Fairtax4me

If it's the lake I think it is, yes, usually 10+ feet visibility. It tends to get a kind of blue-green bloom in the water around this time of year. Tons of deep grass though, so the fish have plenty of places to hide.

Finally got on some smallmouth this evening after work. Only had about 45 minutes of light, and only caught fish in about 15 of that. Caught three, hooked but lost two others, and had one maybe pound and a half follow worm right up to the bank on a straight retrieve. That one clued me in to how they wanted the presentation though, and the next dozen or so casts resulted in 5 hookups. All from the same spot on the bank! Another milestone... The pic is my first ever Ned rig fish! I kinda like this little turd worm.

Priceless! The world better get ready, there's a master angler on the rise! Next stop: FLW!!! Congratulations to Lake, and to you as well dad!

Congrats man! I know that feeling well! My previous PB came on that same color frog, and was stuck all the way in the back of the roof of its mouth just like that!

No doubt, I've had much better luck getting bit with the 90 than the 130. The 90 certainly catches more dinks, but some days that's the only thing that will get hit. Its that medium between true finesse topwater and aggressive/just flat out obnoxious that the bigger sizes are. Anything from true dink to 3lbers will hit the 90 on a regular basis. Seems like fish need to be in just the right mood to hit the 110 or 130, but when they do it's almost always a bigger fish. The bites on those are just few and far between. At least that's been my experience. One of these days when the bait fish are just right I'm sure I'll have a 5-6+lber just inhale a 90 and I'll be in one hell of a fight because I usually throw that with a 8lb mono leader.

If those smallies are on beds they're probably not eating they're just swiping at the bait to try to scare it off. Even with the tiny sharp hooks on the 90 I still would get a lot of short strikes fishing for river small mouth. I switch out the rear hooks with VMC round bend trebles with the trailer feather. They also weigh a bit more and help balance out the nose dive that the 90s like to do.

Nice to see the Dinger catches decent fish! I picked up a couple packs last week to try. Can't beat the price and they seem to hold up better than senkos. Haven't caught any hogs with them yet but seems like the dinks love them!

That's rough man! Gonna need a phone gripper for the next one!

I use mono for walking topwater baits if I'm in an open water lake, but that's it. Everything else I use 12-17lb flouro, except my g loomis 7'5 jig rod which I normally use 50-65lb braid. Right now it has 65 on it because I also use it for frogs. The rod I lost mine on is an Abu Veritas MH 7' with 17lb p-line tactical flouro on a Curado 70 8:1 reel. A heavier rod probably could have got that fishes head turned and coming towards the boat sooner, but another fishing rod isn't on the priority list right now. I forget which rod my buddy uses for the big cranks he throws, but I know he uses 20lb Seaguar Abrazx on 3 of them. The fish that broke off was on one of those rods. His other rods have 15lb Abrazx, or some weight of PowerPro braid. Problem I have with braid is I don't get bit with it nearly as often unless I'm fishing heavy cover or grass. Normally at this point we've got 8-10 foot visibility and fish are sitting deep, which makes getting bit more difficult with braid. Instead we've had rainstorm after rainstorm for the last three months and everywhere we fish is pretty much 1-2 foot vis chocolate milk. So I suppose I need to spool up some 40lb on the MH rod and see what I get. Thanks for for the kind words. And yes, It does feel nice to know that I'm in the right places. Much better than last year when I had trouble getting bit at all, much less catching anything over 3 lbs.

