Blue Raider Bob

Having a hard time getting an acceptable hook up percentage fishing plastic worms. I'm 50% or less. What types of worms, hooks, and weights are you the most satisfied with? Yesterday was no exception. Set the hook on several and lost most. Sometimes the hook did not even penetrate the worm. I have been using a fatter Senko type because I am getting bites but should I expect more success with a narrower worm or should I continue with what is being eaten? Lastly when Texas rigging do you like a free weight or one that is built into the eye of the hook? Thanks everyone!

Dwight I caught eighteen yesterday that would not weigh all together as much as that big girl! What a beautiful beast! And I think my little river smallies fight. Could not imagine that tussle!

This is no secret but for those that may be interested....the record came off Trooper Island just where the power lines meet the shore. If you Google Dale Hollow and search Trooper Island you can zoom in. This was told to me last week by a lifelong guide on DH as we passed site. This guide also knew Billy Westmoreland well and was privy to locations of Mr. Westmorelands monsters. He honestly doesn't think the record will be broken at DH due to the tremendous pressure the lake now receives. He fishes up to 260 days a year and says he considers a 7 lb fish a trophy (so would I!). I was hoping to break my modest 3lb 10oz PB but it was not to be, although I did get what would have been my best to the top for a couple of jumps. The last jump did it and my heart was broken and she was gone! I crammed my rod as far in the water as I could and still she got airborne.....Durn!!!

I fish below Nickajack dam and several miles downstream into Alabama often and I can tell you that this time of year there is very little current below the TVA dams (at least Nickajack). Usually one or maybe two generators are going and the current is so slow it is almost unrecognizable. This causes the fish to scatter and not hold to breaks and eddy's. I really have to work for them this time of year and the average size is much smaller than in the cooler months when currents are faster. Caught twenty four yesterday with big fish 14". If I may suggest, get generation info before you go. These fisheries are amazing but not when the water is low and slow.

The spots I catch aren't very big either but that is Spotted Bass. Don't know why the eyes are different colors in different bodies of water. Sounds like an important enough question to avoid work for a while and research!

Came away empty again except for two short fish....durn.... sunny skies and 30 mph wind with 40 mph gusts. Three strikes for me at the " Holly Grail" of Smallmouth Lakes. Couldn't keep the boat on a spot and the wind would grab our line and take it elsewhere. Beautiful Lake and if you have never been there make it a bucket list! Mr. Gentry showed me the exact spot of the record. He also knows where Billy Westmorland caught his 10+ pounders.

The area I was fishing was narrow and the barges really stir up the river. There was mud and trash everywhere after it passed. It takes several minutes for the water to calm down and smooth out. Actually the little ones I was catching needed no stimulant. They were eating like sharks! caught 45 in four hours but biggest were still just shy of 15" but what a blast!

I was catching Smallies and Spots on the Cumberland River yesterday. A barge went by and the bite completely stopped for at least thirty minutes.

Saw a juvenile on the River Sunday. Looked disheveled like a long night and a short sleep. Can't find the big bass but the small ones were eating like sharks. Caught 43 but only 2 over 15".

Going there in three weeks to fish with Bobby Gentry. He's caught a few biguns! I'm just hoping to break a modest PB. Been there twice before and came away empty.

Unk THAT is not a Dink! Same thing happened to me a few years ago. Went fishing and caught a Smallmouth. Been ruint ever since. Now that's all I fish for! would love to catch one that size. They pull like a scalded dog!

Came out of the Duck River just west of Chapel Hill. Caught plenty of little ones but never one like that!

Bird I never would have believed it if you hadn't posted this picture! One things for sure..... our two baby bass are gonna grow up to be the meanest fish in the rivers! What were they thinking?

How bout that dude clocked at 104 MPH! Don't think i could get the bat around on him even back in my swinging for the fence days! Bet those batter's are a little bit nervous walking up to that box! Kind a like Randy Johnson in my time. I work with a buddy that faced Justin Verlander in college. Said he took three pitches and went and sat down! Never saw the first one.

I have never used an attractant but so many of the authors I read recommend them, including Jim Root, Bobby Gentry, and Kevin Van Dam. What are your thoughts? Are you convinced that attractants create more bites and if so what brands would you recommend? I mostly fish for Smallies and Spots in current on the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers with the usual arsenal of swim baits, cranks, craws/tubes, and Ned rigs.

How did you do on the Hill? I barely escaped the skunk on the Cumberland River Sunday

Started at 48 deg. got up to 52 deg in the back of Indian Creek. Lots of people fishing but I did not see anyone catch a fish. Heard there was a 200 boat tournament there Sat. and Thurs. and Friday practice days a lot of fish were caught shallow on Chartruese spinner baits. I had one big fish on Friday but did not get it in. Nary another bite the rest of day.

I got skunked Friday at Dale Hollow. Ist time i've been skunked since........well I don't remember ever getting skunked. I can understand your disappointment. Tried Silver Buddy, Ned Rigs, Jerkbait, Crank....ect.

All my bass this year don't add up to that one. Need to learn jerkbaits myself as i've never tried one. Stuck in the Ned rig mode for years. Going to Dale Hollow Saturday though. Some big brown monsters swim that deep water.....just never know! Where is that state? I'd like to take a road trip! Great job by the way. Keep it going. My LM PB is 7-4 and it's an addiction to always chase it. We grow DD bass in Tennessee but I've never seen one.

Sorry. Mispelled butt. Anyway the bass got the duck gone!

He sure looks like a proud papa! My daughter and I were walking around our pond one day followed by a pet Mallard that swam along beside us. We reached a spot near the bank where a Bass was guarding his nest and to our surprise the Male left his nest and bit the Mallard on the but! No kidding. We could see it clearly. When the duck bolted like its .........was on fire, the male went right back to the nest. It wasn't afraid of us at all. They do their jobs!

Long time Crappie fisherman and just learning about Bass but don't the males make the nest and the females only hover over long enough to deposit eggs?

What colors work for you? I'm heading to the river below Pickwick next month and hope to see you there!

I have a pond on my property that mirrors what you are seeing. Every winter the fish disappear. That's bass and bluegill. When late winter begins to arrive and we have sunny days the bass are easily seen at the very top of the water column in the north bays in the afternoon. The bluegills reappear as well. The middle and southern sections of the pond are fishless "my pond is so clear I can see the bottom". The fish disappear on cloudy, or rainy days, and reappear when the sun comes back. I cannot get these fish to eat anything I throw consistently. Occasionally I will get a small one on a TRD but the big ones have lockjaw. Mine keep their backs wet but I know just what you mean. Schools in midwater right at the top. Wyatt I wish I would have read your question thoroughly before answering. If you have a one acre pond full of 4-7 lb bass then maybe i'd better come and see the issue in person! LOL