cyclops2

Fast troll with 4# about 80' out & the 1 1/2" Rapala with no lip, belly hook, split ring. Just a short shank, crushed barb # 6 tail hook, black. 1/4 " split shot 6' ahead of the lure. As it passes past a 12 ' deep rocky point. Snagged. I circle back to save the lure . I am pumping the lure to free it from the rocks. The snag finally starts to release the line & lure. In the weed pile. Why I use only Ande Mono line. She was playing with me for a long time.

I now know my skill has a lot of luck .

Dense clouds low light levels. No sunglasses day. Schooling fish do not care about light levels too much. Think some people think all fish are avoiding bright sunlight. Not always true statement. Lone ambushers HIDE all the time. That works for them. Schools of fish need light. To pick out a single fish in a school darting around. In my bay that is SMB tactic. Really big / HUGE SMB might not keep up with a moving school. So I find them in about 6 favored places. If I remove one ? Next day or 2 another big one takes over.

Very nice

If the pond is that small ? Take PERSONAL CARE of it. I would move the turtles. Any safe way so you are not risking a bitten off finger or wrist .The turtle is expendable. People are not.

I am better. The Bay is into FULL fall feeding !! ?

The Delaware river USED to be FANTASTIC SMB river with solid rock bottom, ledges & bridge piers. The bass & channel cats were behind every current break possible. Waders & walking were all that was needed. Then the luxury homes & development came. All the dirt & small road chips were washed into the river. Filled in everything. There is nothing left. Progress spells death to fish in waterways. All the lawn treatment pesticides & herbicides. I have not fished the pebble smooth riverbed for years. I had hooked a 24 to 30" Stripped Bass at night under the bridge. I panicked as I put my whole hand deep into mouth & gullet to unhook the tiny Rapala. About 60 mile from salt water.

I am still at 74 F surface. Most Baitfish schools are right at surface sunrise to midday. Then the go to the bottom layer. 2 feet in 13 feet of weedy bottom.

It looks like he got hit by something. Never had a steel belted trailer tire do that damage.

The big fish NEED LOTS more food. SOOO They travel around to many spots. In all different water conditions. The bait moves? They move also. Life

Do not feel too bad. The fall feed is ON !! But still no SMB of any size. Lots of Rock, Perch & big Sunfish. I am happy on a Rapala & 4 # mono ?

They are big.

I mostly use 4# test sTRETCHY Ande Monofilament line. That mono can stretch a lot with any sized lure. When I use the small 1.5" Rapala they can inhale it fully inside. Or a corner of the jaw hookup. Do not lose the fish. But those BIG 6 to 8" lures can get tossed far more often. I do not worry about It. I enjoy the strikes I created. ?

My tiny creek thru town looks hopeless for big any thing. But it has a few holes against a tall rock ridge that blocks sun from 10 am to sundown. Rock stream into a big river. So they spawn easily & can go to different holes for food. Both M & F take turns on guard duty. Sometimes both are together. BIG BIG twosome.

Noaa stated they will be farming out some of their duties. Not good. The NEW cheaper crummier tied together blocks of the USA. Is not as good as the live analog sweep was. Cheaper cheaper. Honestly ? Forecasting for some areas is very difficult. Alaska comes to mind as a toughie. My area is pretty accurate. I only need 24 hours of accuracy to fish.

THe reasons & conditions are many................. But if you are a catch & release person? I am. So I take no offense if the fish gets off early. Real early. like 2 seconds after a tight line. Be back. Remember the claims & results of / from the " Circle Hook ' guys ? I Have started removing The trebles . They get dulled very quickly on rock bottoms or around boulders, rock walls or concrete bridge piers. The big SMB can squeeze the small black Rapala hooks slightly closed over time. Been there. The white grisle on the edge of a mouth can be VERY tough to set the hooks into. Especially if the lips are tightly squeezing the FLAT outer 3 SURFACES ...ONLY !!!..... Ther is NO NO way the hook points are inside the soft meat of the mouth !! Yank hard ? Bring fish close to boat reach out to net Or pick up ? Fish opens his / her mouth. Another no feeling the slime come off on my hands. Getting a bite is always the biggest challenge to me Mu simple cure was to CUT OFF 2 of the 3 hooks an a treble. BIG improvement in solid hookups. We all know we are MUCH smarter than a DUMB fish right ? Not always. They do learn to be a LOT MORE CAREFUL when attacking a fish that ONLY swims straight at a boat with a guy sitting or standing in it. Or someone standing on land or in the water. Same place same times. They get tired of going to the dentist just to make us happy. The fall feed has started in my bay. LOADS of small fish of all types getting hooked on small Rapalas with just a tail stock treble deeper in the mouth. The water is changing already. Full hook ups are back. Enjoy ?

Right now I can catch bass on Chicken neck skins all day long. They are just too well fed to do stupid Kamikaze attacks on lures. The necks are MEAT !! ?

A huge Sunfish is built & fights like a small Small Mouth Bass female.

Crawfish DO DIG deep tunnels to hide in. Undercut dirt banks are also used. I have found them ganged up in darkness eating dead animals in the water.

A cove like that is where schools of big fish drive food into. Keep checking it out at morning sundown & cloudy days. The big fish like to have the sun behind them. As they drive food into that cove.

I just had my first deep throat swallowing of a 1.5 " long Rapala by a big perch. He got very lucky with my long SS forceps & crushed down barbs. Maybe a hungry or a early fall feed start. 2 nd day of lots of fish being aggressive in loose schools at several places. Very overcast day. Good choppy surface. 2 P M No bass. Trolled deep big lures for a hour. Zero fish in less than 6' with all those fine green slimes covering weedless bottoms. Other good fish guys are striking out also. Not a good sign.

I have found the single hook woks better in weeds. If the point is pointed up. most hook ups are in the upper jaw. Should be eliminating torn or strained lower jaw muscles. I have never had a line tangle with just a tail hook. NEVR hooked me or anything else. Big plus for me. ?

You are right on with my shift to a different style. Those 5" were all non bass. I was getting multi fish biting very lightly on some casts. I picked up 2..... 1 oz. weights for the echo's at 40 to 60 feet. I will use a couple of Rapalas as searcher lures.

The B L & T was great. Caught 5" fish for hours, Everywhere. Thrilling

Good one ! I am the only idiot still trying to catch something in my sterile shallows. Going deep in to the main river. After a B L & T sandwich.