greyleg33

Smallie, no doubt.

Has been me but I laughed anyway.

Ha! I'm at least a hundred but I think it was a Rapala Jerk Bait.

Sometime ago, maybe a year, I asked how far S I could go to fish most of the year and still be into smallies(I live in Oregon), and also large smallies. We have smallies but they aren't very big and we don't fish Nov. thru Mar. I have also posted a couple of times when I came close to a 5# smallie, which mark I have never broken. The consensus about the best place was Tennessee and I took it to heart and spent the interim in research. Two lakes stand out: Dale Hollow and Pickwick. Property prices made Dale hollow an easy pick. So next week my place goes on sale and when that is accomplished I'll be moving to Dale Hollow. Thanks to all who responded to my search. By the by, a 5# smallie is no longer on my hit list. I now want a 7.

Congrats. Nice smallie.

Awesome brute.

From what I've seen on these and similar pages, HB gives superior customer response.

An informative discussion. Thanks all.

About the only thing I use a spinning reel for is the drop-shot. As stated before, there is a fear factor about bait casters that is over-blown. They aren't that hard to master. I use very good b/c reels and have no problem delivering weightless plastics.

I backup the recos for on-board chargers--one of the better things to happen to bass fishermen. If you're going the v-meter route, a fully charged battery should maintain 12.4 volts after under going a short, moderate load.

You should be fine. Rare is the time you'll need more than 67.

That's an old saw that's been around for years. It just won't go away.

Done.

Nice fish. Congrats.

Reels are a funny thing. I have an Abu Revo MGX, 2 Abu Skeet Reeses, and A Chronarch 50E. As far as casting distance there's not a dimes worth of difference in any of them. Only time will tell about reliability.

I'll buy the confidence thing but always like black and blue.

Had the same thing happen to me a while back and had to start over.

Too many times I've seen a large bass sitting on top of a barely submerged bush on a brite sunny day. To my way of thinking, it could only be discribed as sunning itself. On bright sunny days I have also seen pods of large bass at the surface cruising up and down the bank. Can't believe the sun bothers their eyes a whole lot.

Spinnerbait.

1. With smallmouth, is stretch in your line good or bad?--Some stretch is advisable. I use fluro. 2. Do you go on the safe side and use heavier lines?--No. Mostly I go with lighter lines. 3. How much torque do you keep in your rod when fighting the fish?--I fight the fish very gingerly on anything with trebles and a little more roughly with single hooks. 4. Do you use a graphite or fiberglass rod for smallmouth?--Graphite. 6. How light/heavy is the tackle you use for smallmouth?--Everything from 1/8 to 1 oz. 7. Are you keeping your rod tip up or down when fighting fish?--up. 8. Do you sharpen your hooks.--No. 9. How hard is your hook set. Firmly and a little more so with plastics. 10. Are you setting the hook immediately after feeling the bite, or do you wait?-- Immediately. 11. When you hook a smallmouth next to the boat withh little line out, how do you not break off?-- Drop rod tip and hope for the best. 12. Do shallow water smallmouth fight harder than deep water fish?--No. 13. How do you deal withf. a smallmouths rapid movements. Fight in the normal fashion. 14, Does braid help with fighting smallmouth? I never use braid. 15. Where do you find you're typically hooking the smallmouth?--In the lips with cranks and in the cheeks with plastics. 16. Does the type of line affect how you set the hook?--No, though I imagine it would if you used braid. 17. Since smallmouth have smaller mouths, do you use smallerhooks?--No. A 6" smallmouth thinks nothing of attacking something nearly as large as itself. 18. When a smallmouth is running, do you let you rod bend Too much? No. A graphite rod-not a lot of give-combined with fluoro-not a lot of stretch-means you give the fish a lot of head. 19. Is a shorter or longer rod better for controlling smallies?--Longer. See above. 20.Do you have any tricks on getting a smallmouth that is running sideways to tire out?--No tricks. Play as normal. 21. Do you take any precautions after swinging them in?--I lip all caught fish. 22. Is a stiff, short rod better or worse?-- I only use a short rod when surrounded by brush. Not ideal habitat for smallies. 23. Do you see in difference in how agressive smallies are in clear vs dirty water?--No 24. What size smallmout is easiest to fight/land?--Smaller. 25. How do you handle a smallmouth that eats the bait on the fall in deep water?-- Set the hook. 26. How do you keep a smallmouth from bending out a light wire hook?-- As previously stated, I play them very gingerly. 27. When a smallmouth is trying to go under the boat and pulling the rod tip down, what do you do? Keep working him. 28. How far will you let a smallmouth run?--It's up to the fish, not me. 29. How do you set the hook with a lot of line out in deep water?--With vim and vigor. 30. How much line do you typically have out on your hook set?--10/30 yds. 31. What type of knot do You use for smallmouth?--I use a knot of my own construction (after many hour of testing). 32. How do you keep your thumb and index finger from slipping when back-reeling?How do you prevent line from tangeling when back-reeling?Will answer 32&33 together. I presume this is about spinning reels. Never had any of these problems back-reeling a spinning reel. Simply keep tension on the line at all times and there will be no problem. I always back-reel and never use a drag. I believe it gives you a more positive control of the fish. Same thing with my casting reels. Most of them have selective anti-reverse and can be back-reeled. The ones that can't I just release the spool and thumb the spool when the fish is running hard. 34. Have you ever tried back-reeling combined with changing the angle of the rod from right to left? Yes 35. How forgiving are the rods you have?--Most of my rods are med/mh. 36. Do you ever nose hook plastics for smallmouth?--Dropshot only.

I have no experience in your area (KC) but from what i've heard 1 to 3# fish and occasionally larger should be about normal.

Professional backlash.

Nice catch and 4 lbs.

When I was a younger man I used to fish standing up in a 13' flat-bottom canoe. It took years of experience and a number of dunks, not to mention lost tackle.

Welcome to BR. You'll love it here but contrary to what Rooster says you won't love it as much as fishing.