Cade Laufenberg

its hard to say, you aren't holding it way out like a lot of people do ;D It looks like a 4-1/2 to 5 to me, but its really hard to say , pictures are tough.

Thanks everyone! the fishing really has been unreal this year. Its only getting better every year. I fished by myself tonight in similar areas, trying to expand off my pattern. The fish are stacking up on rock points that create an eddy in the current, chasing bait and feeding up. I did catch a few today that were definitely still on the beds, but most were spawned out. I'm sorry for no pictures, I would have got a bump board pic of the 4 lber I caught today, but she was slightly tounge hooked, bleeding, and I just wanted to get her back safely. Overall another awesome night. I caught 30+ Largemouth, 9 keepers and my best 5 a little under 16 lbs. I only had one fish in my limit under 3 lbs, and it was just barely under that mark.

Got out last night again...The fish are in pretty much all stages right now, but the majority are post spawn. The spawn fish i've been catching have been the smaller 14-17" fish, while the post spawners I've had better luck for the bigger fish. I had to work for my keepers last night in my 4-1/2 hours of fishing, but managed 6 keepers and about 30 in the 10 to 13-1/2" range. My best 5 were 14 lbs held down by a 3+ lber and a 19-1/2" spawned out pig. After dark i ended up accidentally catching a 23" and 27" walleye! The picture of the 27" didn't really turn out worth a crap, but it was still sweet. I hope everyone else is having a good year. Now that these fish are post spawn, the time of year when I excel, it's going to be a slugfest. I get out of school in 2 weeks and I CANNOT wait to start getting on the summer grass patterns. I'll keep you updated. -Cade

Thanks guys. My friend and I got out last night for a bit and ended up fishing some new water. The pattern for these smallies is starting to come together. Points with moderate current adjacent to spawning areas are holding good fish. And gravel points or scattered rock IN spawning areas or very close to are also producing good fish. I use a swim jig for the shallow points with current, and a shakey head for those isolated rock bars. It's starting to become rather predictable. Here is me with a solid 3+ smallie and my friend stuck a 4 lber out of the back of my boat. Hate it when that happens!! ;D ;D

I had a good outing On saturday fishing the Mississippi River. The largemouth I've been catching shrunk on me, and it seemed like a lot of fish are starting to move to spawning areas. I think i was catching the males. This happened to me last year, and it was a frustrating time. however, catching a limit of solid 2-3 lb males and then hitting prespawn locations can be very productive. That's just what my plan was on saturday. I stuck around 9 lbs for 4 fish in the shallow areas using a swim jig. After that I moved out to a gravel point where the smallies load in the spring, and was able to connect with a behemoth. I was fishing with a shakey head with 8 lb test when I set hook into the biggest smallie I've ever caught. After a long and dramatic fight i put the fish in the boat and measured it to be 20-1/2 inches long. I'm guessing this fish will weigh around 5+ lbs. At that point I was feeling pretty good about my day. I had 14 lbs and was looking for another kicker fish to improve my limit. A couple hours later I connected with a solid 18" plus largemouth that kicked the weight over 16 lbs. Not to shabby. I would have cashed a solid check in the BFL last weekend. Needless to say I can't wait to get back in the boat after school today!! ;D Here is the new pb smallie!!

Hey Scott. yeah the pic is at Clinton St. and I've done almost all of my bass fishing on pool 8 this year. I did go down to pool 9 a couple times when there was still ice but no results. Sorry to hear you didn't do so well, but You'll get on 'em!

my buddy and I went out again today, and had a real good day on the water. We caught a lot of good fish. We were a little surprised/bummed when we found out we could have landed a top 3 spot in the 50+ boat tournament that took place today. Our 8 fish limit was in the 24-25 lb range with the winning weight being 26. I caught a few good ones but my friend really cracked them today behind me, he had 15-1/2 lbs while I only raked in 11-3/4 lbs. All in all, still a great time. First 2 pics are me, 2nd two pics are my friend.

well, it sure has been a long winter for me. The ice in the backwaters on the river just went out a few weeks ago. Last year we experienced ice out in Late march, and that extra couple of weeks it took this year was a real killer!! I had a tournament last Sunday and at that time we had water temps ranging from 46-53 degrees and a very tough bite due to fluctuating water levels. My partner and I fished as hard as we could and salvaged 4 keepers from wood and grass banks for 7.93 lbs. We ended up taking 3rd place, which is truly rare this time of year on the river, where weights should be up around the 27-28 lb mark (7 fish limit) This week we had some really beautiful weather that helped the water temps a lot, and it really made a big difference in the fishing. The water temp is now 57-59 with a couple areas over 60 degrees. The warmest I've found was 66, but no fish in that area. The best pattern working for me is flipping banks with isolated wood and rock in 3-6 ft of water. The fish are constantly replenishing so you can make multiple passes on the same wood and continue to catch fish. Its really a lot of fun. No 5's yet this year but a few 3 lbers and a couple near 4 to keep things fun. My best 5 last night were a little over 13 lbs, so things are starting to look up. here are some pics: 7.93 my friend Justin with a good one! Another Here's me with a 2-1/4 lber..average fish a near 4 lber from last night. Thanks, Cade

its refreshing to be above zero isn't it??? 6-8 degrees today was easier breathing than waking up to -22 yesterday... Hard to believe that you're freezing in 80 degrees warmer weather than me! lol.. nice job catching some anyway, gotta love the open water!

