Hillbilly Bennett

The TRD and jig head combo has been catching smallmouth and Largemouth all year for my fishing buddy. He’s caught some dandies on it too. I have netted a few Largemouth and smallmouth over 4 lbs for him this year on that set up. I’ve picked it up and have been catching fish on it but haven’t landed anything that large yet.

Rogersville is where I always go as well. The detention reservoir is where the old steam plant is in Rogersville and it’s a pretty good place to go fish.

I love to fish the Holston. I hit it several times a year and I wish it was a little closer. Have you ever fished the Sevier Detention Reservoir? I hit it a few times a year too.

This is my go to technique for catching bass in the summer months. Sure, you can catch em cranking and by dragging a jig or drop shotting deep cover but, for me, nothing is as fun as yanking them out of the grass. I use a creature baits and Berkley Power Worms a lot when the bass are actively feeding but I’ve found that when they get finicky a Texas rigged straight tail worm like the senko and the Strike King Ocho will persuade them to bite. Pair it up with a 1/8-1/4 oz Tungsten sinker and just shake it baby!

THIS! Follow the baitfish to catch the bass. When the bait migrates the bass follow. Also, the transition already appears to be happening here in eastern KY too. It’s still hot and the water is still in the low 80s but the bait is on the move.

Sounds like you’ve had a solid summer there Brew City but it sucks when Mother Nature throws you a curve ball. You are a lot farther north than I am so I’d say your bass are headed into the fall transition. Even if the water is still warm the bass will begin to migrate to the areas where they feed up in the fall. I’ve been seeing some bass heading towards these haunts even here in KY so I’d say the big cold front you have been dealing with has set off their internal alarm bell and they are on the move. I’d check some areas in and around creeks (or as we call em here in KY “Hollers”) for baitfish and bass around them. For me in the late summer and fall you follow the bait to find the fish. Good luck and I hope you get back on the bite soon!

I’m right there with you Spankey. Where I live there are very few quality bass and more runts than you can throw a Ned rig at. We had an early July cool spell that yielded some good fishing but since the temps went back up it’s been a major dink fest. I finally managed to hook a solid bass on a night blade spinnerbait in last week’s Thursday night derby only to have it throw the hook right at the boat. At least there have been a few bites. Dinks are better than nothing at all.

Those are some bonafide pigs right there! God knows I love to frog fish and these pics are exactly why.

It’s definitely no picknick here in Eastern, KY. Where I live our lakes just don’t have quality fish. This time of year 1-2 keepers and 3 1/2 To 4 pounds usually wins the 20-30 boat Thursday and Friday night derbies. We have plenty of rats and knotheads to catch but during this time of year even they can get spotty. Spring and fall fishing is ok, but it’s nothing like what our neighbors in central KY, western KY and eastern TN have. I love to travel and go fish their lakes but it breaks my heart to have to bcome back home and fish the dink-fest that is Eastern KY. I’ve been trying to talk my wife in to moving so we can actually go out and catch a keeper bass or two but she doesn’t share the same views as me on moving just to get near better fishing. The rivers and streams around here are the best relief from the hot and barren waters in the local lakes. There are some decent smallmouth and spotted bass to be had in them.

I also have never caught a single bass on red Shad or plum. I know that others catch fish on them in the summer, but they just don’t work for me.

Yeah man, that place just looks amazing. It’s supposed to have some great Largemouth fishing to go with the smallies too.

I consider myself lucky to get to fish Guntersville, Dale Hollow and Chickamauga a couple times each year and, man, are they awesome. Guntersville is hands down my favorite and I’ve never had an “unsuccessful” trip down there. My PB in my pic came on a topwater plug on Guntersville. 8-1. Dale and Chick are a close 2nd, As good as anywhere when they are on but as tough as anywhere when they are off. Dale has some giant bass and Walleye too. My two bucket list waters would be the Upper Mississippi around La Crosse, WI and Sam rayburn. I’d love to hit Texas in the late winter/ early spring and froggin for a boat full of 2-3 pound bass on the Mississippi just sounds awesome!

I really have gotten in to throwing straight tail worms this year and have caught most of my fish this year on them. 1- Yamamoto Senko-Weightless, wacky or on a light Texas rig. 2-Strike King Ocho-I’ve done some damage with these on shakey heads in my local lakes. 3-Strike King Caffine Shad-My favorite Soft Jerk Bait 4-Missile Baits D-Stroyer-My confidence bait on a t-rig. 5-Netbait Paca Craws-T rigged, Carolina rigged or jig trailers.

