PaulVE64

Dead drifting a senko, stripping a widderdiltch, and jigging a maribou hair jig.

The more chop on the surface the more action I want from the bait. And I love to walk the dog

Merino wool is fantastic and pricey. Love the stuff

If were talking river fishing for smallies I would definately recommend dropping something slow and natural into those pools. When I lose the smallies I try new presentations in new locations. Whether it means going deep or shallow. Try it. Oh and throw something fast too. Those bass are probably starting to stack up somewhere

Hand tied bass streamers with a 1/16 oz to 3/16 oz bullet weight. Thrown on a spinning rod and 10# braid w/ 6# mono leader. I tie with wool and deer hair heads. Lots of hackle, flash and maribou. Upstream and downstream.

Some of the weirdest lures catch fish. Some of the most beautiful lures catch fisherman.

I would try the flyrod

I have to ask for a crankbait spinning rod recommendation. I'm using a 6ft med light moderate ugly stick right now but it's too slow for me. I cant keep smallies pinned on it.

My clinical assessment is that since we know the bass are there and aggressive they are keyed in on something. I'm going to guess that possibly something was feeding on the acorns like caterpillars and other insects? That's my guess

Honestly, it takes me a good 10 min. before I can reliably cast again. And that's for just a 4#r.

My river bass annually allude all my attempts around Nov 1st. Latest catch for me was Nov 9th and earliest is Mar. 8th.

When your fishing in a river with current. The extra pickup helps alot.

The depth is going to limit the number of techniques you can present. My river averages 5' to 15' of depth and averages about 1ft/sec of flow. I bring 3 rods. A 7ft MF spinning rod (soft plastics/jigs) A 6.5' MM spinning rod (squarebills/ spinnerbaits/top water/ jerkbaits/rattletraps/crankbaits) A 7.5' MLXF spinning rod (hair jigs, neds, swimbaits, inline spinners) I dont throw glidebaits, drop shots or deep crankbaits.

Funny story... Went bank fishing with my brother last summer and we were a fair distance apart but within shouting distance. Anyway, I hear him in the distance call out and it sounds like he's happy about something but eventually it sounds more like cries of pain. After a minute or so I decide to investigate and there he is with his face in his hands andvhis face against the surface of the water. He told he reached down to lip this smally when it flipped into the air and he caught a treble hook to the face. So dropped his rod, grabbed his fish and pushed it against his face to keep it from trashing. Then he realized he had to get the fish back in the water to calm it, but not enough to revive it too much. And yes, I did make him beg before I released him from his trap.

My waters have lots of toothy fish so I always carry lip grippers. They work great with trebles except when they have a hook in the upper and lower lip. Happens alot for me with walleye.

Having a guide makes all the difference.

ML spinning is perfect for 3/16 oz. I use 6' alot off the bank and a 7'-6" for 1/16oz hair jigs

I've **** myself canoeing in waters like that. Thanks for the pictures.

Been deadlifting a 4" yum dinger in heavy current down to the tailouts in my local river. Water is very clear and averages 5 to 15 ft. I'm using natural colours (clear, white, and translucent pink) Very simple dead drift presentation slowly reeled to have as little slack as possible. Its almost impossible to deal with in crosscurrents and typically soft bites. But big smallies tend to hold on long enough to deform the (Hivis braid) line in the water. If I feel weight I swing hard on my (stC 6-6 triumph l/f) spinning rod. I'm probably near 90% success on my hooksets and even a #2 smallie is a blast to fight.

I'm fishing the Thames River in London. Having a blast.

Braid to mono/fluoro - fg knot Braid to braid - blood knot Braid to lure - palomar knot Mono/fluro to lure - uni or loop knot. Perfection loop for fly fishing lines

I found a white Pond Magic spinner bait amongst my tackle. Remembering this thread I decided to try it today and d**n if I didnt catch a pale smallie. Inspired I was.

I glue split shot onto jig hooks and add whatever I want to tie onto them with a half yum dinger. d**n ridiculously effective dead drifted in current. Acts like a ned I suppose.

I'm in Ontario. Weve just had the first colder night temps this week. It follows the full moon and the bass have been triggered to feed up. Good luck. PS - are you fishing lakes or rivers?

I prefer them when they're all barred up and darker. And the bright green ones are always smaller.