JacobB006

Thats the best way I've found. Weightless is the ticket for summer

The River Rock Hellgripedes absolutely crush smallmouth in the summer on the Potomac.

Awesome looking craw. What hook is that tied on?

What all do you plan on making? I have been ordering from Barlows Tackle lately and have been happy with the selection and stock. Pretty low shipping fee too if you dont want the $150 minimum for free shipping. Just bought a bunch of skirts from there. I believe they are having a sale on a bunch of jigheads right now as well.

Fish definitely swim upstream, and bass definitely will eat something feeding upstream. Personally, for me, I feel that I can get a much more natural and controllable presentation when I work a bait towards downstream. That, and the fact that when I wade, I am not kicking silt and mud downstream towards the fish I am trying to catch. Its more a matter of preference to me. Casting upstream gives me confidence, so I continue to do it. I still cast and catch fish casting downstream. One thing I also do if I'm in my kayak too, float to the side of where you want to cast, and then cast either across current to it, or float slightly below it (still to the side) and cast upstream to it. Like I said, its just a matter or preference to me. But I do believe bigger fish (20"+) will be caught more easily if worked from downstream.

About the same as you. Start with a moving bait and slow it down until i find one that works. Except I work my way upstream and cast upstream, retrieving my bait towards me, downstream.

100% Underrated lure

Agreed. After years of bouncing between different brands, I found these to be the best.

Hi. This may be a dumb question, but could anyone give me any insight on if it would be possible to use both hard and soft plastisol in one bait? I was looking to pour a fluke with a hard hose and a soft body to make nose hooking more durable. I know it might be easily done in an open pour mold, but can it be done in an injection mold? Has anyone done this? Thanks

I like the idea of a smaller bait for bigger bites. I've alway heard that big baits=big fish but recently all my bigger baits have caught the smaller fish and all the big fish have come off of my smaller baits

It's not as much of a specific color for me, but I have more confidence in a paddletail with countershading (darker back, lighter belly). I think it just looks more natural. With that said, I probably could catch the same exact number on a plain white paddletail as well.

Thats a tanker right there. Congrats. I get what you're saying about the treble hooks though. I try not to throw them if I really don't have to. It probably sounds silly but every time I hook a fish on a lure with trebles I dread unhooking it. They seem to catch everything, including my hands and legs and face. Thats a good lineup of baits you've got there too. Jigs are underrated for smallmouth. I'd say theres not lack of skill there. Those big girls are smart. My own experiences reflect what you're seeing in the summer months too. I catch a lot of shorter fish that time of year. I mean the big ones are definitely still around, but based on my results, I apparently don't know where they are in the summer good enough to consistently catch them. I like those smaller profile flukes as well. The Super fluke still hammers them, but personally I have more confidence in throwing a smaller profile fluke. Though, maybe thats why I still catch smaller fish. Agreed. Jigs have been the hot ticket lately. I picked up another 20" last night on one. The smallies can't resist a good jig

I agree with you there. Barring a flood event, the deeper holes and especially the eddys always have a fish or two in them. But the same doesn't apply to the shallows. No doubt they are there, but not in the same numbers as the deeper holes. Although one day last August my boat did get on a good pattern of finding big fish (17"-20") in 1-2 feet of water along the banks on the shade-line of the trees, which got me wondering how often they get that shallow. Just another fishing mystery I will probably never learn the true answer to.

Those buzzbaits are an absolute blast to throw

Thank you. Congrats on your 20.23". Those big fish sure are special. It's kind of crazy because before last week I had never caught a fish 20"+. Even out of the 800 some I caught last year the biggest was 19.75". But then last week I guess I just got lucky and was able to stick 3 in 3 days. I actually didn't get the weigh and of them. If I had to guess it was around 4.5 pounds. She had a decent belly on her and wasn't spawned out yet. The first 20" I got had the typical spawning sores and was pretty thin. That plus the layer of mud on its belly made me think she was either spawning or had just finished. The 21.25" is attached here. These solo pics never do the big fish justice You can never go wrong with a fluke or a jig this time of year. Do you mind if I ask what flukes you throw? I just started using the River Rock Custom jointed flukes and they have been pretty good to me so far. I think you're right about them spawning already. My first 20" had some spawning sores on it, was pretty skinny for this time of year, and had some mud on its belly when I pulled it out. You're right about the rain too. The low water has been good for ease of wading, but we could definitely use a good rain here ASAP

