Brandon K.

Gulp leeches on a drop shot are great for small mouth

Where at on the river?

I really like the Fluke for shallow fishing, and the D-Shad for getting deeper a little quicker. If I'm fishing in more current I like to take a Storm Suspen-Strip and wrap that around the hook shank to keep the lure down.

Did the company shut down? I was looking to order more of the Mini-Me spinnerbaits.

I still wrestle about every week and try to box as much as possible. Really got in to Crossfit during a deployment. I may try to do some local competitions in that.

Humdinger Keith Poche power spinner. TW has them. There are a couple other brands too. Go to Lure Customization, then Replacement Blades.

Are you fishing from the bank or a boat? If you're on a boat, have at it with whatever you want. If you're on the bank the rocks will eat every crank and shakeyhead you have. I've always done real well with a spinnerbait, D-Shad, or float and tube from the bank. They really stack up by the d**n in the early spring. You can pick them literally right off the bank if the water is coming fast. A couple years ago a guy got a 7 pounder about a foot off the bank with a 1/2 oz. spinner bait. It was a monster! I seen it in the quarintine tank at Cabela's. When they came in the next day it was laying on the floor dead. Someone didn't pin down the cover on the tank.

I'll check my maps of Tappan and Seneca and get back to you on that. I know they aren't very deep. As far as the Ohio is concerned, your best bet is to fish the drop in that 9-10 FOW range. Those smallies will sit there and wait to ambush prey coming by. Around the damns you can find some deep boulders for current breaks and hit those with tubes or heavy spinner baits.

That's awesome. I think it made you feel good because you know you passed on something you love to your son Andrew.

We had a guy bring up a spent .50 Cal. casing in Iraq while fishing around Saddam's old palaces.

I had probably 1,000 -1,500 Fathead minnows die due to thier digestive system being blocked by these parasites. This was in an Aqua-Culture class in High School ('98-'99). I noticed after about a week or so they stopped feeding and several died. Then, after about a month I only had a handful left. During this time the head Fisheries Bioligist for West Virginia visited our school. She informed me that I was doing something wrong to have all these fish die. I pointed out the parasites on the outside of the fish and told her that I think those are problem. After she told me I was wrong again and, that they only live on the outside of the fish, I proceeded to cut open a bloated 4in. minnow and pull out hundreds of these tiny creatures. She had never in her career seen anything like that.

Where are you on the River?

Plano makes so much more than just tackle boxes too. Pretty interesting stuff.