Blazerman

This one came from the Meramec last year.

Did not know this Kelroy. Thanks for the update.

Took a while but it finally got there!!! Now i hope it keeps going.

i was fishing some different jerkbaits Saturday and there was just enough of a breeze to put a bow in my line and make it very tough to keep contact with the bait. Plus i was throwing across the current and trying to let it get deep. Then I would twitch it and the current would keep it moving. So there was no real pause where it sitting still. i did manage to get one smallmouth but it was a tough day over all. After watching this video it makes me wonder if i could be getting bit and not know it I started the day with the Mitch craw that i got at the meeting but could not get bit on it.

If i can see a bass come towards the bait many times i can work the bait to try and get them to bite. That is how i caught the bass in my avatar. But watching this makes me wonder when you do the jerk jerk thing and let the bait sit there, how often a bass eats it and doesn't get hooked and you never know because you don't feel a thing.

This is amazing underwater footage of bass attacking a jerkbait. The amazing part is how they can attack it and not end up hooked. Which makes me wonder how often they hit and you never know it. How they can almost inhale these things with all those hooks and not get hooked is a real eye opener.

Meramec came up some with this rain and looks really good right now. Wish i could get out this weekend but i am in the middle of a big kitchen rehab project so no winter fishing for me. good luck to those that go.

Agree, great meeting and presentation. I also won a pack and of bodies and jigheads and they will show up on ebay soon. Actually i am thinking about saving them for 10 or 20 years and then bringing them to the Antique Roadshow as the baits that started the billion dollar bait company.

The first thing we were taught in the CC class is if you end up having to pull and use your firearm and were correct in your assessment of the situation and were 100% justified, you will more than likely still be sued civilly by the dirt bags relatives because there are scumbag lawyers out there that make a living doing that. And they will sue you for whatever they can get and the laws are very murky on the civil side. You might be fine with no laws broken and no further action taken by law enforcement but will spend many $1000s of dollars defending yourself against the civil lawsuit even if you win.

Not sure if anybody posted about this before but this is one expensive swimbait. The guy that makes these must truly be an artist i guess. http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2016/dec/17/bullfrog-swimbait-crafted-by-harrison-m-1/

Totally agree. The big ones that knock your 401k back 20, 30 or 40% are a killer because it takes so long to get back to where you were. i plan to see how things go after the first of the year and may be make some adjustments quickly.

i think i should mention here that i am not actually a "stock broker". i have worked on a trading floor for 17 years but it has all been in systems support. And I agree that the so called experts have no clue what will actually happen with the markets. i know what i see everyday but will make no recommendations what anyone else should do.

i am in no way wanting to get into a political debate, but you sure have to love the reaction to Trump's election on the Markets. Who knows how long it will last but nice to see the run.

Incredible day for day for sure. Good job. I fished every weekend in October and it was the best month i think i have ever had on the river. But I took off November to hunt. Got my two deer so looks like i need to get back the on the river now.

Forgot to mention i got checked at the take out by an MDC agent. I did not have any fish and everything was in order so we had a nice chat. First time in 12 years that i have been checked on the river and i am actually glad to see them around.

Yeah very nice fish and nice seeing you guys as well. It was a strange weekend for me. i caught a bunch of small fish but could not land a decent one. Both Saturday and Sunday every good fish that hit my baits managed to come off before i could get them in the boat. I caught a bunch of smallmouth and spots up to 12" but everything above that size came unhooked. Oh well i will get them next time. Beautiful weekend to be out, River is low and super clear. Little bit tough to run but worth it.

Who needs pre rapala wiggle warts? we got some Mitch Craws coming soon. Probably have their own website and people reselling them on Ebay shortly.

Amazing all on topwater well done.

are they for sale yet? i would love to try some.

Gettin to be the time of year where even on weekends your boat is the only other boat i see. I was amazed when i saw you Sunday morning you were heading down stream. You must of headed upstream before dawn.

Great article today that covers everything we talk about here on winter smallmouth fishing on streams at the Bassmasters website. http://www.bassmaster.com/news/understanding-move

I have been using the LC Slender Pointer 112s for my jerkbaits and I also just bought some shadow Raps that I am looking forward to trying soon. The float and fly has been used for years by many people for lake and river bass in winter. And I have used it before for crappie and trout but just started using it last winter for stream bass. I was amazed at how a little jig like a zig jig would entice nice size bass. I have bought some different multi colored jigs for this year and I am looking forward to trying them too. Only problem is the way things are going we may not have cold water or winter fishing this year. Supposed to be in the 80s again today and tomorrow here in STL.

If you find an area like Al describes I love fishing it with jerk baits and they usual do well until the water gets really cold- like into the 40s. I also will use the old fashion hair jig with a trailer. And last year I started using a smaller jig (a zig jig actually) under a bobber. The jig and trailer you can throw out into deeper holes and let it sit. The hair moves in the lightest current and will draw strikes just sitting there. If you feel a tick set the hook. With the super clear water I will use nothing heavier than 10 lb fluorocarbon for the jerkbaits and hair jig and with the jig and bobber I will go with 6lb. I throw the jig and bobber around logs and boulders and let it float by and the bass will rise up and grab it. If we have some warm spells in December and January, like we usually do, I will throw a spinner bait in the shallower areas near the winter holes and have done well at times. Usually current seams where there is shallow water close to the deeper water especially around logs. I normally work it medium speed close to the cover. I also know some guys will keep right on fishing soft plastics and catch fish.

Totally agree Arron. With the low water the last few weekends we have been hammering them on soft plastics around wood with current. Yesterday, I caught them all over. I ran down to cut grass and couldn’t resist throwing the Blazer in for a few hours because the river was so beautiful. After rising earlier in the week and now falling, I was afraid they would shut down. I was wrong. I caught about 20 in a few hours of fishing including some dandies. Everything was caught on soft plastics once again but this time they were all over. Caught my best one, a beautiful 18.5”er, in the middle of the current as I was swimming the bait back to the boat. It would really be hard to fish anything else right now with all the leaves. I tried a spinner bait for a bit but gave up quick because of the leaves. And also agree Arron is a great guy. He and I fish the same water all the time, (except he runs a lot farther than I do) and he has always been helpful and volunteered info whenever he has it. These pics are from yesterday and last weekend when my son was with me. In the one pick we had a nice double so I held the fish while my son took a pic. All smallmouth were released like usual. We did keep some green ones to filet.

While fishing in the BBB at the lake I am always amazed at all the really nice new looking bass boats you see. And then you see the nice trucks that go with them. I see these and think there sure must be a lot of guys making a whole lot of money in this world. And they are young and old. And I am fishing out of my aluminum Blazer which is a jet that I had built with the modified V to handle the lake and the river because there was no way I was buying two boats. (And it does really well too). But funny thing is you watch some of these guys and they are casting into docks and trees and they are backlashed half the time and you wonder if they ever actually fish out of these brand new boats.