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Natural river fish are not usually a tough nut to crack, unlike lake fish they are almost always eating, they have to in order to deal with the current in natural rivers. If it is a just a single channel river start looking for current breaks, either man made or natural, current breaks can either be visible like a shoreline eddy, wing dam or other man made structure that restrict current flow. Or not visible, like an underwater drop off, at the front of the drop off there is a spot where fish can sit and get out of the current, it depends on the size of the structure as to how big this spot is, it may be big enough for only one fish, or it maybe big enough for a whole school, underwater boulder fields will also hold fish and are not visible depending on how deep they are. usually when you locate a current break the most active fish will be at the front of the break taking advantage of the conveyor belt that is bringing them food, but this is not a steadfast rule, if the water is rising fish tend to stick closer to structure, if the river is near flood stage fish tend to be on the slack water side of flooded structure, falling water is probably the toughest imho, fish tend to scatter more. There is also alot to learn about current in a natural river, more or less your pattern in a given day is how are fish relating to the current, the majority of the time they are going to be in or directly adjacent to the already mentioned breaks, but sometimes they will appear to be right out in the current feeding. If you look at one common peice of current structure like a river bend the fastest water usually is towards the outside of the bend, there is usually stuff to break up current on the outside next to shore, like limbs or whole trees that have gotten pushed into the area, or dugout banks from the fast current cutting into them, often times fish will use these peices of cover as ambush points. What often gets overlooked on a structure like a river bend is the inside of the bend, that to is a current break as the water ius forced towards the outside of the bend there is a pocket created on the inside turn that is usually relatively void of any current, this might be a rather large break and under the right conditions can hold more fish than the ambush points directly across the river from it, the fish tend to be more nuetral on the inside turns but they are river fish, so you can usually entice them to bite. So after that long rambling post which you may or may not have gotten info from, if you are trying to pattern river fish on a single channel river fish all sorts of different current breaks, figure out what type of current break the fish are holding on for that given day and look for similar types of current breaks and fish the heck out of em!

Got bored today and have had this idea in my head for a while so I put it together. If it works out well I will re do it a little nicer. It is not connected to the boat, the battery will hold it in place. It is made from my old battery box that I never used and some PVC and zip ties. Think it will work?

I figured on writing this after posting some comments on river fishing small mouth. A real fun fish to take on a fly rod. Fishing with a fly rod can be a real hoot, for everything from bluegill to largemouth, as well as trout or salmon..., and it AIN'T that awful hard to learn. For to many years the scotch drinkers have kept the average guy from using a fly rod because it's touted as an ART..., HOOEY! (not the scotch, I like that) I started fishing with a stainless steel rod, and direct drive reels. Your choice in line was black nylon, or black nylon. Dare Devil spoons, Pike Minnows, and Bass-A-Reno's were standard with maybe a Hawaiian Wiggler thrown in for good measure. The tool for fishing bass in heavy cover was the fly rod. You could toss a big deer hair bug across the pads or in the reeds dance it around a bit, and tease a bass or two into striking. It was fun. "What was that?" FUN!..,It was, and is fun, it worked, and still does. Did you get that part "The Tool" that is exactly what it is.., a tool. Just like you wouldn't use a putter for a driver, a 30-06 to shoot a squirrel, or a 410 on turkey, you don't fish 30 feet of water with a fly rod. It's not a tournament tool either. I watched a Television show, and the guy said the hardest time to catch bass or any fish was when there was a big fly hatch going on. Five will get you ten it wouldn't be for me. I'd put down the old cast, and crank, go into my rod storage, break out the old Fenwick heavy weight 9 foot wand and do some battle. When it comes to bluegill, not even live bait can compare when a hatch is on. I have caught fish dropping my fly NEXT to another guys bobber, while he got nothing (I'll only do that to mess with a friend though). Anyone who can chew gum, and stand upright (although I have seen guys in wheel chairs use them) can learn to use a fly rod in a couple of hours practice. You can get started on the cheap, Berkley has a fine Cherry Wood rod that is economically priced. Fly reels are just line holders (Not in the case of salt water) so you can go on the cheap there. Line should be the best you can afford (Weight forward for you when starting, and general use), but you can get started on economy line, a handful of Chinese flies will get you in the game. If you know someone who fly fishes all the better, but with all the videos on the Internet you'll figure it out. I got started using a fly rod before todays snooty cadre' of upscale poetry reading purists were born. I learned first because it was an effective tool, then kept at it because it was fun (I still can't give you the Latin names for the flies, but I can catch trout with them). I started by teaching myself without any help when I was 12, that's some 54 years ago, and it's still fun. Give it a try.

Lets see some potomac river smallmouth. My girlfriend caught this on a rapala crank bait. She said i think i have a muskie.

Both the Sol and the Alphas have been discontinued. Your best bet to find one is the flea market on this site. One or the other pops up occasionally. I've bought three Alphas from the Bass Resource flea market and one from Japan Tackle. Expect to pay more for an Alphas, the JDM version of a Sol. They are lighter and smoother. Plus, they are not that ugly yellow color.

Nice fish & pic! BTW...Did you see the article and picture of the new Tennessee State record?

The cool thing about that commercial excluding the great Clint Eastwood is its about all of detroit manufactures not just Chrysler. While watching that add I thought about Ford & then GM before I thought about Chrysler at the end of the add.

