justfishin

Again, thanks guys. I still don't feel confident enough to run the jet on the river by myself yet but, someday. I have a lot of friends whom never fail me. A few hours and I am done it seems. Someday I would like to take some of you to the river. This last spring around Montgomerys Ferry above Harrisburg PA. was just awsome. 50-80 or so fish days with lots of 2 1/2-4lb fish. Tubes were the ticket as usual on that river. Green Pumkin/Red Flake, Smoke/Copper Flake and my favorite, Dark Melon/Purple Flake. I mostly used 1/4oz leadheads and inserted a homemade rattle. Muddy, as a reminder, a true bass is brown !!!, LOL.------Jim ;D

:'( sad news, I loved those three together. Good stuff.

Don't even attempt to fiqure out a smallie, lol. It will make you crazy. If there is a lot of current and the temps get into the say, 38-44 degree range, fish the eddies on the bank, mainly if the water is really discolored. Start at the end of the eddie and work your way up. Sometimes they are out the tail or more into the eddy. Throw up current for sure. Fish slow, and I mean slow. Other than that I spend most of my time on the main channels and drop offs looking for a hard bottom that contains rocks and or pebbles or sand.

LBH, you could turn my life of the last two years into a friggin country song !!!, LOL.

Bass Resource guide, in my opinion is simply the best one. I have looked over a few and many before I found this one. Its the best run, most informative and with the greatest bunch you could ask for. Take that,lol. Jim

I almost forgot. Like RW said, after catching a bass, especially brown ones, always check your line. I tend to get sloppy when it comes to that, as well. You never know when the big one will hit !!! Smallies are notorious for ragging up your line. Good luck.

Thanks for the hello guys. Stay healthy and thankful for being so. RW, I was just crying man. What a great experiance. Don't look at it as a loss but, as a wonderful experiance and story. What a great read. I will bet that the snap of the line will be in your memory forever !!! I would bet that the fire water jug got a tad low that evening, LOL. Sounds to me like you hooked into a real trophy my friend. In all my years those big browns tend to be real home bodies if its off the beaten trail. I would surely mark that spot on my GPS and hope what put her there, as in food and some underwater cover keeps her coming back. I would rather you get that fish in the boat than anyone. I never use over 8lb test for smallies but, on that spot some Trilene XT in 8 or even 10 might be something to think about. Again, thanks for the heart pounding story !!!, Jim

RW, I use a little of both. It really depends on the speed and temp of the water. I tend to use more hair jigs for smallies most of the time. I like black with a 101 pork trailer in blue, white on white and green/white combo. In the cold water most of the time its a black or brown/orange hair. I tie my own on a 3/0 hook/1/8 to 1/4. I use deer hair I dye myself. I think hair is best in moving water, as well as cold water. In the slower pools I will use a plastic jig. Sometimes when the bites on it simply does not matter, right !!! Sorry, not much of a answer. Good luck on the big one my friend. Please try something for me. Give her a Dark Melon/ Purple Flake with a 1/4 jighead with a rattle inside and tell me how it goes.

I just wanted to drop in and hope all is well with all my friends in here. Life has dealt some dirty cards to me, as far as health in which hurts the finances, as well. Stuff rolls down hill you know !!! Anyway, thats beside the point. I did have some time to do some fishing this fall and I hate to say it but, the flyfishing for smallies is addictive. A TiCrX by Templefork and a Battenkill LA using a seven wt line has been so much fun. All the years of guiding and I used to dread the fly guys, at times and here I am really having a ball. For all you guys whom have been pounding the water for years and years, give it a try, its a refreshing new experiance. God Bless everyone and have some good holidays. I hope to be back around more after the first of the year. Jim

Treat every gun as if it were loaded.

Amazing stuff, thanks for the pics.

What can you possibly say about such a extreme situation? My prayers to the young one and his family.

Its funny how different regions fish. RW is my favorite guy in the smallie area in here because we seem to fish some much alike and in general have the same opinions on catching smallies except for one thing. By far the best time for smallies here is mid winter ( temps in the 38 degree range and up and muddy as heck ). I am talking big smallies, not so much numbers. Here in Western Maryland and Central PA., Dec-Jan is big fish time. I love the high, muddy, chocolate water. They are so easy to find in the eddies when the river is on a fast rise. Falling water is although, the death to the bite. Spring on the Susquehanna in central Pa is numbers time with lots of 60 and up days and 2-5lb fish. In high, muddy, cold water it is the small eddies that hold the fish. I have had some great days both guiding, as well as fun fishing in muddy water. I still have a theory that river smallies are deserving of different means and tactics per region.

Well another 2 years has gone by and its time to re-up with Sprint. I was interested in T-Mobile though because of the five favorites plan. I guess what I would like some feedback on is how is the T-Mobile network in the Mid Atlantic region?

Welcome aboard. You will learn volumes in here. Green bass are fun but, smallmouth are my habit. Nothing beats a smallie 5 and up!!! Good luck.

Early in the morning for smallies fish tubes on the drop offs on the outside of the flats in around 8' to 20' of water ( sharp drops being the best ) and creek channels that enter the outside of the coves and intersect the points, as well as, flukes in White Pearl around the grass. Rocky bottoms, pebble bottoms and the like is smallie territory. Pay attention to your depth finder and the width of your band. Narrow band is harder bottom. I like my flukes rigged with a 3/0 Owner off set hook with a 1/64 Water Gremlin Bullshot pinched at the nose. A dropshot on light line using a 4" Zoom finese worm in smoke/blue flake gets the nod as well. A no. 10 Rapala Husky Jerk in Tenn. Shad is also a good option. Have fun. If you have any boat docks on the lake try a Wacky Worm. For smallies in our clear lakes I like a Zoom Centipede in Green Pumpkin wacky rigged on a 2/0 WG hook.

Samuel Adams Lager, Yuenglings Lager and Modelo. No light beer for me, ummmmmmm beer !!!!!!

Big 4" tube in a dark color with a rattle slowwwwwwly dragged across rocky drop offs and at the end of the flats. Also around lighted boat docks.

After over thirty years of fishing for smallies on the rivers in MD and PA I have to agree with MarVa and RW. Lots of baits catch smallies, jigs, spinnerbaits, etc,etc but day in and day out a 3.5" tube in GP or a 5" grub are absolutly the best in my opinion. Green Pumpkin/Red Flake tubes and 5" grubs in Pearl White, Clear/Silver Sparkle and my favorite- Bluegill color ( smoke/gold,blue and black flake ) are just hard to beat. You can adapt these two baits to almost any given situation, deep, shallow, fast, slow, winter, summer and in between. For tubes I like a 1/8 or 1/4 jighead in which I pour my own on a 3/0 hook. I also add a home made rattle most of the time. Does the rattle help?, I don't know, but, I always add a rattle. Good luck and I hope you fall in love with those brown bass as I have over the years. Remember, catch and release after a little kiss on the lips !!!!

Are brown fish fun or what. Nice smallies.

In the few years I have been in some of the forum discussions I have never seen anything being handled in a way it should not have been. IMO, all the problems have been handled in a " this is how it is, mature way ". As I have alway said, Kudo's to Glenn and the Mods for the way " problems " are handled in here. This site is the Kats Butt !!!. Thanks to Glenn, the mods and all whom dwell in here and try to keep it on the up and up. Jim

RW for President, as long as his Vice President would be Ted Nugent !!! I think they would solve some on going, long term problems, pronto !!!

;D ;D ;D

Fifty-one, my friend. Born on September 26 1956. I am a little slower, but, a heck of a lot wiser, at least thats my opinion,lol.

Good to hear he is ok and fishing, thanks.