Dwight Hottle

Better be a monster bass or two after that saltwater episode.

Light weight hair jigs work. Also small in line spinners with some yarn on a treble or siwash hook. You can use a dressed treble too.

Congrats to you both.

Smallmouth love jerkbaits all year long. Yes to question #1. Smallies will hang out much deeper after spawn in the lakes which makes them tougher to catch deep with most jerkbait presentations. That puts them more out the jerkbait zone than rivers. Prespawn for smallies is usually between post iceout up to around 60-65 degrees. Answer to #2 is post spawn.

Good fishing with good friends makes for a great day.

Congrats on the PB.

Congratulations to both of you. Happy anniversary.

4.5 lb smallie on 4lb Ande mono on a Daiwa certate and custom rod & a 8lb steelhead on the same line & outfit.

Good decision glad it work out for you both.

Congratulations. My wife & I just celebrated our 50th on Saturday.

As I remember Chris called it a smallmouth.

Welcome to BR.

Congrats on the new PB.

I have three choices for you. Slightly over your budget is a 18 Bantam MGL PG. It's available in a 5.5 ratio. The PG models are only available now from Japan. Available from Digitaka for $273.71 with free shipping. It's the JDM version. I have two PG's I use just for cranking & they are great. 2nd choice is a Scorpion MGL 150 in 6.2:1. It's $203.87 from Digitaka with free shipping. The JDM scorpion is the JDM version of the curado. 3rd choice is a USD Curado 200K in 6.2:1 its available for around $180 like RoLo suggested. You need to check the specs on all three to determine how much line capacity you will need based on what type of line diameter you plan on using. The DC reels are nice if you want to go with a curado DC or Scorpion JDM model.

Best wishes for a quick recovery Jim.

Priceless other wise it’s the cost of doing business. If the lure retriever doesn’t get it the snag gets to keep it.

I have had a few encounters with lamprey eels attached to bass but dropping off when they are netted. Talk about an ugly creature. Round suction mouth lined with mutiple rows of teeth. I tried to kill the first one by stepping on it to crush it against the floor of the boat. It kept wiggling no matter how many times I stepped on it. Finally had to kill it with a knife & pliers. Nasty parasites.

Any hardware store or Home Depot/Lowe’s carry’s o rings. You can also purchase heat shrink rubber tubes, cut them to width & heat them with an open flame. These allow you to hook around them like an o ring or put the hook under them & through the band with the hook point. This method makes them very durable.

Numerous times. I have also had hooked fish snag me up on the bottom. I had several smallmouth hooked on a jerkbait try to rub it loose in the rocks & consequently snag the bait or the line. Some of them would come loose but most would result in a lost fish. They always felt like monsters when they got off. I caught my PB striper ticking the rocks & subsquently snagging the pencil weight in the rocks. I could feel the fish on the line while hooked to the bottom. It finally came free after what seemed like an eternity. I guess that's why they call them rockfish.

Congrats on the PB.

Thanks for the kind words Brad. You & I joined BR about a year apart and it's been a learning experience for both of us ever since. The wealth of knowledge on this site & the willingness of it's members to share that knowledge is truly remarkable.

I'm sorry to hear about your mom passing. My condolences.

Why throw them out? It's just extra protein man.

I guess its all relative to where you fish & what your used to catching. To me a bass over 4 lbs is a nice fish either brown or green. A good fish is over 5lbs for both species. Trophy class depends on where your fishing. In FL an 8lber is a trophy according to the state trophy catch program which I would agree with. When I was fishing Erie a 6lb smallie was considered a trophy.

Kent what don't you get, maybe I can explain it better.