Turtle135

I am about to give the "smallmouth after dark" on rivers an honest try for the next couple of months. I too have had very limited success at night as the bite does seem to disappear right after dusk but what I have read is that the bite does start up again (and that might not be until after midnight). Will post back and let you know how it goes. Tonight is the start.

I strive to keep them out of the water for no more than 15 seconds. I have a Fish Grip on a paracord tether attached to my kayak. For our kayak tournaments I will clip them on and let them swim while I get my camera, identifier and Hawg Trough ready to go. While a bass may swim off you never know if that fish has been over stressed with the fight and handling and die later.

not to mention how effective just dead-sticking a soft plastic on the bottom can be

I fish straight through the winter here in Maryland. Water temps in the mid 30's to low 40's are common with matching air temperatures. Once the sum of the air temperature plus the water temperature is 120 degrees or less I wear a dry suit.

I generally tailor the information to the person asking. I will give descriptions of what to look for structurally and presentations that should produce but I do not give specific spots away unless I really know the angler well.

I saw your new PB, congrats! I did not weigh that 22" (she gave me no trouble getting the picture so I did not pull the scale out on her). I think your bass was bigger around the middle than mine was.

A spinnerbait would get hung up less around wood than a chatterbait. Flooded wood also calls out a "jig" for me.

The flashlight/lamp is the "UCO Clarus 118 Lumen LED Mini Lantern and Flashlight" which goes for about $ 15.00 on Amazon. Runs on three AAA rechargeable batteries for quite a while. The PVC arm just goes into a rod holder. I can pull the lamp out and use it as a flashlight.

Thanks! I have a DIY light that I made from PVC and a combo flashlight/lamp. The nice thing is I can slide the lamp up or down to increase or decrease the amount of 360 degree light I show. On an electric only lake like I was on last night I try to keep the light down as I prefer to have as much night vision as possible (and fewer bugs).

Once a month on my local reservoir we are allowed to stay on the lake till midnight (normally we are given the boot one hour past sunset). So I always try to take advantage of this opportunity as "night fishing" appears to be largely frowned upon in Maryland. Last night it was cool and raining (had to break out the dry suit for the first time this year). With the cloud cover obscuring the moon it was dark out there but still there was enough ambient light for me to make out the shoreline and the trees. I tried some surface presentations but outside of one suicidal green sunfish no deal on top. So I go back to the one technique that always seems to work at night. The trusty black & blue jig. I was finessing it through the deep weed edge about 15' down and felt that little "tick".

If you want to replace the skirts you can get the material here. https://fishingskirts.com/product-category/flatline-rubber/

I buy these in bulk and tie my skirts on but I still put a bobber stop in front of and behind this (to protect the knot). Probably not what you are looking for.

Never used it myself but this guy reviews Berkley Professional Braid (which I believe is the same line without the alternating colors that the Tracer has).

I have two of the Tournament MB's in the 7.5:1 gear ratio. I do like the size and feel of the "LFS" series of reels in my hand. I am primarily using these reels on 7'3" medium casting rods with jigs in the 3/16th - 5/16th ounce range. For really heavy applications I have a pair of Lew's Super Duty Speed Spools. Not that the MB could not handle the same duties I just had the Super Duty reels before I got the MB's. The MB seems to be a solid reel and casts really well as all Lew's baitcasters north of 100 bucks seem to do. The 7.5:1 gear ratio is really nice for picking up slack. Actually this is the fastest reel I own and I see a difference over the 6.8:1 when fishing a jig.

Just a thought that might save you some money, less than 1/4 ounce I go with black brass instead of Tungsten as the weights that light have such a small profile to begin with.

I think they recently dredged that lake as it was filling in with sediment (not the first time they have to to dredge). I just looked online and Lake Whetstone opened for boating and fishing in September 1967. I used to catch bass over at "Lake Walker" too (they built Lakeforest Mall on that land and all that is left of Walker are those 3 ponds around the mall).

Good to see there are still some bass in that lake! Used to fish that lake back in the 70's as a teenager.

If I was in this situation, I would try to back up the exact same line and get ready to drop my presentation when I saw the depth rise up above 25 feet. Depending on the "frequency" you are set at the sonar cone below you can very wide or narrow.

I have read the book and I do stitch plastic worms. While the book recommends trying various size worms to find out what the bass want that day I only use 10" and 12" worms here in Maryland and I only try it during the warmest months of the year. I reserve this technique for my "A" structural spots as I am committing to staying anchored in one spot for 5 - 6 hours. Regarding the line take up. I use a baitcasting combo. I stitch with my right hand but instead of allowing a whole lot of loose line to pile up I use my left thumb on the spool to roll the line on the reel during the periods when I am dead sticking the worm. I find very small movements of the worm followed by excruciatingly long dead stick periods actually works best for me. I suspect it works on my local reservoir (deep, clear water, heavy fishing pressure) because it is something those educated bass do not see everyday. I have to have the right mind set that day to employ the technique properly, that I am committed to one spot for hours on end for that one big bite. In Maryland a "citation sized bass" is one that is 21" or longer, here is one of my stitched C's from Maryland.

I am using this rod below for 3/16th - 5/16th ounce jigs but it will put a little jerkbait into orbit. You may need to look around online to find one (Amazon, eBay, etc.). For the reel I am using the Lew's Tournament MB Speed Spool. The line you choose will be a critical part of the performance. I get more than adequate distance with 8 pound test monofilament. TEMPLE FORK OUTFITTERS (TFO) GTS DSC 733-1 DROPSHOT CASTING ROD - MEDIUM LIGHT https://templeforkrods.wordpress.com/2013/11/15/gts-drop-shot-series-rods-review/ I am sure there are other ML casting rods out there that would do the job and are more readily available. I just have not handled them so I can't comment. I suspect you want 7'3" or even longer if you can find them (for the distance). The TFO Tactical Casting Rod in medium (which seems to be readily available) might also fit the bill.

I fish with Trilene XT monofilament pretty much 100% of the time (12, 14 and 17 pound test). I think the real reason I like this line so much is that their 14 pound test actually tests out closer to 20 pounds. It handles shock pretty well too. Two things that really bother me are breaking off a bass or gut hooking a bass (both are likely death sentences). When you fish water that looks like this then line visibility is not really a concern.

I will trim a weed guard so that when it bends down to the hook it ends lining up right around the back of the barb. I will also thin a weed guard to suit the cover.

Those weeds stalks at my lake are now four to seven feet tall. They are pushing to the surface but they will run out of time before the growing season ends. The game each day on the water is where will the bass be. Buried in the grass, on the deep weed edge or somewhere in between.

Mother Nature getting frosty with us again! It has been a strange August temperature wise down here in Maryland too.

I posted this in a similar thread just yesterday. Bullet swim jig heads will knife through weeds pretty well. The one in the image is a 1/4 ounce and the little video clip is a peek at the hydrilla in my local lake in 12 feet of water.