Susky River Rat

My HR manager brought up about a 9/11. He said I am not going to normally use this in my normal presentation. It was about a retired deputy firefighter who followed another firefighter into the tower. When they asked other firefighters why a retired firefighter would follow that guy (who was a high ranking firefighter) in they replied because that is the guy you want to follow. I told him that is something he should keep in. That is the leadership everyone should strive for.

I have never caught a fish on a rattle trap i have never hired a guide i have never fished a big lake

I wouldn’t say I have anything I’m good at. I am just less bad at them then other things. Rattle traps and chatter baits elude me. I do not really push myself to be better. It needs to be fun. If you ask anyone the bite was where you weren’t fishing on baits you never throw. I have got a lot better at keeping my cool on the water. I don’t scream at kayakers for paddling over where I am fishing. I do not get frustrated anymore over not catching fish. Even as much as I’d like to. I just fish and try to do my best that day. Fishing is my release. If I want to get mad and frustrated I’ll go to work.

@ol'crickety the thing is the probably aren’t full blown adapted river bass like I would encounter. The fish I go for have a century of evolution in how they adapted to their body of water. None the less those fish were pure muscle in sure a hoot to catch. Disclaimer: I could always be wrong about evolution. I am purely a recreational fisherman. I have much experience in art of being skunk. smallies do not like muck of soft bottoms. They prefer rock and gravel. Even on the weed beds I find them in at my river have a gravel base to them. That may be why you did not encounter any. I’m not saying you won’t just not as many as you might think. i am not a punching expert i never do it so I can’t help with suggestions.

Sounds like you had a great day. I see heavy punching gear in your future. That is one of the reason I love river fishing. The fish are almost a different breed. They are built different. Smallies and musky in a river system don’t even compare to them in a lake system. Usually if a largemouth has gotten in a creek or river here it’s from a lake so that is not a fair comparison. That is not what I expected at all for a river. I was expecting something like the swatara creek or the juniata here in pa as your river. How much current was in there?

Yikes buddy. I hope your insurance is good. Medicine is scary the things we can do just by ingesting a capsule. Don’t get me wrong it’s amazing and needed. I wish you the best! Just remember you’ll eventually be on top of the wave and sailing in the clear.

False. I agree it’s another tool. I agree it’s evolution of electronics. It has been taking lakes here that have been hard to crack and make them a joke. A lot of them are man made ditches with little to no structure or cover in them. I am not some old guy hating on it. I can more then afford it. I have no fear in figuring it out. It just does not fall into place in the way I want to fish. as long as it’s legal go for it. Everyone has opinions. I’d use live bait before I’d use FFS.

What’s this fishing in 2023 you are all talking about? Maybe if I get the boat by fall I can get a 20lb bag of smallies

Congrats! It is a great feeling. I have a plan set up for how fast I want to pay my next boat off. I plan on that being my boat for a long long time. It’s always a relief when you can say it’s finally yours.

Good luck! Hope you crush them today

@gimruis the susky is a big river but, fishes like a small one if that makes sense.

I run a braid to FC leader for everything but my drop shot. The rocks fray up the braid and I prefer the feel of braid for most things.

@ol'crickety I was just talking about the susky in general. There’s a reason why a bunch of inboard custom jet boat makers are in this area. It is smallie heaven. People travel here from outside the state to fish for them. There was a member from here just traveled from out of state to fish near where that picture was taken. edit: I believe it was @Ohioguy25

@ol'crickety it’s only a little rocky this isn’t at a shallow river height either

I am s river rat. Unlike @gimruis I get most of my fish in slack water or near current not in it. You’ll also hit pockets of fish. So if you start catching pick it apart. I personally would bounce bottom in the rocks. You’ll be snagged but, it usually pays. as far as Maine being rocky you have never experienced the susky.

I know that spot!

I haven’t put a ton of time in at this one area I know people crush it. Everytime I go there I catch fish but, not like others. I do not go there often though. A lot of it is I think why waste my time here? I think a lot of it comes down to we are creatures of habit. We stay in our comfort zones. If you fish an area a lot you will catch a lot of fish there. It’s just the way it happens. So put in the time in new areas. It won’t always be glamorous but, you will learn it and catch fish.

I would much rather have a TM that chugs me through wind, slop and current then that .5mph. Even on the 500 acre electric lakes I fish from time to time. It’s neat someone played around with this but, torque is more practical on the water.

I’m glad you enjoy your new boat! It’s a new toy it will take time to get everything fined tuned just how you like it. Honestly, I think it’s in our DNA as fishermen to keep tinkering and trying to improve. There will always be something you will be messing with on your boat. It’s amazing how many “friends” you get with a new boat. Do not feel pressured to let people on the boat. I think you will learn to maneuver it in tighter areas. I also am slightly worried about that when I go from 16’ to 18’. I try to fit into some spots my boat barely fits now. Do your best to keep the boat looking great. I always tell people when I get something new that I don’t know when I’ll ever get something new again. So, I try to keep it as nice looking for as long as I can. I also always told people if I can’t catch fish. At least my stuff is going to look like I do.

@gimruis oh yeah I was fishing 40 hours a week for just musky. @ol'crickety I’ve been there with musky that have never seen lures before. They are incredibly stupid.

@gimruis I caught 21 in a season. That was my best year. I haven’t fished for them in almost a year. Just not into it anymore.

I am not a big bass chaser. Nor do I care to be. If I get into big ones great if not I’m happy with any bass that was dumb enough to be tricked by me. It’s all about fun for me. Musky on the other hand I only wanted 40” plus and really was shooting for 45”. I live in an area where 45” are as good as s 50” other places. I caught 7 one year and none were under 40”. Truth be told anything that came into my figure 8 that was clearly less then 40 I would pull the bait out of the water. This also took the fun out of it and why I switched to bass fishing.

No. I will have a terrova quest on my new boat. That’s the plan anyway.

When your dad moves out of our house I’ll marry you. ( long story why he was there) Well here I am married. All joking aside being married to her has been great.

Greetings! Sounds like you just love fishing. I was out around Lafayette, Ind about a month ago for work. Didn’t get the chance to fish since I flew out.