Dwight Hottle

If it’s any moral victory, you had me beat for my first 4 days. Luckily, a 5th day opened up. The fish gods have spoken. I only had 4 days scheduled to fish when a fifth day opened up with a different guide. Well I only had to insult him once per his rules but I’m sure another entry into the 7 lb club is insulting enough. But we respect each others accomplishments so it’s all good . A-Jay’s angling expertise speaks for itself self.

Well it took me five days but I’m back on the board with an upgrade. 7lbs-6oz. That’s 7.375 divided by 9.0 times 100 equals 81.94 percent. I was fishing in New York waters Lake Ontario and the NY smallmouth record is 9-0 lbs. Caught on a 3/16 jig head with a Deps plastic minnow bait.

Last day on my St Lawrence trip which was actually all fished on Lake Ontario because the river has been in a funk since Labor day. Broke six with a 6-1 caught on a 3/16 jig with a Deps minnow shaking while retrieving. Lake temp was 51-52 degrees light wind finally with mostly sunny conditions. Then I got lucky using the same bait in another location. A beautiful 7-6. Made the trip for me. A special thanks to Big JB’s guide service for putting me on the fish.

Day two sucked. The guide called the trip after two hours because of wind & waves. We were both soaked with full rain gear on. Day three produced about a dozen bass with the biggest just shy of 5 lbs. Today was cold 42-51 but no rain & less wind with 52 degrees water temp. Caught a 5-12 first thing. Lost a biggie at boat side when she jumped coming unbuttoned while fishing a shallow rock seam off a point. @gim she was a big 6 or 7lber as judged by both the guide & me. That one hurt.

Air temps 42-59. 15 mph winds. Water surface temp 57 degrees and I’m a FL boy now so yes it was cold to start. Nah 5-12, 5-11 & 5-6 were the three biggest for the day.

Your killing me.

Three biggest today out on Lake Ontario. All fish caught on a drop shot in 25-45 fow. Water temp at 57 degrees.

No the lodges have covered the license requirements with the governing body so your covered.

@OldManLure that pretty much sums it up. Also the HJ offers a deep diver which will get down to 20’ on light braid.

Welcome to BR. You might want to substitute the word snagging with hooked.

Never a snap swivel. Use an owner welded snap. They allow more movement than a direct tie or snap ring attachment. Simply retie the snap when worn or after several fish or a big fish.

Hopefully it will work out ok.

Sad but true. It’s all about the money and its influence on those in power.

Sorry for your loss. It’s always tough to lose a pet that is so devoted to you.

I just watched a podcast on YouTube by Travis Manson (Smallmouth Crush) interviewing David Chong a well known tournament angler in Canada. His home water is lake Simcoe. His favorite smallmouth bait is the jerk bait. When asked what his PB smallmouth was he replied 8.7 lbs caught in late October on Simcoe fishing a jerkbait deep. He also mentioned that he had 39 smallies over 7lbs on Simcoe. This podcast was done 4 years ago. I can only imagine what his total over 7lbs is today. He really opened my eyes to his analytical thinking about electronics & smallmouth behavior towards jerk baits.

That's what it is all about.

A bass is a bass when it comes to jerk baits. They all respond to floaters, suspenders & sinkers. Fast retrieves or slow retrieves all work based on the fishes mood. Just keep trying until you figure it out. And remember to mix it up until you find out what is working.

Lots of good info found here.

I actually felt bad knowing we were going to lose Knowles to PSU just after OSU won the natty but his replacement Matt Patricia is a wizard.

Maybe that’s the reason OSU traveled a day early to play the Huskies. PSU should be smarter.

Thats got to really hurt the PSU fans when a 0-4 team puts a whipping on you.

Great news.

I have got the itch. Cant wait till Oct 21st when I hit the St Lawrence for 4 days.

Yes the US team just could not get it going. Mostly all cold putters.

Best of luck & make sure you follow drs instructions for rehab.