BRONZEBACK_ADDICT

- BPS 3 inch green pumpkin tender tubes with red flake - Strike King 3.5 inch green pumpkin coffee tubes I agree that color and size is more important than the manufacturer

Sssshhh... LOL!!! I grew up on Rainy and was hooked the first time I caught a 3 lber. Now I'm on a relentless pursuit of a 5 lber!!

Has anyone tried an A-Rig for smallies? I've been reading alot about the presentation lately, but it isn't very popular up North...yet. We've all seen smallies try to rip baits out of a hooked fish when the school is fired up and actively feeding. I'm sure if an A-rig was thrown, you'd catch more than one. Or...neutral or negative fish may see what they interpret to be a school of bait swimming by which triggers them. If you've tried the A-rig, I'm curious as to what you found on the water.

Spinnerbaits in the weeds...cast past a pocket and wait for it to be crushed when it gets there!!! And boy do they pretzel it!!! Can't wait for this ice to melt!

I have an HDS 8 mounted behind a full windshield on my Ranger 620...unit works perfectly

I was having a similar issue this summer prior to fishing a tournament. I switched my crankbait rod from graphite to fibreglass with an extrafast tip and I never had a single one come unbuttoned during competetion. I never thought the rod would make such a big deal until my fishing partner suggested I switch things up. I was initially using a 6'6 med fast Crucial with 10 lb fluorocarbon...was landing about 75 percent of hook ups.

very nice!! what did you get her on??

Absolutely...Can't believe I forgot the jerkbait rod!!!

I second the spinnerbait rod...I also always have a grub rod on my deck and sometimes a fluke.

all out of stock unless you want a 51

Thanks for all the response. I should clarify that I'm not throwing into heavy cover. I'm mainly throwing onto chunk rock shoreline & points. From the advice I've been given, I think I'll start by changing out my hooks to an owner fine wire and maybe up a size. I may also try going to 10 lb test too. I'm guessing that I either missed or had fish come off on maybe 15 percent of my bites which I now realize isn't terrible. I just want to dial it in as much as possible. Again, thanks for the help.

I have a Curado 50E spooled with 8 lb flourocarbon on a 6 '6 medium light Crucial. This past week-end I was throwing sqaurebill cranks on it and caught alot of fish, but also had a couple come unbuttoned. Does anyone think that I should change to mono or use a different rod for this application? I'm throwing primarily onto rocky structure and like the sensitivity of the graphite rod. I also have a 7'3 med heavy Kistler Mg...would that be a better option or should I get a glass rod? I usually have a spinning rod in my hand, so any help is appreciated.

I agree...was prefishing for a tournament last week-end and tied on a Yamamoto swim senko and the smallies were crushing it!! I was using a greenpumpkin senko on a 1/8 oz black jig. Hope the pattern holds...

You're going to be fishing in my backyard...I'm sure that you'll love it. Depending on what mother nature does, there should be a shallow water pattern for sure. Usually by the end of July, we're catching the bigger fish in the weeds, but you'll always catch some on the rocks. I use a jerkbait, rattletrap or spinnerbait for a search bait, then work over the area again with plastics. Tubes are a good choice, as are grubs, flukes and senkos. I was out last weekend and we caught some nice smallies, all of which were post spawn. I spend alot of time on the lake, so fire me a PM when you're getting close to your trip and I'll let you know whats working for me.

A book that I found pretty good was "Big Book of Bass : Strategies for Catching Largemouth and Smallmouth" by Steve Hauge. There's alot of info including a chapter on locating smallmouth in different types and sizes of lakes, reservoirs and rivers. The electronic version of the book is available online at the Kindle Store.