fishnaddiction Posted March 1, 2008 Posted March 1, 2008 hey WV i was wondering if u fish the south branch of the potomac i fished it once im not sure if i have the right name its really clear well that river is the best river i ever fish for riffle smallies i have never had the much success drifting baits through riffles like that Quote
smallieking Posted March 2, 2008 Author Posted March 2, 2008 Quote My best results on the Potomac are either drifting (usually tubes or craws....have had some success with Berkeley Gulp minnows and gobies too) or pitching up to the riffles as others have noted. Note to Yakangler. What river are you fishing in WV? when u say drifting are u just drifting riffles or are u drifting wing dams or timber? Quote
fishnaddiction Posted March 2, 2008 Posted March 2, 2008 hey WV can u tell me excaltly how u drift ripples on rivers? i do good sometimes by throwing a single tail grub downstream and dancing it back up through the riffles but how do u do it? Quote
Mobydick Posted March 2, 2008 Posted March 2, 2008 I mostly fish a small crick. We use rapala jointed shad raps in the spring, I went through 2 of them last spring. Then when it gets into summer, we throw tubes, senkos, and wooly hawgtails. Then in fall, it's spinnerbaits, and larger crankbaits. Quote
smallieking Posted March 2, 2008 Author Posted March 2, 2008 hmm intersetting i use rapala jointed shad in the fall and then chatterbaits, worms and tubes in the spring then a bunchof stuff in the summer on creeks i never had any luck on spinnerbaits period Quote
WV_Eagle Posted March 2, 2008 Posted March 2, 2008 Fishnaddiction, I'm definitely no expert so this is for what its worth.... My general pattern is to anchor below some riffles or a ledge and pitch up to it and allow it to drift back over the ledge or around the obstruction. We have a lot of limestone ledges running laterally or diagonally across the Potomac where I often fish and the smallies like to lay up under or aside them. Often I'll just drift with the current usually on the steeper side of the river (for whatever reason, I always seem to do well where there are cliffs, even if they don't come down to the rivers edge) until I get to my next spot. If I'm feeling lazy I'll just let it bounce the bottom behind but more often I'll pitch it out at a 45 degree angle and bring it back to the boat slow. Otherwise the standard stuff...bridge abuttments, large rocks or trees in the current, etc. I make NO claims that I have it figured out (far from it!). This just what seems to work best for me. Heck, I learn new stuff on here all the time and these guys have way more time on the water than me. Quote
fishnaddiction Posted March 2, 2008 Posted March 2, 2008 o ok thanks that great info my cousin showed me a way of fishing lures in current and i tryed it on one of the branch rivers of the potomac and i knocked them dead with it so i thought since u fish the potomac your info would be good which it is thanks Quote
skip Posted March 3, 2008 Posted March 3, 2008 Quote hmm intersetting i use rapala jointed shad in the fall and then chatterbaits, worms and tubes in the spring then a bunchof stuff in the summer on creeks i never had any luck on spinnerbaits period With spinners in the river. You might try placing an inline spinner at the top of a "chute" (with the point of the V down stream) and letting the current dictate the depth and speed (depending on the current you may have to do a slow retrieve) . Then when the spinner passes the point of the V start the retrieve. Strikes will happen as the spinner comes back to the chute. The small mouth in the lehigh river (NE PA) like to hide in the eddies and backrollers near the V point. Maybe its the same where you are too. Also, just about anything that looks like a hellgrammite will work wonders. skip Quote
smallieking Posted March 3, 2008 Author Posted March 3, 2008 hmm yea i fish them and catch some on them no quality to the fish idk why either it seems to be a great bait but only dinks or rock bass will eat them i found alot more success using softplastics hmm idk i fish a bunch of different rivers and i really never found them really effective i will use them on creeks though for trout and catch a few Quote
Super User roadwarrior Posted March 4, 2008 Super User Posted March 4, 2008 This is THE big smallmouth spinnerbait: 3/4 oz Ledgebuster Single Willow Blade 8-) Quote
