General Music Chat

Okay, we've had a LOT of rain, recently. The creeks are way up, & so is the river.

I have no intention of taking on the rushing river in my lil manually-powered canoe again, but I'll try the creeks.

Problem is, they're running very muddy. Good/bad time to fish? If it's still good, what kinda lures/bait to use? Add stinky stuff? I'm thinking of going in the early morning tomorrow...

You're my go-to guy on this. Thanks in advance.

Oh yeah - apologies to all for the non-musical thread, but any & all info is appreciated.

A good way to start the day fishing as always is a hook a worm and bobber, or a stick of dynamite.

Oh yeah - apologies to all for the non-musical thread, but any & all info is appreciated.

lol Dynamite + fish = fun for all..

Im lucky enough to have a ! acre pond full of fish, and the lower Saluda river about 300 yds out my rear gate. If you get down to the Carolinas call or e mail me. We can have a fishing jam.

#1, that sounds way cool! I could use a road trip & a good jam & some fishing, too!

Just let me know when. I need a vacation too. I just cant get the boss to agree on one that doesnt involve Nascar.


Its another day in Paradise !!!

I would assume that your high water is turbid (brown stained) as opposed to having a green tint (algae). What is successful depends on what specie(s) you're fishing for. I don't use bait of any kind, but in some cases it might out-fish lures. A good rule of thumb if you're fishing for anything other than catfish, you'll want to start with black lures and then use gold-plated (Mepps aglia gold spinners have REAL gold plating for optimal reflectivity), and then chartreuse. Stay away from silver, orange, red, or pink lures. Mepps Black Fury lures with green dots are AWESOME in turbid water. Black Fury spinners have GOLD treble hooks so you get the three optimal colors in turbid water. In stained water the fish are looking into a brown background, so you need something that will CONTRAST with the background. In turbid (brown) water silver, orange, red, or pink will almost be invisible to the fish. Have you noticed that most of the fish that live in turbid waters are silver with a dark back. They're perfectly camoflaged when viewed from almost any direction (in turbid water). Mepps XD spinners (visit Mepps.com) have a few variations that are also AWESOME in turbid water. They have one that has a metallic green body with a gold spinner. The XD means extra deep so they're perfect for stream fishing. As far as bait is concerned I would use gold shiners or goldfish. If you go to a sporting goods store look at all the lures that are made to look realistic. Wow, they must work great because they look exactly like a real minnow. NOT. The majority of fishing lures manufactured are made to catch fisherman and NOT fish. I used to wonder why there were so many lures that had all these crazy color combinations. Years ago a lure company made crankbaits (like Rapalas or rebels) with reverse natural coloration. In other words a minnow shaped lure with black on the bottom and gradually lighter toward the top. Guess what? They didn't sell at all. Everybody thought they were not going to catch anything. Guess what? They caught more fish than the exact replicas did. The first lure I throw when I fish a new spot is almost always a Mepps Black Fury or very dark colored jig. Black is an underutilized color. It is almost universally visible in any colored water and light conditions. It's actually the most visible lure color at night. As far as fishing for catfish I have caught numerous catfish on lures. I know that stinkbait, liver, and cut shad work well. I'm just not a catfisherman, but I respect somebody that can hunt and catch 30+ pound catfish with consistency. I've hooked up with a few 50+ pound catfish and there's nothing in freshwater that pulls so long as a big catfish. Whatever lure you use start with one that has at least some black on it. Use fake worms in black. Mepps Black Furies. Black jigs. Then try gold, then chartreuse. Good luck...

Bob you kick ass man!! I freaking read that whole post. Holy good God. That was brilliant!

Thanks bob. I did finally manage to get 2 Mepps Black Fury #2 lures, one with red spots & one with yellow...that's all Dick's Sporting Goods had...I'll keep looking for the green-spotted ones...

I s'pose my post coulda been more informative. Sorry. I'm going for small- & large-mouth bass, perch, & there's a cpl spots where they tell me ppl have caught muskies. I certainly won't turn down crappies or cats or perch, though. T'was raining to beat the band when I got up, but tomorrow morn is expected to be better.

I still might go out on the lake this afternoon, though.

The creeks are rushing pretty fast, with lots of flotsam in them. Do you have any suggestions for keeping my lures unstuck? Is it better to cast downstream & crank up, or vice versa? Does it matter?

