Team9nine

Still catching a few green fish while chasing the slabs. Most all bass have been shad school related despite temps and timing suggesting spawn time. Got one of those other good ones, too - 2.55 lbs. Mississippi biologists equate a 2.5 lb crappie to catching a 10 lb bass, and a 3.5 lb one to a 15 lb bass (I’ve caught 2 that size this year), which I found interesting.

I believe spots also don't have that more pronounced break in their dorsal, similar to the smallies.

Did some digging and came up with this info from a NC forum: "There are smallmouth in the South Fork Catawba which feeds Wylie. So no surprise there are smallies in there. There are also smallies in the Jacobs Fork which feeds into the South Fork. Above lincolnton but others have caught smalls and even trout around the old mill and hydro dams on the south fork as there are several." Just based off the picture, and another a guy posted in that above mentioned thread, I'd guess smallie, too. We would occasionally catch them in IN in reservoirs where you'd never expect to see one because every once in a great while, one would end up either coming down from out of a feeder creek/river or got caught above the lake and transported down for some reason. Cool catch from the sound of it for there.

Studies suggest that if there is a quick influx of heavily silted water (very muddy), there is a short term stress response that depending on species, could last from a few minutes to a few hours. They basically increase their breathing rate to compensate for the increased silt load in order to maintain a steady flow of oxygen. Once adjusted, they go back to normal breathing rates. The more fish are exposed to such events in their normal environments, the faster they return to normal. For example, most river fish adjust quicker than lake fish, because high muddy water is a common occurrence.

Location, location, location

Come on now @A-Jay, you know the BR forums are just Intuitive Angling without video, with people just as passionate on some subjects, and just as experienced and knowledgeable on others 😉

Still catching mixed bags. Got a decent largemouth today and three more crappie over 2 lbs. Think they’re probably about spawning here now. Going to pull out a trick worm and cover some shallow water before long. Big crappie bite seems to be winding down quick.

Could be worse - you can probably still use yours as a topwater - lol. I've broken 3 or 4 (or 5) over the years. Seems like the colder the air/water, the greater the chances.

Second day post front, so changed up water bodies and hit a more stained reservoir today. Had a decent mixed bag for about 3.5 hours of fishing with 4 bass (3 keepers) and about a dozen crappie. Had 5 crappie between 1.25-1.70 lbs, and the rest were just nice chunks. Water temps surprised me, only hitting 57-59 deg. today. Couldn’t really tell though if the fish were running a little behind some of the other warmer lakes or not.

Agree with @TnRiver46 No gators in the upstate to my knowledge. There are a few poisonous snakes, but the odds of running into one are probably pretty low unless you really get deep into the swamp or woods. Here’s a link with info. SC Poisonous Snakes I’d be more concerned with wasps, fire ants, etc., but right now it’s still very early in the year and not a lot of critters have come out yet.

Not the first time this has happened - won't be the last, either, I imagine. Remember this bass: https://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/field-notes/2012/03/arkansas-bass-wiped-state-record-books-angler-didnt-have-valid-fishing-lic/

If it’s the same density, due to all being the same temperature, then it clears from the top down, and usually the bank out. How it gets muddy can vary. If the incoming muddy water was much different than the lake temp., then you could have a different scenario. Same goes for wind/current induced muddiness.

Garmin makes a more powerful ‘saltwater’ transducer (XR). If you’ve watched Zaldain’s boat setup video featuring some of the BM tour pros and their units, you’ll notice many had both the traditional and the ‘saltwater’ transducers mounted. According to Garmin, the XR is good to 350’ in saltwater and 500’ in fresh. The standard transducer most guys are running seems to be good out to 100’-125’. So lake trout at any depth would be no issue with the right setup.

Picked off a couple bass this afternoon, but also picked off another big crappie - 3.50 lbs. Believe that bite will be coming to an end very soon, then I can go back to focusing on green fish full time - hopefully before the post-spawners start grouping up. Had to downsize pics for size (MBs), but that last pic is an 18" Golden Rule, and if you look close, you can just see that number between his tail fins. He lifted his tail as the pic was shot. He was actually just a little shy of that mark.

I know a guy in the Carolina’s, I believe, that has been doing this for big bass for years pre-FFS. He doesn’t talk much or post online. There is a live bait guide on Chick that uses FFS and scored 32 DD bass last year. Not certain what the mix breakdown was between live bait and artificial, but the clients seem to usually go live bait and he fishes with artificial behind them from what I can tell.

Just saw this posted elsewhere…

There are 4 primary factors for growing big fish and habitat is definitely ONE of the four.

Interesting - I crushed them back in IN in shallow cold water with it. Largest was 8 pounds. I hop in deep(er) water, but slow and steady in shallow water, especially if that water is a little stained. One of the few moving baits (crankbait style) I can fish slow in as little as 15" of water. It's a Rat-L-Trap without the rattles, only better lol. Always interesting what works or doesn't work for different people and places. Confidence or regional variability? Who knows...

I never questioned that aspect - lol.

Penalty: Illegal use of context. 15 Yards - repeat first down. Said poster has no idea where I'm fishing, if anyone else even crappie fishes these waters, or even has FFS. Nor does he know what would happen if I legally kept every big crappie I've caught each trip, up to my limit of 20 per day. Carry on...

Not to intrude, but I'll add another comment on retrieves with the Vault or other similar type blade baits. Take advantage of the holes drilled in the bait for where you clip to - they're there for a reason. One of my favorite ways to fish them is by clipping to the last/back of the 3 holes. This creates a very nose down attitude, and more drag, and you can easily slow roll or slow steady retrieve these things through just a foot or two of water without having to burn things, keeping the bait just off bottom and muck. Makes a big difference in cold water sometimes, especially with the lighter versions. I've caught tons of fish doing this in super cold water, often with ice still ringing parts of the lake. They also work surprisingly well in shallow river systems with current fishing them the same way for smallmouth

I’ve still got a few I play around with from time to time…the top 2 are “on white” and the bottom one is “on chartreuse.”

Not terribly surprising to me. It was caught from the largest reservoir in the state that is in the southern half (longer growing season), has high productivity (fertile), only moderate largemouth bass population, plenty of pelagic forage (shad), minimal submerged weed growth and a minimal abundance of smallies (minimal competition) that usually only show themselves for a month or so in spring. You typically see a smallie or two every year caught from there that go 3-5 pounds. It also has a very small spotted bass population. I could see that state record being broken from there, also, in the future. It is now nearly 60 years old, so there has been plenty of time to wash away the dirt that covered all the limestone and clay that primarily makes up the geography of the area, creating small portions of the lower lake that are more suitable for smallmouth. There are two other waters that could eventually produce another smallie of that size down the road - Patoka Res. which is the second largest reservoir in the state, same basic characteristics, but a slightly more abundant smallie population and a little better overall habitat (cleaner with more rock and clay). There is also the IN portion of Lake Michigan which gives up some nice smallmouth every year, but doesn't get near the pressure of most lakes or other sections of the Great Lakes due to its location.

Yup, but you probably already knew that 😉 😎 Loaded up with a nice selection of Slider heads.