Ever have one of those months? It's working out to be that way. We hit the lake EARLY. Chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon so we were on the water at 4:30am to try to maximize our chance at catching good fish. Didn't exactly work out that way. 6:30 am thunderstorm pops up, and at this point we've been fishing two hours without a bite. After the storm blows through, I switch to the same swimbait I've been catching fish on for the last three weeks. A 4.8 Keitech on an Owner flashy swimmer. Couple casts later and I've got the first fish of the day. The stumpiest 2lb bass I've ever seen. About 10" long It looked like a big bluegill... big head, big shoulders, tiny tail! Tried to get a pic and he shook out of my hand and back into the water before I could. Around 11:30 I've got three, and my buddy is still working on a blank. The bite just isn't happening on Sandy on this day, it's time to make a switch... To Briery Creek! With a good breeze and a little chop we start grinding crankbaits through the underwater forest. After an hour with no bites (and I've washed about half a dozen different lures) I hook up on a decent 2lber on a rapala dt10. Not convinced, I switch to a 6 foot luckycraft and catch another about 20 minutes later. My buddy gets the drift and starts chucking a BIG chartreuse square bill (he's devoted to the big bite). Another hour or so goes by and he finally hooks up on a hungry 2.5lber. Maybe 20 minutes later my buddy yells for the net. He's hooked up on something big. His rod is bent like a bamboo twig and I can see the headshakes in the tip of the rod. Problem is... This is Briery, and this fish was 100 feet out from the boat. He gets it about halfway and hangs up in a tree. Snap, line flies, fish gone along with his crankbait. We come across a flat where I know I can drag the Keitech through some stumps. Couple casts and I bring in another 2lber. I know I've got a pattern of some sort now, and I tell my buddy where we need to go to catch more fish. We move along and three fish (for me) later he's tying on a Keitech :Lol: Around 4pm we pull around a point and I hook up with my biggest catch of the day (the pic). We'll call it a generous 4lbs. Nice solid fish in 6Fow not far from a dropoff. Still working the Keitech for all its worth another hour later I hook into another decent fish, and pretty quickly it gets pinned against a tree and shakes the hook. Catch a handful more in the 2-2.b range over the next couple hours and we start seeing clouds building on the horizon. BIG Thunderstorms north and south of us, and some seriously dark clouds heading towards us, but somehow we escape with not a single drop of rain. We haven't had a fish bite in about an hour either. We move back onto a flat where we caught the most fish we've pulled out of one spot all day. It's 7:30ish dragging the Keitech and it just goes mushy, then my line starts to pull back a bit. Set the hook straight up and BIG head shakes and pulling drag! The bite I've been waiting for since two weeks ago. Time for my revenge!!! Line stops, I can see where it's against a tree and a belly flash just under the surface. I feel one more head shake then the line goes slack, Solid 7-8lb bass jumps 3 feet out of the water 20 feet from the boat. Grrrrrrraaahhhhhh!!!!..... I at least got my lure back this time, but the frustration and sunburn are nearly killing me at this point. Par for the course I suppose, but d**n am I tired of losing big fish on a tree! This should have been a PB story, instead I'm switching my two heaviest rods to braid and so help me I am getting the next d**n one in the boat if it kills me! We finished out the day with a couple more fish. My buddy snagged probably the biggest of the day on a plopper right at dusk and I had another 2lber on the Keitech. I shouldn't complain, we put close to 20 in the boat for the day, which I'll cnonsider a d**n good day. Just need to figure out how to get that big girl to the boat. Until next time Buela...

Wonder where the canoe is! Good times man! Nice catches!

Jerkbait or if there's grass twitch a stick bait over top of it or on the edges. The bass in the ponds I fish tend to get super shallow on cloudy days. Casting Right on the edge of the bank gets them to crash in after a natural colored fluke or stick bait. Also so keep in mind those are pond fish and they may not want an aggressive or loud lure. Try a little smaller, or quieter presentation. Instead of a clacking metal blade buzz bait, try a plastic bladed one. Also, A paddle tail worm with a very light weight with a retrieve just quick enough to get it to run and paddle on top is a great way to get topwater pond fish.

