A-Jay

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ If the hook is sharp & it matches the rest of your gear (including the proper hook size for the bait ) - it's hard to understand what the problem is. Might not be the hook - A-Jay

Well, we both know that's not going to happen . . . . . . Some Humans in that part of the country have No Respect for the woods - at all. I left there in 1977 - it was bad then - I can only imagine what it looks like now . . . Get out while you can . . . . . A-Jay

I have the Dual Pro 4 Bank It's being used to rejuvenate 4 mod 31 Optima Blue tops to include the Cranker - Couldn't be happier. Do it and you will too. A-Jay

Hello Eric and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ A-Jay

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ I grew up in Mass (Middlesex County) and fished Harold Parker State Forest as a boy. Moved since then but your post brought back fond memories. Good Luck A-Jay

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ A-Jay

To the OP: Working Part time is not really quite retired - you are still on someone else's clock. Retirement puts you on your clock. It should look like this . . . Things change dramatically at that point. btw - when if comes to fishing after my retirement ~ I follow the @Wayne P. protocol . . A-Jay

Hello Dylan and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ A-Jay

Thank you my friend - that's the "Original" Talon A-Jay

Nice one Mr. "I must have forgotten my Life Jacket" ~ C'mon Man - help set the standard. A-Jay

As long as I can make at least one trip south of the border - I think we'll be OK ~ A-Jay

Took the Old Town canoe out onto one of the smaller SMB lakes close to home last week. It’s a fan favorite mostly because it gets little fishing pressure & there’s a healthy population of very decent & routinely cooperative fish there. It was a cooler morning with air temps about 40 and water temps in the mid to high 50’s. A partly cloudy sky was accompanied by a seasonable North wind. The sun would pop in & out a few times which had me taking clothes off and then putting them back on when the clouds rolled back in. You know the drill. The first few hours of the morning were very slow, uncharacteristically slow in fact. And I was pretty surprised because I’d done well here in similar conditions. But after too long, I figured out what my problem was and it was definitely My Problem. With the air temps in the 40’s & the water temps in the high 50’s I was fishing “Wrong” and the bass were telling me so, and under no uncertain terms. In fact they were screaming it at me – by NO Bites. But I wasn’t listening. For whatever reason, I had chosen to fish presentations for much colder water, because the air was cold. DUH ~ I was throwing a blade bait and dragging a tube, and bouncing a lipless bait – out in deeper water. Where the fish WILL BE when the WATER TEMPS are in the 40’s - but they are not there now. After a while I thought “Man, I am fishing totally wrong, too deep & Too slow” I needed to fish the conditions not the Calendar. And I knew better but that’s what happened. Anyway, I tied on a mid-depth crawfish imitation crankbait and went to work focusing on the 8 – 12 ft zone of inside turns and the edges & tops of wind-blown drops – Boom. Fish came early & often. You’ll see the first one if you watch the video – I look disgusted & disappointed that I pretty much wasted the first half of the day fishing. Ended up being a very nice afternoon that included many keeper sized smallies & one or two a bit bigger fish. They were all fun and after my slow start I did appreciate each & every one. So there it is, my first Canoe trip in a while. It was nice to get out in the rig and tool around a little. Don’t know when or even if I’ll have that opportunity again this season, but I certainly enjoyed this one. After that, we’ll have wait & see what happens. Here’s some video & a pic documenting the day. A-Jay

A-Jay

Nice ~ Sorry about the head aches. A-Jay

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ A-Jay

Thank You Sir ~ I did that last winter and ended up with one of these ~ A-Jay

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ Good Luck on your trip and please send my best to The Scrooges. A-Jay

VERY NICE ~ And Before Work ? If that was me, Good Luck trying to get the eternal & Silly Ronald McDonald Grin I'd have plastered on, off my face ! A-Jay

Hello Alex and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ A-Jay

For that type pf bait (open hook on a small jig head or a super fluke Jr. on a thin wire/standard ewg hook in open water to light cover) I use a St Croix LTB rod. And I do like it quite a bit. It's the TBS71MF / PLASTICS Spinning Rod. It's rated as a Medium power Fast action rod and does what I need it to in that situation. Btw, I used a light braid & nylon leader right there. The next rod up in this line is the TBS71MHF / POWER SPIN; rated as MH & Fast. I do not own that stick and really do not need it as asy presentations I'd be making in that rods rated range I'd be throwing revolving spool gear. http://stcroixrods.com/products/freshwater/legend-tournament-bass A-Jay

First off, HUGE Fan of Short shank (slightly over-sized) trebles, - insert Mustad KVD 1x strong 2x short Elite. For me, when throwing treble hook baits, there needs to be some give in the system some where. More for small trebles less for larger trebles & / or ripping through grass (which I do a ton of). There are various ways to accomplish this. I do it a few different ways; with a composite rod & braid (sometimes nylon) line or with a graphite rod & nylon line or a Glass Rod & braid. Rod action (medium, or medium heavy) usually depends on the bait weight. Your mileage can & probably will vary. A-Jay

It's all good. A-Jay

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ Regardless of the tackle used - Presenting live or artificial baits to potentially 15 pound hard fighting fish in heavy cover requires tackle that can handle the best fish you hope to catch. 10 - 15 lb line seems under powered to me. I'd go braid, minimum 30 lb. As mentioned braid lacks abrasion resistance but that is in reference to hard cover, ie. rocks, dock or bridge pilings, and certain tree branches & stumps. So a mono or fluorocarbon leader is a good choice. I'd recommend Maxima Ultragreen, great mono especially for leader material that's reasonably priced. In vegetation, grass, pads, reeds etc, no leader is usually needed, Straight braid will cut through that stuff where nylon line seems to bind up - not good for big fish extraction. Good Luck & I'm looking forward to seeing some great Big Fish Pictures. A-Jay

Did I miss something ? A-Jay

I'd Forget looking deep now. It's October Man, the fish should be moving or are probably shallower - following the bait. Developing a plan of attack according to the water temp can help. If the water temps are between 60 - 45, fish a close to the bottom, horizontal / moving type presentation you have confidence in. Often times they can be found relating to the same areas / banks where they spawned at. The baits speed may need to be adjusted according to the mood of the fish. May have to go back deep later but fishing where you have been, I'm betting the best bite is behind you. Give it a try, you can get skunked anywhere, what do you have to loose . . . A-Jay