Dwight Hottle

Went up to fish Headwaters for the evening bite with the Hawgtech team. We took two boats & put in around 5:30 & fished for half an hour before getting chased off by T storms & lightening. Waited it out until the storms passed & got back out for about an hour before dark. Probably caught around a dozen or so fish. Couldn't get them going on top water baits so I switched over to a deep diving crankbait & finally got a better fish about 12-14 deep.

It almost seems they are all educated in the US.

I personally have never had any problems with PayPal. In their defense I can tell you my bank does require the cell phone verification for security. My online broker accounts do as well. It is the way of the new world. Since so many people conduct banking & brokerage business on phones today it has become a security issue.

Congrats. You will never get that taste out of your mouth.

Good post. I still fish some of my oldies and they are still effective.

My present PB 11-8lbs was caught at the age of 71. Smallie PB 7-6lbs was caught at the age of 60.

I smoked a pack + per day for over 18 years starting as a teenager. Quit cold turkey in my late 30's after getting a terrible case of bronchitis which really kicked my arse. Started recreational running to help my breathing & ended up doing a couple of half marathons & the Chicago marathon in 1984. I told my buddy if he wanted to quit you just need to do it cold turkey because trying to taper your usage never worked for me or him. Addiction to nicotine is as bad as addiction to alcohol. It's tough to quit.

Welcome Ryan.

Since your using braid with a very short mono leader I think your setting the hook too early & pulling the bait away from them. Wait till you feel the rod load up & then just use a sweeping hook set rather than a hard set.

X2

A Benny makes a good tip especially for the typical $400-500 charge for a days trip. Another $100 is not out of the question for a new PB in the trophy class.

Looks like a 12lber to me.

Lee Harrelson is his name. He used to be an active member on here. He was the guy that started the annual fishing contest for biggest smallmouth & largemouth as compared to your state record on a percentage basis. You can find him on facebook as well.

Well said. My thoughts about member contribution parallels yours.

I have two of the Bantam MGL PG for deep cranking & they hold up very well to the task.

Both. If & when you have the patience fish them slow with prolonged pauses & twitches much like a topwater. You can also switch to a more normal retrieve if the slow style doesn't work.

Glad your all ok. We dodged a bullet down here.

Easy solution start covering water with long lining jerk baits. You can use suspending jerk baits to cover water in the 10-15 depths. Use deep diving jerk baits for water 15-30 deep. Use 10lb braid with 15' mono leaders. Let the wind push your boat or use your trolling motor to cover ground from .5 to 2 mph with frequent long pauses mixed in. You can run your baits back 100 to 200 feet. Once you find some fish you can cast the area for them or make frequent passes over the area. Match up the areas you find fish to similar areas on your map. Mark up your map for productive areas to refresh your memory. This will work if you stick with the program. Change your depth based on the bite, time of year & water temps. The smallies will be shallower early & late in the season & probably also early & late in the day, low light.

You know your sick man.

Compared to my wife I'm always early otherwise I'm on time.

If it's anything like the old ones your going to be very happy.

Look on the bright side it was only a four pounder instead of a PB.

Suckers are the bait of choice for musky & pike. Smelt are more of a lake trout bait. Also perch make a better substitute than smelt. Look for open pockets & defined weed edges to fish. Artificals will work instead of live bait & let you cover more water. Trolling for pike with a spoon, spinner bait or crank bait also work well. Once you find some good areas with a pike population you can cast for them. You can use the same trolling baits or add my favorite jerk baits both soft & hard as well as glide baits.

Congrats on the new PB. Don't forget to upgrade your profile since you moved up.

It lives up to the hype. I have used it for several years replacing Sunline Defier Armilo. It does run bigger in diameter than some other lines so you need to chose your line weight by diameter rather than by weight rating. I use 14 to replace 17lb & use 17 to replace 20lb.