roadwarrior

Well, the Saturday before Thanksgiving, 2003 I was fishing with my main man, Speedy Madewell. He's running the trolling motor in the front of the boat, but we drift the Tennessee River with the bow facing upriver so I have first shot at new water. Anyhow, we're drifting a submerged ridge with huge boulders dispersed intermittantly along the break. My buddy tells me to cast about ten feet in front of a very large point, but it's underwater and I target a different rock. He says, "That's not where the big girl lives" and casts to the spot himself. About twenty minutes later I had the privilege of netting his 10 lb smallmouth! As far as we know, this is the biggest bass ever caught on the Tennessee River.

September 4, 2005 Public pond, early morning, Norman Fat Boy (bluegill pattern). 27 1/4"

I'm having pretty good luck on some ponds I fish with tubes and Kut-Tail worms, T-rigged and unpegged. If you think a weighted presentation is going to keep you hung up, try a Fat Ika weightless. A shallow crank might keep you out of trouble and onto fish. I've been having some luck with the Bomber Square A and Norman Fat Boy, bluegill pattern. Both lures can be fished from the bank without too much worry of being hung up. As far as the weather goes, WOW! It might be perfect. I have had some pretty big days in front of a big storm.

A rubber net cases no damage to the fish. Unless it's big enough to weigh or we want to take a picture, the fish never leaves the water. That's about as good as it gets.

DePoy79, Great fish, it's too bad you kept them. Plastic mounts these days are perfect for display. You can't expect to catch state records or even big fish consistantly when guys kill some of the best fish in the lake. The California boys release 19 & 20 lb bass so they might have a chance or somebody might have a shot at the world record. I like to think that the biggest fish I catch will be caught again when they grow up. On September 4, 2005 I released my PB, 27 1/4". I estimate the fish to weigh around 12 lbs but based on the calculator, it might have weighed more. The Tennessee state record is 14.5 lbs.

(6/50) X 128 = 15.36 oz of oil for 6 gallons of gas 15.36/6 = 2.56 oz per gallon 2.5 oz rounded (down) to match gamblerOH's response.

I can understand simplifying your game, but even if you were going with soft plastics only, there are some days when a different profile or action makes all the difference in the world. I fish a little pond that holds a lot of hungry bass. It takes about an hour and a half to thoroughly fish the entire perimeter with soft plastics. Some days I might fish a Senko and catch two or three little fish on the first go-around. A switch to a Gitzit, Fat Ika, Kreature, Roboworm or a Kut-Tail and WHAM! It all changes. the_muddy_man, I'm not trying to change your mind at all, I'm sure you have thought this plan out, but for everyone else, we probably need more options to be successful. You just can't expect to be able to force bass to strike the lure you want to fish.

Matt_Fly, No doubt, that's where my interest lies. I don't fish tournaments, I fish for big fish only. For me, that's always been soft plastics. I have dedicated a lot of hours this year to developing and improving my jig fishing, but I just haven't caught the largemouth I am expecting. It's been fun concentrating on this specicific lure and technique. Success will come with time.

2005 PB Smallmouth 8 lbs 1/15/05 Tennessee River PB Brown Trout 9 7/8 lbs 6/11/05 White River PB Largemouth 12+ lbs 9/04/05 Public Pond

Chris, Thanks. This is a great thread for me, I'm still struggling with the bite. It seems I'm either too fast or too slow. Maybe I'm swimming the jig more than I think and not waiting on the second tick. I'm going to keep at it, thanks for the post.

If you fish for smallmouth, In-Fisherman's "Smallmouth" book. It's not new so you can find it in paperback. It's everything you need to know to find, fish and catch these beauties. I highly recommend the book.

Chris, How do you feel about using white jigs this time of year? How about "swimming" a white jig in late summer/ early fall?

I don't mind losing fish at the boat unless it's "The Bass". You never know when that magic fish might appear. Also, I fish from a 2180 Bay Ranger with quite a bit of freeboard. It's not very conducive for lipping big fish.

I never use a net fishing from shore. Bring the fish to the shore and hold your rod high, straight up to barely lift the head out of the water. Do not try to hoist the fish unless it's real small. Lip the fish with your thumb and release. I always use a net in a boat. The best nets are rubber. They never tangle, never wrap around a fish and rarely get hooked. They are especially handy for night fishing, no hassels.

