roadwarrior

I stay with a big presentation all the time, I NEVER downsize. I have had good luck with the Fat Ika in some little ponds that are probably around forty degrees.

I fish for stripers with live bait on a drift in a big river, so this may or may not be appropriate for your presentation. We fish three different baits depending on the season: gizzard shad early, big threadfin (yellowtail) and skip jack midsummer through early fall. In order to keep the bait lively, longer, we' ve found that hooking them sideways, basically through the nostrils works better than vertically through the lower and upper lips. My second suggestion is trying a Gamakatsu Octopus Circle Hook, #2. The hook sets itself, 95% of the time in the jaw, but you cannot "set" the hook or you will pull it out of the fish's mouth. This style is especially effective for catch and release.

Well Phishn_Phool, here's a story for you. I have been fishing with a guy now for almost four years. He's a great fisherman and a good man. In November of '03 he caught a 10 lb smallmouth which I netted and weighed. So, that's the lead in, but here's the story: Every time we go smallmouth fishing on the Tennessee River, we start out anchored on the downstream mouth of a little creek. We waste thirty minutes to an hour at a spot where I have NEVER gotton a bite. The reason we ALWAYS start here is becase my buddy caught seven fish over a two hour period with a total weight of just over 45 lbs! Now this was several years before I started fishing with this fellow. I now know him very well and I believe this story, if you knew him I think you would, too. That's not twelve averaging 6 lbs, but it's seven with a 6.428 average weight. When I had my biggest day ever, last month, I was reminded several times that it was NOT his biggest day.

First of all, they might not be bass. Might be carp or even gar, I fish a pond near Memphis that is infested. If they're bass you know you would have caught more. Anyhow, I fish several ponds and here's my advice: Right now I'm having good luck with the Yamamoto Ika. Next month Rat-L traps are the ticket if you don't have too much vegatation to foul the lure. I throw tubes, lizards, top water and shallow cranks- pretty standard stuff that I can fish without getting hung up (I'm fishing from the bank). Having said all that, I mostly fish Senkos. I cast parallel to the bank, out 5-10 ft. and walk the perimeter of the pond. It's that simple.

I prefer the traditional inserted jighead, exposed hook when feasible, but as a practical matter, it's generally T-rigged for me. Here's something to work in cover. The Mizmo Slim Jim tubes have a very thin skin. I'll T-rig them with a #4 off-set X-Point with no hook exposure. You'll need your Bill Dance hookset, but those hooks are soooo sharp they will penetrate the tube when necessary and are otherwise almost completely weedless.

WOW! I need to book a trip with you.

Big_Bass_Rich, this is just for fun, I'm not calling anyone out. My best day EVER was a few weeks ago and if I assign 4 lbs to our 10 under 5s and round up to 6 lbs for our seven over 5, the math is 82/17 = 4.82. I can probably talk myself into stretching it to a 5 lb average, but here in the land of monsters, that's a big day.

Well mcorr, Dale Hollow being home to the current world record, who can argue with that? I suspect you fish Percy Priest, Center Hill and the Cumberland River, too. I'm in Germantown and haven't made it over to your neck of the woods, yet. When do you think is the best time to hunt that 12 lb smallmouth I'm looking for?

I own a lot, no...a whole lot of spinnerbaits but rarely (never?) throw them simply because EVERYONE fishes them, everywhere. So here's a suggestion for a couple of lures that you can substitute when you are fishing exactly where you normally throw the spinners: Bomber Square A for a shallow presentation (0-2 ft) and Bagely BII (2-4 ft). One other thought for Tie1on, you can't make fish bite just because you want to throw some particular lure. If it's not working, TRY SOMETHING ELSE!

Let me see...Is this what you mean? The Eagles might have won if they hadn't run out of time and had scored more points.

