Scott F

It sounds like the smallies have started their fall migration toward their wintering areas. Move down the creek to where it feeds into the river. Find their wintering area. They'll use it every year. Start there next spring and follow the bass back into the creek.

If you are talking about graphite reproduction mounts, good photos, length and girth measurements are all you need. The taxidermist will buy a pre-made replica as close to the size and species of the fish you caught, and paint it to look like your fish. Be sure to interview the person you choose to do your mount in person and see examples of his work close up. A good artist will probably charge more but in the end, it’s worth it for a quality job.

In the fall when the water temp drops, they move to their wintering areas, typically slower, deeper pools. In some rivers where there are no dams to impede movement, smallmouth will migrate out of the river they’ve been in all summer and into the larger river or lake to winter there. If you don’t follow the migration, you’ll be fishing where there are no fish. If you follow them, they’ll take most of the same lures they bit on all summer.

What’s wrong with the Trilene knot? You know what they say, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

All of those baits along with everything else will work. There is no magic bait that you need to be using. Go when you can and don’t be too concerned with water temps. The river is still a bit high and fast but it’s coming down. Rain on Thursday and Friday along with a cold front is going to screw things up for a while. Watch out for ticks.

I fish for smallmouth frequently and like a medium light rod for throwing smaller baits like Ned rigs but still have the backbone needed to handle a big smallie in current. My preference is for St. Croix Avids and Premiers because they do both jobs very well.

That section of the DuPage was re-contstructed after a Superfund clean up to remove radioactive thorium. The DuPage forest preserve biologists oversaw the rehab. It is now an absolute gem of a smallmouth stream. There aren’t a lot of bank fishing spots but good wading can be had entering the river mostly from Butterfield Rd south to Ogden Ave. Nearly all of that area is owned by the county so you won’t be trespassing if you cross the land to get in the river. Shhhhhh! Here is a secret spot! Fish in the McDowell Grove for some of the best smallmouth fishing on the west branch......don’t tell anyone!

I fish them because I can use them in places where I can’t use other baits without getting snagged in the rocks or weeds. And, more importantly, I’ll get bites on them from fish that aren’t biting other lures.

Any Legend Extremes they MIGHT have, (there are seldom any in the $50 bin) will be a few inches to over a foot shorter than its original length. IF, there are any, you will have a narrow selection to choose from.

Right below the box where you type your replies to a post, the is a line that says " Drag files here to attach or choose files..." If you click on the words "choose files..." It allows you to choose the photo file from the device you are using.

If you use an iPhone, you can now choose what size photo you want to upload. You don’t have to mail it to yourself or use another app to resize it.

If river smallmouth are active and feeding, nearly anything you throw will get bit. Ned rigs, jig and twister, topwaters, spinners, senkos, crankbaits, all will work. The thing that makes guys successful is finding and getting to the spots where they are.

I don’t care what size boat a pro chooses. Has zero effect on my choice. I’d have to choose a 17ft boat as that is the biggest I could fit in my garage.

It should have come with pre-installed maps for 17,000 lakes with several thousand high definition maps included. Did you buy it used?

I’ve been using the weedless Shroomz for a while and haven’t found the weed guard keeps me from getting good hookups at all. The weed guard is good at letting me toss the bait into downed trees without getting snagged. I did see some hooks breaking on the first Z Man jigs I bought, but on all of my newer ones, I’ve seen the hooks just bend when I pull them out of a snag. My only real gripe with them is the price.

I frequently fish similar rivers. Where there are a lot of boulders and rocks, I skip using weighted jigs and drift unweighted Senkos. In water that shallow, anything in the water column will be close to the bottom. The Senkos come through without snagging. If you really want to stay in the rocks, a Slider Head comes through rocks better than any other style jig I ever tried.

I've hand landed pike up to 46" safely by grabbing them by the back of the head. If the fish is too big to grab them over the gills, grab them behind the head but let your fingers slide inside the gills. The back of the skull is very hard and you can get a very good grip on them. Lift the fish out of the water, then you can use your other hand and slip your fingers under the jaw. Just don't slide your fingers too far in under the jaw or you'll scrape the sharp gills. When you have a pike by the back of their head, your hand is very safe from getting knicked by any teeth. Use pliers with your free hand to get the lure out.

What will a new boat do that the old boat can’t?

Not sure why anyone would hate them. Except that river smallmouth are so good at jumping and throwing them back at me. I use plain #5’s for pike and plain 4’s for smallies. The squirrel tail versions don’t get me any more bites, but they do take a bigger bite out of my wallet.

I never keep my all my tackle in my boat. First of all, I’d need a MUCH bigger boat to hold it all. Second, on a day that I’m going to fish, I only bring the lures I’m likely to need determined by the lake, time of year and the species I’m going after.

If you catch more fish with live bait, use bait. Otherwise, the opinions of others don't really matter. I catch more on artificials because I never use live bait. Maybe the people who catch more on live bait don't use artificials very often either.

there aren't a lot of options out there especially if you want to fly. You can use a PVC pipe with caps if you want but I'd use a Plano rod tube. You will pay a big premium to fly with fishing rods no matter which way you carry them.

There are so many different boats and trailers that no one way works best for everyone. There are many YouTube videos that show how it’s done. I’m sure you’ll see something there that fits your particular boat.

In my experience, ball head jigs snag in rocks much easier than other styles.

So why wouldn’t the same thing happen with a single hook?