Mobydick

I will not go into detail with my thoughts on this subject, but I had been reporting my findings of "sick" smallies to the fish commission since 2003 and they had done nothing about it until they started finding them in the Juniata and then the Susky. Only THEN did they call me and ask more about what I reported, and this was just 2 years ago. The head guy at the Harrisburg office said my reports were the first they have on record and believes strongly that it may have started in the area I was finding these fish. In the last 2 years they have been up here regularly doing work, but I do not know what exactly it was that they were doing. The Juniata and it's tributaries have been getting better over the last few years but I award that success to mother nature. Ian

Went out the other night for some evening smallies...enjoy!

Hello, We have been exploring some new water lately and here is the link to a video from this past Sunday. We hit two different creeks in central PA, the first one did not produce very well, just a few decent smallies. The second creek was completely different, had some good fish there. Enjoy! Tight lines, Ian

My local creek holds mostly Smallmouth, but there is a few Largemouth here and there. My favorite baits are a Zara Spook (Baby Bass Color), a 1/4 oz Lunker Lure Buzzbait (White), 4" and 5" stick-worms (Junebug, Watermellon, and Natural Shad), Rebel Humpback (Gold w/ Black Back), Lucky Craft Pointer 78 (Pineapple Shad), and a Zoom UV Speed Craw (Watermellon). Those baits seem to work well for me. Ian

My ideal summer day is a topwater in the morning. Once the sun is up and the mist burns off the surface, then I move deeper and fish offshore structure/cover with crankbaits or jigs. Then I move back to the morning areas and fish spinnerbaits until closer to dark, then finish off with topwater again. There are so many factors that can, and usually do, change that ideal summer day plan. Tight lines!

Just for fun, here is what I think: - Some anglers will make the short 15 to 17 min run to the Bernice area. Some will make the 27 to 29 min run down to the lower arm, the one that goes left if your standing on the dam looking up the lake. But, I also think a few will go to the Dilar Cove/Honey Creek Park area. - I think the main pattern in the Bernice and Dilar Cove areas will be a swim-jig around offshore structure/cover, and swim-jigs, square-bills, and soft jerkbaits fished from shore out to about 12-14 ft. - I think the main pattern in that lower arm will be an A-rig style bait fished slow over/around offshore structure/cover, with anglers switching to a crankbait off and on. There are a lot of docks, so i'm sure there will be a few guys fishing those. I think the bait of choice there will be a light flipping jig with a bulky trailer to present a very slow fall, being fished on the sides of the docks towards the main lake, with those anglers switching to a c-rigged soft jerkbait off and on. I also think the 500 yd stretch of bank right in front of Lookout Point will be a key stop for those running to the lower arm. That is just my thoughts....

I usually start by finding the depth of the primary forage and start there. The primary forage on my favorite lake is shad. I will use electronics to find several schools of shad, then average their depth and start fishing where the bottom is at that depth. For example, if I find shad in 18 to 22 ft of water, ill start fishing bottom that is 20 ft deep, if I don't catch anything there, ill start moving away from bottom but stay at the 20 ft depth. Ian

Hope that wasn't a no wake zone....lol

I have fished a creek near my home for more than 10 years now. My bag usually consists of the following: - Several colors each of Yum Dingers, Yamamato Senkos, and Wake Tiki Sticks in 4" and 5" (Watermellon, Junebug, Grn Pumkin, Baby Bass, Black Blue Flake) - Several colors of Zoom UV Speed Craws (Watermellon, Junebug, Pumkinseed) - Several colors of Zoom Baby Brush Hogs (Watermellon, Black Blue Flake) - Several colors of Mizmo Big Boy Tubes (Green Pumkin, Red Shad Laminate, Smoke Red Flake) - Several colors of Zoom Flukes (White, Arkansas Shiner, Watermellon Red Flake) - Several Rebel Humpback crankbaits - Several KVD 1.5 Squarebills - Several Lucky Craft Pointers (78's and 100's) - Several Spinnerbaits in 3/8 oz (White, or any translucent color) - White Lunker Lure Buzzbait - Black 5/8 Jointed Jitterbug - Several SK Bitsy Bug Jigs You have some good baits, and I agree with elkriverangler that you should add some senkos and tubes to the mix. I find that whether I use a 3" stickbait or a 5" stickbait, I seem to catch the same number of fish (sometimes more on the larger bait), but the larger baits usually average better quality fish. Id say my most consistent catchers are green pumkin tubes, white spinnerbaits, and natural color senkos. Try using larger baits for a trip or two and see if that doesn't increase the quality of your fish. Tight Lines, Ian

From the lower launch, there is a small finger that comes out in, the one with the cement wall and bench on it. I've always done good right off the tip of that with suspending jerkbaits and jigs. Across the lake there is a cove that has some large boulders and a bit of wood cover on the upper side of it, right out at the edge of the main lake. When the wind blows it usually blows down the lake, that creates a surface current carrying baitfish and other food from the main lake right around the end of those rocks. The bank drops off into about 15 feet of water right there where the boulders are if I remember correctly. I have always done good right there with suspending jerkbaits and swimbaits. From the boulders, if you look directly across the cove to the other side where it meets the main lake, that bank drops off into 12 feet of water and there is a flat down there right where the cove meets the main channel. The flat is 12 feet deep, drops to 18 in the channel, within a distance of 8 feet, and again, suspending jerkbaits and swimbaits. The next cove down, the one with all the boulders in it, you'll notice there is a buoy just above that cove, it says something about duck hunting or fowl hunting I think, but right there you'll see a few big boulders on the main lake shoreline, from there eye up a line straight down to the shore on the other side of the cove, that's the drop, I've always done well there with senkos and flukes. That should get ya started. Send me a pm if you have any questions. Ian

A HUGE freshwater clam shell in Meadow Grounds Lake, central PA. It was around 11" in length and 4" high. My dad and I almost thought it was fake. That lake is loaded with freshwater clams, some big ones too!