Have you ever caught the same fish twice? Last fall I was fishing with a couple of guys that caught the same fish within a couple of hours. It is a 2-2 1/2 lb smallmouth with a crooked tail. It appears to be healthy, the injury must have occured when the fish was much younger. Well, last Saturday I caught him! There are a couple of things this brings to mind. Number one, we are fishing minnows and fish NEVER learn to avoid this bait. Secondly, when a fish is caught that doesn't mean they run off and hide, they sometimes go right back to where they were. And finally, fish are strong and resilient. Be as gentle as you can, but get that fish back in the water as soon as possible. They can survive an injury better than you might think.

4 lb average? I spend a week on the Great Lakes every summer and the fishing is really good, we've had days where we have caught fifty smallmouth- a piece! However, I have NEVER caught a single fish that weighed 4 lbs. We don't catch the numbers here in the Mid South, but if you want to go after a hawg, this is where they live. I don't recommend the summer. The VERY best fishing is NOW through late March and then again, September through November. Got out last Saturday and caught seventeen but only one over 5 lbs. Total for the year ('05) is sixty-eight smallmouth, eleven over 5 lbs including two just over 8 lbs.

60 degrees, water release 47,000 cfs, cold beer and hungry fish. I think I'll practice this weekend on the Tennessee River!

Glass_Man! That would have been my post but I don't think that's what this forum's about. I fish artificials exclusively for largemouth and have some success, but I have never caught a smallmouth over 5 lbs on anything but live shiners. Starting tomorrow and throughout the spring I'm going to devote a couple of hours on every trip to artificials: jigs, tubes & grubs, maybe even jerkbaits and top water. It's an experiment.

#1 Senkos & Ika Top water: Spooks & Sammy Shallow crank: Square A, Bagley BII Lipless crank: CV 500 Jerkbait: Pointer, Rogue & Rapala

Thanks Glenn.

You found the right site. Read the articles and links, it's pretty complete. I think you would be best served reading the articles rather than perusing the forum to get yourself started.

I fancy myself as a chef and do all of the cooking at my house. We have fish at least once a week. I generally prefer freshwater fish but there are exceptions. I keep few fish, but the few I keep are served fresh. My preference is walley or sauger, followed by crappie, catfish and striper. Lots of guys recommend bluegill but I don't fish for them and the ones I catch wouldn't amount to a meal, so I don't bother. I do a couple of trout trips but I don't like to eat trout more than once or twice a year. I fish twice a year in the Gulf. I prefer the yellow fin tuna fresh but I'll freeze snapper, dolphin and trigger. I don't keep wahoo or amber jacks- too fishy for me.

JT might be a little bit bias, but I'm independent and my #1 choice would be...INSIDE LINE I also like BASSMASTER (this month it's the bomb), and IN FISHERMAN.

duncast48TN, You don't have to kill them. Take along a camera, a scale and a cloth (sewing) tape measure when you're fishing. When you catch that big girl, take lots of pics, measure her length and girth and LET HER GO! Trust me, the plastics are better than the real thing. In northern waters it takes about 14 years for a smallie to grow to 5 lbs and can live to be 19 or 20. Here in the Mid South 5s are a prize but not uncommon. Our fish only live for about ten years but have the potential to become 12lb+ fish!

All right, I'm game: What's a "Suwannee"?

Ugly! I don't think so. When it comes to fighting, largemouth, especially BIG ones, give up way too easily- smallmouth never fold.

After reading the Big Bass article in this month's Bassmaster, I might change my mind, move to California and fish only for monster largemouth!

Hey Abelfisher! Never heard of the harness you described. Do you know the name of it or the manufacturer? Is it available at BPS or Cabelas? If I can find one I'll definitely check it out.

Just got this months magazine yesterday, check it out! We don't have really big largemouth here in the Mid South, but I really enjoyed reading about successful strategies for hunting those monsters. The smallmouth are much different fish but the big ones share many of the same characteristics in terms of feeding habits, structural preference and depth. If you fish for big fish, this issue is a must read.