Dwight Hottle

A six lb average is very respectable. Well done.

This mornings sunrise.

Most 10 lb braid actually breaks around the 17lb mark so don't be too scared.

I already did. I retired in Ohio in 2007 & moved to Erie PA to fish for smallies. We built a new home with a boat garage and I enjoyed 11 years of fishing for my favorite species on Lake Erie. My timing was not perfect because I missed the period where the lake peaked for numbers but I still enjoyed some great fishing with lots of quality bass caught. Five pounders became common place & six pounders became the new standard indicating a good outing. I did enjoy lots of company in my boat during the months of prespawn with most guys getting their new PB's & entering the six pound club. No body ever failed to break into the 5lb club. Some of us even broke the 7lb barrier. I did get to fish with several Bass Resource members & they all enjoyed new PB's as well. As one member in particular likes to say "it was a good time". The important outcome of picking your favorite dream location or body of water is that selection will make you a better fisherman and can not fail to put a smile on your face.

Sweet. She a good wife & a keeper.

Texas forum said he was charging $2000 per day. They also said he was fishing but giving his angler first try on fish spotted.

Dogs for sure. Allergic to cat dander.

LEZ061-168-169-242130- Ripley to Buffalo NY extending from 5NM off shoreline to US- Canadian border-Geneva-on-the- Lake to Conneaut OH beyond 5 nm off shoreline to US- Canadian border- Conneaut OH to Ripley NY beyond 5 nm off shoreline to US- Canadian border- 949 AM EST Sat Dec 24 2022 GALE WARNING IN EFFECT THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY WARNING IN EFFECT THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON THIS AFTERNOON Southwest gales to 45 knots diminishing to 40 knots. Heavy freezing spray. Snow showers. Waves 15 to 20 feet subsiding to 14 to 18 feet. Waves occasionally around 26 feet.

Welcome to BR. Great intro & will look forward to your posting some new shared PB's.

Ima Flit fits the bill. Canadian smallies love them. The flit 100 is 3.9" long & the flit 120 is 4.75". Favorite color is bone white with orange on the belly. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Ima_Flit_Jerkbait/descpage-IRF.html

Tough circumstances. Just take one day at a time until you can see some light at the end of the tunnel. It will get better.

Smallies like bone better than a bulldog. Match the hatch for color based on your bait sources or bright colors for off color water. Well said except for the last sentence. I fixed it for you. The majority of my memorable "big fish/quality" days have been on a Jerkbait, and the best Bass fishing day of life was on a Jerkbait bite.

GPS speed is the answer. Most of the time you want to be going 1.8-2.2 mph for bass & walleye during normal water temperature periods. Cold water necessitates slowing down. You can go twice as fast for musky.

Yep it's right here started by @TnRiver46

My condolences.

Plus almost everyone is a tough guy when on the internet as opposed to actual face to face interaction.

He isn't fishing much. He occasionally checks in over on Tackle tour forums. Also heard from Roger a few months back. He & his wife Lois the other half of Rolo are doing fine.

Where smallmouth feed is dependent on where the bait & type of bait is located. When smelt were prevalent in large numbers in the great lakes & other large bodies (Rainy Lake) of water the smallies could be caught in great numbers fishing suspended jerk baits as opposed to bottom oriented presentations. The general water clearing that took place in the great lakes years after the Cuyahoga Falls River caught on fire in 1969 coincided with massive schools of smelt proliferating. During those years the long minnow baits (jerk baits) out fished the tubes & other bottom baits because the smallies were feeding up. They were suspending & looking for bait above them. When the smelt populations died off & the goby's were introduced in the system the smallies started feeding down more often concentrating on the highly fatty goby's that littered the bottom. Gobies do not have air sacks so they can not swim up or laterally. The can only swim along the bottom horizontally making them easier to catch. If you understand the bait sources that are prevalent in your waters you will have a better understanding of where to locate the smallies & how to track their movements. Best suggestion is to always locate & follow the bait. The smallmouth will be close by.

I got my work ethic from my parents who set the example. Like others have mentioned previous generations set the example based on their very hard lifestyles. The great depression was part of their lives & recent enough that their offspring both heard about it & learned about the tough times. As a kid I always had chores & responsibilities. I helped my dad out by doing janitorial work on Wednesday evenings & Saturdays. My junior & senior year in high school I worked Saturdays & summers in a machine shop for 9 hours days & 54 hr weeks. I got paid $1.25 hour the first year & got a nickel raise for the 2nd year. I learned that machine shops get pretty hot in the summer time even with the windows open. That experience helped convince me that 4 years of college was in my best interest. Six day work weeks were always the norm until I was self employed. Then 7 day work weeks for a lot of years when the work was there. Since retiring I still set my alarm for the same time every day. I guess I just like the structure.

Big fish bites are few & hard to come by so I'm pretty anal about maintaining hook sharpness by replacing hooks frequently or sharpening as needed. I always carry a sharpener & split ring pliers to change them out.

Smallies definitely fight harder than a largemouth and for a longer duration. People say that river fish fight harder than lake fish but I take exception with that statement. River current contributes to the fish fight because the fish usually uses it to it's advantage. But most river fish are long & lean in frame while the great lakes smallies have a massive frame with muscle mass just behind their heads & their chins extending the whole way back to their tails. My experiences with largemouth caught in Mexico make them much tougher than their US cousins almost like our smallies.

Your welcome

That price is not the issue.

The title of the thread is "Your Moron Moments"

That’s the only approach the Yankees have ever had.