Bass-Addict

Where are you casting and what kind of bait?

So they won’t be in the 3-5 ft holes at the bottom of riffles?

Where should I be casting, shallow/deep/current?

Sunday it’s going to be 73 and partly sunny, is it too cold/late in the year to be worth messing w it or could I still catch some fish?

Yeah definitely. Way more casts w lures.

But if everyone else can learn to use it why can’t I?

I have spent countless hours trying to make artificial work

I don’t understand how there can be such a disparity. I catch by far more when I use live bait on the river.

I agree but nightcrawlers by FAR seem like they catch more smallmouth than crawdads. Not to mention the snags w craws. Nightcrawlers are much easier to acquire and bait as well.

What about the Ned rig? I have that.

So as I’ve mentioned before I have been catching live craws in the little river I fish in southern Ohio, and although I’ve had success w them I recently started using worms and they seem to hit those way more. I’ve been rigging them on a size 6 baitholder with a split shot about a foot and a half up and jigging them off the bottom (3-5 ft of water at the end of a current.) This has produced some decent results, but would it work better any other way? Possibly with a jig head? Are river smallies best fished off the bottom or do top-middle water column casts work as good or better?

Exactly, that’s why I use them instead of nightcrawlers. I only want smallies.

I fish a small river in southwest Ohio. I’ve been catching hardshell craws in the river and using them for bait, but I was in Canada this weekend fishing smallmouth with nightcrawlers on a decent sized lake. It worked pretty well, would this work better than crawdads or are crawdads by far the best?

Thanks for all of the responses! Ended up going with this Columbia jacket and matching black pants from Field and Stream - Columbia Men’s Watertight hooded rain jacket There’s one in the shopping center I live in and I was tight on time and money so I just got it, any good?

Going to lake of the woods in Ontario for my cousins 40th, my dad said I need a rain suit, pants and a jacket. Where is the best place to get it and how much do I need t spend. Does it have to be gortex? Thanks!

What do you mean tie it to the bottom? If I don’t feel like messing w fish guts will bacon work?

And where do I acquire this? What do you mean tie it to the bottom? I threw a hot dog in there that sat directly on the bottom and it didn’t get touched and drew no crawdads in

What is beef melt? How did you secure/position the bacon? Raw or cooked?

I ordered this one from Frabill off amazon https://www.frabill.com/torpedo-crawfish-trap, so far I’ve used a hot dog and a can of cat food with holes punched in it as well, left it overnight submerged in 3 ft of water near a rocky shoreline of a small river. It’s a spot where we usually catch them by hand so I know they’re there. Yet there wasn’t a single crawdad in the trap the next day, just one clinging to the outside of it. Am I using the wrong bait or presentation? I just kind of set them inside the trap, would suspending it so it hangs in the middle with fishing line help?

Does it increase odds of them hitting if I remove the pinchers? I have heard that but I would think natural would be best, however it does help w bottom snags. I am fishing a relatively small river that is on average 30-40 ft wide and 3-4 ft deep. The hole I am fishing in just past a rapid is between 7-10 ft deep and I’ve been using 2 medium sized split shots about 1.5-2 ft above a size 6 baitholder with a hard shell craw I catch right in the river.

What about a bobber and hook?

For live craws?

Go easy on me for cheating by using live bait I realize that is sacrilege in the art of angling but I’m not fishing the entire day when I kayak but only intermittently. i go on a small, narrow river in southwest Ohio called the Little Miami. I have read that it is one of the best in the state for smallmouth. I hsve been using a 6’ medium light fast action St. Croix Premier with an Abu Garcia spinning reel. I scoop up crawdad from under rocks and keep them in a mini bait tube. I have been rigging only a hook and sinker, casting into the deeper pools at the end of rapids. I was told recently that using a bobber is helpful when using live crawdad, is this true or do I want them on the bottom? It would make sense because when they go to the bottom the hide under rocks and you get snagged.

Been fishing a small river in SW Ohio all summer and I finally figured out how to catch them. I realize live bait isn't as respected as artificial but it got my foot in the door and now I've caught the fishing bug. I started catching crawdads with a small hand net, throwing them on with a hook and sinker and boom! I throw them right where the rapids meet the calm water and on the good days they hit it almost instantly, it's the greatest feeling ever hooking into a smallmouth, man they put up one hell of a fight. It seems like I've only really had success when the sun is shining. Is there a scientific reason for this? Am I casting in the right area or should I switch it up? Lastly, should I be removing their pinchers or leaving them on?

Is that necessary if there's a way to change the water or do you think that's a hassle?