Lasher, we struggled quite a bit. We got to the ramp at 7:30 and there were already about 150 boats (literally!) on the water. Most of the traffic was due to a Piedmont Bass association tournament. We ran the lake to get a feel for it and to find a spot that didn’t have 3 boats on it already. We started fishing a causeway bridge on the upper end of one of the branches of Harris. About 20 minutes in to the day I had a big fish absolutely slam a wiggle wart and run deep. After a good fight and a lot of whooping and hollering I landed a Bowfin that weighed about 6 pounds. Got my heart pumping but it really disappointed me that it wasn’t a bass. About an hour after that I hooked a Largemouth I estimated at about 3-4 pounds on a jerkbait that threw the lure. I lost another slot limit fish on the jerkbait shortly after that too. The rest of the day was a grind and we managed catch a few dinks on a senko. We started having some motor trouble late in the day due to a leak in our fuel line and called it a day. We talked to the guy who won the tournament and he weighed in like 33 pounds or so. We hit Jordan lake the next day and our trolling motor crapped out about 30 minutes in to the day because of a short somewhere. After working on it for a while we just pulled out and headed home. The first impression of Harris wasn’t great but I do want to come back and then back and try it again. I could see how someone could catch some giants when they learn the lake.

I love Green Pumpkin with a black blade. If the water is remotely clear (3 feet) on to gin clear green pumpkin is what I throw probably 95% of the time. In clearer water and when fish are more active I’ll use green pumpkin with a silver blade and I’ll mix in white with a silver blade. On pressured lakes I stick with the black blade more than the silver. In water with less than 3 feet of visibility, especially if it’s sunny I’ll throw a bluegill color with a gold blade or blue and black with a gold blade. If it’s cloudy with lower visibility I’ll often throw black and blue with a black blade. I’ll throw the black and blue/black blade at night too.

Thanks for the input KNHC and you are right about the extreme publicity. That hole of water is everywhere online. Hopefully we can manage to sorelip a few bass before they get pressured to death. I also read your post about the your one man tournament on Hartwell and it made me laugh out loud. The fact that Humor can be lost on some people blows my mind!

I count myself as lucky to be able to fish in a few different states each year. In 17’ I hit a bunch of lakes in my home state of KY and I fished in VA, TN and AL multiple times. As long as everything holds up I’m going to be fishing in N.C. for the first time this weekend. Gonna hit Shearon Harris with my fishin buddy and hopefully nail a few big girls right in the mouth!

Thanks a lot for the info Lasher, it’s really appreciated. I know it’s a little early in the year but I hope the bass are moving up from the winter haunts to the shallower to feed. I’d read about those 2 massive limits and from there I’ve read a lot more about how good this lake is. Thanks again!

I LOVE to fish jerkbaits and do so year round as long as the water I’m on is halfway clear. I love the Lucky Craft pointer and the Megabass Vision 110s but Rapala Shadow Raps are quickly becoming my new favorite jerkbaits. I love their action and the subtle shimmy they have when they come to rest. Husky jerks do pretty well for me too.

I’m hitting Shearon Harris in NC at the end of February myself. Sure hope we get a few warm days in a row and the big girls come up to start fattening up for the spawn! Good luck on your fishing trips everyone!

A brand of Popper that shall remain nameless caught my biggest fish. It was a shade over 5. That and a senko caught more bigger fish than anything else in 2017. Spring and fall were really good to me last year but the dog days of summer put a whoopin on me like I’ve never had before. I’m ready for the prespawn in 2018!

I have went through this transformation and then went back again! I had accumulated tons of different various plastics and Lures and decided to simplify things. Once I did I was still able to catch fish but not as many. I was seriously limited by my not being able to adapt Where I had pigeon holed myself to only fishing a few different things. I love to worm fish but there are days that a creature bait will out do a worm 10 to one and it was those days that led me to restock my boat with everything I had gotten rid of. I always start out with my tried and true, basic, go to Lures but I have found that if the fish aren’t really biting those Lures I need to change until I find what they will bite and that is impossible if I don’t have it in the boat. Sometimes I end up spending a fortune buying a few Lures that don’t produce for me (Cough! Jackall Pompadour! Cough!) but more often than not I can find something different that will put more fish in the boat.

I guess I should also mention that I feel like senkos do better than Ochos when they are fished wacky style. In my opinion Senkos are stiffer and hold their shape better than Ochos which tend to droop more the longer they are used. When I fish them on a weightless Texas rig I think the Ochos can hold their own. I also like the fleck that strike king uses. Most of the fish I catch on Ochos come on Ochos with flecks in them where as I catch a lot of senko fish on laminates or flat colored senkos.

That is similar to the old “Little George” in-line spinner. One of the 1st Lures I ever used.

The New River near Radford and Galax is one of my favorite places on earth to fish and I have been from Lake Erie to Florida and back on a boat. I started going wade fishing there back in HS and I still go back a few times each year. It is beautiful country and there are plenty of Smallies and Muskie in those waters.