My Dad bought an RV a couple weeks ago and had it out on its first trip over the Father's Day weekend. My buddies dad was nice enough to take us out on Smith Mountain Lake For the day. Its just my luck to go to the premier smallmouth lake in VA, and not catch a single smallie. Day started out pretty decent. We worked some top water baits in a cove then moved out into main lake and started working a point not far from the ramp. Found fish out in the middle busting on bait but they didn't want a top water lure. Caught my first and best of the day (2.5ish) on a jekbait suspending in 90 FOW. My buddy and his dad pulled a couple small striper and got one tiny smallmouth. Late morning the lake got super busy with jet skis, pleasure boats, and pontoons everywhere. Not a speck of wind all day but we dealt with three foot rollers the entire time. The chop out in main lake made it nearly impossible to fish out there. I managed a couple more 1.5 lb largies on a Texas rigged Rage swimmer on an island drop off near the main channel later in the afternoon, but we never could find a consistent bite anywhere. Gonna call it a good day. We had fun (despite the 95° heat) caught a few fish on a lake we've never fished before, and nobody got tossed overboard (even though I was mighty close to it a couple times)!

My plan this year was to use more soft plastics. The last few years I've been on the hard noisy bait kick. Crank baits, traps, spinner baits, etc. I got into jigs two years ago and had good success, so this year I wanted to expand my range of soft plastic options. So far, so good. My catch rates have been up, and my big bass catches have gone up considerably, at least compared to last year. Haven't been on a truly good jig bite yet, but that usually starts to come in better in the summer months anyway.

It's a spotted bass. The spots are on their back. That ones spots haven't darkened quite yet but they're there if you look close. Spots have a much smaller mouth then largemouth do, it's usually very obvious just by looking at the mouth. Google spotted bass and look at pics.

Persistence will pay off and changing up lures and retrieve will show you what the fish want. That also somewhat Depends on what kind of structure is in the lake. I fish a few small ponds on the regular and in summer the bass get deep into the grass in the middle of the ponds during the day. Occasionally I see them out cruising around mid day, but they aren't usually interested in eating, just taking a peek at what's out and about. Early morning and late evening are your best times for summer top water. Or a cloudy day. If the sun is out, something swimming at mid depth, or something that works on the bottom is usually the ticket. If you have grass in your lake, weightless worms/creature baits, spinner baits, or rattle traps worked on the edges of the grass may produce a few bites for you.

What I've found is often on that first tap the line will go light. You feel less weight on the line because the fish picked it up and may be moving towards you. Right after the fish sucks in your lure it's going to crush it, and this is where the second tap comes in. One of two things happens... 1. The fish didn't get the whole lure on the initial pickup, so the second tap (and possibly third) is the feeling of the fish sucking in the rest of the lure. 2. The fish sucked in the lure and crushes it, but it feels the hook point poke it somewhere in the mouth. The second tap is the fish spitting the lure back out. If you have the hook point buried in the lure, the fish won't feel the point and will more than likely swim away with it until it feels tension from your line. Ive found that when fishing open hook lures I set the hook immediately after the first tap, I get a fish. With Texas rigged plastics or other weedless lures I wait until I feel the fish pull the line slightly or see/feel the line move. If if the line goes totally weightless, whether you feel a tap or not, set the hook.

