stepchild

We had an unusually hot few weeks that actually rose the water temps back into the high 70s, but the bass didn't seem bothered by it as they were aggressive as can be (as they usually are in the fall). This made me think that, of course water temps have something to do with fall feeding behaviors, but I'm also willing to bet that daylight length also comes into the equation. They were feeding as if they knew winter is coming, even though water and air temps were in the summertime range. I guess you can take this with a grain of salt since I live in Canada and was fishing for smallmouth bass (which are known to be a little more aggressive).

I've always found it dépends on the day. Sometimes they like the pop r or skitter pop, other times it's a baby spook or a prop bait. Regardless, you can't go wrong with topwater baits when the smallies are on, it's really one of the best fishing scenarios and I try to take advantage every time the situation présents itself!

My dad decided to bring me out one day when I was around 8 years old I imagine. It was on a small river known for its walleye numbers and we were going to try and get dinner. We paddled out in a canoe and made our way to bottleneck area, where there was a big eddie. My dad thought it would be a good place for some walleyes. He didn't know a heck of a whole lot about fishing and only went out a handful of times per year, but on that day, we stumbled on a whole school of smallmouth bass from 1.5 to 3lbs. that just turned my world upside down! We didn't keep any of the fish, but from that moment on, I knew I wanted to go back there every day!!

It's hard to tell what to suggest without more information. I'm guessing it's a deep lake with some rock given the clear water, but it all depends on the forage and type of structure and cover available. I fish lakes that sometimes have 20+ft of visibility and you'd be surprised at how shallow you can find bass during the summer. I'd suggest the following baits to at least have your bases covered: Topwater: popper or prop bait for dawn/dusk and overcast days Search bait: crankbaits , 4'' swimbaits or gurbs and spinnerbaits - you might also need to slow down and use jerk baits depending on the mood of the fish Drop shot: once you find fish, I find this technique to be productive in the broadest scope of conditions. A 1/8 or 1/4oz. weight while using some kind of 3.5-4'' finesse worm is a good place to start Tubes: sometimes fish want something on the bottom, so a neutral-colored tube like smoke/black flake or watermelon/purple flake are my favorites All depending on the type of lake though, they might be sitting in the weeds where a frog will outproduce anything I listed above. Just be sure to be flexible and have an open mind!

In Eastern Canada, the leaves are just barely starting to turn but the fall bite's been strong for about 2 weeks now. No need to scrape the bottom of the lake with finesse baits and jigs latetly, as they're just crushing any reaction bait in shallow(er) water. Not only that, but once you hook one, I now see 3-5 others swimming alongside it to grab the lure out if its mouth! The fall binging is well underway and I couldn't be happier to have the whole day tomorrow to take advantage of the best time of year NOTE: we can't fish pre-spawn/spawn periods since the fishing season isn't open then, so this is as good as it gets for us

I'm in the same boat, right-handed using a LH reel. What I find perplexing are the people who use spinning reels LH and biatcasters RH...I just think it would screw me up completely. Just pick whatever's most comfortable to you and stick with it, no matter what anyone says. Heck, I've fished a tournament with a guy who holds his spinning reel upside down and, because of his history doing it that way, was just fine casting and reeling fish in (no matter how weird it looks!).

Reading all your responses, it makes me feel blessed about the situation I'm in. My family actually owns a cottage on a lake and the boat is parked at the dock. The second I get an itch to head out, I drive a half-hour to the cottage, grab my gear from the storage room, remove the tarp (and leftover water) and off I go!! The only problem is that, with the boat already in the water, I'm restricted to a fairly small natural lake....which in the end, isn't that big a deal since I'm still out on the water fishing, which is the objective to begin with!

We deal with this a lot in Canada as well. As others have stated, there usually aren't many bass around when there are lots of pike (although there are exceptions to this). Using anything chartreuse or bright will get the pike's attention before the bass. Here are a few things I would try in your situation: Change baits to something a little more subtle (stickbaits, ) Target the weed edge and perhaps a little deeper water to get away from the small pike Change spots altogether and see if you can develop another pattern that doesn't rely entirely on shallow weeds (as in focus on points, shoals, drop-offs, etc.) I know sometimes it's hard to switch presentations when you think it's the ticket for the day (in this case, a lipless crank), but chaning it up to cover different situations will get you a better idea of what will work on that particular day.

This could theoretically extend to baits that have multiple hooks, like crankbaits and jerkbaits. If a fish hits your lure and only has one of the trebles in his mouth, but as the fight goes on, the hook that was in its mouth is dislodged only to have another treble stick it on its side/belly/gill plate. As long as you land that fish, it doesn't really matter which hook was where, now does it?!? I'd say the fish obviously tried to hit the lure you had out and, whatever happens during the fight happens. If you can get it in the net, good for you! I'd say congrats on a new PB! EDIT: Didn't see Dwight's post

I'd do what Dwight mentions. Sounds like you already know the lake well enough where the sonar might not be as useful as you think, unless you're fishing 20+ feet deep and plan on "video game fishing". I don't really use the sonar to find fish, but more to look for irregularities in bottom composition such as breaks, points, humps, etc. If you already know where they're at but don't see them, you just need to work the area a little more and probe around with your drop shot. I find on most days, you're better off just not moving the bait at all and letting the wind/trolling motor cover water for you.

3rd cast with a KVD 1.5 in sexy shad...never used a squarebill for smallies before and was delighted to see they're just as effective as they are for largemouth.

