Scott F

When hitting spot lock, you must be sure the boat is not still moving forward. If it is, you’ll coast by the spot you locked and the motor will try to put you back to the spot. Also, always point the boat into the wind before locking in your spot.

A silver minnow always had a very dull hook out of the package. Make sure you sharpen the heck out of it!

I started fishing with braid many years ago and didn’t know you were “supposed” to use a leader until a few years ago when I signed up here. I’ve never been out fished by guys by because they were using a leader and I wasn’t.

I’ve already made that choice, and it’s braid. Unless something new comes along, I’ll never use anything else.

If the river you are fishing is generally clear but then gets muddy after a rain, it is usually very tough. Smallies sight feed most of the time and the bite will usually shut down if the normally clear water turns to chocolate milk.

You are right, I’m talking about Tight Lines. It’s unlikely I’d see your friend or anyone else on the stretch of river I’ll be fishing who has a prop boat. Kayaks, A couple of drift boats and a a jet or two. Is all I’ll see in a days fishing

Drift boats are relatively common with the smallmouth fishermen I know. I have 3 friends who own them. All three have jet motors on theirs. Mostly 60/40 4 strokes. There is an outfit near DePere Wisconsin, that runs 8 float trips a day just on the Menominee River all out of drift boats. Stealthcraft drift boats are made in Western Michigan and are very popular will drift boaters in the Midwest. As has been said, one person rows, and 2 can fish. Having not a good anchor, but a great one like you have is critical. Once anchored, everyone can fish. Even though they float in just a little bit of water, you can still get the boats hung up. I’m headed to fish the Menominee for the next week. I’ve got a 16x48 jon boat with a 50/35 Tohatsu 2 stroke jet. My anchor system is a winch with a davit and a 55ib chain anchor that will hold me in the river with the current running at 4800cfm right now. I have a couple of Sawyer oars, and a 24volt Terrova trolling motor. I’m glad to see another river guy. There is so little fishing pressure and the smallies are always shallow in rivers.

The transducer in the Terrova will work with Humminbird, Garmin and Lowrance depth finders. You just need to purchase the correct adapter cable. The transducer will not work with side imaging. I have down imaging capabilities on my Garmin unit but I never use that feature so I don’t know if the built in transducer on the MK will work. I don’t think it will. Currently, I move my Terrova between two boats I own. One of them has a Lowrance and the other Garmin. Now if you want the trolling motor to follow contours from the depth finder, you need to use the Humminbird.

I won't use a leader when using braid for the mainline. I cant see any reason for using a leader with FC lines.

Calling St Croix is definitely not a waste of time. I’ve taken old broken rods in including one that had the same reel seat issue. They glued up the reel seat while we waited and didn’t charge for the repair even though it was well out of warranty. The broken one was a Premier that was 20 years old. I paid $55 and got a brand new rod. In both cases, I took the rods to the St Croix store in Park Falls which saved me shipping charges.

Do you have to choose the Navionics card when you turn it on? Most units take a few minutes to locate the satellites on startup to give you your position. If you wait a few minutes after turning it on, does it eventually find you on the new lake?

I tie on once I get to the water for the most part. I don’t like having strung up rods get tangled up together in my rod box.

My hook up percentage has always been low on buzz baits, but you can throw them in heavier cover but you can’t stop them. Whopper Ploppers with two trebles, have much better hook up percentage and for me because I will start, pause, rip or do a constant retrieve, I get more hits. Not as good with shallow weeds. I’ll fish the WP more often, but in some places, the buzz bait can be a better choice.

Speed wise, the 75 will probably be fine for you, but, the boat will take longer to get up on plane. Many years ago, I bought a Ranger boat rated for a 115 that came with an 80. Seven years later, the motor crapped out and I replaced it with a 75 because that’s what I could afford. I’m like you, I seldom run wide open, and am happy running at 25 mph on the waters I fish. I did have to add a hydrofoil to get the boat to plane faster and it stays on plane at much slower speeds than it used to. If $600 is a big factor, get the smaller motor, but years from now, if you still have the boat, you will forget how much you paid and probably wish you’d gotten the bigger engine.

Surface temps are just that. On the surface. A foot or two down, the water temperature hasn’t changed much. I wouldn’t make any big changes just because of the surface temps. But, you never know what fish are going to do on a given day.

Uh....I think nearly everyone on this forum feels that way.

I’ve got a spiral wrapped rod. I’ve got a friend who used to build rods for me. He wanted to do one and I let him do one for me. There is nothing special or better as far as I’m concerned.

Yeah, I hate the computers in my new truck too. Except for the one that gives me 40% better gas mileage than my old truck. And, the one that lets me see my trailer hitch so hooking up my boat is so easy. And, the one that lets me use the navigation on my phone instead of paying Ford thousands to use theirs. I also like the one that lets me listen to all the songs on my phone through the stereo. Oh, and the one that automatically applies the brakes for me to keep me from having an accident. And the one that turns the high beams on and off automatically isn’t bad either.

Do you guys buy trucks to drag race or to haul all your stuff around?

Quantum for spinning reels. No particular favorite for baitcasters.

Thinner lines also let your lures run deeper than thicker lines.

For all the posts here, some guys are talking lakes, others (like me) are talking rivers. My rivers are all pretty shallow. So shallow that you don’t even consider running a boat with a prop on it. Big difference in fishing shallow rivers vs deep rivers vs lakes. An important point to consider. Shallow, fast water that is near deeper water will be where you should be looking if you want bigger fish.

I’ve been fishing a river for smallies for about 15 years during summers. For the first 12 years, I can’t remember ever catching a smallmouth on a topwater in that river. I know I gave up trying years ago. Then, I tried a whopper plopper. It’s been the number 1 producer there for the last 3 years.

In the heat of the summer, the best fishing is often going to be found near shallow, faster water where there is more oxygen. It is true that some fish will be in deeper water but those fish are usually inactive and aren’t feeding.

Dr Slick scissor clamps cut braid very well at first. I clamp them to my shirt where they are very handy and are multi-purpose for getting (smaller) hooks out and cutting line. I still use them for hook removal but using them in that way over time causes the scissors to separate just enough to keep them from cutting braid as easily as when they were new. I use both the Boomerang tool and the clamps now.