BigAngus752

Just out of curiosity since I have never been to your area, what is the water temp right now where you fish?

I also live in Illinois (central). The calendar says fall, the morning air says fall, but it is NOT fall for fish yet. All the water temps around here are still way too high (like 75 degrees last time I was out). Night time air temps are getting to the 40's sometimes now. Just wait a couple/few weeks and the water temps will get down where the fish like it and it will be on like Donkey Kong. Find an overcast afternoon first week or two of November, throw some topwaters and spinners. You should make a comeback.

Wife caught me wigglin' that shaky head down in Tennessee last week.

Wow, almost worst possible scenario for catching SM. Rained for over 24hrs straight which caused rise in water level which caused them to open multiple sluices for extended periods. But we fished anyway! We got out twice. We both missed hooksets (I missed one BIG fish and my wife missed FOUR hooksets). That was because we had never fished shaky heads and ned rigs before. New technique and maybe not the greatest setups for them. We had trouble "feeling" what was going on and just wiffed when we swung late. But I caught some Kentuckies on spinners later on which was cool because I've never caught spotted bass before. They are pretty fun fish to catch, actually! Really put up a fight on the spinners. It is a really beautiful lake. We will go back! Preferably during spawn...

This is just a spectacular idea right here. In central Illinois our lakes and reservoirs stay muddy from runoff from all the farm fields and typical silt bottoms. The white/light spinners just don't cut it year round. I've caught more fish on black spinners than white. And dark spinners are hard to find...until now. I've already put seven of these on my Xmas list ranging from the bluegill flash to pb&j!

I try to do much more reading than typing. I'm here to learn. But I feel compelled to put my humble two cents in on this one. I've spent a large part of my life outdoors. I've spent my entire life believing that I, (and you, and bass, and the moon, and the weather) were all created by God. I've seen some things and I know without any doubt that everything in nature has an effect on other natural things. I've been a police officer for 26 years and I can absolutely guarantee you that a full moon has an effect on living beings, including people. Does that mean that the moon will decide when we catch fish? I don't know. But I know that nature also counterbalances itself. If you have the perfect solunar date/time for catching fish but the Lord decided that at that same moment you are going to have a bright, sunny day with water temps in the 90's then perhaps the moon doesn't matter so much. Why does it have to be so complicated? So we can have forums and internet videos and books and really experienced people like @Catt and @WRB and @scaleface @Team9nine @A-Jay @J Francho @deep that can help us sort it out. If it was easy it wouldn't be any fun.

I have a Tatula SV and while it is a really outstanding reel it's best used for casting light lures. If you want to cast weightless wacky rig Senkos at distance (or anything light) the SV it your best bet for sure. But my crankbait reel is a Tatula CT. It holds more line and I can more easily adjust it for great distance in the weight range of most crankbaits. You can get a CT on eBay for $80 and it really outshines my more expensive Revo SX. I would imagine I will own at least a couple more CTs in the near future. And another SV actually...

What do you intend to do with it? This would help with the suggestions I suspect.

Thank you!

Man, I wish I could be that organized! I get mine organized by size and lure but by the time I'm back to the dock it's a total mess.

I keep everything (except soft baits) in 3700s. Each is it's own category (spinners/willow, spinners/colorado, topwater, deep cranking, etc.). I use a sharpie to write the size on the bottom of each bin so I can look for my 3/8 spinner with the lid open (everything to this point is true). Each bin is filled in order of the color spectrum (not really) and cross-referenced alphabetically by brand (yeah right). My most successful lures (I don't have any) earn a prestigious place in a special, gold-colored 3700 which I have dubbed "The Oscars" (that would be funny if it was true). Lures from "The Oscars" are only used on weekend evenings during a high probability lunar period. I have a hard and fast rule that all lures are to remain in this highly organized system and cannot ever be moved out of place. This system remains in effect until I've been in my boat for 10 minutes. Then they suddenly become a tangled pile of lures stuffed into a five gallon bucket. I would advise you to find a different system altogether.

We are headed to Center Hill Lake starting 10/8 for our first time to a high Tennessee reservoir. A little nervous as we come from central Illinois where "clear" water means you can stick your hand in the water up to the wrist and see most of your fingers. Any tips for this time of year? Having trouble finding out what the water temp is at Center Hill right now. Wondering if we will be fishing deep Ned rigs or if the baitfish have moved into the shallows. I've done my due diligence and research and I've got numerous spots mapped out. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Have you actually tried out what you are looking at? Or do you have other Loomis rods? Your perception of "fast" and "extra fast" can only be based on what you have felt yourself. If you don't know how Loomis rods feel in comparison to what you are currently using it might be best to find a shop that has some in stock and go try them. I bought an Abu Garcia rod and a Fenwick rod together on the same day that were allegedly identical actions (and in the same price range) and they fish very differently. That's fine because I knew that when I bought them. I bought them in a shop about an hour away and I got to handle them first. Had I ordered them online thinking they would be close to identical I may have been disappointed.