Without a doubt, that ad will create more buzz than all of the rest combined. It doesn't matter if there is a political slant or not to it, the goal of a good ad is keeping itself in the minds of the viewers. I can't think of another actor who could have pulled off the narative and kept the message alive and on the minds of millions.

For me it is the other way around, it's the fishing that has changed my life, I was a bad boy I guess one would put it. Since my first child's birth was really my first wake up call at 26, I needed a path that would guide me in the right direction, fishing has always been a part of my life but I never knew how much of an impact roll it could play until I took my little girl fishing. I am not a true God fearing man so to speak although I do believe in him. I have to say I am not sure what put me on this path and why but all I know is that if it were not for fishing, the powers that be, I am sure that becoming a father would have ment being no more than just that...a father. I have two very beautiful daughters and a wife of 24 years this comming August, that love to share my passion as not only a bass fisherman but would much rather be with DAD no matter what we do. Bass fishing has brought a vision of what life truly is worth, I see it through their eyes more often than mine, it's the time we have when we are together, it's the time we have when we are apart, mostly it's time we do not have enough of. Take the time to fish if you can...but whatever you do take the time you are given and live.

Took my 6 year old out Saturday to the family farm to shoot the .22 and maybe wet a line for a few. Glad we did, got to see the bugger catch his PB lol. Awesome day!

Actually, most of Chrysler isn't even built in Detroit anymore. Only two models are still built there. Everything else is either out of state or out of country. However, gotta love Clint getting the nation fired up. The patriotism part really got me going and who is more American that the Outlaw Jose Wales????? If he wasn't already like 120 he could be the next Reagan. HOOO RAA Gunny Hightower

My first omc was on a buddy's ranger for 10+ yrs before I put another 6 on it. Found one on eBay that has been in service now for 5 and I have another in the closet! 12/24 56lb thrust, light and quiet, perfect for a jon boat.

Food. Proper food.

Swmofisher, you will receive a nubmer or suggestions but it boils down to personal preference. Which rod feels best to you with your reel attached? Bring the reel you will be using and put it on each rod and see which one you like best. Also, view each rod's specifications and match them with the line test and bait weight you will be fishing the most with the rod. I have two Skeet rods and love them both.

I think it would be narrow minded to not throw a jig into the mix. One of the reasons a jig is known for catching so many big fish is the simple fact that it is one of the most versital baits out there. It can mimic several types of prey and they can be fished in so many situations its crazy. The first thing that you need to understand is that a jig is not a technique. It is simply a tool that is applied to techniques. There seems to be some sort of misconception that there is a magical way of working a jig that needs to be learned. This is simply not true. I am not saying that you cannot hone your ability to work and become intimate with a jig but If you can fish a spinnerbait you can fish a jig. If you can fish a texas rig you can fish a jig, this list goes on. Don't over complicate things. The next time you are going to throw a spinnerbait put on a jig instead and fish it just like you would the spinnerbait. Same goes for dragging a worm, switch out the worm with a jig. You are simply using a different bait that is applied to a technique you already know. You will gain confidence in a jig fairly quick if you approach it this way. The other thing mentioned is flipping. Flipping is a technique, plain and simple. Notice there is no mention of the bait. You can flip a tube, a jig, a swimbait, a dropshot, again the list goes on. Once you learn to flip you can use what ever bait fits the situation and conditions. I know it seems like splitting hairs but I think it is important to differentiate techniques from tools. As already mentioned you can kill two birds with one stone. You could learn to flip with a jig.

Jamie Horton is one of the federation nation qualifiers. Tim Horton is also qualified and I would really like to se him do well maybe even win. I think that would give him a big confidence boost and put his career back on track.

Heddon Pop'n Image. You can walk the dog or fish it like a normal popper.

take spinning rod with light line. Also that big lake is fishable if you have a pickup.People put jon boats in it and the guy who owns the land has been gettin ticked but there are hogs in it. Have had says of 50+

fished that lake to the left of your red marker on that pic 3 weeks ago caught them steady with dropshot fishing real slow. Waters clear and there are pads all around. Walkways all around that you can cast here and there but very easy to put a canoe or jon boat right in.

I once heard that there are four stages in a fisherman's life. They goes as follows (there are actually many variations of this, but this is what I remember): 1. You want to just catch a fish 2. You want to catch as many fish as possible 3. You want to only catch big or challenging fish 4. You want to just catch a fish I am probably in stage 3 right now, but as my time on the water becomes drastically limited due to life's responsibilities, I tend to teeter into stage 4.

I used to concentrate on just catching fish. Now I work harder to understand why I'm catching fish and try harder to catch bigger fish.

Wow, they'll put his name on ANYTHING! A frog? Drop shot bait? KVD Spinnerbait, Jerkbait, and Crankbait, fine. But a spook? I'll stick with my Heddon's, thanks.

I'm sure they will still be in winter mode in your area. We have had very warm temps in Kansas with air temps in the 50's and 60's for several days in a row now but they are still very sluggish because the water temps are only in the high 30's/low 40's. Jerkbaits and slow moving finesse plastics have been the deal for us. Just caught bass number 100 for the year today in fact.

Man.....I feel for ya. Theres not really anything that I can say other then THANK YOU. Thanks so much for your personal sacrifice so that I may enjoy my freedom. Sounds so selfish to say but I really am eternally grateful. Much love to ya and to everyone else who is serving. Prayers will be sent my friend.

No kidding! I'm 38, and I'm still dreaming of a rig like that!