Scott F

You should not run the depth finder and the trolling motor with the same battery. The motor will cause interference.

I fail to see the connection between the height of the fisherman and the length of the fishing rod. Fly rods and steelhead rods are both considerably longer and I've never heard of anyone using a shorter fly rod because a person was short. I use 7 foot rods for the increased casting distance they provide. I'd use longer rods if I could, but they wouldn't fit in my truck or the rod box in my boat.

I just bought the Lowrance Elite 5. I got it with a $100 rebate which expired on April 7. I chose it mainly because The map chips are cheaper. The Fishing Hot Spots map chip which has 6000 lakes and covers the entire US is only $99. Maps for the Humminbird are considerably more expensive AND only cover specific regions. If you only fish one state, or only within one region, it's not as bad.

Too much stretch with fluoro. I hate stretch.

I've spent a week on Lake Vermilion chasing smallies every year for the last 25 years.

If there is a better time to choose one over the other, I let the fish tell me when that is. Once the water temp hits 60, I'll pick one, and switch until I find one that works.

Bass season does not open for another month in Wisconsin.

There is no real direct conversion from thrust to HP.

Bass that are on beds do not feed which may be why they ignore your baits. Bass that are very near the shore but are not spawning can be easily spooked. If you are fishing from shore, you have to walk slowly and try not to let your presence be seen or felt. Once they know you are there, it's unlikely they'll hit anything.

I think the local was trying to persuade you into not eating the bass. By and large, bass fisherman release what they catch. Which is why bass are plentiful and don't need regular stocking. I'm sure most of the people who post here release most if not all of their bass. If I could make a suggestion, if you want a meal for the family, try fishing for crappies or bluegill, they taste better than bass.

I'm not sold on down imaging without side imaging. This is the information I've found out about down imaging. Please correct me if any of my information is wrong. First of all, it doesn't show fish very well. For it to work properly you have to be moving. It is not very good in water less than 10 feet deep. It does provide a nice picture of objects on the bottom underneath the boat. If you do locate a nice piece of structure, it's hard to tell if it is actually holding any fish. Plus, because you are moving, you must turn the boat around and go back because by the time you see it, you've driven past it. So what it is good for is showing details of things you mark in deeper water that you must mark as a waypoint so you can try and find it again later. Aside from the increased detail on specific objects, what else can it do that regular sonar can't?

I think that came about because if you have a hidden backlash on your spool, and you make a cast, when the cast gets to the spot on the spool the line will snap and your bait will keep flying. I use braid 100% of the time. I don't pretend that braid is perfect, no fishing line is. I don't fish around zebra muscles, but I fish around rock all the time. I don't have issues with abrasion and I use 8lb on spinning reels and 20 on my baitcasters.

I caught so many fish on a LC Pointer that the short shank hooks broke off. I replaced them with what I had which were long shank hooks and the bait would not suspend anymore.

Spinners are one of the BEST smallmouth lures. I am never on smallmouth water without them. The fish I am holding in my avatar on the left (19 inches) was caught on a #3 Mepps in early April near Chicago. The ones I use the most are plain Mepps (no squirrel tail) in a #3 or 4. Smaller ones, #2, will catch more fish, but often smaller ones and lots of other panfish. I like the plain because they catch as many fish and are cheaper to buy. Everything that swims will hit a spinner. In a river, I throw them across the current or, If you are upstream of a big rock in the water, I throw them past the rock and bring them right to the edge of it and hold them there. The current will keep the blade spinning right in the face of that smallie. People say you need to use a swivel to reduce line twist, but if the lure is working properly, the blade will spin and not the lure so you should not get more than the normal amount of line twist that any spinning reel will add. In-line spinners are often overlooked in favor of newer "hot" baits but they flat out catch fish.

In rivers, the carp stir up the bottom and the smallmouth feed on what they kick up. I look for carp milling around!

Look into the Missouri Smallmouth Alliance. They fish rivers in Missouri for smallmouth by wading, kayak or canoe. No big boat needed. You can google them.

I know nothing about Milford Lake in Kansas, but, you've got to find the areas where the smallmouth will spawn. The temps might be a bit low for a real good bite, but some fish should be moving toward their spawning grounds. Different lakes could have smallies spawning in 1 foot or 10 feet of water. If you can, find out what the major forage is, then match that in terms of size and color. Pre-spawn smallies on my favorite lake are gorging on minnows that are only 1 to 2 inches long. Lucky Craft Pointer 65's are perfect. If your minnows are larger, the 78's or 100's may work better. I find mine, just off shallow spawning flats in water around 6 feet deep. Power fish until you find them. Once you locate them and the bite slows, clean up the rest with a 4" senko.

I like the Yum Crawbug.

"You should have been here yesterday"

It would make more sense if you could see it in reverse.

How about this one? It's a redhorse sucker.

Of course they will. Night crawlers and plastic worms have always been a staple in a bass fisherman's tackle box but worms are seldom found in most lakes. If it appears to be food of any kind, and it has a chance to fit in his mouth, a bass will try to eat it.

Snap Snap Swivel

ALL spinning reels will twist line. It happens because the line is pulled off the spool one way and wound back on another. If you've ever used a garden hose or an extension cord, you can see how easy it is to get them twisted without spinning the end of the cord. Baitcasters don't twist the line because the line comes back on the spool exactly the same way it went off. Mono / fluoro lines resist twist like a garden hose and want to unwind like a coiled spring after being twisted. Braided lines will twist also but hold the twist and don't show the ill effects as quickly. When braided lines get twisted too much it starts wrapping itself around your rod tip. Spooling properly means the line won't be twisted when you put it on. Repeated casting puts twist in the line. Large arbor spools slow down the amount of twist added to the line because of fewer wraps around the spool. In-line spinners won't add extra twist if the lure is working properly. The blade is supposed to spin, not the lure. You can get rid of line twist (temporarily) but cutting off your lure and letting the line trail out behind your boat while moving slowly. Let out a little more than line than the amount that comes off while casting. Pinch the line between your fingers as you reel in and the twist will go out, until you start casting again!

As a rule of thumb from a guy (not me) who wrote a book on the exact depths that crankbaits run*, for every increase in line size, say from 10 to 12 lb line, (mono/fluro) you can expect to lose 1 foot of depth. Conversely, going to thinner line lets the lures run deeper by the same ratio. * Crankbaits; A Guide to Casting & Trolling Depths of 200 Popular Lures by Mike McClelland, Fishing Enterprise Press 1989