Those are some cool pictures. I have been waiting patiently for a spell of 20 degree days so this one place opens up and I can go cast some lures. Its always open, ..wait I guess not always, since it's frozen now :-[ -22 yesterday morning. Truck was a bear to start. Sorry, but 27 degrees..you guys are killing me!! it got up around 6 today Sweating buckets out there!!

Well The only way I'm going to make that work is with the help of a warm spell. I'm obsessed with ice fishing so in a lot of ways I hope that that doesn't happen. Last December into January we had a lot of open water on pool 8, and I chose to take the boat to get on some secluded ice areas. I should have fished smallies, I know they would have been biting, but at the time I did not. if we get another warm up like that, I'm hoping to knock it out of the way. Otherwise, pool 4 usually has open water throughout winter because of a power plant that is north of the dam.

Nope..without a drivers license (not yet) and parents who don't travel much, It's been pretty hard for me to get some reps in on other bodys of water. I've fished the river and that's about it. I put in quite a few hours on Lake Nagawicka over by Milwaukee but only because that is where the state tournament was. I wouldn't recomend that lake to an enemy..I'm sure it can be good but wow, 1 fish for 3.13 won the tournament, I had 4th with a 1.52. There are some big smallies in there but they seem tight lipped. I missed a toad on a grassline that would have won me the tournament. I get my license in January, and I'll be traveling a lot more. I'll have to keep that lake in mind, thanks.

Stoddard Smallies..now those are a treat. when they're in there, its a hoot. I usually travel down to Stoddard in late June through July when the largemouth are going nuts. I caught so many 3-4 lbers out of the slop down there this year, as well as won some cash in tournaments using that area. It's an awesome area, why'd ya move?!?! ;D

That is correct Russ. I was thinking the same thing..RW must have been describing a lake with a channel that runs through it maybe? But yeah on the river there is no difference between the two, they are just for navigational purposes..They can mark hazzards though, as most wing dams have a buoy on the tip so barges are in no danger of running into them. Even though many of the wingdams can be run over with an outboard (not all!) a barge would be in a MESS of trouble if it crashed into one. Personally I could almost wish that would happen. We need more wingdams with holes in them! ;D I only know of one wingdam with a hole in it, and it is the best wingdam I have ever fished, the fish position themselves on that current edge. Well enough of me rambling...

one more thing..5lb..is your scale broken? Maybe it's just me, i haven't seen a LARGEMOUTH over 3 lbs in quite a while..But that thing looks nicer than 3-10 to me Nice fish!

You guys are all wimps ;D have you ever experienced a high of a negative number??? The bass might be scattered in the mid winter for you guys, but look at it this way...you're dressing like i have to dress in mid october... ;D

one thing to keep in mind is that these fish are naturally attracted to the wingdams because they create a habbitat that is ideal for the smallmouth. However, there are other alternatives. The main idea is that these structures block current. Sharp breaks and humps will create the same effect in rivers that don't have wingdams. Lake smallmouth, now I'm not exactly sure how that would be, but I would imagine that they are going to use similar structures that funnel them into the deep water. in earlier fall they will sit on humps that come up into shallower water and sit on top of them. Later in the fall they are going to move off the sides and fall back into that deeper water and likely suspend too. wood or gravel/rock is going to be a big plus. They don't often suspend in the river because of the current factor.

Thanks Everyone!! I've been very sad the last two outings, as the water temperature is down to 37 degrees, and the wind is making it extremely hard to put my bait in front of these fish. Last sunday I caught 3 keepers and a short before the wind picked up and I had to head for backwaters..Today It was only 9:30 and the wind was already wippin at 20 mph..I couldn't even fish this stuff. I hope on Saturday its a little more calm. We are experiencing a cold snap sort of right now..Its been spitting some snow at us, and is going to probably change my tactics a bit for the weekend. I'm sure the water temp will read 35 degrees or so by then. My goal is to catch a bass (large or smallmouth) in open water in the Mississippi River (or any wisconsin lake that isn't power plant lake) in every month of the year in open water. That is going to be extremely tough to do considering we experience a hard freeze every year obviously. But with our good old "global warming," each Ice season has been more dynamic and I think I have a shot this year at getting out a couple times in Jan. and even Feb. and chasing these pigs some more. All I need to complete my goal is a fish in Dec., Jan., and Feb. Wish me luck!! ;D

Now, I've never caught a spotted bass before, so please don't hate on my (possible) ignorance ;D... But, that to me looks seriously like a smallmouth bass on the head...And then more largemouth/spot characteristics on the body. Do all spots look like that? Because I would have otherwise wondered if this was maybe one of the little mentioned "Mean Mouth" bass that have been talked about before? Again, Never caught a spot, don't know if that's typical to have those facial markings.

