bugman

Looking for opinions between power poll and Minn kota talon.

You were right about a tourny on Burt/Mullet. Lake Drive Classic held a 47 boat tourny the weekend we were there. The weather was nice about 65 and partly sunny. My dad and I decided to fish Crooked Lake to keep away from the Tourny. We did pretty good, landing some nice smallies between 3.5 and 5 lbs. We also caught a few pike, walleye and perch. The next day we fished Burt/Mullet and only landed 4 smallies but all were keepers in the 4 lbs range. Big fish for the tourny was a huge 7.27 lbs smallie. Sure would like to see her in the spring with a pound and a half of eggs in her belly. The funny thing was even with the 47 boat tourny we felt like we had the lake to our self. Both Burt and Mullet are huge lakes and can support countless boats. Not many locals smallie fish, mostly fish for walleyes and perch. I recommend trying these lakes if you get the chance. Many rocky points and flats to hold smallies. May have to give the spawn a try this comming spring. Lund EX, you were right about the gobys. The winning bait in the tourny was the poor boy dixie darter. Great goby style bait.

No, Just a weekend warrior. Thanks again

Thank you for the info. I'll post our results after we get back.

My dad and I are headed up to the Burt Lake area Sept 22nd for a little smallie fishing. We know the area well but have not fished the lakes much. We would appriciate any advice for the fall smallie bite. We plan on fishing Burt, Mullet, Black and crooket lakes. Any other lakes or info you can suggest please let me know.

How did your club turney go? My dad was at PIB and said there were many boats in and out of the bay. I was up this past weekend and did well on the north wall and the flat near Perrys monument.

Find the weeds and you can find Largemouths in the bay. The small bays off the main bay and around the marinas are your best bet. Smallies may still be on the flats but walls and drop offs may be the areas to find them. Don't count out fishing the lake. If it's calm search for structure (rocks,depth changes)in the 15-20 feet range. I fish them with my 16' 40hp all the time. I will be fishing the bay Sunday and Monday the weather looks like it should be great for both in and out of the Bay. Good Luck, Gary (Bugman)

Have you fished the local rivers? The Cuyahoga (Brecksville Dam) the Rocky River (Near the golf courses) and the Chagrin (From the lake to Chagrin Falls) all have big Smallmouths that come in from Lake Erie to spawn. Lake erie around the 55th street, 72nd street and edgewater marinas all have good bass and walley fishing.

Fished the bay with my dad and brother Sat the 30th. Jumped around many spots and ended up outside marina bay entrance drop shoting humps. Landed some nice chuncky LM & SM. Wish I would of fished the humps first and not last because that was where the best bite was. Boats that could stay on top of humps and drop shot or cast blade baits had 50+ day. Even though the sun was out the air was cold and wind made it a chore to keep over small humps. All in all we had a great time and enjoyed our first trip to the bay this year.

spread out all my bags of plastics on the basement floor and was shocked at how much I had. So I put them in piles by type. By far the craws were the biggest pile then worms from 4" to 10" were a close second. Next grubs,creacher baits, tubes,frogs and then gobys. I then put each type into gallon zip lock bags. It was at that moment I noticed my wife standing there. She didn't say a word she just turned and walked away. Damm,I hope a intervention isn't in my near future! I think I'll sort out my hard baits when she's not home. lol

A 7' M or MH Mod crank rod is what I use in most situations. I also use a 6'2" MXF for short pin point casts to weed or grass edges or clumps of pads. I like St Croix rods because they tend to have more power for the hook set than other M Xfast tip rods I've used. IMHO

I knew I could count on an quick report from you guys. Good to hear from you Leo, it's been a long cold winter can't wait to get back on the water.

Looking for a report on Erie PA. presque Isle Bay conditions. Is there still any ice in the bay? Last year I fished the lagoons the 1st week of April but this year it seems to be much colder.

Traps are great lures but I agree that the hooks need to be replaced right out of the box. Gammi #4 & #5 work best for me. The #5 can be hard to find but they don't get caught on the nose of the trap like #6 do. I also have found that about 1 out of 4 will not swim straight, but the ones that do really catch fish. Chrome/Blue and Smokey Joe are my go-to colors. That being said I find myself fishing Red Eye Shads 90% of the time.

Do you use a left handed reel for flipping & pitching and a right handed reel for other tech's? I have a RH shimano castic with a flipping switch and was thinking about using a LH curado. I tend to bump the flip switch when I plam the reel.

I have the Avid MH73 telescopic with a curado d and have no balance issues. Great multi purpose rod.

My dad lives on Lake Pierce (Polk County) not to far from Stick Marsh and the water temp is in the upper 60's. The water in L.P. is very stained and it is hard to see bed's but with the temps reaching 70 the big girls should be coming in shallow soon. He has had some luck throwing weightless plastics around pads but mostly hooking smaller bass. I'm heading down on the 16th and with water temps right for the spawn and coming into a full moon my expectations are high. good luck with your trip to S.M.

Thank you to everyone who replied to my question on jigs. I'm not new to bass fishing but I am new to jig fishing and appreciate the help. I should have figured out on my own that jig fishing is no different than most other forms of baits in that the fisherman must look at the many conditions then choose the right bait and approach for those conditions. Here in Northeast Ohio winter is a time for education and organizing and cleaning equipment. 2011 is the year that I plan on learning to fish the jig and I await the spring thaw.

Sam, Thanks for taking the time to offer such a detailed reply. You referred to the casting jig as a "regular jig" and I guess that is were my confusion stems from. When I think of a "regular jig" I picture a jig n pig Arkie style jig that is used when pitching and flipping. I was looking at jigs labeled "casting" and "swimming" they seemed to have pointed heads that should come through weeds without getting hung up. If I understand you I think you are saying that casting jigs are a multi purpose jig and swimming, flipping and grass jigs are for specific situations.

What are the differences between a casting jig and a swim jig? what situations would you use each over the other?

I have fished 4" floating Roboworms and Goby shaped soft baits with good results but would like to know what your favorite drop shot bait is for both smallmouths & largemouth.

My favofite way to fish a chatterbait is skirtless with a fluke trailer. I will use this setup as soon as I see bass feeding on shad this fall.

I have one more question. Along with the Hot & ground wire is a yellow wire that is for a switch on the dash. I only have three switches on my dash that are being used for lights bilage ect... Do I need a switch to turn the structure scan off so I don't drain the battery when the boat is not in use? Or will the structurescan power down when I turn the HDS 7 off?

thanks It's strange that this information is not in the install guide.

Just ordered a HDS 7 and structurescan and would like to know if you use both transducers or just the one that came with the structurescan?