I actually don't use any scent on my plastics. The ones I use the most are already caffeine/salt impregnated to the point that I feel that adding more doesn't seem to make much of a difference.

THIS! You might find fish deep, but I fish a lake that has areas over 200 feet deep and I sometimes find smallies in as little as 1-3 feet of water in the middle of the day during bluebird hot sunny days. Know the forage and fish where they are. In my case, it's small sunfish and crawfish. If you determine that the fish aren't shallow, I share the same suggestions as above, using a dropshot rig, a jigging spoon/bladebait/rippin' bait or the plain ol' jig and trailer.

I do both, but when I nose hook, I do it in a slightly different manner. Instead of just piercing the hook through the nose of the worm, I actually insert the hook point 1/8-1/4 inch from the tip and run the point up to the tip of the worm. The end product is a worm with no hook point exposed. I find that when rigged this way, the little bass/sunfish have a little harder time stealing my worm while still giving you the action you want and, at the same time, it sort of creates a keel as to drastically reduce the odds of your bait spinning back to the boat when you finish your cast.

I'd say you can try and match the size more than anything, but even at that, some lures like spinnerbaits resemble nothing found in the waters we fish, yet are viewed as consistent fish-catchers everywhere bass are found... What you fish is just part of the equation though. Where, When and How also plays a big role.

I use them for flippin' and for drop shot as well. From experience, they seem to have the better hookup ratios than others for these 2 applications

I've had this happen to me a few times and all I would think about is matching the hatch and using a bait as close to what you think they're feeding on as possible. Sometimes it works, other times it doesn't...and when it doesn't, you need to re-evaluate and sometimes throw everything upside down. You might be thinking more finesse is needed, when going to a faster, flashier and bigger bait will get one to strike. You can't force-feed fish into biting, but you can surely get them to react if you don't give them much of a chance to look at your bait.

I would second going full mono for a setup meant for topwater (unless you're frogging, that would be the exception since you need the strength of braid to pull them out of whatever junk they're in). Granted that most braids float well, it doesn't stretch much, so it results in you pulling the bait away from the fish. If you're planning on using baits with treble hooks, the stretching properties of mono give you better odds of keeping your hooks in.

Watermelon red flake, Green pumpkin and...don't laugh, sometimes bubblegum. I guess it's just something different and the curiosity of smallies often gets the best of them.

Personally, I only pay attention to the wind direction to help me decipher where the fish might be holding on any given day. Remember, it's only a part of the puzzle, not the be-all end-all! I think the old sayings might be true to an extent, but the reason is likely because the average fisherman might always fish a spot the same way with the same lures. They might have had great success one day on what might have been a west wind and have taken note of that. Once the wind changes direction, they'd claim the fish aren't biting anymore. We all know it's not really the case, as the fish are still there, you just have to think about it a little bit and figure out where they're holding as opposed to just assuming "the fish aren't biting today"...

I actually have a '98 Skeeter SS90 with a Yamaha. Bought it brand new and am still using it today (making this the 18th season I will use it). With regular maintenance and a little TLC, the boat should last you a long time.

Personally, I only use mono for top water, as it floats real well and has a bit of give to it. If you happen to be quick on setting the hook, the stretch in the line might save you from ripping the bait out of the fish's mouth. For any other application, I use either fluoro or braid. I also tie on a fluoro leader to the braid, as suggested above, for all my finesse rigs. I feel the braid gives you the sensitivity you need, while the fluoro leader is less visible and more abrasion-resistant. Hope this helps

Hi everyone, I've had a profile here for a while and visit fairly often, but have never really come around to post all that much. I work for the department of the Environment to analyze data on chemicals and do some web work as well. It keeps me really busy so I don't have very many opportunities to post while at work, but at least I can read a little on my breaks. At home, I have a 2-yo son that's keeping me busy so I'm pretty limited in how much I actually use a computer....or ever fish for that matter! On the fishing front, I used to do a lot of tournaments, did fairly well (was the old partner of a guy that won the Canadian Open last year), but it took too much of my free time in the summer. We own a cottage on a private trout lake in Quebec that also happens to hide hoards of brute smallies! On any given day, I'll have the lake to myself to fish for bass ranging anywhere between 1 lb up to 5-6 lbs. while the trout fisherman are out trolling in the middle of the lake while the jetskiers zoom past them. There are no largemouth in the lake. Since it's very deep (200+ ft.), the options for the bass are fairly limited and concentrates them in certain areas. I was more of a largemouth guy before we had the cottage, but since then, I came to truly appreciate how different smallies are and what makes them tick. I've learned a lot of lessons and, quite frankly, helped me think outside the box. I'll try to contribute more often and give you my limited perspective on fishing deep, clear northern lakes for smallies!

As stated above, drop-shot would be my first choice. Something I found helped me last year was upping the size of my baits as the season wore on. Don't be afraid to go to 5-inch baits or bigger. Not that it discourages smaller fish (because they still bite) but I believe either they don't see baits that size very often and commit to it, or it's closer to the actual size of baitfish they're targeting. Either way, give it a shot! I would also look at other options such as a Rippin' Rap and yo-yoing it back to the boat just to get a reaction. I use the 1/2 oz. model. If you're talking mid-to-late August, don't be afraid to look in places where you'd expect the fish to be in the fall, as the bigger fish seem to be the first ones to make the move. Good luck!

Like others mentioned, everyone's a specialist in some way, shape or form. I have my confidence baits and techniques, but I'm also not afraid to tie on something I think could work if my go-to baits and techniques aren't yielding what I expect to get.