Phish

I'm happy you're not fishing anywhere near my home waters.

That's my go-to drop shot bait. Can't get enough of them. Great do-nothing neutral bouyancy on the DS. I think they're actually pretty popular for both methods, plus wacky style in place of things like Jackall Flick Shake. Wish I could buy them in bulk. And some colors are always sold out so they must be pretty popular. Reaction Innovations is one of my favorites period, and the Flirt is one of a few baits for which I haven't found an equal in a custom poured version.

I always find these kinds of posts amusing. The Senko is the simplest, most basic bait to replicate out of any plastic I've ever seen. There's nothing magic or amazing about Yamamotos plastic that make it outfish other version. I believe it's about a balance of salt content and plastic / plastic softener. There are dozens of molds, and thousands of custom hand poured baits out there. Do a Googe search, and find a custom bait site, then experiment . If it's a confidence thing, that's cool. We all have our confidence baits. But why not test some yourselves? For $3 you could just try a pack of custom pours and gradually learn that maybe there are equals out there at half the cost. If not, then you haven't lost much. I've been buying knockoffs by the 50-100 count bag at a fraction of the price for years. About 8 years ago I stocked up on a version that crushed the original senko (Best Bass Baits) in my experience. It was 25-50% thicker, for a great fall rate and incredible increase in casting distance. I must have bought 1000 of those, and I'm finally down to my last 100 or so. Unfortunately, that custom pourer quit selling - took up too much personal time I guess. Wish I could find that mold he used. Yum Dingers are too lite for my taste in most scenarios, but I do have some success with them on the drop shot. Sometimes that slower sink rate is better.

I'm in the area. By far the best fishing all year is Lake Erie, but that's a 2-hour drive. If you're looking to get out on a boat, there's a great boat rental there called Port Erie Sports. They rent 14' aluminums w/ 9.9s for about $100 a day. Larger boats as well, but that's the best choice econimically speaking. Gotta be careful on the main lake, and even Presque Isle Bay kicks up, but it's doable in that 14'. You can also shore fish PIB most of the year and find some bass, I've caught plenty of 3#+ LM and SM from shore, there are many spots to hit. The North Pier is probably your best bet now, especially for deeper waterThere are plenty of camp grounds in the area, I can PM you some sites if you like. I personally stay in cabins and hotels for multi-day trips. Just got back from a week stay in the general area. Closer to Pittsburgh - I'm still searching for "great" bass fishing. The 3 rivers can definitely offer some nice days in the spring and fall for smallies, but average fish is about 12" for me. Rarely break 2 1/4 pounds - but I'm typically shore fishing and pretty limited. I have had a few nicer bass and read a few times about a few trophies in sping. I typically fish the Allegheny north of the city. And it sounds like the further north you go, the better the fishing can be - less people, boats, bigger smallies getting about 1 hour north. Used to fish the Mon on the South Side 10-15 years ago and had some great days - 30+ smallies a day from shore. But access is limited now to my former spots thanks to development along 2nd Ave. Some other options to consider (I've never had a great day on Lake Arthur): Cross Creek Lake about 1 hour away (boat rentals nearby), Conneaught and Edinboro Lakes, Sugar Lake is tiny but I've caught some nice bass there - need a boat I think. Honestly, anywhere but the rivers and creeks I don't bother with if I don't have a boat. I'm sure there are some smaller community lakes that can yield a lot of fishing on a good day from shore, but I don't have much experience. North Park for example. Lake Arthur I read a lot about, people wade and fish at night. I've shore fished it at night a few times. Lots of stripers or wipers, not many LM for me.

Hard to imagine much of a law suit there. I just tried to find their website and appears to be offline or no longer hosted.

In SW PA. I'm one of the only ones in my group of friends, and family, that fishes, period. I'm the oddball by far, not sure how it happened. Most friends are "yuppies" who will only golf and go to sporting events or concerts for the most part. I've got a few friends that will go fishing here and there, but I'm the only obssesed bass fisherman. I fish Erie a lot and it seems even there (PA section), 90% of the fishing boats I see are targetting Perch or Walleye. It doesn't even seem like people fish for fun or sport, it's all about catching limits for food. Even the trout folks I'm acquainted with only seem interested in fish as "food." Fine by me, but I do wish I knew more people willing to drop everything and spend a weekend chasing smallies. Or a whole week's vacation, as I try to do.

