Looking for the big one

Thanks

Sorry. It's in the middle eating a chipmunk.

I think this snake is burrowing in my grandmothers house. Any ideas of what it is? We are in Central Georgia, I tried looking in a snake guide but the picture is not much to go on. I've never actually seen the thing, only this picture. Hoping somebody with more experience might be able to help.

I always use a heavy drop shot during the spawn, it is the basic idea of what you are saying, you can suspend it in a certain spot, but also once you get the weight onto the bed you can keep it there until you get a bite.

The reason they are around the slop and pads is because those plants are putting out oxygen that they need to breathe as well as shade from the sun and an abundance of prey.

I am around you and fish ponds frequently. The drop shot rig has been my best producer during the spawn, once you cast it right into the nest you can keep the lure there for minutes. Let it drop to the bottom and twitch it to make it appear it is eating the eggs, then jerk it to try and get a reaction strike. My favorite would be a zoom 6" lizard, preferably in a lighter color so you can see it. If that is not natural enough you can switch to a ribbon tail worm that is a little more subtle, and from there you could use a senko or a good bluegill imitation like the big bite baits warmouth or basstrix bait fry bluegills.

Try them at night in the warmer months, bright moon. Less bites, but bigger ones.

No offense to people who use hydro wave and enjoy it, but I consider it a really pricy and not entirely the truth "banjo minnow" type product.

The only thing I know about the moon phasing is that in the warmer months a full moon or bright moon makes the fishing worse during the day because the fish are more tuned into biting at night when it is cooler and theoretically easier for them because of the moonlight. When there is a new moon the day bite should be at its peak, but conditions can change that. I haven't tried night fishing yet, but a buzz bait on a late summer night with a nice bright full moon is on my list. Crickets and bullfrogs on the background. Then a toilet flush strike and a hook set, a minute later pulling a 10+ pounder into the boat. Dang winter is getting to my head.

When fishing a large swim bait like you have been using, remember you are not going to be getting lots of bites, but hopefully the ones you get will be big ones. It also sounds like the bass might be being outcompeted for food by the trout. Putting all those trout in their requires food, and while the larger bass will eat the trout, the smaller bass will not grow much because they will be having to try and fight with the trout for minnows, insects, crawdads. The pond can only support a certain amount of fish, and with trout being stocked continuously it creates three kinds of fish. Fish that are eaten by the trout, fish that compete with the trout, and fish that eat the trout. Using a swim bait requires patience, and it sounds like with your situation it is all about fishing for a long time, and putting yourself in the best situation to catch fish. Wait until spring comes by, pre spawn bass will be very hungry and fatten up on trout before spawning.

Are there still other forage species in the pond, maybe bluegill or red ears?

it's cool

Okay. I should have used the word cover. Got it. But it felt a bit too aggressive man. And most people got the point anyway.

That cuts deep man. Maybe you could have helped by just suggesting adding a few extra structures to list. And what would you suggest I added?

I live in North/Central Ga and was wondering if anybody in the area knew of a good smallmouth reservoir nearby, or maybe one farther away that has smallmouth. I am new to Smallmouth, but I have done my research and am looking to finally catch one or at least spend some quality time on the water. I would be grateful for any tips and thanks in advance!

I am surprised by the numbers so far, there are a lot more people fishing rocks than I had thought originally. I guess I have a stunted perspective because of home lakes, but I rarely find fish on rocks, they are almost entirely on lay downs in my lakes or in submerged vegetation. But as far as the colors go I am unsurprised.

I would go with an Abu Orra SX or a Quantum Team KVD. (I can't lie, I really do like some of the stuff that Quantum puts out)

And it floats so you could use topwaters. It would stink if you had to use it for flipping or for frogging.

I would have to say 10 lb Trilene XT. Can use it on spinning gear for finesse applications, or you can use it on a baitcaster for about everything.

All the Walmarts around me are focused to the family picnic fishing crowd rather than a bass fisherman. "sigh" goes on walmart website OMG THEY HAVE MEGABASS VISION 110'S EVERYBODY GET IN THE CAR AND BRING YOUR BANKS!!!

When using a frog think more about the fish seeing it rather than wanting to eat it. If you are in clear water conditions with fish that are going to pay attention to the color of the bottom of the frog I would just switch to finesse tactics rather than the frog color. But other than that, I suggest thinking like jig colors, brown, black, green, with maybe some whites and chartreuse. Oh yeah and the live target sunfish is looking pretty darn awesome for realism just putting that in there. Can't wait to get my hands on some of those. What is it with Icast and adoring topwater hollow bodied lures?

I was late to the simple grub and jig head party, but it's been around so long I don't know if that counts. I hear so many people say it was the first thing they ever used and they still use it today, and so recently I tried one from my MTB at a new lake, and after three casts I..... hung it on a tree and broke off. And I didn't catch anything that day :P .

Just wondering what types of jigs everybody was throwing. Partially so I could not throw the exact same thing as everybody else, partially so that I can learn what to use.

Check to see of your state has an outdoor news magazine specifically for your state. in Georgia we have Georgia Outdoor News (GON) which I love, covers fishing and hunting and has reports for every big lake and some rivers, for all the sport fish in those bodies of water.

Well that is a time when you can use that wee crayfish of yours. I really don't know of anything else, but for smallmouth, remember! drop-shot, small jigs, and topwater. But now that I think about it, I have read an article that bigger Mepp's lures will work for smallmouth. One does not simply compare smallmouth to trout.