Turkey sandwich

d**n!!! That is one wild looking jig.

Congrats! Sounds like an amazing day on the river shared with a friend on the kind of trip that can get you both hooked on fishing again. Great fish!

The SCII is still a good graphite for a $100 rod. I have had a Premier for the past 17 years that still sees a lot of action. The length makes a difference based on height, the technique you're using, and what kind of boat/kayak/tube/wading/etc you're doing. Still, that being said, the difference between those two blanks is really big.

Smallmouth are much different in current! Most fish like some degree of current as it brings them food and oxygen. Because of this, even in slight current, you'll almost always find fish facing into it. Largemouth do not do as well in colder water or faster current. Smallmouth show a strong preference for it. Also, fish in rivers, be it Largemouth, Smallmouth, walleye, or even trout, tend to be more aggressive than their stillwater counterparts because the current requires them to swim constantly and maintain a higher metabolism. That said, they typically stay much leaner for the same reason. For example, a 20" small mouth from Lake Erie can hit 6lbs while that same fish in a river system may only reach 4.5. As for bait size, yes and no. I've caught Smallmouth on full-size Spooks and have also had days where grubs and Mepps spinners were the only things getting bit. Size is about water clarity, forage, and time of the year, just like Largemouth.

I just reorganized my Plano hook box using safety pins and it's never been more organized. The safety pins also work great for sinkers, swivels, split rings, and virtually everything else. Also, to reduce damage rust, I've started keeping packs of silica gel in my boxes. So far, so good.

Pay attention to current as well as depth. Winter bass may stay deep, but they're really seeking out slow current. As they feed in cold water, they'll move towards the current seams bordering slack water (that point comes to mind, but also pay attention to structure like islands that break current on or near a bend). As bass move into pre-spawn, they're most likely going to be pushing from the slack current into some of the more prime feeding positions around current moving towards ideal spawning ground. Ideal spawning ground is slow to moderate current in 2-6' of water over gravel beds. It's important to know where they're coming from and where they're going. So, the two things the map doesn't show that makes a huge impact are water level/current flow and bottom composition. These are also things that can change year to year. So, the shallow side of Sycamore Island may be used for spawning, but unlikely if that water is less than 2' deep and super fast. I would check out the outside of Nine Mile Island and the back of the island where it tapers into the main pool. Similar, I would check the bottom of Sycamore island. For spawning area, I probably wouldn't overlook those docks, either. Pre-spawn is all about finding feeder areas close to those bedding areas. My thpughts on pre-spawn: the bottom of the shallow run above Sycamore Island, the side of Sycamore Island exposed to the channel, the east side of 9 Mile Island, the docks, and possibly that point.

The other big benefit to braid as a main line is that you can get high vis colors for finesse fishing. If you're dead-sticking, bright yellow Power Pro is hard to miss.

In addition to an underpowered rod /stretchy line preventing a good set, WRB's tip is really helpful. With shakey heads, the shape of the head and angle of the line tie can make a big difference, too. Here's a video that covers what I'm talking about:

I'm on the Susquehanna whenever I can be and keep the following spinning rods on deck on every trip: 7' Med weight Fast Premier (tubes, stick baits, light jig/trailer, flukes, jerkbaits, and virtually anything not a crankbait or a spook) 6'9 ML XF Avid X (light tubes, drop shot, weightless plastics, grubs, light topwater) 6' light or ultra light (grub on 1/16th oz jig) the he light or ultra light is kind of a bonus rod that I keep around for whoever is with me to pitch grubs at fish following a hooked fish to the boat or throwing small inline spinners if we can't buy a bite. Otherwise, it's way too whippy for good hook sets or any real sensitivity in the current. That said, while it's completely impractical for much else, it's also a lot of fun for playing anything over 1 1/2lb in the current. If I were choosing just one to wade with, it would be the ML Avid X 75% of the time. For light lures, it's the best river smallmouth rod I've ever fished. If it's a bit pricey for your budget, I would suggest going with the Mojo Bass over the Eyecon because an SCIII blank is much, much better than the SCII.

