TOXIC

We make it a point to collect all we can reach whether it be in trees or logs. We also snag all the trash we see in the water. On St Clair we picked up an average of 2 balloon bundles every day we were there. Oddest thing we ever found was an ankle monitoring bracelet in the Rappahonock with instructions to send it back for a reward. Netted us $25.

Well, these came out of high 80’s - low 90’s water temps Sunday. River fish and the only difference from cooler water temps were that they were on shady banks or behind large rocks. To tell the truth, I expected them to be deeper but they weren’t.

I had a bass hunter model and I found the drain plug was mounted between the pontoons and too high to get all of the water out. Mine took in water from the sides and the chrome rails. What I did was drill a 2 inch hole in the vertical part of one of the pontoons about an inch up from the bottom. I then glued in a short (2 inches long) piece of 2 inch pvc. I used a rubber expansion plug in the pvc pipe to seal it. When I stored it, I put it on its side with the pvc plug closest to the ground. If it filled with water, I could just remove the plug and drain. If it filled with water after fishing, I would tip it on its side and all of the water from the other pontoon would drain over to the pontoon I had put the plug in. Then after taking the plug out, I could lift the front and all of the water would drain out.

Thought I would do a little PSA for anyone wanting to use the City Docks for launching Bass Boats in the upper river. So we normally go out of Hopyard in a 20 foot Ranger and don’t go any further upriver than Little Falls. We have also launched there at Little Falls without any problems. Normally we don’t have any loading launching problems unless it is a lunar low tide, storm tide, wind blown tide or something else. We decided to try City Docks Sunday to explore the upper river a little more. Dual ramps were nice but when we came back in to load (we were in the second or third hour of an outgoing tide) the launch was a little dicey. Luckily the river is really clear right now and when my partner dropped me at the dock to go get the truck/trailer, I could see that the downriver ramp had a little more depth and what looked like an extra slab of concrete which allowed me to dunk the trailer a little deeper. Kayak and Paddle Board rentals made it pretty busy and since we were there at O’dark thirty in the morning and were the first ones at there, there was no marked parking for trucks/trailers. I took a guess based on what I could see and seemed to be ok but I had to wiggle a little to get out to load. Lots of cars that will park anywhere they can fit. I’m not complaining because you only know what you know and I don’t expect people who have ever towed to know how much room a truck/trailer needs to maneuver. We had a pretty good day and caught a lot of panfish, small smallmouth, largemouths and snakehead. Fishing was tough and it was 90+ degrees. Our normal patterns from when we launch at Hopyard did not hold up in the far upper reaches. We were approximately 18 miles upriver from our regular water We found the largemouth on rocks next to deep water. We also caught fish on wherever fresh water was flowing into the river. There are not any really bigger creeks and that is a major pattern downriver. Snakehead came off wood. Would really like to explore this area more but I doubt we will since the launch is unusable for our size boat at low tide. Rumor has it that it gets dredged but right now it’s shady. Be forewarned, there are a lot more navigation hazards upriver as well. Wing dams, barge tie offs, rocks and wood close to the channel.

My standard spinnerbait trailer is a 3 inch curly tail grub.

I am a mono guy. Yes, I will use fluro or co poly or braid on occasion and for specific techniques but I love my mono. My favorite was Berkley Trilene Tournament Strength in Photochromic. Of course it got discontinued. When I was pro staff for Bass Pro, I used Excel and was happy with it because I changed it out on a very regular basis. Break strength is very good and although I have never measured, I am confident it is over the pound rating on the box. I still use the Excel and normally stock up when I am working an event at Bass Pro and it is on sale along with my vendor discount.

Wow! Pulled this thread out of the archives?. I am amazed at how civil the original discussion was and I am wondering if attitudes have changed. Seems that nowadays legally eating a bass, largemouth or smallmouth, gets a heated response. I have eaten smallmouth twice in my 50 years of fishing. I have eaten a lot of freshwater fish from panfish, crappie, pike, catfish, perch, walleye, spoonbill, snakehead, bullhead, rock bass, and even carp. You haven’t lived until you have had carp from Joe Tess. https://www.joetessplace.com/ He has branched out since my younger days. Smallmouth are my favorite fish to catch and the two times I have eaten them I was fairly unimpressed. They were ok but I would much rather eat a lot of other species.

I go through the gills and if that’s not working (which it does 80% of the time) I have a pair of hemostats that I can reach in through the mouth, grab the hook at the bend behind the barb and because they are so thin, I can usually twist the hook right out. That is from my fly fishing days. If that doesn’t work, then I use side cutters and cut the hook out. All of that progression takes place fairly quickly but if you fish, you will eventually kill.

