BigTerp

I second the Zebco Dock Demon. My son at 2 or 3 went through 1 or 2 of the superhero type closed face setups. They were certainly fine, but the Dock Demon is just a nicer reel in general and the whole setup is way tougher than the superhero ones you find at Walmart. He's caught dozens of sunfish and many bass up to around 12" on it without issue. He's since graduated to my old Pflueger President (30 size) and Berkeley Lighting rod, which I also highly recommend for a kid that can handle a spinning reel.

At least you were catching!! Curious what water temps you guys found? I'm itching more and more each day to get down there. 3 weeks and counting!!

2.75" Mizmo teaser tubes. Have caught everything from smallmouth to musky to walleye on them. I've tried 3 and 3.5" but the 2.75" outperforms all other sizes by a mile.

@TOXIC Glad to see you were out and got on them on the hot side. I always appreciate your reports. I'm about to start gearing up for our annual trip to the hot side at the end of March. Last year the Ned's tore them up!! Accounted for probably 75% of our fish over 4 days. Both reactors should be pumping 100% this year. Hoping that helps us out. I'll be sure to report back after our trip. Good luck on Sunday!!

Fished the hot side from last Wednesday through Saturday. Water temps were from low 60's in pool three to high 60's/low 70's in pool 2 up towards canal 1. We didn't venture into poll 1 at all. Found plenty of fish in shallow(ish) near wood. When the wind picked up the last 2 days, wind blown secondary points were the ticket. Saw a few fish on beds in the creeks/coves of pool 2 and 3, but not so many as to say the spawn is in full swing. Ned rig in green pumpkin was the clear winner accounting for I'd say 90% of our fish. If it wasn't green pumpkin, it wouldn't get bit. We only found crappie on day 1 and that was under Millpond bridge. Accounted for a bunch of nice crappie, but we couldn't get on them after that. Overall it was one of our better years in terms of numbers for bass.

Yeah, we are down there every year during maintenance time (end of March). The way they schedule it we've only been down there twice with both reactors at 100% in the past 7 years (2017 & 2020). One of those years was the only one where we got on a sizeable school and were able to keep on them for 2 days. I'm sure the increased "current" makes a difference. As far as temps go, I always keep an eye on the output temp as we approach our trip. They stopped providing actual temps for the various pools several years ago and now publish temps based on historical data. I find those estimated temps to be far too low based on reports from others and our own experience on the lake.

Thanks man!! We have always had trouble finding a reliable pattern over there. Not sure if it's just the nature of the hot side or the fact that we are down there this time of year, ever year, where it's right in the middle of a transition period. I'll be sure to let you know how we do. Again, thanks for the tips, much appreciated!!

Nice work Toxic!! We're headed down the week after next for our annual trip. Any insight you might have for the hot side, I'm all ears!!

Thanks!! Working our way deep to shallow was the plan. I'll be sure to check out that particular point in pool 1. We've bumped there a few times in the past for sure!!

Heading to Anna on Wednesday to fish the hot side for 4 days. Any reports to share? I see that one of the reactors has been down since last week for maintenance/refueling. That, plus the cold snap last week, dropped the discharge temp down from 75 to 67/68. Wondering how that and the reduced output from the plant will effect the fishing.

Mizmo 2.75" Teaser Tubes

I've used these on a ned head and a small weighted swim hook. Very small sample size, but they did well. I think you'll like them as a small jig trailer!!

I've had that exact vest for several years. I wear it all the time when on the water and it's extremely comfortable, I forget I have it on most of the time. I'm 6'8" 240#'s and zero issues with it. I keep it on auto as I run a jet boat in a shallow rocky river. In the event I hit something and get thrown overboard I want it going off. I haven't had any unintended discharges with it, even while fishing in a thunderstorm. But my buddies have each had theirs go off leaving it in their truck and in the boat. Excessive heat seemed to be the culprit. I keep mine in the house when not in use. The auto bobbins need replaced every 3-4 years. I just replaced mine for this season as they expire this spring. You can buy the bobbins separately and just replace them when expired. I got a three pack off of Amazon for like $20. Obviously if the PFD discharges you also need to replace the CO2 cartridge.

