Buzzbaiter

I second this. I tried using 80lb mono for bite leader when I started fishing for snook. The knots are so big it’s almost comical. You can’t tie that line to 20lb mono main leader in a way that inspires confidence. I’ll stick to 40

Fighting a solid fish and seeing how big it is.

Not as much as personality 🙂 …and I’m too young to be paying alimony

I will never catch a record of any sort. However, if I did so here in MD, it probably wouldn’t come out of a place people don’t already know of. Liberty Reservoir probably won’t produce a smallmouth close to the beating the record again, so that leaves the Potomac and the Susquehanna. Neither of these are secrets, so I wouldn’t be bothered about attracting a crowd. With regard to killing the fish, I’d try to keep it alive. If someone with the DNR didn’t come down to certify the catch in a timely manner, I’d probably just let her go and keep the pictures and measurements. I wouldn’t judge anyone who decides to kill a record fish, because it’s an understandable impulse. That being said, I wouldn’t kill any of the upland bass that are struggling with hybridization, as I think those fish are more valuable alive than on a wall or in a record book. If I caught a trophy in an area where bass are invasive, I would definitely get a skin mount. Depends how loose the morals are

Razamanaz was done better by Artillery than Nazareth, imo. Both are versions are great, but it sounds better sped up.

When I catch a fish, I often think about whether I’d have caught that fish doing something else. In most cases, I think I would have. I don’t think bass are programmed to only attack a certain presentation at a given moment. Some baits might work better than others in that moment, but I think hungry fish are more inclined to eat something, rather than one particular thing. It’s a hard question to answer and I’m sure there’s multiple variables to consider. I can say that there have certainly been times when I’ve changed baits without changing spots, and started catching fish. Likewise, I have seen fish in clear water ignore one presentation and then come unglued for another. I’ve had situations where a 4in grub catches some fish, but a ned rig catches a few more. All things considered, I do think lure presentation matters, but not as much as finding active/unpressured fish.

It’s a solid color. It’s shows up nicely in tannic water and clear water alike. Not my first choice for turbid water, but I’m sure the bass would still eat it. Not a thing wrong with watermelon red; it gets bit

Best: having fun Worst: catching fish

The difference in action between the two heads is probably negligible, especially in current. A tube rigged on a ball head will have some glide, whereas a tube on a traditional tube head (with the lead molded along the length of the shaft) will glide a bit more. The reason for this is that the weight is more evenly distributed throughout the body, causing a fall with a longer horizontal movement. More horizontal movement means more opportunity to spiral. However, the difference in fall/glide/spiral between an elongate head and a ball head is only noticeable in deeper water without strong current. Even then, the elongate head will only produce a longer glide if the lead is spread throughout the body. Looking at both of the heads you’ve attached, they both differ in shape but the weight placement is right up front in both. In other words, they’ll probably fall about the same. I use ball heads and tube heads interchangeably, and have not noticed much of a difference in action or catch rate. It’s worth noting that I almost exclusively fish tubes for smallmouth in shallow rivers, less than 6’. TL;DR: Just pick one, they’ll both catch bass. It’s the tube and the angler that fool a fish. The head is only there to poke them.

Only one way to find out. Nothing ventured, nothing gained I started fishing for smallmouth with a strict match-the-hatch philosophy. I found that on some occasions, I’d do better with a larger, more intrusive bait that didn’t look close to anything the fish were eating. if I were you, I would not only try the larger tubes, but also sling around a fluke or something really intrusive to test out the reaction hypothesis. I’d like to hear how you do

To me, 3.5 inches is still small. A 4 inch tube is what I’d consider to be large, and even then not unreasonably so. I guess it’s worth considering that there are different tube shapes. I mostly use 3.5in tournament style tubes (Gitzit, Dry Creek), which are skinnier than a standard double-dipped tube. I often find these tournament tubes outproducing Neds in both size and quantity, especially once summer kicks in and the fish get desensitized to the Ned profile. I’d say go for the 3.5 inch tube. It’s a proven presentation no matter where you go or what style of tube you use. I’ve attached a ~2lb smallmouth (decent for where it was caught) and a dinky Florida bass below to instill confidence that 3.5in tubes do, in fact, catch fish of all sizes. Please expound

Summer is my favorite season. I personally disagree with the idea that the bass are harder to catch this time of year, but that’s just me. I know trout stop biting in the heat of summer because their metabolism is so high that they burn more calories by actively searching for food; in other words, it’s more efficient to hunker down in cooler water and reduce metabolism than it is to forage for food. In hotter parts of the country, this principle might also apply to bass.