As long as you don’t jack their jaw you’re fine. It’s best to use 2 hands and support the back half but as long as there is no downward strain on the jaw you’re good. Thanks for asking. A lot don’t realize the damage they do by cranking on the fishes jaw.

I can tell you the chain of lakes I fish in Wisconsin there is absolutely zero daytime bite. Morning, evening and nighttime is the only real bite. Used to be an all day bite, they just moved to the deeper weeds but since the lakes were sprayed, they went to a low light or night bite.

Exactly. A lot of us (me included) want targets to throw at and have a tendency to beat the bank. That will work in the summer early or late in the day when the fish are up feeding but for the majority of the day in summer they move to deep structure and cover. I am sometimes slow to adapt. Fishing a lake like St Clair that forces you off shore if you want to catch the bigguns has helped me.

Sorry for your loss. We’ve got a 17 year old Weimaraner that is starting to fail. It’s our 2nd one. The first was my dog bonded to me like a glove. The current one is bonded to my wife. I got him for that reason because I was on the road so much. I don’t know if I can go through it again after this one departs.

Compton rapids were a stopping point for me. The stretch of river I fished easily turned out 75 fish days either spinning or fly fishing. Lots of tubers and canoeing since it is in the stretch the outfitters like to drop people off. Fishing went down when the price of fertilizer dropped and all of the poultry farms started dumping chicken litter into the river. Hopefully they have stopped and the river has rebounded.

I spent a lot of time in this area of the river both in a 2 man pvc boat and wading. Many weekends camping on the bank. A lady I knew owned 3 acres of riverfront and once in the river we went a few miles upstream and downstream both by boat and wading.

That’s an awful lot of reading right there. ??

Wow, glad you are ok. Growing up in Nebraska we had our fair share.

For me, the biggest hurdle would be not knowing water temp. Unless the fish are extremely shallow or extremely deep I use water temp a lot. Weed lines with rocks are a favorite smallie hangout but how deep is dependent on water temp. Isolated rock piles are another but you won’t know where they are without finders. I would concentrate on bottom hugging plastics and work my way from shallow to deep.

Facebook has a “Walleye boats for sale” page and there are some high dollar rigs on there.

I store my boat outside year round in sun, rain, snow. I have no storage facilities near me big enough to handle a 21ft boat. The sun is a killer. Vinyl, plastic, rubber and gel coat all suffer if exposed all the time. Mold and mildew is always a concern. I use 303 Aerospace Protectant on everything but the gel and on that I use a sealer and UV protectant wax. If I get caught in the rain, I prop open all of my compartment lids and put the cover on with a small round fan in the splashwell to move the air and help dry the carpet. I use the fan all summer because it can get really, really hot and humid under the cover. If it’s not going to rain for a few days I will leave it uncovered but the picture is how it looks 99% of the time. I have had no problems in the 8 years I have owned the boat.

Actually, I think you more than proved my point. I never criticized anyone for buying what they want.

I don’t see anyone having issues….just trying to understand the logic behind upper end gear that is beyond what 90% of people fish with. It seems to me those who choose that gear are pretty defensive about it. Personally I could care less but I don’t need to be told I’m any less of a fisherman because of the gear I choose. I could understand it even if it was considered artwork because I have a friend in Australia who fishes more expensive gear than what has been mentioned in this thread but it is because he is a collector.

Exactly….I forgot about drifting or dragging. If we catch fish while drifting or dragging baits, we will hit waypoints all down the drift when we catch fish. Makes it easier to run back to the start of your drift and repeat it.

Fair enough. If paying big dollars for an outfit that doesn’t result in catching more or bigger fish then enjoy your zen moments fishing with it. Like I said, I don’t begrudge anyone spending whatever they want. It’s their hard earned money. But I thought the act of fishing was to actually catch fish.?

I never have just 1 waypoint on any spot and I never waypoint the actual spot or structure. If for example I am way pointing a wreck on St Clair, I will have waypoints a cast out from the beginning of the wreck, the middle of the wreck and the end of the wreck. This gives me the basic orientation of what I am fishing and with sidescan I can actually see the wreck from my waypoints. It also allows me to motor up to the actual waypoint.

I can tell you I have some BPS Pro Qualifier and Browning Midas and Citori reels that have been put through the grinder both from the guide service and me using them for 20 years. They still perform perfectly. Advancements in weight are the only changes that make me like the newer gear.