Bass-Addict

Thanks for the info! Def answers my question.

No but I’ve heard they put on quite the show, lots of aerial acrobatics. Unfortunately I’m landlocked, what would you consider a high class inland freshwater fish? I’ve fished all over the US and Canada for northern pike, walleye, salmon and trout but nothing is as thrilling to me as hooking into a nice sized smallmouth. Stalking them down the beautiful wild scenic river I fish and seeing them breach the riffles and leap through the air trying to throw the hook is way more enthralling to me than sitting on a stagnant lake or pond cooking in the sun, or spending an entire day being eluded by pike and Muskie even in the beautiful Canadian wilderness.

What would you consider a high class of fish?

How come whenever I look in a smallmouth’s mouth I can’t see anything? The worm or crawdad is always gone. Do they swallow it whole?

Wow that’s crazy. Why are they so voracious? How are they able to catch crayfish if they almost never expose themselves outside of mating season?

Yeah there are lots of YouTube videos of that happening, pretty wild I know that’s true for largemouth, but what about smallmouth?

I understand why they do, it’s like a little lobster to them. It’s just strange how different they are as organisms, yet they work in perfect harmony. Crawfish are also very strange to begin with, and seem out of place in freshwater even though they are everywhere. I am fascinated by it, which is why I catch and use them as bait in the small river I fish in. There is something primally satisfying about catching live crawdads and having the top game fish eat them whole. I caught one today that was soft and slimy, I’m pretty sure it was a soft craw. Does this mean it just molted? Why are soft craws so much better bait than hardshell? Is it because they are easier to eat/digest and defenseless? How are they able to catch crayfish if they almost never expose themselves outside of mating season? I threw it out and immediately my pole bent 90 degrees, had a great fight with a solid 2 pounder which is extremely large for the tiny river I fish. Awesome experience, I was reminded of why I go through the trouble of catching and using live bait. Anyone else have any stories of using live crawfish as bait?

Hell yeah! Is it useful at all on small rivers for finding smallies?

Cool, thanks. How helpful would this be to me on a small river, borderline creek? It’s around 3-5 ft feel on average but there are several deep stretches and holes. I feel like locating the fish is half the battle. How wide is the radius? Is it easy to distinguish bass from other fish?

What about this one? https://www.amazon.com/Talentcell-Rechargeable-6000mAh-Battery-Portable/dp/B00MF70BPU How do you keep them and fish finder from getting wet?

I found this one - https://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Striker-Transducer-Fishfinder-Traditional/dp/B017NI17HQ looks like an incredible deal but upon reading the reviews it appears you need a separate on board battery, sounds cumbersome. Do they make one that is self powered/self contained? I’d like to keep it as light as possible as I’ve already got 30 lb of gear on board.

I’m in Ohio, we did not get much of that cold front if at all. Still been in the 70s/80s mostly. However, at night the lows dropped down into the 40s and 50s last weekend, cooling the water considerably then the air temps shot back up to the 80s again during the day. Could this have spooked them?

Are you fishing lakes/ponds or rivers? What state?

No rain, dry as a bone and boiling hot. Seems like perfect conditions, gonna try again today hopefully better. Is it possible because it’s been colder at night around here it’s theowing them off? Over the weekend it dropped into the 40s one night, water was freezing when I got in Tuesday, warmer yesterday and lows are back into the 60s now. Think that was it? Where do you live, Wisconsin? Still pretty hot here.

I still haven’t attempted it, just got the trekking poles in yesterday. Gonna try this weekend, ill let you know!

Wow that’s a wealth of information, thanks! I’m not sure casting distance is really that important to me, I’m mostly concerned with no having to get my reel respooled every other week. Will the 3000 make much of a difference in this with the extra 30 yard capacity, or would I have to jump to the 4000 to see any noticeable difference? If so, is the 4000 too big for what I’m doing?

So you think bite will return? Any idea why it slowed?

You wouldn’t get a bigger version of the same reel? They make a 3000 w 30 yards more capacity.

But it’s not cooler, it’s been in the high 80s the last two days. I thought river fishing declines as it gets colder?

8 lb mono trilene XL

Yeah, what if neither of those two factors is an issue? Hasn’t rained hardly at all and it was completely quiet as far as traffic goes the last two days. Any idea what might have caused it to slow down? Could it be the previous busy holiday weekend with 3 days straight of heavy canoe traffic? Lastly, do you think it’s temporary and I still have some good fishing days left?

I fish a small river and get hung up a fair amount and am forced to cut my line. It seems like I am running out of spool about once every few weeks. Is this really unusual? If so what am I doing wrong, or is that just the nature of river fishing? I am considering upgrading to a reel w more line capacity but I don’t want to overdo it. I use 8 lb Trilene XL. Any recommendations?

I went out yesterday and today on the small stream I fish in southwest Ohio and got next to nothing. I fish live crawdads and nightcrawlers and I almost always catch at least 6 or 7 smallmouth, the last two days I’ve had half of that. Could it be the change in season, too hot, water too cold or just a fluke? I seriously hope that’s not it for the season, seems a little early. Edit: I’m in Ohio, we did not get much of that cold front if at all. Still been in the 70s/80s mostly. However, at night the lows dropped down into the 40s and 50s last weekend, cooling the water considerably then the air temps shot back up to the 80s again during the day. Could this have spooked them?

Exactly. Also the idea that you’re fishing in a completely natural and wild (for the most part) body of water, not some manmade pond or lake.

You prefer largemouth to smallmouth?