There are some good suggestions here, but if you're looking for something to flip and pitch into heavy stuff, the value of a half decent baitcaster is very hard to beat. You can certainly fish heavy on a spinning outfit, but the baitcaster (with some practice) will offer you much better control and the ability to thumb the spool can be a difference maker in your presentations, hook sets (winch down that drag!), and ability to fight fish away from the jungle. Outside of even specialized pitching scenarios, getting comfortable with the baitcaster will open up a lot for your fishing.

There's a lot of good info here. One detail that I haven't noticed has to deal with the placement of the line tie in relation to the head and shank of the hook. Catt's pictures are good examples of jigs with line ties angled greater than 90 degrees from the shank. The open angle has a few benefits. I find at the "open" angle helps reduce weeds/scum collecting on the jig head and allows it to pass more easily through vegetation (this is just my experience). The other benefit is that it allows for a better hook set by allowing the point of the hook to extend beyond the eye. Especially on larger jigs, this can make a big difference in sticking fish versus having the larger jig head blowing it's mouth open wider than the hook, preventing any penetration on your hook set. One other thing to mind (in addition to the shape of the head) regarding where or how to fish a jig pertains to the gauge of the hook. Heavy wire hooks are the deal when fishing the thick stuff on braid or heavy low-stretch line. Lighter wire is more ideal for fishing away from the heavy stuff and requires a lot less gusto on the hook set to get good penetration and is more ideal fished with some give in your line or rod. Heavy braid and a stiff rod can straighten light wire hooks and light or stretchy line can make hook sets with heavy gauge hooks difficult. If you're fishing 40lb+ braid, you'd be shocked how strong that line really is.

Welcome from South Philly!

That's also a solid rod for throwing light poppers like smaller Pop-R, X-Rap Pops, etc..

It's going in a weird direction, man. On the upside, the Susquehanna is already low enough to wade.

That's awful. Any ideas about recovery? EPA/DNR doing anything?

That fish kill looks horrible. We've had issues with power plant runoff spiking temperature and problems with nutrients up north for some time. They can be devestating. I've heard some crazy stories recently about Okachobee and it's drainage having a lot of nutrient problems also. Is this what you're running into?

You guys are pretty spot on. It makes it a nightmare for fighters, as is evident by the number willing to sign with Bellator instead of resigning with the UFC. The thing is, it's shortsighted promotion on the UFC's side. Mendes and Edgar have delivered some of the most entertaining fights in the history of the sport and instead of selling the quality of the fight, the focus has become selling the hype instead. If any of you guys follow boxing, just look back to the 90s and how crappy things became, not for lack of talent, but lack of proper promotion.

It's entirely preference. I have the Avid X ML69XF and I really like it. The grip and micro guides are the only real difference. I have bunch of micro guide rods and have mixed feelings about them because I tend to use braid as a main line with mono/fluro/copolymer leaders and the knots may negate the advantages of the micro guides. Generally speaking, both are killer rods for finesse plastics and small poppers (away from cover). if you're planning on using it for any of the techniques I mentioned, you can't really make a bad decision between the two.

Bingo! A lot of what many of us have learned about seasonal movements and the "science of fishing" comes from Rick Clunn.

Soft swimbaits are super versatile. You can fish them a lot of different ways in most conditions. So long as you change size and terminal tackle accordingly, they work essentially year round.

Just what I was about to post! His day 3 bag is ridiculous. Anybody catch the pattern he was on? I assume crankbaits of some sort, right?

On the Schuylkill/Delaware or near John Heinz refuge?

Well, I'd probably look for fish beginning their pre-spawn early since its been such a funny year weather-wise. Fishing jerkbaits and (if the water is up into the high 40s) crayfish immitations along any changes in structure moving shallow from wintering holes would be my first choice to find early pre-spawn fish. If the water is still cold and the crayfish haven't ventured back out yet, I'd probably start working deeper on those transition areas and wouldn't rule out dead sticking weighted Senkos or flukes on draggin heads. Hopefully the water is warmer and you aren't stuck dead sticking on the bottom. I hate it, but when the water is cold or fish react to fronts, it works.

is the lake mostly weeds? Rock? What other species are in the lake? tubes, jig/craw, and dropshot rigs can work in most places. If the water is clear, keep the colors natural.

Fact.