Hi everyone. For the past 2 weeks I've been picking up some nice fish in ledges. They seem to have been stacked up pretty close together. But as the water got lower and cleared, I've had to cover some more water to catch the same numbers, with an average of 1-2 fish per ledge. I wasn't sure if it was the falling water levels or the rising water temperatures Does anyone else notice this pattern of smallmouth spreading out more in low water? Thanks

As the water temp's. have been rising I've been hitting the river and getting some wading in before and after my classes here on the Upper Potomac. I In 4 days I picked up a 20", a 20.25", a 21.25", and a handful of 18's and 19's on a variety of lures. My top 5 lures right now would be a jig, followed by a paddle tail, weightless fluke, ned rig, and a jerkbait. Curious to see what everyone else likes for this magical time of year.

I was out on the Upper Potomac river yesterday and saw a smallmouth eat something on the surface and found myself dreaming of the days of topwater action. The I got to thinking of when would be "too" early to start throwing topwater lures. I know to find the answer I just need to throw one around and find out. But I was interested, when do other people start throwing topwater for smallmouth?

I'm kind of on the opposite side of the spectrum from you @Darth-Baiter. I'm 20, so nowhere near retirement, but I saved up my money over the past couple years and my friend and I bummed it last year and fished all summer break between our spring and fall semesters. I'd have to check out the spreadsheet we kept, but I believe we fished around 75 of the 90 days we had off during our summer break. We hit the creeks and rivers hard and my friend ended up with 805 smallies and I ended with 846 smallies. Not the best ratio of fish to days fished, but it was an absolute blast. I know what you mean by being bored of fishing the same waters though. That is one good thing about fishing moving waters in creeks and rivers though is that there is always something new around the corner, even spots you've fished dozens of times. When you do retire, good luck with your newfound fishing time.

Yes sir, you would be correct. I'm only 20. Honestly, I'm surprised that's the best retrieval story I have. My friend and I fished 73 days out of our 90 day summer break so you'd think I would have a better one.

I've got a few stories similar to your spinnerbait one. My most memorable one would have to be from this summer while wading for smallmouth in my favorite creek. Somehow I managed to toss my ned rig directly into an overhanging tree. The jighead and trd cost no more than $2 but I was determined to get it back. The tree was coming out of the bank at an angle that allowed me to shimmy up it, with the whole thing swaying under me as I ascended. Once I got a little above where my ned was stuck I jumped out and grabbed the branch it was stuck on and held on as it snapped the branch and took a short-lived ride to the creek below. Left there with a big ole' gash in my hand that I still have to this day. After retying, I broke the same jighead off maybe 10-15 casts later and she was gone for good. I'd say it was still worth the retrieve though.

I fished this exact rod for about 4 years before upgrading to the Avid and Legend Tournament. I've caught a lot of fish on it. In my opinion it is worth it. At $100 you get a very sensitive, well-built rod that should last you a while. I paired mine with a 2500 reel and it was very balanced. With that said, after throwing an Avid and LTB for a year now, I can tell a big difference between those and the Triumph. If you think you might want to upgrade within the next year or so, I'd say you might as well upgrade now and skip the Triumph. If you think you'll use it for a while, then you might as well pick up the Triumph. It will not disappoint.

Hey Munkin, just found this thread. I've been looking for a draggin head mold for a while. Curious, did you modify a pre-made mold with a Dremel tool, or did you have one made for you? Thanks

I just picked up a 7'MLF LWBand a 6'8"MF LTB. In my limited experience, I'd be confident in saying they are definitely a jump in sensitivity from the victory. They are close to the Avid, but seem to have a little on them as well. If you like the full cork handle, take a look at the Legend Walleye Tournament series as well. I believe they are built on the same blanks, just one has the full cork handle. The Walleye series also has a lot more options available.

I am fishing mainly the Upper Potomac and the main stem of the Shenandoah Thanks. Just ordered it Thank you. Just ordered myself a copy