Dwight Hottle

Sweet fish Steve. I would frame that photo & hang it on the wall. As others have said the holy grail for walleye fisherman is 30" or 10 lbs across north America. 30" walleye benchmark is like the 50" musky benchmark. But since you are fishing the walleye capital of the world Lake Erie 10lbers are much more frequently caught & don't raise too many eyebrows. Really hard core walleye guys consider any teenager (13-19 lbs) to be a trophy. I equate a 6lb smallmouth to a 10lb walleye or a 10lb largemouth regarding rarity. Your 7lb smallies are the equal of a 13lb walleye or a 12lb largemouth or a 54" musky in my book. I have fished for walleye frequently in my past & caught two over twelve but never caught that teenager I lusted after.

Size depends on the bait size Size 75 & 90 uses #4 hooks Size 110 & 130 uses #2 hooks Sixe 190 uses 5/0 I like using Owner short shank ST35 or ST36 hooks.

I have had some with lighter grade hooks that were extremely sharp but the last few had heavier hooks with marginal sharpness so I switched them out.

Welcome to BR Tim.

Lowe would be considered a competitor just not a top competitor. My comments are based on years of experience & the historical significance of Lunds being the top of the food chain of aluminium boat popularity. Seeing & fishing out of a Lund helps you notice the quality differences. Lund's reputation as a manufacturer has waned a little after the ownership sellout similar to Ranger's circumstance when they soldout.

For what it’s worth Lund is not typically a competitor of Lowe or Tracker. By reputation Lund is at the top of the aluminum boat manufactures for quality & resale value historically. Crestliner & Alumacraft are more typical comparisons to Lund.

Welcome to BR Joe.

Welcome to BR from SE Florida.

Are you being a bad boy again? ?

Hey Blue you're really looking good with the weight loss.

My suggestions are based on fishing Rainy Lake the last few years during the month of May on the Canadian side. Take a quick look at the offshore reef areas. Jerkbaits will work well as a search tool if your not marking smallies. Don't waste a lot of time unless your getting bit. Next look for warmer water near the typical spawning areas. Dark water areas with wood & some rock that are the warmest water near other warm water areas. You can fish jerk baits or bottom baits like a tube. If Vermillion is anything like Rainy white jerk baits rule over other color combos. If you have any creeks or rivers flowing into the area that is always a good area to try. Once you find them in a particular area & beat up on them try to find similar areas so you distribute your fishing pressure to other areas. Always look for the areas that have the warmest water temps with some bait fish present. Good luck.

Paul it floats at rest like most cranks. They make a dives to 15' and a 20' & a 30'. The action is like a typical banana bait, ie flatfish. The dive depth is true to its advertised depth. When you get it deflecting off bottom it can be killer. I used them almost extensively on Erie for one or two seasons when they were extremely effective with water temps over 50 degrees. The TD20 & TD30 were great walleye baits too. ?

Although I have caught more big smallmouth on jerkbaits than all other categories this crankbait caught my PB smallie & it's fair share of 6 pounders. Bottom bait a rapala tail dancer TD20 dives to 20' in perch color.

Your an inspiration to all the rest of us.

Summer is the rainy season but lake O was drawn down last year to help prevent the red tide bloom that was discharging into the river systems. The lake is still historically low.

Go to Kissimmee for a better shot at a DD and the big O is really low water levels making navigation dangerous if you don’t know the lake.

Carson & Webb were true classics.

That’s what I have been using after switching from diefer. Good stuff it worked well down in Mexico for me.

Great win, now about that low gas situation.

Owner Stinger Trebles short shank & Owner ZoWire STX.

Congrats on the new PB. Glad you had the scale with you.

What makes BR such a valuable resource is long time members like you & Tom & the many others that willfully share your knowledge.

Great to see you back Roger. I have been wondering about your absence.

I switched from wearing a buff to a hooded long sleeve sun shirt. Only need minimal sunscreen for nose/cheek area. Much cooler than a buff & no fogging issue with glasses.

I have deadsticked a lot when drifting on lake Erie. I always used a rod holder so I could actively fish another bait. Drifting does impart some action as the waves cause the boat to surge then slowly subside movement until the next wave hits. Even when the wind wasn't blowing the dead stick bait always produced. My favorite baits to dead stick were deep diving suspending jerks & regular suspending jerks, topwater baits like a popper or buzzjet and various swimbaits or glide baits. Using a rod holder takes the boredom out of the technique but almost always provides bonus fish & sometimes some really good quality fish.