Found em Saturday

[FinsnFur]

Got up early Saturday and headed to the river for some bass fishing. It took me a an hour or so to find them and something they wanted, but once everything was in order I started pulling em out one right after the other.

Shoot...for a while I was getting one on every cast literally. Only a few of them were hogs causing me to grind my teeth bringing em in, but it was fun as hell.
They must have been stacked in there cause as you can see a couple of them got hooked in the head as if the lure drug over them. Some of them would bang it two or three times as they frantically chased it before getting it in their mouth. I'm guessing a landed over 20 in an hour and a half. Finally quit taking pics of them cause after a while it seemed like I was catching the same fish over and over, they were so close in size.

A couple pics of the bigger ones are doubles as I tried to get a better shot. You'll know which by the time stamps.














Took my baby Smally fishing earlier in the week while she was here.

[Okanagan]

Wow!  That's a lotta fish catching, especially for that kind of species.

Love the look of that last big dark smallie.

[Carolina Coyote]

Showoff  Now that is good Fishing    cc

[coyote101]

Another great day at the river. 

Pat

[Hidehunter]

   Now thats what I'm talkin' about!!  Now I see why you have been hollaring about me tryin to make a Rat-L-Trap...Those fish seem to love it.

[Hawks Feather]

Looks like you had a good time and an extra special good time while fishing for smallmouth.

Jerry

[possumal]

Glad you had a great day, Jimbo.  You know how I feel about those smallmouths.  It still makes me get fired up thinking about one of those 4 lb. plus smallies hitting a dollfly or spinner bait at night, real knuckle busters.  My late brother could hang and lose more big smallmouth than anybody.  He caught some good ones too, but his luck wasn't too good on landing real monsters on Cumberland or Dale Hollow.  I sure miss having him around.

[Dave]

Looks like a blast.
Gotta get me one of those. Have to admit , though, i got a few spinner baits after seeing all the fish you catch on them, but no luck with em. 

[HaMeR]

Looks like a heckuva good time Jim!! 

[FinsnFur]

Thank you Gentlemen.

Dave..not to yank my own bobber (pun) but I've had people stand next to me fishing with spinners and not been able to catch bass, while I do. I've had people quit fishing with me because of it  .
I'm no Bill Dance, but I am a real strong believer that PRESENTATION IS 99% of it all. I'll yell at the kids once in a while whom from time to time seem to be throwing the lure out and cranking it back, then throwin it out and crankin it back...and there is just sooooo much more to it then that.
I know it sounds ridiculous or even anal, and dont take this as me telling you that you dont know how to fish, cause I'm not in anyway.
But try changing up the way you retrieve your spinners. Mix in a couple fast darts as if maybe the lure seen something that scared it...but for short distances.
When I cast a lure, I'll typically close the bail at the exact same time the lure hits the water, and then I'll tighten the line and give three quick short tugs by swinging the rod tip up and back. To give the appearance that my lure is a bait fish panicking as it falls into the water. (Bass prey on the weak) And then I'll begin my retrieve.
Anything struggling...will trigger it's instinct to bite.
Retrieving your spinner slowly and then just stopping to let the lure drop a foot or so will often trigger an instinctive hit.
Or casting and letting it fall to the bottom. Wait till the waters surface clears up from your cast and then jerk your spinner from the bottom as if it is attempting to free itself, and then slowly retrieve.

With a good braided line you can feel the blades spinning as you retrieve the lure, if you cant, they may have tangled. Do a couple firm quick lifts on the rod to snap the lure back in line.
Swim it slowly around stumps and grassy edges.
Bass HATE sunshine. If the sun is shining... fish in the shadows.

Also dont be fooled by thinking that any spinner bait is a spinner bait. I have spinner baits that I paid $6 to $8 dollars for and never have caught a fish on them. If they dont track, they dont swim smooth, the blades are cheap or stamped out incorrectly, the skirt looks like cheap easter grass, or the jig heads on them are too small...they wont be anywhere near as productive as they could be.
Colorado blades like shallow water and make a deeper toned thumping, Willow blades run a bit deeper water, quicker and a bit quieter thumping. And I am a fanatic for hammered blades. I have caught more bass on spinners with hammered blades then I have on any lure in my life. In fact I buy the blades outright and switch em out if I cant find the spinners with them.
Same with skirts. Easter grass looking skirts are garbage. Silicone skirts flow under water and look like the body of something swimming.

The lure in most of these pics is a world re known Rat-l-Trap (rattle trap) which as you might already know has a BB inside it that clatters fiercely when retrieved. The shape of the lure body causes the lure to bob back and forth rapidly which sends the BB a clanking inside.
This clicking sound imitates the same sound made by bait fish as they school, and therefore feeding fish find it tough to resist.
There's a lot of rattling lures out there, but Rat-l-Trap has the best reputation.

Thats ALL I'm telling ya...I have to take some of my secrets with me.

[Hidehunter]

Its a shame you dont go after Musky to Jimbo, I think you would be good at it.  Good Info!!  Im thinking of making a few bass lures before to long.  I have one in mind that is gonna be a hybrid between a crank and a spinnerbait and just not worked out all the details yet.  May have to ship one up to ya and have ya put it through some tests if I ever get around to making it up.

[Dave]

Thank you Jim
definitely a lot of stuff I need to try out, but not for 6+ weeks - just had shoulder surgery yesterday, and boy is that a bitch.  Anyway, i think i've only retrieved those spinner baits in one gear, and gave up on em pretty quick.

[FinsnFur]

Denver if I didnt have to drive so far to chase a Musky I would be after them Their pretty scarce in the Mississippi River, and the nearest Musky lake is over two hours away.

Yeah casting isnt going to do your shoulder any good Dave Hopefully that heals up quickly for you and without any hitches.
And dont give up on the spinners. Any fishing actually It feeds the soul