfortunately) but have a lot of good ones to fill the majority of needs. Look for people selling tackle lots either here or on auction sites. You can cut cost down while deciding what baits work best for your fishing style.

A weightless senko on a wide gap hook seems to be one of the best lures for battling that snot algae. And senkos catch fish anywhere. a fluke, as stated above, can be deadly and very weedless also.

My favorite for shaky head. I go for watermelon and green pumpkin in water that has decent visibility. For stained I have had my best luck on a dark brown with red flake (ox blood?) Black/blue is always good for stained water also.

I thought of that when the other fellow mentioned Iowa. It's a great reel but I have more than enough other revos and lews so I have been neglecting it.

Depends on the size of the river your fishing. During the winter months they like to be out deep and lay there, you almost have to put a finesse lure on their nose. Spring is tricky with the rain and snow melting, can really mess up the water color fast. But they will start moving shallower as the spawn draws close. Smallmouth can spawn in ten plus feet of water depending on how clear. Around here post spawn is hit and miss but I pick them up covering water with a swim bait worked just above the bottom or a finesse bait. Fall is generally the best, they are eating everything in sight to ready for the cold winter. My best smallie catchers are the ned rig, senko, and tubes/craw baits. Don't be afraid to throw a jerk bait anytime but especially early spring, and with a long pause between twitches as the bass are lethargic still. The last two years I have been smashing them with crank baits and top water on certain days, can cover a lot of water with a crank. Once you find them you can slow down with a more finesse bait. I hope that helps. It was a big generalization but it covers what I have seen and noticed in our Idaho rivers.

Small mouth relate to current more than anything. They will use large rocks and wood to hide behind, then wait for food to come by them. Also current seams and pools next to current can be good.

This ugly reel. Never have used it, just collecting dust. Could never find a rod I was sure it would look good on.

For river smallmouth my stand by to throw is a tube drug on the bottom. I also use the ned rig, swim baits, jerk baits and cranks. Also senko if I'm getting snagged a lot and the current is not too much. For largmouth my go to is a trick worm on a shaky head. But that can change with what lake and what time of year.

I second Z man. Also look into strike kings elaztech finesse worms, they caught me a lot of big bass this spring.

Love the Ned rig. If they won't bite it you may as well go home.

Ned rig.

My son with a Ned rig smallie. It works very well.

I have heard about the older tw bags ripping but it sounds like they fixed the issue. I us a bass pro 360 now. Had the bass pro stalker extreme, and it was very well built but out of stock when I tried to replace because of being stolen. The 360 is great and holds a lot of tackle but is less beefy than the stalker.

I like useing the war eagle heads. Hookup rate is very good and they are not too expensive. I bought the big bite brand and the screw lock seems weak. Missed two fish back to back trying the big bite and put them away. I'm always looking for a good deal but I can't stand missing bites. Maybe it was me but I'll stick to the war eagles for now.

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome. DocTDubs, good to see a fellow idahoan here. Looks like you live around those awesome bass lakes up north. Need to get up there soon again.

What about those women that fish salt water. They stand in the front of the boat with the smallest bikinis made on. The camera man is consently getting booty shots in. I felt like a pervert watching one.

I just purchased a bass pro 360. It can hold 4 3600 trays in the bottom half and the top will hold even more and is a little wider so 3700 size will fit easy. The bag run around 50-60$ tho. Maybe look into finding a normal duffle type bag or back pack to fit your needs if you don't want to spend more than 35$.