Jedwards36  11/20/2011 - 22:00    Hey it sounds like another good year of fishing. And 16 inchers are not bad, in the monocacy 12" is great! WFC!

space inwaders  11/21/2011 - 10:10    I've also gotten in touch with a few smallmouth in the 16" size range this year in the river, and many in the 12-13" range. It seems all those 8-10"ers from a few years ago are growing well.

For walleye, I've not landed more than 3 walleye on any trip this year, and consider myself lucky to land 1. Although most of them have been 21- 24 inches. Finally a very fat 26" last weekend which is my best so far this year.

I recently landed 2 walleye that were in the 16" range, I beleive yoy 2010 fish. While numbers are down, there has been some reproduction in the last couple years.

I've gone out focused on musky several times this year. Some days we find fish, many days we dont. Most seem to be 32-36 inches, but we've run into a couple over 40" too. The biggest fish we've seen this year were 2x 46"ers, and a 45 1/2 that was fatter than the 46s. One of the 46s is my new personal best.

This year has been a combination of putting old experience to use and modyfying due to higher than normal water levels all year. Its almost been like starting fresh sometimes, b/c water level plays a huge role in where the fish will be and where I can fish for them.

All in all, IMO, it hasn't been a big numbers year, but its been a year of quality fish. The conditions this year forced me to learn new areas and tactics, and those are valuable lessons to keep in mind.

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Jedwards36  11/21/2011 - 21:15    Sounds great, what do you throw for bigger smallmouth like the 14"-16" bass? All throw are 2" grubs.WFC

DanMarino  11/21/2011 - 23:07    I always throw 4 inch grubs. Sometimes I'll cut off 1/4 inch to make the grubs fit better on my jig heads.

HookUp  11/22/2011 - 15:36    Tom, I threw grubs exclusively for so many years they became a comfort bait. Move on next year to other baits & learn how to fish them. Your average size will go up (not saying grubs dont catch big fish ...)


Nothing beats dumb luck

space inwaders  11/23/2011 - 12:14    i love flukes, i love salt water oriented swim shads like Bass assassins, and the offshore angler versions (thin 4" swim baits). I like double curly tails, gulp minnows...

DanMarino  11/23/2011 - 11:26    I hear you George. So how big should I go?

It seems like most of the fish I've caught this year have come on 7 baits.

1. 5 inch yum dinger.
2. 3 inch bass pro sticko.
3. Arkie safety pin spinner with a 1/8 ounce jig with a 4 inch grub.
4. 2 3/4 inch tubes.
5. Smaller sized buzzbait.
6. Gulp alive minnow.
7. Blue Fox in-line spinner.

I've bought some jerk baits this year and a few cranks, but really don't catch much on them.

Now that I'm doing more fishing from the kayak, I'm finding that there's no sense in carrying stuff that I can't catch fish on or that I don't ever use. So I've been trying to simplify and limit the tackle I bring.

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HookUp  12/13/2011 - 10:49    Go w/ some Pointer 100's, 4" tubes, & 5" stix baits (senko, magic stix)


Nothing beats dumb luck

Captwalleye  11/23/2011 - 20:18    Next time out resign yourself to stick to one lure and one lure only.
You've said you have some SJB's,got any X-raps such as a #8 blk/org.That is the one I've caught a ton of fish on,large and small.
That is the lure I'll have tied on to start my day.I have confidence that lure will do the trick and it will.You have to get confidence in your lures and yourself.
Your inline spinner what size do you throw?I'm throwing a #4.I've gone out right where we went in Jan and sat in one spot and caught two 17"+s and two 18"+s.I tried that lure on a whim and it paid off.Tossed it out and retrieve it at sort of a medium speed and they crushed it.
Using a larger bait can cut out the smaller fish to a point.Your after Smallmouth a fish with an attiude.You get hits and hook fish that are smaller than the lure your using.
You can ask and be told all kinds of technique and lures and until you take the time to get comfortable with them.You'll still be struggling.I've been fishing like 51 years,caught thousands of Smallies.It's been in the last ten or so that the larger fish have come to my hand.I've put alot of time and effort into learning how to fish a lure in a way that works for me.Your relatively new to this right? Out of your list of 7,which one would you pick to fish if your life depended on it? I'll guess # 3 or 7,you were certainly fishin and connecting with them when we went out.Those are your confidence baits.Time to pick another and learn how to make it work for you.
I hope this makes sense.

DanMarino  11/24/2011 - 23:03    I use a #3, #4, or #5 in line spinner. The day I was out with the Capt, I was using a #5.

You guys make sense. We'll see how I do after I pick up and try a few different things.

space inwaders  11/22/2011 - 12:09    I have caught citation walleye and smallies to 19" on 3" grubs, but as the years have gone on i tend to use 4 and even 5" ones more often. What i love about a 5" kalins grub is even with heavier jigs they fall slower vs a smaller plastic body, and the tails always spin easily. Heavier jig gives you better castability, better feel, larger hook size (better hook ratio), and i dont think the extra size hurts a thing, except maybe panfish hookups=)

Except for february/march when i do best with smaller 3" plastics, I catch most of my big smallies by accident while walleye or musky fishing.

Jedwards36  11/22/2011 - 15:40    And does anyone know why fish in the monocacy river are smaller than average?WFC

DanMarino  11/23/2011 - 11:30    I'm not sure. Maybe there is just less food in the Monocacy.

There's two smaller rivers not too far from my home and a 12 inch smallie is big for those flows. I would guess smaller flows = less water = less good habitat = less food = smaller smallies?

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Jedwards36  12/18/2011 - 10:30    lots of minnows and sunfish though.
WFC

ogbudha  12/06/2011 - 06:59    This river has had several fish kills as well as some nitrate issues during post spawn. (Manure spills)

As far as food...there's NO shortage of forage. Rusty crayfish are thick in some stretches and fish are growing very quickly.

Jedwards36  11/23/2011 - 16:57    good, it was very confusing. me and my dad both caught 13"ers on our last outing of the year on the monocacy(1.5" rebel craw and 2" grubs)Lastly i dont know about lack of water lol its at 25 feet now!!!WFC

Captwalleye  11/23/2011 - 20:26    By that I mean are you fishing from shore,wading,a boat,or canoe? If your fishing from shore you may need to get further away from the areas you have easier access too.Walk away and explore,put some extra effort into finding areas that don't get pounded on all the time.That can lead to more and larger fish.

Jedwards36  11/27/2011 - 19:16    I fish from a canoe and mostly wade. I caught bigger fish when in a canoe. I don't think the Monocacy holds very many big smallmouth. They won't touch bigger grubs and the largest lure I throw is the f07 minnow