MGF

I was on the river yesterday (north west Indiana) and I saw bluegills on beds.

To say "persistence" makes it sound like a chore. It helps if you enjoy being out there. Fishing is more fun when it pays off with some catching but I keep searching water and casting because I enjoy doing it.

I also hope he sticks around. I, for one, have not caught bass anywhere near the sizes that he lists, My experience would suggest that we can not really "understand the grief". All we can do is empathize.

Tom, You have to do something all day. A boat might yet come in handy. Just a thought.

Yes. If we're lucky enough to get old we're going to lose a lot of people. As bad as it can be we're wired for it. We're not supposed to outlive our children. As a father and grandfather I'm just going to offer condolences.

I guess I had it easy starting out. I tagged along with my dad from the time I could walk. There were time that he caught all the fish and I mostly worked at untangling my gear but I could see that fish could be caught and how. In time I was catching them too. IMO, you have to enjoy being out there and /or practicing the skills. Then catching fish is a bonus. My wife and I do most of our fishing on a local river. Whether wading or using one of the boats, it's a nice place to be even if you don't catch fish (but we usually do). I can have fun all day just casting to targets and skipping under stuff. We have a lot of lake around here that we don't fish much because of the loud water toys and the bank lined with houses. There's fish there but it's just not as nice of a place to be.

I grew up fishing a curly tail grub or a hula grub on a lead head jig, especially in the river.

Oh and I only brought one color plastic...green pumpkin. I'm sure other would work but I didn't bring them. LOL

Yesterday afternoon I waded the local river. I had 5 zoom finesse worms, two extra #1 EWG, 2 extra split shots, one NED jig head, 3 ZMAN TRDs and 2 1/16 oz screw in worm weights. It all fit in a small plastic bag which I stuffed in my hip pocket. The Zman platic was in a separate bag inside the bag. I also carried a pair of needle nose pliars in my back pocket and a small stainless knife in sheath on a rope belt. So nothing that I couldn't carry in my pockets while wearing jeans and a t-shirt. I was rigged to fish a split shot rig, a NED or a TRD as a "tiny child rig. The split shot rig is what was already on the rod and I never switched. I caught a bunch of small mouth and the only tackle I used was some of the extra finesse worms because the fish were tearing them up. That was for a short wading trip. I bring more gear for a half or full day float trip in the jon boat or the canoe.

I use a lot of size 1 and 1/0 in the river with smaller plastics. I need to have more offset RB for thin baits. I've bought more EWG mostly because that's what's on the store shelves. They work but it's more to get wedged in a snag.

I use so many that I don't know how I could pick a favorite. Add the that the fact that the list gets longer all the time and fishing conditions (and my mood) determine which I use. What I will add is that the versatility vs the cost has me depending on soft plastics more and more and fishing hard baits less and less. All my fishing so far this year has been in the river and my best producer has been a tube. A 2 1/2 inch tube did the best but I ran out. Yesterday the 3 1/2 wasn't doing so hot and my wife was catching fish on a NED so I switched to?...not a NED. LOL I switched to a little Zoom finesse worm on a split shot rig and I caught up to her ned rig. Now I have a new favorite until next week. LOL

I stopped using UL tackle to bass (especially stream/river SMB) for the reasons that Hammer 4 gives. I've caught some lately that I had to play too long on medium weight tackle. Those SMB in the current are STRONG fighters this time of year. As far as other tackle I would add a ned rig and other little jigs/grubs, tube and Something quiet that floats like an original Rapala. I guess we could keep the list going but that's a start.

I've caught a several 15#+ carp on an ultralight rod and a little jig. I caught two like that on the same day and it pretty much ruined the cheap little browning reel I was using.

Yes, I had a bunch of plain lead head jigs with the right size hooks. They worked well enough. Some had longer eyes and they were easier to tie.

How do you carry 10 rigs in a canoe? I usually carry two and my wife usually has two. We usually load that thing up pretty good. Also, on the river I tether most of my gear so that it stays with the canoe in case of a capsize.

I've been seeing a lot of whopper ploppers the last couple of years. I did pretty well on them last year but so far this year not a single bite. The river has been on the high side and a bit stained. I don't know if they've seen too many ploppers or if it's just the conditions. I look forward to a good top water bit and I haven't seen it this year.

Boat control add a whole new facet to fishing Don't be afraid to anchor or tie off to something. My wife and I have a canoe that we use on the river quite a bit and a 14 ft flat bottom boat. I prefer the boat for stability and the amount of tackle I can carry but sometimes river conditions (low water) really makes the canoe the easier option. When conditions are right for it, I sometimes park the boat or canoe, get out and wade.

Thanks. Any suggestions for a 90 deg line tie?

Like the title says, what jig head? There's nothing locally so I have to order.

The 2 1/2" green pumpkin tube is still the best performer of the season for me. Earlier I mentioned that I wanted to try the Zoom finesse worm on a split shot rig. Second time yesterday and I haven't had a bite yet. I started with the tube because the water was a bit stained...maybe 1 1/2 or 2 foot of vis. We come to a section of bank that we call "The Good Bank" and I catch some fish on the tube. I float it again (river) using the split shot/worm and nothing. I float it a third time using the tube again and I catch more fish. Not super scientific but it left me without confidence in the split shot under current conditions.. My wife fished the heck out of a ned rig and got nothing.

I've done very well on so many colors. I prefer white spinner baits, green pumpkin tubes and stick baits, black jigs and yellow jigs, purple worms... I'm pretty sure that I don't know what any of it means..

I usually add weight because of depth, current and or wind.

Fishing pressure is crazy these days. Also, today there seems to be a lot more people who know how to catch fish. The internet makes it easy to learn some pretty advanced techniques real quick and easy. Still many people are pretty lazy and need to be spoon fed. I don't know if I'm a very knowledgeable or talented angler but I've been fishing for a long time and I catch quite a few fish. I don't go out of my way to help somebody unless they're really putting in effort and it somehow leads them to me. The crowds have been crazy around here this year and I'm not very pleased with their conduct. Fortunately most of them aren't fishing...just making noise and mess.

I use the Gorilla super glue gel. It lasts a long time as long as I put the cap on right. I try not to use it though. On jigs that don't have a good keeper (most of my jigs) I tie a keeper using 17# or 20# mono...it works really well.

So far this season the hands down winner for me has been a tube. I've caught fish on jigs with various trailers and on the ned using a zman trd but the hands down winner for numbers of fish has been a tube. Earlier in the season when the river was high and fast I was t-rigging it. Now I'm fishing a 2 1/2 inch tube with an internal jig head and an exposed hook...those are the only jigs I have that fit the little tubes. Going to try something different today. Going to try a t-rigged finesse worm. I'll pin a split shot on the line if I feel the need to get it down more. It's just something I've never tried in the river.