roadwarrior

If you carry them in a bucket, I don't know...I guess you need to fish fast! But if this is a more general question, I fish minnows year around and I have a couple of tricks to share. First of all you need a high quality aerator, preferably round (if it's rectangular those stupid little fish get caught in a corner and drown). I have a built in that pumps fresh water from the lake/ river constantly. When we are running I turn on the recirculator. Another summer trick is to put a small amount of commercial ice in the live well peiodically. There is another system I have read about but don't have. This set up pumps bottled oxygen into the water. The theory appeals to me but my current system works pretty well by itself.

Just the big ones. Harvesting small and medium fish probably improves most fisheries. I want to believe that the Fish & Game authorities are compentent in establishing appropriate limits, both size and quantity. It is our reponsibility as fishermen to follow those guidelines. That being said, it drives me crazy when I see someone taking a big smallmouth out of MY river!

ALL of my monsters have been caught on live shiners. I occasionally throw artificials and have had success with Gitzits, jerk baits (Lucky Craft Pointers, Rogues & Rapalas) and 4" lizards (Carolina rigged). You only ask for three but here's another: I think most guys have good luck, at least in numbers, fishing grubs. I have only caught one 5 lb smallie on artiificial bait. One final comment, on the advice of earthworm77, I'm going to give hair jigs a real workout next month. I'll post a report then.

I have a couple that I fished last summer. I caught a few small bass, nothing special. I think there are better options. One interesting sidelight, I did catch a couple of catfish (8-12 lbs) on a farm pond that were completely unexpected, go figure. Maybe it's just an example of the fact that almost anything will catch a fish if you happen to hit them on the head!

I thought I would list a few things I'm going to try focusing on this year. Maybe you have some others to add. 1. Focus on jigs, starting in a couple of weeks on the Tennessee River fishing for smallmouth. 2. Texas rigged Robo Worms, bought some but have not used them yet. 3. Live crawdads. Anyone know how to rig them in a river situation so they don't look like stink bait?

The Fat Ika can be rigged weedless so you can fish the gnarly stuff like you would with a jig, but you won't get hung up as much. I fish them weedless and weightless, they are VERY effective.

Keep an eye out for an interesting piece of driftwood, especially a cedar root. Use this to display your old lures.

I don't fish much at night but I do have one little story you might enjoy. Last June I was on Bull Shoals throwing Rogues for walley. There was no moon and we're sitting in 200+ ft. of crystal clear water casting into the dark at shear cliffs. It was a little past 10:00 and after fishing all day, it was about time to call in the dogs. Between the three of us we boated seven keepers and four short walley, so we were doing something right. Most importantly, Bull Shoals has the potential of producing the next world record. So, on what turned out to be the last cast of the evening...I got SMACKED! Now I'm using a MBR844C which I often use for striper and bull reds, so I know what 25+ feels like on this equipment...and I was there. This fish ran and shook and fought like who-da-thunk-it. Fifteen or twenty minutes into the fight my buddies finally get a spotlight on the fish, probably twenty yards out from the boat and fifteen to twenty feet deep. Well...it tuned into a gar! It was too big to net and although we didn't really want to get it in the boat, there's no way we could have hoisted it up. I got it to the boat and with a great deal of effort, we were able to unhook the monster and let it go. We guessed it weighed around 80 lbs but it could have been anywhere from 50-100. So much for the world record walley, but it was quite a night.

I don't think scents make any difference at all. I have been running an experiment on what I'll call a control pond. On this particular pond, on average, I catch five largemouth in the hour and a half it takes to make one complete loop. I'm generally fishing Senkos or Fat Ikas and that's all I'm counting for this experiment. After I catch three fish without any attractant, I put some on. I only use one on any given day but the brand varies: Yum, MegaStrike, Kick'n Bass or Berkley something Bass Attractant (?). Results: Zip,nothing,notta...NO IMPROVEMENT. Now that's when they ARE biting. If they're NOT biting, no fish after a loop, on my second loop I 'm back with attractant. Results: I'm thinking no improvement although I sometimes catch a fish, but I think that's really a function of just spending more time on the water. I'm going to continue with this experiment until I run out of the attractants. Unless something changes dramaticallly, I won't be buying any more.

Georgia? You must be a Yankee transplant (like me). Ask some of the Rebels down there when it's too cold...It's NEVER been too cold in Georgia. I'm catching lots of big smallmouth in water 46-51 degrees. Kentucky bass (spots) are probably your best bet right now and I know you have plenty of them around the state. You really can catch everything in the region, year around.

When's the off-season?

So far, so good. I have been able to fish every Saturday this year exclusively for smallmouth on the Tennessee River. As of last Saturday, my partner and I have caught 57 smallmouth, exactly ten over 5 lbs including the two pictured on my avatar (1/15/05). We focus on bronzebacks until late March and then switch to giant stripers until September when we switch back. Throughout the year I fish during the week at local ponds for largemouth bass. We mix in a couple of trips to Bull Shoals and the White River and a trip or two to the Gulf of Mexico, targeting yellowfin tuna usually, but this year marlin. I'm trying to get my boys jazzed for a trip next year to Brazil to hunt some P-bass, we'll see.

Had one, gave it away to a friend. My friend gave it away to someone else...Enough said?

With regard to smallmouth, is this a little fish lure?

Hey Phishn_Phool, is that a real fish? And if so, how much did that sucker weigh?

I don't know for sure, but I don't think so...Cabelas has their Guide line on sale and I just bought coat & bibs for around $200.

My most productive lure last year was Yamamoto's Fat Ika, #297, Green pumkin w/ large black flakes. But by biggest fish have been caught on 6" Senkos, #187, 194, 297 and especially #208.

I'm NOT on a crusade and it's NOT illegal so as Lunker says, you gotta decide for yourself. I know tournament fishermen need to catch five fish to make their 10-15 lb daily goal, but I'm not a tournament fisherman and I ONLY want to catch one, TEN POUND fish. So those little 3-4 lb bank runners that are guarding their nest are of no interest to me. Whether it hurts the general health of the fishery when you take that little guy off the nest and kill 5 or 10,000 eggs is subject to debate. What I do know is that all fish do not spawn at the same time and while some may be nesting, others will still be in deeper water in pre-spawn mode. Those monsters are the ones I want to catch and QUICKLY release so they can go about their business and produce the next generation of trophy fish.

I think you all should leave nesting fish alone.

I was planning a trip last fall and received a lot of info including a video form these guys: www.rodgunresources.com

Live shiners!

If you hit 'em on the head, everything works! Otherwise, I'll agree with several other posts, lipless crankbaits (LV 500 or Rat-L Traps) are the most productive for me. I think the deal is, the fish must either strike or the bait is "gone forever". It's yes or no, not maybe.

I like the Bagley BII and the Bomber Square A, but for the "very best" I nominate the Lucky Craft LV 500. If you don't want to pay the price, Rat-L Trap but change out the treble hooks.

Excellent! I think your column is a great addition to the website and look forward to the articles each week.

When does bass fishing season end?