rmcguirk

Nope. You read my post correctly -- mine from last Sunday was 4.14, meaning about 4lbs 2oz, not 4lbs 14oz. You've got the lead.

20 minutes, 7 fish with best 5 at 19 lbs? Yikes!

I was out on Deep Pond tonight. Caught a nice pike, nice for there at about 28 inches. I was in my yak, so I didn't take the time to measure. He really choked down a lipless crank. More generally, I don't think that there are any smallies in the entire park. It is about 5 minutes from my house and I'm generally on one of those ponds an average of at least once per week for the last 6 years -- far more before finally buying a boat last year. I've never caught a smallie there. For some reason, I generally have better luck with LM, so I could be wrong. Here's my general review of the ponds. 100 Acre Pond gets to almost 10 feet in a few spots, primarily in one hole in the cove in the southwest corner. There is also a spot in the dead middle of the lake that's about 9+ ft. But for the most part the water is 4-7 ft. Deep Pond gets to 33-35 feet, in most of the middle. There must be a serious thermocline, though, as I don't think I've ever marked a fish below 20 ft. All around the edge, there is a great drop off from 10-12 ft to about 20 ft. There is also an interesting point jutting out from the southeast corner towards the middle of the lake. Round Pond is neat. It goes to about 30 ft For most of it, there is an odd "shelf" coming off the shore. Not sure what it is made of, but bass hide underneath. The southeast corner also has a small flat, with a tapered slope into deeper water. There is usually a beaver den on the east shore (don't get too close, as they get pretty ticked off). There is also a small connecting creek to another, smaller, perfectly round pond. That one is quite deep for its size, running to at least 20 ft. Winter 2010-2011, there must have been a pretty big winter kill on 100 Acre. It went from being a decent bass hole (catching several a night from 6:00-dark, with fish up to 4lb or so) to dead from summer 2011 to late summer 2012. (During which time I really spent a lot of time on Deep Pond.) By the end of summer 2012, bass started making a decent comeback, with good numbers of 12 inch or so fish. My gut sense is that the pike have been increasing in numbers there, and the tough winter of 2010-2011 exacerbated that "problem." Personally, I don't mind pike, but I much prefer bass. Anyway, those are my thoughts on the park. Rick

Congrats. Beautiful fish. Unlike that fine looking specimen, Often, when you see a pic of a DD, it looks kind of tattered and discolored.

Great video!

Well, I got you beat with a SM, if only by a little. Picked this guy up on the south end of Conesus. Pretty much in the exact same spot as yesterday. I was smart enough to got to DSG last night and exchange the scales, so at least I have a weight tonight. This guy measured a hair over 19 inches and the scale bounced around a bit, but when I took the picture it was on 4.14. (Makes me think that the one that was slightly over 20 inches really may have been a 5 lber). Again, on a jerk bait, in about 5 ft of water. There were smallies cruising all over that flat. I watched this one hit the bait. There were two bass eyeballing the bait at the same time. This one hit. The other one was much bigger... And the weight:

I understand that it will not count without an "official" weight, but I got my PB smallie at Conesus today. I got it on the south end on an xrap in about 5 feet of water. Here's the very anoying part. I went to DSG this week to pick up a new scale. It seemed to work at home. Out on the water, however, nothing. It wouldn't even turn on. After pulling this pig in, I can't tell you how frustrating that was. Anyway, my fish ruler still worked, and it went a lttle longer than 20". I looked at several online length to weight calculations. a 20" smallmouth is somewhere between 4-5 lbs. As I said, easily my PB. Though I fish a fair number of decent SMB waters, my prior PB probably ran a measly 1.5. I just seem to have better luck with LMB. Surface water temp. at the south end was just 50. I caught another, almost as large on the north end and the surface water temp was 60. I guess that south wind was really pushing the warm water. Anyway, here's the fish

Not to overwhelm you with suggestions, but if you have a BPS near enough, you should at least feel the CarbonLite line of rods. Generally speaking, $99 for their rods. I picked up a 6'8" MXF spinning rod this spring on sale and I like it a lot so far -- very light, sensitive and with a nice backbone. I also have a Shimano Clarus (6'6" MF) and I like the CarbonLite better, though that may be due to the fact that it is slightly longer and XF. For BC rods, they have a full line up of options.

That's exactly what I did. I probably looked the tube over three times before I just decided to get out my sharpie and go to work. I won't mistake them now.

I certainly hope you're right! I'm finally going to have my boat out this weekend and I'm looking forward to having a bit more room to work.

Nice fish. Sad to say that mine doesn't fit into any category, but I'm sure I had the biggest "catch" yesterday. Since I go around 210, I'm off the charts compared to all these "dinks" you guys are posting. Hooked myself pulling a decent LM bass off on Honeoye Lake in my kayak. I pulled it into the yak with me and while I was reaching for the pliers, it thrashed and speared me. A couple of friendly guys in a boat near me tried to help me out with the pull the hook out trick. That didn't work, and I ended up having to get it cut out. The real problem was that I had to paddle back to the launch, load my gear into the car and the yak on top, and drive about 45 minutes to get to an urgent care place to get the job done -- there was nothing in the vicinity. Surprisingly little pain, even when the two good samaritans were trying to jerk it out.

Now you're just making me jealous.