Fish face upstream. This way the water carries their food right to them and they can see it better. Look for obstructions in the water (big rocks, tree trunks, etc.) that the water has to flow around. The fish like to hide behind these obstructions. It breaks the water up and the fish don't have to fight the current here as much. Also look for sharp bends where the bank slows the water. Any pocket of water that is calmer than the surrounding water is a prime candidate for fish. If there's any waterfalls, below the falls is always a great spot. A lot of crap floating in the water does present a problem obviously. Because of that and the high water you want a lure that runs deeper. Or weedless lures obviously. If you've got lots of smallies and largemouths try a jig and pig (ask the salesperson at the sporting goods place). Bounce that jig on and off the bottom. Bury the hook in the plastic and it becomes weedless. Mepps single hook spinners will be slightly more weedless. Try a fake worm with the hook buried in the plastic. If the fish grab it and you set the hook it will come right out of the soft plastic and into the fishes mouth. If you want to catch some of the smaller fish (perch, crappies) then get a variety of small crappie jigs. The jigs that work the very best for me have three colors on them (example red jig head, chartreuse body and black tail). Crappie seem to like the contrasting colors, they can more easily see the lure. Buy a jar of Berkely Crappie Nibbles (they look like miniature marshmellows). they come in many different colors. Take one or two of the Crappie Nibbles and impale it on the barb of the jig hook. This makes it virtually weedless. It also adds a different color to the jig. always a good idea. Black Furies come in a more weedless variety called Black Fury Combos. They come with Mister Twister bodies you can put on the single hook of the spinner. You may want to use at least six pound line because of all the crap in the water. I almost never use line over 4 pound test, but in certain situations it's necessary. I used to fish streams and rivers almost exclusively and the one thing I learned was it's better to stay and fish a good spot for at least an hour or two. The fish don't feed actively all the time and they move from spot to spot. When I first started fishing I would move to another spot if I didn't catch anything right away. This is a mistake. After not catching anything for five or ten minutes switch lures or switch colors. You'll end catching more fish in a day's time. Two other lures that work great in streams are Blakemore Roadrunners and Beetle Spins. Bottom line get your lure DOWN. If you don't get hung up on the bottm once in a while you"re not fishing deep enough. Big fish like the bottom. Also the current on the bottom isn't as strong either. good luck...

Dang, Bob. Have you ever seriously considered writing a book on fishing? You'd never have to work again (if you didn't want to) and play blues every night till the cows come home.

I'm not really knowledgable enough to write a book about fishing. Did you ever watch Bill Dance on television or Fishing In City Limits (Mike Iaconelli) on Versus TV? Now those people could write a book. I was just lucky to find a few things that work very well for me. I did some research, especially on lure colors and how it affects fishing. I used to go to large fishing stores like Bass Pro or Cabella's and wonder how ALL those lures could be sold. (Mepps alone sells MILLIONS of lures EVERY year). When I was about twelve years old I read an article about using small spoons for trout (Eppinger Dardevles to be axact). I had been trout fishing for a short time with limited success. The article explained how to cast upstream and let the current tumble the lure down past you and when the line tightened and the lure started swinging toward the bank expect the trout to strike then. it also explained the best colors to use, so I went out and bought a few small Dardevles. The next time we went fishing with worms and salmon eggs (without success) I took out a red-and-white Dardevle and tied it on and cast it upstream, pointed my rod tip at the lure as it bounced on the bottom and then got ready for a strike as the lure swung toward the bank and then BANG. I caught a 12 inch rainbow. Literally my first ever cast with a lure for trout fishing. THE VERY NEXT CAST I caught a twelve inch brook trout in the identical way. Within about six years I had completely stopped using bait of any kind. Use high quality lures in the right colors (see post above) with good tackle and VISIBLE line (Stren gold) and experiment a little. It won't be long before yous start catching more fish consistently. There, that's my book on fishing.

anybody watch that show River Monsters?no joke it's killer thanks

5 hours & only a nibble...had a good time with my son, though.

I seem to have better luck in the canoe than I do from the shore. Damn water was really russian & downright mucky...p'raps that was a problem? Used a lil white weighted grub that got some interest in one spot, but nothing on the black or gold stuff, & there was so much junk in the water that couldn't be seen I held off with the Mepp's cuz they're so hard to find. LOL

Lost 3 lures to the unseen. I think I caught a turtle a few times, cuz my sliding bobber went down so slowly, & then crawled upstream for a bit with a lot of drag before the lil bastid let go. Couldn't set the hook in it, whatever it was.

Well at least its painted.