A-Jay

I've done it - it's painless. Just take care of the reels and get them back on time. Couldn't be easier. And it's a great way to try before you buy. A-Jay

Oh wait a minute the mid-April start date could be controversial. I seem to remember a good number of Big smb caught on Lake Erie often come very early in the month of April. We might actually have a chance this year . . . . . Fingers crossed. A-Jay

I'm in and no - I won't try to slip in one of those bass from south of the border. A-Jay

The type and size of spinnerbait you choose, is as much a matter of personal preference as it is predicated on the conditions your fishing. Each angler has baits they have success and confidence in. Until you have some success, you might be better served to simply purchase a few baits that will work in the areas you most often fish. Whether bank or boat fishing, the shallower you're fishing generally, the lighter your bait should be. Conversely, if your fishing deeper water a heavier bait might be a good choice. A white / chartreuse 3/8 ounce bait with either 2 willow leaf blades or a combination of Colorado / willow leaf blades is a good bait to start with. Something that helped me to learn how to fish a spinnerbait had to do with my approach to using the bait. I started thinking about and looking for places that I thought a bass would be holding. Like weed edges, week pockets, the shady side of a stump, the back side of a log jam, the inside/shore side of a patch of lily pads, and I started tossing the bait so that it would go very close or even better, bump right into these fishy looking places. It was like hunting. It wasn't long before, a few of these places started producing. As the bait would get close or just as it went by, a bass would shoot out and ambush the bait. Good Times. Casting accuracy plays a role here. And if you can learn to set your bait in the water either well past your target or have it enter the water softly, you'll see better results. Good Luck A-Jay

Congrats ~ If the user reviews match the hype and expectations, there is a good chance it will be replacing my unit as well. A-Jay

Well, for me - Bluegill are very good. Really Sweet tasting. Up north here, walleye, yellow perch and pike make great table fair as well. A-Jay

Ya ah, different deal I think . . . . . that was fitters not dressers. You knew that though, right ? Thanks for sharing anyway. A-Jay

Congrats ~ those are the good times for sure. Any chance there's a photo ? A-Jay

I was going to go with that one - but there was no where to store my empties. A-Jay

Heck you're half way there - at least compared to me that is ~ A-Jay

You could always fish these reels for a week by using TW's demo program. Nothing like try before you buy. A-Jay

And there ya go. A-Jay

Not as much as not having one ~ Nice Boat. A-Jay

OK - So I knew the Quanum reel wouldn't get any love at all - but the 200D is a beast. A-Jay

Something to consider is your tackle. If you have chosen to use a set up that is capable of handling the largest fish you're apt to hook in the body of water you are fishing, you have a better chance of actually landing it. An often over looked portion of your set up beyond just your rod, reel & line, includes the hardware on the lure or bait you're throwing including split rings and hooks. Sometimes anglers fish gear that is matched to the average fish they are routinely catching; not wanting to over power these bass. But when the fish of the year is hooked, the angler may be seriously under gunned and any weak link in the system has a better chance of failing. This is not to say that big fish are not landed on smaller or mid-sized tackle because we all know this is not the case. But it's something to thing about. Do you want to have fun fighting the 2-3lb fish and hope your gear stands up to the big one or do you want to be as ready as you can when that trophy is finally on the line ? I prefer to tell fish stories that include the use of a net, scale and a camera. A-Jay

I've had success with the old ball & chain when trailing a Senko. And for something different, try a Sebile Magic Swimmer Soft Pro on a Carolina rig - nice. A-Jay

First off ~ Welcome to BR ~ ! I Crank with these ~ can't go wrong with either one. A-Jay

Jeff had brought them down on his trip last year and had solid results. A Magnum Fluke as well as the 6 & 7 1/2 inch Slug-go were the trailers of choice. I had not fished this bait before that week. I was initially skeptic as the 3/0 hook seemed a little under sized for the resident fish, but we landed a high percentage of the fish we stuck on the bait; including 2 over 9lbs. After some repeated unhooking the bait needed to be retired or the fish would do it for you. A-Jay

OK - what were you travel arrangements to and from the Lake ? Did you fly in or was there over ground travel involved ? A-Jay

LOL ~ ! Might want to ease up on the Old Dude remarks Jeff, Because one of them is the Official Key Master to the Trophy Smallie Kingdom . . . . and it sure ain't me. A-Jay

Don't know where you were fishing but there is none of that at this lodge. Being Far from the border and surrounded by a massive mountain range, Lake Baccarac enjoys the security that isolation provides. A-Jay

Unfortunately the road trip is at the same time as the Pre-spawn Smallies get going on Lake Erie - So I'll be trading in my Scrounga for a Jerkbait . . . although both produced down south. A-Jay

Hang in there Boats ~ Keep your eye on the horizon, plot your course to recovery and stay positive. Both the BM's here are pulling for you. A-Jay

~ TACKLE USED ~ As this was my first trip, I brought several set ups. Turned out I didn't really need more than 2 or 3. You could fish quite comfortably with crank bait set up, A med-Hvy 7 ft fast action stick and a swimbait set up ( but that could be optional). The trees there are LINE EATERs ! If a decent fish gets you in the wood, anything less than 20 lb mono or flouro will snap instantly. The Guides all use 17 - 20 mono. I was cranking with a Lamiglas SR705R 7' Glass rod and a Calcutta 200D with 40lb 832 braid and a 20lb mono leader of either Big Game or Maxima. There was no crankbait bite to speak of so that set up didn't get much use. I threw swimbaits (Hudd 68's, 6 inch Bull Shad and Big Wild Eye swim shads) on an Okhuma Hvy swimbait rod and a Callcutta 300D loaded with 25lb big game mono. The set ups I used almost exclusively were a 7' Quantum med-hvy Tour Edition rod with a KVD Tour edition reel (6.6:1) and 20lb Maxima line - I threw a 1/2 ounce scrounger, a 1 ounce spinnerbait and a big weightless fluke with this set up. My PB came on this set up on the spinnerbait fished deep. And ~ A 6' 10" Quantum med-hvy Tour Edition rod with the KVD Tour Edition Burner reel (7.3:1) loaded with 20lb Big Game mono. I threw a LC 128 Jerkbait on this. The slightly shorter rod helped work the bait effectively. I landed a 9 1/4 on this set up with the jerkbait the last afternoon. A-Jay

Man Dwight - your 3 biggest Smallies were bigger than my 3 biggest largemouth - Until last week that is . . . . . . . A-Jay