Here is an article that I just wrote on Late Fall River Smallmouth Bass fishing. For those unfamiliar with the terms used in the article such as "Wing Dams" or the "main channel" let me just give you some imagery on what these things are. Wingdams are submerged (or in some cases out of the water) rock structures that are put in place to regulate the current into a controled area which controls sediment deposit, depth, etc. in a river system. The main channel is a set of bouys (red on right going north, green on left) where barges and other comercial boat traffic travel. It is the safest place to travel the river, and is garunteed to be 9 feet deep. I hope this clarifies things for some that may be unfamilar to fishing on a very large river system. The one that is refered to in this article is the Mississippi River. As you may know, this is my home water. I fish on pool 8, and pools are defined as the sections of water between two dams. Here is a link to the article, enjoy the read, and please let me know what you think!!! http://www.futurebass.com/articles/artmisssmalie.htm Thanks, Cade Laufenberg

pools 7, 8, 9, and 5a could all be considered trophy smallie fisheries, especially 5a. That second picture I have to admit makes the fish look bigger than she really was, however it was still 5 to 5-1/4 lbs easy. Another big thing is the time of year..You just don't catch a 20 lb sack of smallies in the summer ;D I've never fished pool 11, or 10 really either for that matter, But I'll bet if you get out on the wingdams down there, you'll find the same results. Make sure you locate the wingdams with deep holes on them, you'll probably find a few wintering smallmouth nearby! Check out this article that I wrote for a complete run down of what I'm doing... http://www.futurebass.com/articles/artmisssmalie.htm

Cool! some fellow packers fans! Tell me about the game, was it sweet? I was too busy whacking the smallies!!! ;D I did listen to it on the radio..I'm so pumped...Its just stupid that we had to go and loose to the bears..it doesn't really matter that much but common guys have some pride!! I agree beat the cowboy's and it might be the pack vs the pats before you know it..

Hair jigs, tubes, and a drop shot would be on my line up in deep water. If I were you (since nowhere in the country that i know of has ice yet), I would get out there RIGHT NOW and the coming weeks and see if you can find their wintering areas. Especially look for those ones adjacent to spawning flats... Then, When your tournament time comes, check the wintering areas, and if they aren't still wintering, check the shelves that come up to your spawning flats. Heck depending on the time there could even be some fish in the spawning areas, but it sounds like that would be unlikely with ice being potentially just days from the tournament. An especially good area would be a long point with gravel or sand present, leading up to a spawning flat, with the deep wintering hole off one of the sides or on the end . This way they can move up and down the point to feed and drop off into their wintering areas, finally using the point to navigate their way to spawn, and many fish may dump their eggs on the gravel on the point itself. Remember, smallies sometimes spawn in 10-15 ft of water. It is my opinion that the largest fish in a lake or any body of water, will position themselves in a small area or secition of a lake, that gives them everything they need. If they have areas to spend their winter, spring, summer, and fall, you have an area with extremely high potential. Huge fish will always be on the prime places of the lake, and I believe that more than just a sacred looking brush pile, you need seasonal structure in the mix to make your spots good. If you can find where most of the fish in the lake spend a certain season, i think if you do some hard thinking you will discover where they spend the rest of their year too. Of course some fish travel long distances to other areas, but certainly not all if they don't have to. Keep that in mind. I don't know your lake, but take some time to get to know it this late fall..And one last parting suggestion...buy some ice rods- MH..spool 'em up with 4-6 lb trilene micro ice, tie on a swedish pimple or even try open water stuff like tube jigs, and get out there and go at it! Bring an underwater camera, flasher, or both out on the ice and see if you can mark/locate these fish. I bet you'll have a blast following them all winter, and right up until ice out before you hit 'em hard! Good luck, Cade

same here..in the summer anyway. Right now's a different story...they winter in that water man! As for the cranks...Rapala SHAD RAPS....nobody has said that yet. They have a profile that both largemouth and smallmouth love..but especially smallmouth. Can't leave out cotton cordel's famous line of Wally divers. Don't know if they are a nation wide thing or more of an "up north" walleye fishing thing..but they put the smack on the big smallies!! When I think cranks, i think skinny. Longer, skinnier baits seem to draw the best attention from smallies. Not that they won't eat any other crank, this is just what I have found and have tramendous confidence in.

Sam, What kind of hooks are you using for this? I use a very small octopus hook and noze hook the bait. If I set the hook hard its usually a miss every time. I usually simply pull and reel and it burries the hook into the corner of the fishes mouth..kind of like a circle hook. however I can see if you are using longer straight shank hooks or even worm hooks, a hook set could definitely be necessary. Let me know. Thanks, Cade