Agreed. I leave mine unpainted and notice zero difference versus the painted ones I've used in the past.

Thanks for the replies. Looks like I've been missing out by leaving my tubes and Neds behind on my largemouth trips. I'll be sure to give them a go this year!!

What?!?!?!

Do any of you guys have luck or routinely fish for largemouth with tubes? My go to river bait for smallmouth fishing is a 2-3/4" tube on a 1/8oz internal jig head, followed closely by a Ned rig with a TRD. River smallmouth fishing makes up pretty much all of my fishing. But I do take a yearly 4 day trip to a power plant lake (Lake Anna in Virginia) to chase largemouth. We fish the side of the lake that is influenced by the power plant discharge, thus the water is much warmer by 14+ degrees than the "cold" side of the lake. We typically have success with senkos and flukes for the most part. But the bite can be tough at times. I've always kept my smallmouth lures (tubes and Neds) at home. But am bringing them along this year thinking they may be the ticket when the bite gets tough. Thoughts on using 2-3/4" and 3" tubes and Neds for Largemouth?

Extremely happy with the SJCAM SJ4000. Have it one for about 5 years and zero complaints. I use it waterfowl hunting, fishing and as a dash cam. Video quality is comparable to a GoPro Hero 3 Black (only GoPro I've been able to compare it to). It uses the same mounts as a GoPro, so they are readily available. Exceptional camera for the money. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MIT658W/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

To get the best picture, at least on a Humminbird Helix, chart speed should match boat speed in MPH.

Permethrin!! I got a lyme infection several years ago from a tick while turkey hunting. Was the sickest I've ever been up until I got the flu this year. Luckily, I showed the early signs of a lyme infection (rash, flu symptoms, etc.) and was treated with heavy doses of antibiotics for 30 days which successfully treated it leaving me with zero long term effects. But it was enough for me to start taking prevention seriously. After much research I settled on permethrin. This is a treatment for your clothing, not your skin. You spray it on your clothes, let it dry and then it's good to go. One application lasts for several weeks and several washings. It doesn't just repel ticks but it kills them dead!! I've watched ticks crawl on my treated clothing and within seconds they fall off and, I'm assuming, die. I still use something with DEET on any exposed skin. Since using permethrin in conjuction with DEET I've found zero tics on myself and/or clothing. Where before, using spray with DEET (when I remembered) I would typically find at least one tick on my skin, sometimes several.

I switched to Yo-Zuri Hybrid in 6# a few years ago on my 2 spinning outfits (Pflueger President 6930's on 6'6" M/L Cabelas Fish Eagle Rods). All of my fishing is chasing river smallmouth. Love the line. I treat with KVD L&L when I spool it up, and usually the night before I go out and don't have any issues with manageability or anything. I have heard that the higher # rated (10# and up) does have some manageability issues. But I've haven't experienced any with the 6# I use. It's strong, GREAT knot strength, sensitive and casts well.

An easy way to do this is using Google Maps. You can enter the lat/long of each waypoint into Google Maps and save it. You are basically creating your own custom map with all of your waypoints. Then once you have them all done, you can export that map into .gpx, .hwr or whatever file format your unit reads and load it up to your sonar.

Yo-Zuri Hybrid 6# on spinning gear chasing river smallmouth. Much prefer it over any mono, fluoro or braid that I've tried.

I'll echo what others said about LED's. Best thing I ever did for my trailer was replace all the incandescent lights with LED's. I'd also suggest running a dedicated ground wire from the wiring harness back to each tail light and use tinned, heat shrink connectors for all of the connections. This is exactly what I did and my trailer lights have been trouble free ever since. I don't even unplug to unload/retrieve the boat, and my lights go underwater each time.

I use Yo-Zuri hybrid for the performance, but the price point is nice as well.