Are you losing fish, or just not hooking them at all? Big difference, as they definitely could be smaller fish that nibble but don't get the entire lure. I've caught most of my fish the last two years on the drop shot. I went through an interesting learning curve. I've now been through 3 spinning rods (and tried it on a few baitcasters) and I've settled on a great spinning combo. I've been through 5-6 different lines, Fluoro, Mono and braid. I've settled on a 10# braid with a long 8# fluoro leader, using crazy Alberto / modified Albright knot connection. So far, I really dig it. Regarding hook sets - I lost a much higher percentage of fish the first year, trying to use the common reel set on really light fluro - no real hook set, with the tiny size 2 and 1 gamakatsu d-shot hooks. I lost my 3 biggest fish on Erie, all likely over 5#. I had a few break off too (need to retie so often on light fluoro). Pretty discouraging. So I experimented. Important to note - I mostly fish d-shot in non-traditional situations - shallow to mid depth around cover, so I skin hook or burry the hook. I've since changed from the tiny gamakatsus to larger Owners - 1/O, 2/O. I've also started setting my drag lighter to allow for real hook sets (not home run swings, but a good half power set). I've seen great improvement in the percentages landed vs. lost. Not one break so far. I'm still not settled on hooks. These Owners seem to have the hook point roll on the slightest snag, or after just a few fish they seem to dull a bit. I miss the Gamie's sharpness and durability. I'll probably try larger Gamakatsus next, perhaps circle hooks. If I were fishing deep water, traditional exposed hook on ultralight line, then I'd probably need to go to a much light hook set.

A picture fish for me is any bass I guess to be over 3. But even 1.5-2 pound smallies can feel much bigger and get me pumped until I can see them (still very happy to catch them).

That sounds like a good trip, I experience pretty much the same thing - most are fishing for perch, or anything they can fillet and fry. Less pressure for the bass for the most part. I experience the same thing by boat. Most people going for perch and walleye, but there are always a dozen or so bass boats between the Bay and the first few miles of the main lake from the Bay channel. When you refer to Perry Marina - do you mean the area of Misery Bay not far from the Monument, where the public tour ferry docks? Also curious if you fish the lagoons at all or Presque Isle Marina (the main private marina where the fueling station is). I always venture back there by boat, but it's been dead that last few trip I've taken in June and July.

Not sure if you went up yet, but shore fishing has been tough from what I've read. I fished the bay a little by boat over a week ago, and it was pretty choked up with weeds and vegetation. Not just weed growth, but weeds and slop floating on the water, which was a pain. It's much worse the further back you go into the Bay. I was able to get on the main lake and did pretty well despite the heat. I would highly recommend renting a boat from http://porteriesports.com/index.html or another place, if there are any others. You can rent from the boat livery in the lagoons, but their hours aren't as favorable for fishing, and they often are late to open. Several times they tried to convince me none of their motors were working. Every time I just say I drove 2 hours to fish there, please let me try one. And every time, they work just fine. Port Erie on the other hand was very accommodating and had decent rates and much better hours (7am-8:30pm). Anyway, I guess there aren't many tips here. But if you don't go out in a boat - I have had some experience shore fishing the Bay in the past. There are a few other spots in addition to the piers. You can get on the city side pier as well, but the channel/piers supposedly have been slow based on reports. You can fish from both Niagra launch, the ferry launch and several parking lot areas right near the entrance to Presque Isle. I usually start at about the 3rd lot on the rock piles. If the weeds aren't too thick, or you can find the edge of the weed line, you can get plenty of decent bass early, but I've mostly done that in the spring. In fact shore fishing the bay in the spring can be great. Once that water breaks 70 and post spawn dies off, it's tough. Also, try each of the launch areas just for a bit. At the Ferry launch, there are tons of thick weedy areas. Drop a weedless (T-rigged) Senko type bait in the holes in the weeds. Or try a weedless fluke. Plenty of large mouth to catch in this area. Just need to know how to fish this junk. I'm sure a punch rig would work in the really thick stuff. Again I never spend much time in any spot. If you're not producing much in about 20-30 minutes, I'd move. There are plenty of areas to try. The monument can be good too in the spring, but I fished it by boat last week and that whole area was very slow. Very choked out with weeds too, but if you can fish the top, a torpedo will bring a few up for sure. All depends how much junk is on the water. Might be better off with a weedless frog early in the a.m. If you are fishing the piers, I'd run a tube or grub all along the sea walls out there. There are several drop offs in the channel there, if you fish parallel close to the wall, you'll pick up a few. Can probably still find some smallies there as well regardless of the time of year. Hope this helps... if you haven't already gone yet!