River Smallies, Orange stuff?

17 inch bruiser

Orange stuff around the mouth?

Pretty Night 

More orange stuff around the mouth...

18 1/2 incher fought like mad!

 I love fishing smallies in the fall!  Unfortunately, this doesn't help me to cull in the bass derby, because the 18 1/2 incher was a lean machine.  Seriously, this beast bent my medium heavy rod in half, and had me wondering if I had a pike or muskie on.  I was using twenty pound braid, and my Shimano reel was screaming!  The 17 incher was much fatter, and I had to cut my Gamakatsu hook off to avoid injuring this pretty fish.  I still think I could cull a largemouth with a big smallmouth this fall.  But the river fish are stronger, than they are fat.  Last fall I caught a 20 incher, but I am still looking for a river smallie that is over 5!

12 inch worm gets it done!

Tank!

This 4.9 pound bass nailed it in the trees.  It was my first time fishing the 12 inch culprit worm texas-rigged, and it did the job. It had a huge girth!

This one ate it too!

I had to pull this one out of the sticks, and then re-tie the 17lb flourocarbon.