I second the Pyrex, and run it on a VERY low temp setting. Mine took about 3 minutes to melt on level 2 out of 10 temp setting. Once it turns really clear then your good to go!

The exoskeleton of a spider is made up of a carbohydrate called chitin. When the spider dies and blood stops flowing, this chitin exterior turns white like most other dead tissue. Bacteria have a hard time breaking down and digesting the chitin, which is why you'll find the white exoskeleton hangin there for a while. It makes a harmless, normal looking spider, look like something from another planet.

Iv'e had more luck on the LC Pointer 78 Suspending this year than I have on the larger model LC's. Although I haven't used an Xrap much at all this year, I always have one tied on a rod just in case. I find the Xrap works better for me in the colder water than the LC Pointer. There has been a few times where the bite on an LC will slow down but I can switch to an Xrap and find a few more bites. Just like Crestliner2008, I also have one of the two rigged every time I go out. Right now though I find that a tube, fluke, topwater walk-the-dog type bait, and a crankbait are the hot baits in my area. The water is cooling down and i'm sure the jerkbait bite should heat up very soon. Good Luck!!!

I have been using a Bass Pro Shops Carbonlite 6'6" MH spinning rod that I bought this spring, paired with a Bass Pro Shops Pro Qualifier reel. It has worked very well, I can throw a wide range of weights with this setup. I primarily throw a small crankbait, texas rigged 4" tube, or a fluke, and it works great for all of these. Both rod and reel are both around the $100 dollar range. Some reviews of the Carbonlite rods say that the tips break very easy, but I haven't had any trouble with the 7 that I own. I have logged several 4+ and 3 in the 5+ lb range, and that's where some say they have the rod break, is on larger fish. For the price, I love this rod and would recommend it to anyone.

I have a lot of luck in early morning and late evening hours with the Candy Bug color Tiny Brush Hog. I have also done well on the Green Weenie color on a drop-shot. I think ill try them on a jighead next .

Paangler3117, is that seat still open on your boat? I would love to join you guys. Ian

I agree with using the lightest weight possible that will still let you stay on and feel the bottom. As far as what that weight is, thats up to you. Im sure the split shot would work.

Welcome! Nice fish, I bet that was a ton of fun on an ultralight! Ian

I hit a local pond today for a bit. The water was very clear compared to what it usually is, it was a couple inches low as well due to the drought were in here. I had always done good on jigs in the pond so I had one tied on one of my rods (Revenge Flip Jig in Bluegill 3/8 oz, tipped with a Watermellon Berkley Crazy Legs Chigger Craw) and threw it to start. I had worked it slow over some high spots and through some brush with no luck. Then I messed up a cast and I decided to wind it in as fast as I could and cast where I wanted to. In about 8 turns of the handle, with the jig swimming a few inches under the surface, one hit, only about 15", but it was a start. From there, I tied a Green Sunfish colored Dirty Jigs Swim Jig tipped with a Watermellon Berkley Crazy Legs Chigger Craw on another rod. I continued to catch one on the swim jig. I started throwing a Bream colored Stanley Wedge spinnerbait and caught 2 nicer fish, one was a little over 3 lb, and the other almost 4 lb. All 4 were largemouth, and very healthy I must say. Last I fished there the fish were looking really skinny, these were for sure not starving . I had no misses and all 4 fish had literally annihilated the bait. I do believe the strikes were reaction strikes, not feeding strikes. If I could do anything differently, I would have taken a few jerkbaits along as well. I did not have my thermometer, but do believe the water was around 75 degrees, air around 80 degrees. Thanks for reading! Ian

US Army Future Soldier - Enlisted and leave for basic on August 5th - MOS is Common Ground Stations Intel Analyst. Thanks to the others who have, am, or will be serving! Ian

xr8 - Olive Shad and Red Shad They are my two best producers. Good Luck!!!! Ian

There are a few things that I will use during these conditions, they are spinnerbaits, tubes, creatures, and jigs. I will base my colors of spinnerbaits on the sky conditions, if it's sunny I will use a gold blade, if it is cloudy, painted blades. I almost always will use colorado blades, but I have had luck on willows. I prefer 1/2 ounce spinnerbaits with the wires opened up for a slower retrieve. Trailer hook is a must, and I almost always will use a trailer, usually a grub rigged with the tail curled down so it dont interfere with my trailer hook. I use scent also. Tubes are also a good choice. I will use a 4 1/2 or 5 inch tube with a rattle. I prefer to texas rig them with a bead and usually 3/8 or 1/2 ounce bullet weight. I prefer to use black neon, black/blue tail, black, green pumkin, green pumkin chartail, and white. I use scent on these also. Creatures are one of my favorites. I like to pitch them at cover. I usually use a Zoom Brush Hog. I like to texas rig these with 1/2 or 5/8 ounce bullet, pegged. I use the same colors as I do with the tubes. Scent also. Jigs are also a killer. I like to pitch these as well. I prefer a 1/2 ounce jig in either black or green pumkin with a trailer to match. Scent on these also. Ian

First thing to do is find out wether you can fish it, better safe than sorry. I would look for the deeper holes and fish them first. Look for anything that creates an eddy and fish them too (large rocks, logs, weeds, etc.). If you see anything chasing baitfish, throw around the area, chances are there is a smallie in there. Basically you want to fish anything that a smallie can hide in, under, or around. If that dont work, then just throw everywhere scince it is a small area, and when you find one, you can start putting a pattern together. Good Luck!!! Ian

x2 Ian