Mississippi River Pool 9 Bass Fishing Report

November, the time of the year where the clouds seem to hang a little lower and winds bite a little harder. The colder temps ring in another beginning to the Walleye season, and that time of the year where most Bass guys have tucked away all their tackle and winterized their boats.

JC & I aren’t like most Bass guys. We don’t typically hang with the crowd and most times tend to run our own path. This time of the year, that path leads to sumo Smallies. The kind that don’t hit like Mack truck, but usually suck in the bait and hold their own in the current.

Hair Jigs and plastics typically are the “rule of thumb,” presented slowly and methodically. Saturday was no different, although the bait of choice of the day dictated by the fish was cranks, pulled slowly, across shallow rock shelves and sand flats adjacent to deep water. Many of the fish we caught were in less than 6 feet of water and favored the transition areas between rock and sand. Having both was the key and finding either or was a bust.

Although many of our fish were caught on cranks, a few of them fell victim to JimmyD’s white River Bug hair jigs. I’ve discovered recently how deadly these jigs can be on big Smallies by fishing with Steve Dezurik. Pitching them in the shallows, then retrieving them slowly throughout the water column can and does produce numbers of big Smallies.

I rarely let the jig touch the bottom. Most times, I let it “tick” the bottom then gently lift it up and let the current do the rest. If the fish are higher in the column, I’ll pull the jig through with a lift and pause technique. Many times the bait is hit during the pause. Keeping direct contact with the jig is a must. Usually the bite is so light, any kind of bow in the line will result in a missed opportunity.

Once we’d fished a spot throroughly, we would move on and come back later. This tactic produced well for us during the day. A couple of the spots we hit 3 or 4 times during the day looking for that one true dandy. Sadly that one defining fish eluded us, but we boated many cookie-cutter fish like the ones pictured.

It was a great day to be out, and it may very well be my last outting chasing Smallies this year. If it is, I’ll call it a success. As always, it’s fun to fish with JC, a great friend and fantastic Bassin partner. Thanks again for the invite. <img src="http://www.in-depthangling.com/forum/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif" alt="" />

Bring on the ICE!! <img src="http://www.in-depthangling.com/forum/images/graemlins/woot.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.in-depthangling.com/forum/images/graemlins/peace.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.in-depthangling.com/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />