webertime

1 just for the fun of fishing it? Keitech Swing Impact Fat. 1 just to flat out catch fish? Carolina Rig with a Zoom Speed Craw.

Kind of like saying.. I'm going to pick Oliva Munn up for our date should I take the Bughotti Veyron or my Singer Porsche 911?

Wait like Sam said. However if you must buy now... St Croix Mojo or Premier Cranking models are really nice. I would take a LOOOOOOOOOOONG hard look at the Lamiglas Excel 2 705G. It's modeled after one of the most highly regarded cranking rods produced in the last 15 years. $100 from TW

Spend a day throwing a 10" senkos and note the size of the bites you get. (One of my favorite baits in dirty water with a lot of fishing pressure.)

I'm going to tip toe into this. AKA random thoughts and what I could remember due to my ADD. I think we can all agree that Bass populations in different bodies of water can act very differently. Heck even the same body of water can have several population groups of Bass that behave in different manors... How they react to bait color, or overhead cover, or how they feed can vary from one population to another. Regarding the raptor effect. I believe in it 100% for fish that must live in shallow areas. My brother is a trout guide on the South Island of New Zealand. The water is clearer than you can imagine. Time and time again he's had clients show up and be in the wrong colored shirt of just make movements that are too fast and watched a "Supertanker" (8+lb trout) turn slightly to them, then swim off. This is at distances of 50+ feet, with various backgrounds behind them. A trout (or a Bass) living in shallow and clearish water will be more wary of predators above them as they don't often have hiding spots instantly available. I think bass must be able see in colors and it important to an extent. To me I have found that colors and how they create a profile in water of a given clarity is hugely important. For example I have found that a the swimbait with a darker top catches more in darker/stained water. In clear water it didn't make much of a difference what color I threw. Or when I fish a plastic craw with the tips dyed (or a lighter bottom laminent), I catch 10:1 over solid colors up here when fishing for smallies, regardless of water clarity. I have found the color itself didn't matter as much as having contrast on the bait. Maybe the blue vien that WRB mentioned in that night tournament was the same sort of thing? As Francho, pointed out if you (or I) get caught up on this level of minutia when fishing we aren't going to succeed. Occam's Razor.

Champlain's fall bite has started. Fished a team open today. My partner and I got 2nd with 24.15lbs all smallies. Jerkbait, Spybait, and Carolina Rig. The killer part is that we thought we had it in the bag. Then this older gentleman comes up... 27.77lbs... largemouths all before 10:30.

Keitech Crazy Flapper.

Hooks bent out on 2 of mine, but they were both due to 5 pound smallies.

Carolina Rig

Just got home from down south. We launched out of Chimney Point went down to the 39 Marina/ Fort Ticonderoga worked back north a bit then said screw it and ran to Button Bay for smallies. So the thing about the Smallie invasion of the south is that it was driven by the Alewifes and smallies following them. The Fall just makes them more aggressive (gotta get fat for winter). Now yesterday a front started to move through and continued through today. Thursday a few guys from the club went down to pre-fish for today's tournament. One guy got 40 on frogs in the last of the thick stuff. Another guy got an 8.5lber down there. At that point the weather had been consistent for 3-5 days, that helps the bite. Today there were 2 17lb bags 15 & 14 finished out the top 4. It was much toughe r (as you saw). In that skinny water fronts and temperature drops really turn them off/down. We found them on the outside edge of the weeds in 6-8ft and in the really thick junk in 3ft. Frogs and senkos killed it today. Look for the Coontail with clear water...

2 days before a tournament I clip my nails. Never net a Pike or Pickrel.

Fishing is about the 23rd thing on my to do list for/in Montreal. The other 22 are morally suspect. When we go up someone reads the Ranger Creed from Blackhawk Down before we cross the border. I'll check with my family up there about fishing around there.

I'd take a long look at the St Lawrence. Had a bunch of buddies fish the TBF Divisional two weeks ago. Some others fishing the BASS nation that's going on right now. They are in love with that place... these are guys who live on Champlain. That being said I live on Champlain (6 minutes from Georgia Shore launch) and it's a great place late September to 3rd week of October. Rouses Point area and the Inland Sea are the smallie hubs on this lake. The southern Champlain Largemouth bite can be real hit or miss. Be ready for any weather... this weekend is supposed to be 80, could be 50 by next weekend.

Rainman...

Cold water guys are trolling for Salmon in 70' & cracking 5lb smallies with their spoons. A guy won a pretty big tournament up here in July with smallies in 36-50'.

Champlain is in the low to mid 60's and turning over. Been super windy for the last 4 days (72 hours of 18+mph winds with gusts to 40). Smallies are getting a bit shallower, but we're still getting them over 30 feet down. Water is low too, under 95'. This makes getting into the Lamoille and Missisquoi rivers impossible. Smallies are running up those rivers in big numbers.

Go to your local walmart and see if they have any of their Daiwa Jupiters for clearance. They are the Walmart only version of the Aird. I have the 6'6" M and it is a phenominal jerkbait/topwater rod, it says "Fast Action" but it's a pretty slow "Fast". I paid like $30 for mine from the clearance isle. I saw some that were still there the last time I was in there.

Got It! Picking it up Saturday a.m.

My friend took it out and said it ran perfect. Assuming it all checks out is that a good price (I can probably get it much closer to 3K).

A guy down the street and who's a relative of a good friend has a 1988 Ranger 374V with a 150 Mercury XR4 Black Max for sale. $3500 obo. This boat is basically showroom new, the cover is even included and still shiny. The boat has 3 new batteries, tires on the trailer fuel lines and impeller. Any thoughts on this hull/boat? Any things to look out for?

Use the above mentioned molds. Get bags of the Yamamoto double skirts. Cut in half and mend-it them on.

8-10lb Yo Zuri.

BASS has been on the lower Connecticut River. Coming up here is a case where the cost of bringing the traveling circus for each organization this far from its home location, is too costly. Champlain is HUGE and a destination for millions of people a summer. It's straight up I-87. It has the infrastructure to handle tournaments of that size. Winni has the infrastructure too, but that place is known for eating lower units. Bad publicity if a pro gets jacked up on the rocks.

I love Sniper, I mean I would name my kid sniper if I could. But when you mentioned Carolina Rig I would go with Abrazx. A sinker sliding up and down banging/dragging on rocks, etc. I found sniper got nicked up way more than Abrazx. I'd go 17-20lb Abrazx, it's $20 @TW on sale right now.

You've had your hands on a Sol then, just paler versions with better handles. I've had a Sol and have a Type F, the F feels nicer to me.