Are My Expectations Just Off? What Is "good" Fishing?

[Blazerman]

i do not know the rivers you fish but i do know if i fished most any ozark stream the way you described with a crawdad or minnow i would expect to catch at least a few decent smallmouth or green bass. By decent i mean one bewteen 12"-15". So my guess is they are not there or they are there and just too pressured to be active. if you have to fish those areas try going at sunrise for an hour ot two or go at sunset. This is when they should be most active and maybe more willing to bite. I agree though with others that have said sounds like you might be better off trying some where else.

[jimithyashford]

_{So with the crawfish tactic, I want to try it agian cause you guys seems so sure of it that I think it's bizzare I didn't catch anything off of it. So lemme clarify a few things.}

_{So I get a crawfish maybe about the length of my thumb. I hook him through the tail with the hook facing backwards (as in away from his front) and with a hook big enough to get some good clearance over the carapace. I put a couple of split shots 3-4 inches up from the hook, not enough to totally weigh him down but enough to keep him from darting off, and I cast him into the eddies or next to structure. I let him sink and kick around for maybe a 30 seconds or so, and then reel him in a bit , sit for another 30, reel a bit more, and do that until I am either out of the eddy or away from the structure.}

_{Is that about right? That is exactly to a T what I was doing for about 2 hours across 4 sets of eddys and I didn't even get a bite. Question though? Aren't most Ozark streams so completely full of crayfish that the odds are slim they would go after yours? Wouldn't it be better to suspend the crayfish under a bobber to keep it up in open water where it would stand out? Or would putting it where it wouldn't normally be acutally divert attention cause the Bass wouldn't be looking there?}

[jimithyashford]

Oh and I havn't seen a Bass longer than my hand in about 3 years, so a 12-15 incher would seem like an absolute lunker to me. 2-3 of those out of one fishing trip and I would be elated.

[Blazerman]

The crawfish you are using sound right but you want to hook up through the tail like you say so that the hook point points up so it doesn't snag as quick. The weights should be 12"-15" from the hook to give the bait some freedom to move around and there should be enough weight to let it sink slowly. A bobber might work but you are better off having the bait sink to the bottom where a crawfish would normally be. You don't have to worry about the fish passing yours up for one without a hook. Even though the river might be full of them the bass knows to eat the easiest ones first. So they will grab yours if it is in front of them.

Most people who have fished for a while have got bass with crawfish pitchers showing in the throats and you wonder how the fish thought they could eat another one. But they still are trying too.

If you try this setup and dont get a bigger bass, especially if you try it real early, then it is time to head to different water.

[jimithyashford]

I took all of this knowledge and advice with me to do some wade fishing on the James south of town near Rivercut for about three hours, and I got one baby smallie. So....still no love from the James. Gotta keep trying. I'm bound to start catching fish eventually right?

[Quillback]

Maybe try somewhere else, check out some of the MO conservation areas. Talbot CA (east of Springfield) has several ponds and 2 miles of frontage on the Spring river. If I was shore bound, I'd check it out. It might suck, but then again you might find some good fishing. And it's August, tough time to get fish. so temper your expectations.

[BATCAB27]

I took all of this knowledge and advice with me to do some wade fishing on the James south of town near Rivercut for about three hours, and I got one baby smallie. So....still no love from the James. Gotta keep trying. I'm bound to start catching fish eventually right?

Stick with it! I noticed in one of your earlier posts you are fishing with an ultralight with 4 lb line. If you do hook into a sizable smallie around some structure you could be in trouble. If I were going out today I'd have a medium action rod with 8 lb test and I'd have a buzzbait, some sort of walk the dog lure, a spinner bait and maybe a crank bait of some sort. Basically I'd want to cover some water. I'd be out on the whole crawdad on a hook thing.

[jimithyashford]

But but....the crawdad on a hook was the #1 recomendation I was getting only a week ago. Well I am heading out after work this afternoon to try agian. I will try a little spinner, and a little crank bait. I don't own a buzz bait, but I guess I'll have to get one.

[BATCAB27]

"little" bait will catch little fish.... not saying they won't also catch bigger fish, but if I am going specifically to not catch small fish, I'd probably not throw anything the smaller fish would eat.

[Al Agnew]

The crawdad thing is still probably your best bet to get into some decent fish, but no matter what you use, you may have to get farther away from the accesses to catch some. As has already been said, using the crawdads the way you described, if there were fish there you should have caught at least a few.

Since you're limited to short trips and wading, it can be tough to get far enough away from the access to get into less pressured fishing water. But if you have the energy and a little time, BATCAB's advice on lures is excellent. Put on something you can "fish on the run". A smallish buzzbait, 1/4th ounce, is a great "search bait". Just cast it and retrieve it anywhere the water looks deep enough to hide a fish as you're hiking up the stream, not stopping, just keep moving and casting as you go. They won't always hit a buzzbait, but they will a good percentage of the time. Once you get a mile or so away from the access you're probably in less pressured water where you have more chance of catching something decent, and at that point, evaluate your time and if you have time slow down and fish the crawdads in good looking spots for a while. But if you catch a fish or two on the buzzbait, you might be better off to just keep using it and covering territory.

I would almost guarantee that there ARE at least a few good fish near the accesses you've fished, but they get pretty tough to catch, while those that are farther from the accesses are usually somewhat easier. Most of my wade-fishing trips are about 4 hours or so, and I'll cover about 2.5-3 miles during that time (and have to hike back). Lots of fast walking across gravel bars, through the weeds, and in the water between good looking spots.

Keep in mine though that you can't really effectively fish a buzzbait on ultralight spinning gear. As BATCAV said, you really need a medium light to medium power rod and 8 pound line. It doesn't have to be an expensive rod by any means.