Sandy River Res is one of those places you either have a good day and catch a couple studs or you totally blank. Seems like there's never an in between. With plans to hit a small local lake my buddy calls me Friday evening and says "Let's hit Sandy tomorrow!". I'm in! We get there a little late (6:45) and it's cloudy cool morning. Bit of a breeze but otherwise really good conditions. We run up lake to shallow water and start fishing top water and after about 20 minutes figure its not happening. Change up to moving baits and try to cover some water. My buddy gets bit on a ribbon tail worm on a tree and swings. Worm comes up cut clean just behind the hook. Darn pickerel. After that we keyed in on slow moving soft plastics with action. Water is muddy but the fish won't have anything to do a with a noisy bait, and they won't chase down anything it's gotta be right in their face. Between the two of us we put 15 fish in the boat by noon. Couple dinks, but mostly solid 1-1/2 to 2 lbers. d**n good day so far for us on Sandy, and at this point we're on the way to having our best numbers day there. Bite shut off at around noon, sun came out, fish weren't biting anything. We coast around and hit some main lake points, my buddy hangs a 6.2 on a lipless. Typical Sandy, when they don't want to bite you pull one random big fish and that's it. 7pm rolls around and we haven't had a bite since 3. We've headed back for shallow water and catch a couple again on soft plastics. Around 8 we're watching a storm that has been building on the horizon for a few hours but the sun is still out for us. Any angler knows... It's Time for something to happen... I'm dragging a small soft plastic and feel a stump, pop it over and feel the hit. Hook set and for a half second I think I've set on the stump... Then enormous head shake and the line starts to scream. I'm running 17lb floro and drag is down tight. I yell for the net, feel the line go numb and watch bucket head jump out of the water about 6 feet to the right of where my line is going in. She's got me around a stump. Back in the water she goes and now she's pulling drag for half a second as she's running again, still pulling my line across the stump. Adrenaline rush! This is new PB for sure! Hear a "tick" and the line goes slack... I reel in and there's 4 feet of chewed and mangled line at the end, and I'm pretty sure she ran off with about 6-8 feet of line still hanging from her mouth. I sit in disbelief for about 30 seconds. There's one big bass here, there has to be more! Tie on the same rig and go right back to casting, still shaking from the adrenaline. My buddy ties on a 7" swim bait casts about 20 yards to the right of where I just lost possibly my biggest bass ever. I hear the "swoosh" of a hook set and a "holy $&@% NET!!!" Turn, grab the net and watch even bigger bucket head jump shake back in the water. Comes up again, too big for a second jump, she tail walks... She goes one way... Lure goes the other... Two giants in two minutes... Some choice words As We we both cast back in the same spot. My buddy sets the hook again almost instantly and brings in a 3.5 lber! We drift around for another hour without a bite. Rain finally sets in and we head for the ramp. I don't think either of us could have done anything different. We just got the short end of the deal this time around. Overall, we did put 20 in the boat, and one solid 6lber that was a half inch short of citation length, so was a good day.

Was there yesterday. Water is muddy 2-3foot visibility. Low 80s water temp. Surface temp Kissed 85 late afternoon. Caught good numbers on soft plastics in the morning working grass lines and wood cover. Sun came out mid day and she shut off until around 7pm.

Haha! That may be part of my problem. The main issue for me is the amount of traffic on that lake. If I'm out on a ski boat or on a pontoon drinking, totally fine with the traffic! But when I'm fishing... It's just plain obnoxious. I guess I just prefer the serenity of a smaller/less traveled lake.

I don't typically fish rivers when they're totally washed out or the current is so strong. Mostly just wondering what they do to get away from most of the torrent of mud and debris that are washing down the middle of the rivers when this happens. Makes sense they would seek out areas of slack current.

Happens all the time between my fishing buddy and I. We'll even sometimes be working the exact same lure and have that happen. We've both had our days as King fisherman, and its always payback for that 5lber from last time!

Nice smallie man! I'd guess in the 4.5lb range. No expert opinion, but hard to tell from the angle of that pic. A good scale and measuring board/tape are a must for a serious angler!

Awesome job dude! Anna is one of those lakes I've never been able to figure out, and I don't plan on going back anytime soon, at least not to fish for LMB.

Some of the splash comes down to how much weight you're throwing, the rest comes from technique. A 1/2oz weight is kind of a lot of weight. In the end that depends on what lure you're using, but for a 7" worm that's serious overkill. Makes it easier to learn to cast without a backlash, but you get a huge splash when it hits the water. Not to mention, the action of that worm is all messed up with that much weight. For a worm that small I'd use no more than a 1/4oz weight, but only if you're using it around certain vegetation and working it more like a flipping bait, or going for some kind of lightweight Carolina rig. Usually 1/8 or 3/16 is plenty. Technique is the other part. That just takes practice to get right. Learning to control the entry of the lure into the water by controlling the spool with your thumb. You can toss a 3/4oz jig and have it hit the water with barely a ripple, or chuck a weightless senko and have it sound like a canon ball hit the water, just by altering your cast a bit, and controlling the line as the lure nears the water.