Dwight Hottle

Caught on a rage toad. They do work.

Pink or bubblegum color will work best.

Bending a hook will weaken it. Since channel cats have such strong mouths & jaws I would not try it. Just use what you got as is until you can get some more circle hooks.

That sounds like pretty good advice.

Yes very true. Also works for Lake Erie in the fall when we are chasing smallies at the end of the season. Trouble is when the lake trout start coming in the smallies are moving out. Bitter sweet. My experience with cold fronts for northern strain bass is based on NE winds which actually lower the water temps from deeper colder water from the eastern basin (New York waters of Lake Erie) Erie Pa sits on the dividing line between the eastern basin and the central basin of Lake Erie . Fishing is better before the cold front and starts to deteriorate with the first day of the front. The second day is the worst day . The third day starts to improve. On big water systems with deep water a cold front has less of an effect than a smaller body of water with less depth. The sheer depth of the water insulates the water from temperature change. The more shallow water lakes are affected more greatly than the deeper lakes. I know from winter experience in South Florida that cold front conditions affect florida strain bass much more than up north. The shallow water combined with Florida strain bass makes a big difference. Sometimes up to a week or maybe more from a consistent pattern preceding the cold front. Once again the day before is best & then the first day is better than the following days. Florida strain are very temperamental. I'm sure the shallow water has a big effect.

Maxima ultragreen is good stuff. I have been using it as leader material for braid in 10 to 15lb test for a long time on Erie. A-Jay and I have both used it as main line for largemouth south of the border at lake Baccarac. It has excellent strength and abrasion resistance and low visibility in the green color.

Right on Roger. The only exception in fresh water that I have experienced is lake trout who can equalize the bends pressure by burbing air as they come up from the depths. They are capable of equalizing their air bladders as they swim up in the water column with out harm. I have caught them as deep as 120 feet without stress.

Are you jealous?

The best 5.2:1 would be the new conquest CTCNQ101.

You can take shrink tubing cut to size & close off the line tie on non twisted spinnerbaits & buzz baits.

Good comparison Steve. Just for the record Mr David L Hayes world record smallmouth went 27" long by 21 2/3" girth. That fish weighed 11lbs 15oz. So even the world record smallie did not have a 22" girth.

Your perch may go 12" & weigh 3/4 to 1lb. Perch have no teeth and no sharp gill plates like walleye.

X2

Congradulations on the new PB & great post.

Happy B day & best wishes for a quick recovery.

That's cheating, LOL. Who ever said bass don't eat bass.

You asked & answered your own question. Lighter braid can dig in to itself on the spool & weaken. Move up to 50-55lb or 60-65lb and your problem will go away. I carry a wooden dowel in my boat so if I snag & need to pull it out I can wrap the braid around the dowel before pulling to keep the braid from digging into it self on the spool.

Ask the In-fisherman. The map & distribution areas came from an article done by Steve Quinn. When you research a species natural range that is where they are normally found. Can they or could they live elsewhere. Probable but not historically. South florida doesn't have pike or musky either. It is too far south of their natural range for survival.

It's a largemouth. Spotted bass do not exist in southern Florida. Its to far south of their natural range. See map. http://www.in-fisherman.com/2011/06/02/spotted-bass/

Its still a largemouth with a variation in coloration.

My favorite rod is built on a St Croix legend extreme blank 7'-2" MHM (5C72MHM- ). It can handle any treble hook application that I use and can double for many single hook applications as well. A similar blank is available in the avid line as a less expensive alternative.

If you love the blanks just get a custom made so you will love the execution. Just a thought.

That sounds pretty good.

Sweet video.