bronzewb22

Anyone tried the VMC Spinshot hooks? seems like a brilliant idea but ive read reviews saying they result in a worse hookup ratio than normal dropshot hooks. Some have even claimed that the action of their baits isnt as realistic. Anyone fished these yet? -Lucas

Thanks so much to all of these suggestions. I'll be stocking up from *** soon, and am looking into the vmc spinshots. Has anyone had problems with the bait action and/or setting the hook while using spinshots? thats my only concern really

I got hooked on smallies when i first fished for largemouth (after 2 years of hunting exclusively smallmouth in western maine). Smallmouth have a much much better fight and present more of a challenge in my opinion. Furthermore, I think smallmouth fishing brings you to much more pristine and scenic areas.

I just recently bought a new dropshot setup and have been using it for largemouth in clear, eastern massachusetts lakes and ponds. I have a 7'2" shimano cumara paired with a shimano stradic ci4 2500. Its spooled up with 6lb maxima flouro. Ive had great success with roboworms, zippers, and flukes in just about every color, but i know from past experience that i will likely need to downsize and throw some less conspicuous baits to the smallies i plan to fish in western maine. I have extensive experience with smallmouth, but have never dropshotted for them. Any suggestions as to which baits are most productive? Ive been wondering about the new missile craws, or any dropshot specific craw imitations, but dont know where to start. Ill be fishing rock piles in 3-30 feet of crystal clear water.

I'm a lefty so i was disappointed to see that all of shimano's newest crankbait reels have no left handed retrieve. I have chosen to get the older shimano curado 201 DPV considering that it is cheaper and has a left handed retrieve. I've heard great things about this reel and was wondering if anyone has used it. Thanks for responding.

Natural colors. CRAWFISH.

Probably the prettiest girl i've ever seen. Shes got hardly a scratch or torn fin on her. beautiful. up in western maine we catch 'em like that all the time.

Has anyone tried the worden's timber tiger (any model), I've heard that its an exceptional bait and was thinking about buying a few for big smallies this summer. Any opinions?

Although i do enjoy blasting skynyrd as much as the next smallie fishermen, ive found that when i really need a bite, it pays to listen. Sometimes you'll miss a splash next to the boat or be to engrossed in the music to notice something jumping near the bank. That could have been the fish of a lifetime.

I agree completely. I just found a G. Loomis GLX Crankbait rod for a great price and have been working on trying to get a good lefty cranking reel. I've never been a fan of daiwa but their Zillion crazy cranker has a lefty retrieve. other than that, all of the shimano reels, (especially the new chronarch which i wanted so badly) seem to only have high speed ratios on lefty reel. life is tough,

Pflueger Patriarch Shimano Chronarch D and Curado E in 5.0:1 ratio for cranking

agreed. >

Im a righty. but for some reason i cannot crank a spinning or baitcasting reel righty and it becomes frustrating because some reel companies dont make left handed models. does anyone else seem to have this predicament?

I do not agree with a ten fish limit. I think that 5 is as far as you can go because there is always the chance of the livewell screwing up. A good example is my uncles $40,000 nitro. You would think that for that kind of money, he would have a livewell that can keep a few fish alive for a day. Apparently 3 fish was too much and we were lucky to have noticed in time because we were barely able to revive and release them. It would be a shame for 10 beautiful fish to die like that.

I don't personally dont use them, but my grandfather began fishing in the late 30's and has been using mostly flatfish, (but also daredevils and most of the other baits that you listed) for smallmouth bass in western maine. I've found that i catch a lot more fish than him (on our lake an average smallie is about 3-3 1/2 lbs), but he is always the one to land the elusive 6 or 7 pounder every summer. Seems like those flatfish really do work with patience.