What non-Micropterus species do you enjoy catching by accident while bass fishing? Are there any species you hate catching? Personally, I love catching fallfish while smallmouthing. I get annoyed by green sunfish.

Go-to baits vary by year and depend on species. Limited to five across all the species I fish for: Largemouth/Florida Bass: - 5in stickbait, weightless Texas rig - Texas rigged craw/creature (I am of the opinion that specific profile doesn’t matter, but limited to one, the Zman Goat) Smallmouth Bass: - 3.5in tournament-style tube - Heddon Boyo Spook Suwannee Bass: - Zoom Finesse Worm on a flickshake rig I realize now that a buy a bunch of useless stuff. I think I’ll start sticking to what I know.

Don’t limit yourself to Zman stuff. Their Ned baits are great, but I’ve also come to like the Netbait Crush worms. I’ve heard that the Nikko Hellgrammite is great, but I’ve never tried it before. Just try different stuff and see what works. Baits aside, use a quality head in a light weight. 1/8oz is as heavy as I go, even in fast water. A bait that crashes to the bottom and stays there is much less appealing than one that drifts and bounces. Be prepared for the Ned to catch a bunch of smaller fish. Elephants eat peanuts, but that’s not necessarily the norm for black bass (some exceptions apply). If you do find yourself patterning dinks, try a tube. I like the 3.5in Dry Creek Tournament Tube, and my favorite color is old ugly. Any tube will work, though, so use what’s available. You’ll still catch numbers, but you’ll average larger fish. Good luck in Maine!

While I’m in Maryland, I’d like to catch a snakehead and a flathead. Both species will be new for me, so I’m excited to try figuring them out. Finding the time to go to new waters will probably be harder than finding the actual fish (;_;) I missed the train on the shad run (American shad and hickory shad would’ve been new species, too), and the rockfish haven’t been cooperating, at least from the bank. I’ll probably leave the rockfish alone for the year, given the state of the fishery. Hopefully I’ll find time to catch some pickerel before I head back to Florida. IMO, pickerel are a ton of fun. While in Florida, I’ll have a busy schedule. My fishing time will be limited (probably <5 trips in the fall semester) , but I’d like to catch a mud sunfish, a Choctaw bass, and a tarpon while I’m down there. The only one that I feel confident about is the mud sunfish.

The Zman Goat is pretty nice because it can double as a topwater or swimming bait when rigged on a light weight (<3/8oz). I like an 1/8oz unless I know I’m punching, in which case I go heavier. The elaztech holds up to wear from vegetation. Recently, I’ve been playing around with the Big Bite Baits Yomama, and it does pretty well, too. I like it a lot.

If I’m in a really bad mood or if I have other pressing issues to deal with at a given moment, I find it hard to enjoy fishing. I think I value my outings more when I have to earn them, or at least when I can commit myself wholly to the moment instead of trying to escape something else.

If it’s an impoundment, there was probably a healthy population when the river was first flooded. As lakes age, they often become more hospitable to largemouth, which tend to outperform smallmouth in most stillwater environments. It could just be that the remaining population of smallmouth has decreased significantly since the lake was first impounded, and only a few fish are hanging on in whatever suitable habitat they can find. Or I could be off base; I don’t know that particular body of water whatsoever.

How were you rigging those tubes? I’ve never had a tube with a jighead inserted slide up the line.

I meant to add this earlier, but more info about the area I’d recommend listening to the Fishing the DMV podcast. It’s great info, especially about smallmouth and tidal largemouth, but everything else too.