Now that's a friend!

I had a Tatula SV with 30lb Suffix on it on my flipping rod. I put a 4/0 hook and an old worm on it, handed it my wife and said, "Go try out your first baitcaster". She went out in the yard and started flipping and pitching into her flower bed and then hurling the worm across our yard and across the street into the neighbors yard. Not a single birds nest and she had never used a baitcaster before. If you want something for lightweight lures the SV spool is what you are looking for. I gave her the SV and put a Revo SX on my flipping rod. The Revo is a great reel but requires a lot more attention than the SV did.

I'd rather buy packs of Mustads than get skunked!!!

I went to Field and Stream today to pick up some hooks, a couple spinnerbaits, and some craws. Turns out the stores (not online/not advertised) are closing out reels that have newer versions coming out AND they are having their "percent off" sale (with the little colored stickers). I started looking around and found this Revo SX (3rd gen). It's even a lefty in 7:1 which I have been looking for. They had it marked down from $149 to $109 plus it had a 30% off sticker. When I asked the associate for one he discovered that the only one they had left was the display model and he couldn't find the box so he dropped the price even more. Final cost....$60 bucks. And it even looks good on my Powell Inferno flipping rod. I'm not sure if all the Field and Stream stores are closing out reels but if you have one nearby it is certainly worth checking on.

All lakes and rivers in central Illinois are subject to run-off from farmland. Two feet of visibility is clear water here. Many times it's six inches or less depending upon the season. We are nervous because we are going to Center Hill Lake and Dale Hollow Lake in Tennessee in two weeks. Those are clear, highland reservoirs. We have no idea how to fish the smallmouth there. .

And this is what I spent a 1/3 of my day doing. Thanks for the tips! Oh, and I ordered one of these.

I understand now. Fish it like I would if the trees weren't there. That makes sense, thanks to all!

LOL! I thought I was taking my time with the lures! Shows what I know.

One addendum to this...throughout the rest of the lake I saw fish in the 10-15ft range but recent reports also said you could find a few in 2ft. I started fishing smaller coves and found several fish suspended over two humps in the middle of a small cove at almost exactly 10ft. Every once in awhile a 5+ pound bass would come up and grab something on the surface and then go straight back down to the hump. I started throwing at them. I ended up anchoring and I spent just over one hour hurling almost everything in the boat at them. I dropped a weightless Senko off the side of the boat and let it float around them while I tried to draw them up with a Zara Spook and a then a Whopper Plopper. I threw two different size/color spinners. I tried a lipless crankbait. When those things didn't work I slowed way down and pulled a Texas rig (another Senko) past them over and over and over. I used big pulls and small pulls. I regret not trying a Shaky Head but I've never fished one before. In fact, I just got four packages of shaky head jigs last week. I'm going to learn that.

I was using the Rat L Trap to bang on trees at various depths but no luck. As I was packing up I started wishing that I had tried a worm or jig sliding down the sides of some of the trees. One thing I didn't try. This is not a joke. As I idled deep into this thing I became confounded about how to fish it and I thought to myself, "Catt would tell us to find the structure" so I started looking for contour changes on the bottom. But I still kept focused on the trees. I may go out there again this weekend and I'll hit the bottom hard where it gets to stepping down on the points. Lake Shelbyville. It's a tough one right now.

This cove was full of fish in the 3in to 6in range all hanging just under the surface sticking close to the trees.

This is a very large cove chock full of these old trees. The trouble I had with it is that these trees are 20+ feet tall. The center of the cove is 40 feet deep. When I took the "selfie" pic I was in 28 feet of water. Shoreline is a near straight drop off. Fishing at this lake is very tough right now. It was sunny/sometimes cloudy and very flat today. Water temp is still high (75 out in the middle and 76-78 in the coves). I occasionally saw suspended fish in this cove and it was getting a little bit of surface feeding. I used both lipless (Rat-L-Trap) and lipped (Rapala Deep Runner) with no success. Also had my usual weightless Senko floating along with me as I drifted and at the end I tried a Zara Spook on the surface. I didn't get a bite. This is a new lake to me. Would you expect this area to be productive under these conditions? How would you fish it?