Ouch!!!! Though one of those devils has never gotten me, just about every one I've ever caught has tried his hardest. (For you southern guys, that's not a joke. They continually turn their head to try to bite you.) They are just flat mean. I enjoy catching them. I just don't enjoy dealing with them after I've caught them. On a well-equipped boat they're bad enough. Catch one in a kayak, though, and it's a whole different ball game. Hopefully, you're back on the water ASAP!

Awesome. You'll remember that forever. And a pig crappie, btw.

Thanks, Marty. With the warmer and stable weather today and tomorrow, the fish should be pretty turned on. I've been going to Honeoye for 6 years now, but only in my kayak, my boat (new as of last year) is in a slip at Conesus. My primary strategy on Honeoye used to be usually just weightless soft plastics t-rigged. In the last year, let's just say I've been branching out quite a bit. As I've said, most of the thanks goes to the good people here, posting what worked and where.

I hit Honeoye Lake today for 4-5 hours. Picked up 7 total, 5 LM bass and 2 picks. Nothing of any size, and in fact the two picks were the biggest fish I caught. Surface water temps started at 43 and ended the day, after some bright sunshine, at 47. All fish were caught in less than 10 feet, and most less than 7. I lost the best bass of the day, within 10 feet of my kayak, when it jumped. Too bad, but even it wasn't even 3 lbs. A special thanks to all the northeast and especially the WNY-area anglers who've been posting what's working and how they're working it. Without that "encouragement", I probably wouldn't have stuck with the lipless crank, which caught the majority of the fish today. I also probably wouldn't have tried the jika rig, which got two more today. This site really is amazing. Unlike other fishing sites, people are generally pretty free with what's working, how they're working it, and with what equipment. You may not always say what specific water you're working it on, but if I know that one of the WNY guys is using something that's working locally, that's all I really need to know to make sure to at least give it a solid try. That is very different than knowing what's hot on Pickwick or some other lake a thousand miles away. So, thanks. You're certainly contributing to my education. Rick

I did OK today, nothing great. Hit Honeoye for 4-5 hours in my kayak and caught 7, 5 bass and 2 picks. Unfortunately, the picks were the biggest fish brought to the boat. I had a good one on, but it jumped once and threw the bait, which was surprising as it was all trebles. A special thanks to WW2Farmer: Though none were particularly big today, the bigger fish came on a lipless crank ripped out of the remaining weeds. Having you comment on it in a post earlier this week gave me the confidence to stick with it today. Absent your comments, I doubt I would have stuck with it. Thanks! Rick

Nice pick. I know a lot of folks think that they are trash fish, but not me. While I'm out there for bass, if I'd rather get a few picks or pike than nothing at all. And, they strike pretty aggressively and fight very well. Other than the occasional bite off, what's not to like.

I don't have any good sources, but I'll give you some added encouragement. After fishing out of my kayak for the previous 5 years or so, last year I bought a boat. Like you, I'd never owned one before and I was nervous about a lot of things. There is a lot of good advice on here, there are boating safety courses, and more than enough resources to get you started. But, there is no substitute for time on the water getting comfortable using and handling your boat. If you don't have a "guru" you can turn to with the multitude of questions (like I didn't), you might consider renting a slip at a full-service marina, like I did. That will increase your costs, but it will provide you with resources and direct help on how to maintain your boat, etc. My bottom line: if you can afford it, do it. On cost, remember that even if you buy a new boat (and thus have no immediate high-ticket maintenance items), there are a lot of additional up-front and ongoing costs you have to deal with, everything from legally required equipment on board to insurance, to gas. While fishing out of the yak is fun and has plenty of advantages, I much prefer fishing from my boat. It has opened up a whole new world of fishing.

Oh, I believe it. I doubt I've ever been over 3.5 there. But, it usually is good for a bunch, and I rarely get skunked there.

So, I'm looking for my first cranking rod to round out my line up. Generally speaking, I'm likely to use it for everything from jerkbaits to traps to square bills to medium divers and the occasional deep diving bait. Gander Mountain currently has nice rebates on St. Croix rods. I'm not tied to getting a St. Croix, though I do have several and like them all. The three St. Croix rods I'm looking at are all 7' MH M, and all are graphite. I know that a lot of people like longer cranking sticks, but I don't want to go much beyond 7' or 7'2" due to space considerations. With the rebate applied, the 7' MH M Avid would be $149; the 7' MH M Premier would be $79; and the 7' MH M Mojo would be $75. (The rebate on the Premier is double the rebate on the Mojo, which accounts for the close price spread between the two.) I guess I'm kinda leaning towards the Premier. Thoughts on the MH M as a multi-purpose cranking stick? If I decide to bite the bullet, is the Avid worth nearly double the Premier? Any other rods you'd recommend? Thanks in advance. Rick

Nice fish WW2Farmer. I was on Honeoye yesterday, too, but only in my 'yak. PIcked up a few, but the biggest was only 1.5, so I didn't bother posting.

Thanks guys. Appreciate the info.

Kind of a newbie question. This year, I'm planning on using snaps to connect to my hard-body baits (of all sorts). I just like the idea of being able to change baits more quickly without having to retie. For those lures that have a split ring connected to the attachment point, should I take it off and connect the snap to the attachment point directly or the or leave it on and connect the snap to that ring? Thanks in advance. Rick

I have the Avid 6'9" ML XF. It is a beautiful stick and I like it a lot. I bought it for shakey head, light plastics and drop shot. If I had to do it all over again, I might opt instead for the 6'8" MXF instead, though. Just a bit more versatile.