Centennial is butt, imo. It’s really pressured and crowded, so I wouldn’t bother unless you know some top secret Japanese techniques to fool them. All the lakes in that area are pressured, but Kittamaqundi isn’t too bad; you just need to know how to approach it. Texas rigs and toads will get that job done. Fish Florida for a minute, and Kittamaqundi becomes light work. Granted, I haven’t fished there in a while, but it seems the lake hasn’t changed much. The big three reservoirs are nice if you’re on the bank. Not too experienced with loch raven, but it’s not a bad place at all. You can rent a boat if you need, but launching your own will be difficult because of the regs. Liberty Reservoir is great for bank fishing. There’s trails to take you all over, so long as you’re fine with hiking, and maybe some bushwhacking. The major parking lots can be crowded on weekends, although you can usually walk away from most people. Generally, people don’t walk more than a mile from their put-in point. Regarding the actual fishing, Liberty is wood-oriented. There is some SAV that comes up, but it’s strategically negligible, imo. Loch Raven is more of a grass fishery, but not nearly to the same extent as Kittamaqundi, for instance. Fishing over the grassbeds can be solid, but there’s also wood to fall back on. I have very limited experience with Prettyboy, but iirc it’s similar to Loch Raven, only with a stronger smallmouth population. All three of the main reservoirs are largemouth dominant, however. Piney Run Reservoir is starkly different than the big three. It’s mostly pads, and everyone frogs. If you can flip and punch, you’ll be ahead of the rest. Piney run has an entrance fee and is moderately pressured. Rocky Gorge, Clopper Lake, Lake Elkhorn, Wilde Lake, and Tridelphia are close to Columbia, but I haven’t fished them. On the smallmouth front, the piedmont isn’t that great. The obvious choice for central MD smallies is the Patapsco. Great for numbers, iffy for size. It can get crowded, so be mindful of that. It’s worth the drive to head west for brown fish. The Potomac and all of its tributaries are solid. The Conococheague is good for numbers, with some big ones in the mix. The Monocacy wasn’t good to me in the past, but I hear it’s rebounded significantly; I’ll need to check it out. The main Potomac, especially the lower section, is where you go to target big smallmouth, at least I’ve heard. The Susquehanna is the Potomac’s eastern counterpart. The shad run is over, but you should be able to find plenty of other species to mess with over there. Flatheads, rockfish, snakehead, eels, suckers, and of course the smallmouth. The Susquehanna is touted as being one the of best smallmouth fisheries east of the Appalachians. I don’t have enough experience there to verify that verdict. I will say that wading the Susquehanna with swim shorts and a pair of old sneakers will probably be difficult. The western rivers are kinder to that sort of fishing. While you’re in God’s Country, you should check out some of our other offerings, such as snakehead, rockfish, and brook trout. Aside from that, that’s about all I have to offer. If you have any questions, I’ll try to answer them. I’m honestly not that experienced fishing the area, or fishing in general. There are people on this forum that have been getting ‘er done in MD since before I was in diapers, so take their advice over mine. Above all, explore and figure stuff out for yourself. There are opportunities in central Maryland as long as you look for them. Good luck

In my limited experience (which is very limited, being that I’m not a big-bass fisherman), I rarely catch quality when looking for quantity. If I want to catch big-ish fish, the baits I throw and the things I look for are different. Big fish generally don’t eat little fish food. For instance, I’ve seen plenty of 2-4lbers cruising the shallows and totally ignore a ned/dropshot/shakeyhead/grub/inline spinner/etc. that had been catching inchers and pounders nicely. The big ones just aren’t interested in the type of small offerings that tend to catch numbers. I know it happens on occasion, but I imaging that I pass over a fair amount of big fish when the small ones are biting my finessy techniques.

That’s subjective. They’re just a fish. I love bass, but wouldn’t hold that as a reason not to kill one if I had reason to (granted that it’s legal and sustainable, obviously). For instance, I think white perch are pretty awesome fish, but I didn’t flinch when I put a circle hook in one last week to liveline for rockfish. A fish is a fish. Still, if you’re uncomfortable with it, then don’t do it; there’s nothing wrong with standing on morals. Cast nets are your friend

100% agree. This is why I don’t really understand when people say it’s cheating. In most instances, live bait is just a hassle. In OP’s case, I’d honestly feel more confident with a glide bait, and I don’t even throw glide baits.