Dwight Hottle

Welcome to the BR fraternity. I like your attitude regarding big bass. Good luck & don't forget to share your successes.

I'm 5'-8" and all my jerkbait rods are 7' or longer. The rod tip doesn't have to be slapping the water to make a jerk bait effective. Just use a downward stroke or side stroke.

If your having casting distance problems adjust your tackle to compensate or use heavier baits. If your fishing from a boat or yak try strolling to get more line out. Smaller baits don’t necessarily outfish bigger baits. I always fish big until someone or the fish prove me wrong.

Trokar makes a tube hook also.

@A-Jay Yea I forgot to mention you all need to put a red hook on the front hanger to maximize the baits potential. 😀

It's getting close to that first spring trip to chase pre spawn smallies. Just a reminder not to forget your favorite jerk baits. Over the years I have had several favorites that really produced time after time. Rapala husky jerks HJ14 & HJ 10 for 5-10 fow & the deep diver versions for targeting 15-20 fow. They really work especially the glass perch color for northern waters that have perch in them. Smallies always target perch when they are available. They also target smelt & alewives that are easily mimicked by the shape of a jerk bait. Plus you have emeralds & shad & the always abundant gobies that cover the rock bottom in many northern lakes. Another favorite of my mine is the Lucky Craft pointer 100 & the same series in a deep diver version & the XD series. For a bigger profile I like the Lucky Craft slender pointer in the 127 size (3/4 oz) & the pointer 128 size (1oz). I have saved the best for last, my absolute favorite is the Smithwick Suspending Rattlin Rogue in the 4.5 " & 6" size plus the same bait in the DD version. Both the Rapala & the Smithwick have caught smallies over 7lbs & the pointers have accounted for plenty of 6-8 through 6-15 size fish. I love experimenting with other brands & have many others like Duo Realis, Ima, Evergreen, Meggbass & Berkley & they do catch fish as well but the first three mentioned are all you really need to be successful. Below is a Smithwick fish.

Lucky Craft Pointer 128 in Aurora Craw color has caught me several smallies over 6lbs prespawn. It's one of my several different favorites. I think I read somewhere that red shows up as black for fish.

@Big Swimbait your going to love it!

Sounds like a good investment. Enjoy it Katie.

X2

Best one from yesterday trying to figure out the bite on Lake Okeechobee.

Rapala 6th Sense Evergreen Strike King Megabass Duo Realis

Yes sir

New smallmouth candy for latter this year.

I'm legally blind without corrective lenses so I wear polarized prescription sunglasses with a scratch coating. My favorites are Costa Tuna Alley with green mirror copper base polycarbonate lenses. They are wrap around style which prevents the wind from drying out your eyes in a bass boat.

Good advice so far. Another point to consider is the spool size. The larger diameter spool provides longer casting distance. So a 200 series will be heavier (better balance) and better casting distance. Ideally having the rod in hand & trying each reel for balance will help your decision.

@AlabamaSpothunter gotta love the sound of that Certate's drag.

Welcome to BR Jim. Sounds like you have it pretty well figured out when it comes to bass catching.

@Crow Horse According to the fine folks over at Hooked Up Tackle the 100+1 SW is a slow sink. Length/4.5 inch Weight/1/2 oz Depth/7-10 feet (SW colors are slow sinking)

Welcome to BR Josh. Your living location close to Stick Marsh/Farm 13 & Headwaters pretty much puts you in the sweet spot.

My condolences as well.

My condolences Dean.

I agree with that sentiment completely. Aging does have an effect on your expectations.

I fished as a kid every chance I got. We had a lake in our neighborhood in NE Ohio that had bass, walleye & stocked tiger musky as well as brim so as soon as I could convince my parents that I could swim adequately by swimming across the lake they let me go by myself. I started going to Canada for a week long trips to Quebec fishing mostly for walleye with jigs for about five years in a row during my late 20's. We set our goal to catch a 30" or 10lb walleye. We caught numerous double digit walleyes over 12lbs but never caught a teenager. The bigger walleye came from Bay of Quinte fishing in late fall. Then we got the pike fever & researched pike fishing throughout Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta & the Northwest West Territories. We traveled for weekly trips all fly in camps in search of our first true 20lb pike. Then we graduated to seeking & catching our dream pike trophy over 50" & 30lbs. Pike trophy only measured 49" but broke 32lbs. Our pike odyssey lasted over 20 some years. We also chased after musky with the goal of catching our first 50" trophy musky. Musky fishing included lake St Clair, Niagara river, Lake Chautauqua in NY, Georgian Bay, Rice lake & the Kawartha chain & the St Lawrence before catching a 51.5" at 33lbs. We also chased after lake trout in the Niagara river & Lakes Erie & Ontario & my favorite Lake Athabasca In northern Saskatchewan/Alberta. Our lake trout quest topped out at 38lbs & the magic 40lb mark. Also got to fish for Arctic Char on the Tree River north of the arctic circle as part of a trip to Great Bear Lake. Other than a few Florida trips chasing the magic DD I didn't fish for bass very much until I was in my fifties. My very first smallmouth came from Rice Lake in Ontario. After learning how awesome they fight I started fishing for them steadily in the great lakes system including the Niagara river, Lake Ontario & Lake Erie my favorite. Early fishing for smallies was a struggle to catch my first 5lber but once I did my understanding of how to target them blossomed & my obsession to keep improving grew. My weapon of choice for smallies is a jerk bait. I seldom try to finesse them but prefer to play on their weakness by using larger baits 3/4 oz & 1 oz. My largemouth fishing has been done mostly in my 60's & 70's. Fishing in Georgia, Florida & lake Baccarac in Mexico.

Here is to going forward. 🥂