Jadesjigs

Thank you so much @snagged in outlet 3 and @Dutch for the kind words and wonderful support!! So glad the jigs are working for you! That wacky rig technique with our jigs is a great idea. I feel like we have some really good finesse fishing approaching the next couple of weeks - so excited! Please let me know if you guys ever need anything. Appreciate you!

@aarchdale@coresleep.comthose look great. Thank you!!

@Dutchit intrigues me how they will hit the shakey heads and not the Neds. Do you think it's the profile, size, action, weight, etc? I've been wanting to try the shakey heads more. I would greatly appreciate any recommendations on baits, types of structure to fish them, and weights. Thanks for your great reports @Dutch. Looking forward to some fall fishing!

@Dutchwe were there last Tuesday before the rain so it wasn't bad then. After looking at the river gauge, I bet it's pretty stained now.

@Dutchwe were fishing a little ways North of you enjoying the spoonbill show!!

@DutchI never used them much before either until I watched my buddy catch fish after fish using the big trd. I was getting skunked using the exact same colors of finesse trd. After I started catching them on big trd I even went back to finesse trd just to see and nada. I wondered if the bigger bait also gave me slightly more time to set the hook a little better on those ewg neds. Needless to say, I'm heading over to bp after this event is over to load up!

@Dutchlooks like a great time! Had a similar trip earlier this week before the rain came in. A lot of small bucks with a few good ones mixed in. Drifting Neds with both standard and Ewg jigs on wind blown banks produced well. The most eye opening thing for me though is that I could not land a fish on my usual 3" finesse baits. However, you could catch fish after fish on the larger 4" big trd style baits. I don't know if I could just detect the bites better on a windy day with the bigger baits, or if the fish preferred the size more. It always amazes me how much of a difference the slightest adjustments make. Thanks for the report @Dutch

If you ever need to replace the liner or impeller, I would definitely recommend The Jet Doctor in Ellington, Mo. I called them on Tuesday and wasn't for sure exactly what size I needed. I gave them the yr and make of the jet. I had everything shipped and to my door by Friday!! Excited to see how much of a difference the new parts make. My old liner was really worn and the impeller was shimmed down all the way. Below, are pics of the new vs old equipment.

Thanks for the report. Your "tough" days are better than my good days!

Good luck @Dutch. Hope you catch a lot of fish with them. Thanks for all of the support!

@Dutch I think that rig will work well. Here is a link of a friend of mine who catches some monster smallies on St. Clair with the EWG Ned. He has some awesome content!! Btw @Dutchthanks for all of your informative posts. I have learned SO much from them!!

Welcome back @DavidB, good to hear the annual trip is still going! Always enjoy your reports. Wish I could give some input, but I've been spending the last month chasing the white bass up river. Hope you guys have another safe and wonderful trip!

Al, it sounds like you are so close that it would be such a loss for the whole community to not to finish it. I know that you are very detail oriented and that it would be very hard for you to publish something that is not quite up to date. The access / river information would be great, but I am just as interested in the unique history of the area. If you made a downloadable format on your blog site, then I would definitely purchase a copy. However, it would be very nice having the opportunity to purchase a hard copy as well. Thanks for all the information you provide!

Al, I totally agree with the fact that the setting is one of the most important factors in the experience. I love to catch all fish and to just be outdoors, but there's nothing better than stream smallmouth. I bought a jet boat a couple of years ago and am still amazed with the shallow running capabilities; however, there's just something about sitting on top of the water on a paddlecraft and feeling the pull of a large smallie that can't be beat. Sharing those experiences and helping others find success is very rewarding. I always pick up something new from your posts Al. You've helped me to understand how to read the river gauges, how to distinguish spotted bass vs largemouth, and have encouraged me to use my baitcaster more with topwater and cranking baits. A topwater take is like watching a brutal knockout punch. The baitcaster is so efficient and accurate and puts a lot of fish in the boat. However, my personal preference is to feel the pull and the challenge of landing creek smallies on light-action spinning gear while finesse fishing. Lastly, visualizing a particular bait in your mind, creating it, and then landing a pb fish with it is exhilarating! Words can not explain the emotions when you see others across the country catching fish and sharing experiences with your baits also. There is a lot of bad in this world, but this community of like-minded lovers of nature makes me realize that there is still a lot of good out there.

Thank you so much MoFishwater! I have learned so much here that I just try to give back when I can. Sometimes hearing about unsuccessful trips helps me as much as anything else. Thanks for the support!