Enough with the tackle. LETS SEE SOME FISH!

[uljersey]

Snakehead I caught yesterday. I don't target them specifically but this body of water has quite a few. New Jersey F&W has a kill mandate on them as they are considered an invasive species but this one got released. I'm not going to behead it in the canoe and have a bloody slimy mess to deal with and I don't carry a cooler. They've been here for decades now and have not negatively impacted the fishery as far as I can tell. I was catching healthy fat 3 lb LM bass within the same casting range. The fight is pretty intense, they pull like a catfish but will torpedo out of the water at times. I was throwing tubes into heavy cover in the shallows when it hit. This one was kind of small, I landed one back in 2017 that was,without exaggeration, as long as my leg. Many people up here target them exclusively.

0318DDA0-C940-4FE9-B375-7ECA3CCD9A79.jpeg

Haven't seen a snakehead down here in Arkansas, but people report them. I think sometimes they mistake Grinnell or Bowfin for snakeheads, and sadly kill them. I have never seen or caught one of them either. Grinnell have more of a peg looking tooth, and snakehead have a sharper tooth. There are some obvious color pattern differences too, but they are not far evolved from each other. I would be worried a snakehead's teeth would cut certain line and lose my good lures! Do the people that exclusively target them use steel leaders like big Pike/Muskie fisherman?

I'm sure most do use a leader of some type but haven't really looked into it. The biggest issue with them is getting the hook to penetrate their mouths - think using an awl to poke a hole in a leather belt. I've hooked up with many of them over the years but have only landed but a few of them. I suspect it was them clamping their jaws shut solid on the bait and NOT having the hook penetrated. Surprisingly I have only lost one bait due to a biteoff, just lucky in that respect I guess, plus the fact that most of the rods I'm using, with the exception of my frog rigs, are woefully underpowered for them.

I would love to take some older hollow body frogs, upgrade the hooks to whatever Owner/Trokar/Gamakatsu has at the top of the line strength and go frog fishing with a heavy rod/braid. Down here it has become +90% of my fishing is finesse. Last friendly tournament we had I caught one on a 7'6"MH with 17lb fluoro (3/8 TX rig), made me feel like I was punching mats with a 2oz weight.

I’m putting frogs in the rotation myself this season. Topwater has always been my Kryptonite and I need to work on that. I have a dedicated frog rig and a basic selection of walking & popping frogs. I’m primarily a open/deeper water power fisherman with moving baits, I know I need to slow down but it’s tough for me.

[dhottle]

Made it back up to Erie PA for 5 days of fishing for smallmouth. We got blown off the water the first two days because of wind/waves. And fishing on day three was restricted because of small craft warning for that day. The last two days we were able to fish where I wanted to go. We had 12 smallies over 5 lbs & two over 6lbs. Total fish for the three days was around 80 small mouth plus 3 bonus walleye & a bonus 12lb brown trout. It was a good trip no matter the cold/rain & wind.

[dhottle]

More pics.

[mark poulson]

Wow!!

[Schlag]

The river temps have been in the mid to high 50's Fahrenheit, and the brown trout activity has been solid. I'm hoping to have a couple more good weeks, before the summer water temps slow down the trout.

Here's a 20" brown that I caught on Sunday. It gave a great fight and jumped out of the water a couple of times. Caught it on a jerkbait with small barbed hooks, using a ML Poison Adriana, Steez CT with 15 lb braid and 10 lb Tatsu leader. I got the fish back in the water and revived quickly. I typically catch a 50/50 mix of trout and smallmouth on this flow. The bass are just starting to bed.

[hoohoorjoo]

The river temps have been in the mid to high 50's Fahrenheit, and the brown trout activity has been solid. I'm hoping to have a couple more good weeks, before the summer water temps slow down the trout.

Here's a 20" brown that I caught on Sunday. It gave a great fight and jumped out of the water a couple of times. Caught it on a jerkbait with small barbed hooks, using a ML Poison Adriana, Steez CT with 15 lb braid and 10 lb Tatsu leader. I got the fish back in the water and revived quickly. I typically catch a 50/50 mix of trout and smallmouth on this flow. The bass are just starting to bed.

Nice!

[mark poulson]

Nice X2!!

[LowRange]

Biggest of the topwater bite so far.

[i_am_R2]

Biggest of the topwater bite so far.

Nice fish and combo! It's been a while since I have seen an ITO out in the wild.

[Loafer]

Today's 3.8 Lb of teeths and anger





And another two a little bit smaller.

[mark poulson]

Nice! Why didn't you lip it?

[Loafer]

Nice! Why didn't you lip it?

Hello!
Lip like this? I think, my fingers will be useful for me


Today's best, near 3 Lb piky.

[SSS]

Biggest of the topwater bite so far.

Ito put on the side, even on flowers, is an automatic scratch btw i use that same showerblows for so long, it barely has any chartreuse paint left, but still outcatching most of my topwater lures.

[Loafer]

Sunday's 6 Lb (or may be a little bit +) lady.

[LowRange]

Biggest of the topwater bite so far.

Ito put on the side, even on flowers, is an automatic scratch btw i use that same showerblows for so long, it barely has any chartreuse paint left, but still outcatching most of my topwater lures.

It's already scratched and geary. It's going to go out of this world getting fished throwing topwaters on an Ottomat to the end.