skip Posted March 5, 2008 Posted March 5, 2008 Quote hmm yea i fish them and catch some on them no quality to the fish idk why either it seems to be a great bait but only dinks or rock bass will eat them i found alot more success using softplastics hmm idk i fish a bunch of different rivers and i really never found them really effective i will use them on creeks though for trout and catch a few Yeah, they are defiantly not the go-to bait in NE PA rivers either (at least for me). I haven't really given the other spinner baits (single will ow or otherwise) a chance...maybe I'll give that a shot this spring... Tubes, tubes and tubes....with top water hard baits during select times of year. But if you were going to try the spinner again...I would suggest finding some non-smooth water, and feeding the inline spinner down through the shoot and retrieve back to the point in the rapid 'V'. There is a tour/guide group in the Lehigh Valley for small mouth fishing in the Delaware river (I think they are linked from this site)...who I ran into one night who strongly suggested Mephs #4 skip Quote
Bassnbrett101 Posted March 5, 2008 Posted March 5, 2008 dot let him fool you, its not all tubes tubes tubes up here. I did great this year on jerkbaits and sammies. But everyone does use tubes.... lol Quote
smallieking Posted March 5, 2008 Author Posted March 5, 2008 YEA skip i like your thought process tubes tubes topwater letal combo but yea like brett said u need different presentations in your arsenal as well Brett what type of jerkbaits do u use? ive used the husky jerk and x rap both produced but not like i want them too just wondering if there is a secret bait or technique out there that i dont know about Quote
Rick_T Posted March 6, 2008 Posted March 6, 2008 I like to use the Storm Rattlin' Chug Bug. It's a top water bait. It makes a great chug sound when you give the line a little snap. I cast it near the shoreline and also around large rocks/structures. The water should be fairly calm and not too fast of current for best results. Quote
skip Posted March 6, 2008 Posted March 6, 2008 Quote dot let him fool you, its not all tubes tubes tubes up here. I did great this year on jerkbaits and sammies. But everyone does use tubes.... lol Since I can't post links yet... search this site for Husky_Jerkbait for a good article on this bait. I read this article on this site. I use jerkbaits...I just didn't know that they were called that. To me there are far to many niche names/baits. I've always just considered these a type of crankbait. I'm still learning these things. ANYWAY....the jerkbait is one of the hard baits I was talking about during those special times of year when you are tired of the tube Interesting skip Quote
fishnaddiction Posted March 6, 2008 Posted March 6, 2008 i really dont like using the hard type jerkbaits but i love flukes Quote
SmallieFever Posted March 7, 2008 Posted March 7, 2008 I live in upstate Pa, but once or twice a year travel to Harrisburg to fish the Susquehanna...it's my absolute favorite place to fish, period. My best trip down was last spring. The water was a bit high and stained and bass were transitional...some moved up in the grass on beds others scattered about. The bites were few and far between. We later moved up a tributary where the water was clear and 95% of the bass were on beds and VERY willing to bite our 1/8oz. watermelon tubes. We caught at least 30 a piece at the end of the day with four 4lbers and a 5lber and the average was 16". I had the time of my life and I hope to do the same here in a month or two when I make another trip down. Quote
smallieking Posted March 7, 2008 Author Posted March 7, 2008 o really im going to the sus in may for the first time i keep hearing good things about it i cant wait im going with my neighbor and using his boat so i will be limited on the tackle i can take whats your favorites for that river? Quote
Bassnbrett101 Posted March 7, 2008 Posted March 7, 2008 Skip i would have to say the only jerkbaits i buy anymore are made by lucky craft. I have tried every other brand out there but i just dont get the same results, you can catch a fish at any time of year on these baits. They are expensive but they're worth it, as long as you are good at casting anyway lol Quote
smallieking Posted March 8, 2008 Author Posted March 8, 2008 hey brett where do u buy your lucky crafts? the closest i know of is is at BPS in harrisburg just wondering because usally i cant get easy access to them Quote
SmallieFever Posted March 8, 2008 Posted March 8, 2008 Smallieking, I've caught them on rogues, various color tubes, senkos and "little beavers" with great success. I've seen guys do well with jig n pig and spinnerbaits although there weren't good numbers, just a few real good fish. It should be a blast. I know I can't wait! Quote
smallieking Posted March 8, 2008 Author Posted March 8, 2008 o cool i like using rogues just dont have alot of success on them do u know of the natural forage in the sus? i know craws but is there shad in it? Quote
MNGeorge Posted March 9, 2008 Posted March 9, 2008 Quote i really dont like using the hard type jerkbaits but i love flukes I'm agree wholeheartedly. Except for topwater, I'd rather catch Smallies on soft jerk shads than any other presentation. ;D Quote
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