No challenge, hmm? While some guys are being challenged this fall, I'm going to try to catch the world record smallmouth on the Tennessee River. That's probably not going to happen, but while I'm out there I'll probably catch twenty-five or thirty bronzebacks over 5 lbs, at least 100 lbs of fish a day and have a pretty big time. Challenging? I don't know. Fun? Fishing is fun, but I like catching better.

For me, this time of year is the beginning of smallmouth season. We put away our heavy striper rods and bring out the medium power spinnning rigs. The baitfish have grown to 3-4" and the numbers are staggering. To differenciate our bait from the forage we fish shiners on a split shot rig and a circle hook. What we look for is structure and fast moving water on the Tennessee River. Autumn is the very best season for large smallmouth in this part of the country. The weather is generally calm and the water flow is consistant. Maybe this fall we'll find that 12 lb bronzeback we've been dreaming about.

Weightless Senko.

I fish topwater, crankbaits, jerkbaits and spinners in low light, early and late. The rest of the day I'm soft plastics and sometimes jigs. As far as activity on the lake, it may make some difference, but not as much as you might think. Try to find structure or cover in deeper water and fish it like you are alone on the lake. I think you might be surprised.

I'm in agreement with Brad_Coovert. I fish dark colors almost exclusively, especially soft plastics. The exception are a few hard baits that may be more colorful or a better representation of live baitfish. Even then silver, gold, white, chartreuse and maybe a splash of red or orange pretty much covers it all.

I fish both live bait and artificials. Bass do not become "conditioned" to live bait, it's just what they eat on a regular basis. As Chris pointed out, fishing artificials is all about presentation. Lures don't necessarily have to look just like the baitfish, they just have to look and act like something that might be edible. Sometimes that's not even the case. Bass are territorial and curious. Defensive bites and reactionary bites are common. I think you'll find that you can catch far more fish on live bait than lures, but you might catch bigger fish on artificials. Personally, I fish live shiners for smallmouth on the Tennessee River. For largemouth and all lake fishing, I fish artificials.

What I find surprising is that the thread, Know Your Prey!: Bass Senses II, has only been read 144 times as of this post. We have 2672 members and numerous guests, and at least 4 of the 144 hits have been mine! Hmmm? Anyhow, Dr. Raul rocks! p.s. No references needed, Bait Monkey speak, me listen.

1. Lucky Craft LV Max 500 Blue& Chrome 2. Bomber Square A Brown/Orange Belly 3. Bagley BII Yellow/Black 4. Zara Spook Frog Pattern 5. Sammy Blue 6. Senko Watermelon/ Black Flake 7. Fat Ika " 8. Kreature " / Black & Red Flake 9. Kut-Tail Green Pumpkin 10. Gitzit Baby Diaper Yellow or Black/Red Flakes Note: All soft plastics are by the bag, if they count individually, I'll choose 5 Fat Ika and 5 Gitzits only.

Raul, I've read the two posts now several times and like them more each time! I have a question that might open my mind to other aspects of the various lures I use. I picked this particular bait because everyone knows that it can be very effective, especially fishing for big bass. Exactly what does a bass find interesting about a jig? Which senses are triggered? How does the bass determine when and where to strike? Why would color be of any importance in deep water? When should you use a rattle? Why would you ever use scent?

This makes all the sense in the world for lakes and ponds, but not for rivers. I mainly fish rivers, especially the Tennessee River and the White River. Wind is your enemy, wind ruins a day and can force you off the river. When the wind blows upstream the drift is slowed and hang-ups are chronic. We can deal with wind blowing downstream by adding additional weight, but rivers curve and boat control is a major issue. Crosswinds are the worst, blowing you in or blowing you out. Many days in the spring, high wind becomes insurmountable. As far as light dispersion, bait movement and oxygenation, on a river the current addresses all of those issues. On a river, waterflow is everything.

fishingrulz1234, I don't judge a lure, particularly soft plastics, by it's durability, but by how well it helps me catch fish. I fish mostly Yamamoto soft plastics, the Kanami is a Senko marketed by Gary's son. One or two bass per bait is about all you can expect, sometimes more but usually just one for me. I have been having success with Roboworms, T-rigged, lately. This is a durable and effective worm you might want to try. Another Yamamoto worm that works well is the Kut-Tail, either T-rigged or fished on a jig head. BTW, Lures that look alike do not necessarily perform alike. Rate of fall, action, profile, texture, scent and taste all contribute to a bait's effectiveness. I have a lot of confidence in GYCB products.