NathanW

War Eagle makes a good non clacker buzzbait. You need to break it in a little first. Hold it out of the car window when you are on the highway for about 30 seconds to let the blades spin aggressively. Are you fishing your buzzbait around cover? I like fishing them around beaver lodges and large overhung trees that are pretty well imposible to thouroughly penetrate with a flipping bait. They are also good on mornings in clear water where you know there are fish shallow but cannot get too close without spooking.

Typically catching fish during the first 10 foot of the retrieve.

My opinion is that the Tatula is the best deal. When on the water, I do not notice any differance vs the Type R.

Full grip rods are starting to feel clunky and overweight. I still have a couple I love, both are Lamiglass Certified Pro rods. But I do not use them for chucking and winding. One is drop shot and one is a flipping stick. Anything that requires lots of casting, especially long overhead casts (deep crankbaits), needs to be split grip. Split grip makes it easier to grip the but of the rod while casting. Also, if rod manufacturers are tryign to split the grips to save costs I am all for that! As long as they dont go cheap on the blank!

You will get better. And you will eventually will come to a point where you just straight up, will not get skunked in the middle of summer on your home waters. Actually, you will get to a point where the only time of year you might get skunked is winter. I still get skunked in Dec through March often but can always buy a bite in November and April and am starting to figure our the cooler month as well. Summer fish are very predictable, I honestly think they are the most predictable fish and I look farward to the dog days every year. I cut my teeth finesse fishing for smallmouth and although its not my favorite way to fish anymore I can always get the deep finesse bite going on slow summer days.

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Yep, was at Lake Whatcom in Bellingham WA. Smallmouth, nothing special. Usually I have extremely good luck with first fish... First buzzbait fish: 6.5lbs lmb First Spinner bait fish: 6.25 lbs lmb First Crankbait fish: 4.25lbs SM First jig fish: 6lbs LMB First Swimjig fish: 5.5lbs LMB Its a great way to instantly build confidence. You should try this method.

The biggest crime here is that we are talking about a grown man that still drinks 40's. Question: was it Mickeys or OE? On a serious note, of course it is wrong to litter in a lake, especially glass. I rarely drink while I fish but do not see the harm unless you are fishing dangerous water or around crowds. Drinking amoungst the Salmon/Stergeon/Steelhead guys is very common place in our area. Its almost as if they use the fishing as a excuse to drink heavily all day. It's not for me, I want to stay sharp on the water.

You probably caught that 5 lbs-er earlier in the year when the fish were on or around the spawn. The spawn is over and now you are probably getting small LM, and maybe bluegill batting at your frog most likely unable to get it in their mouth. The larger fish are going to be deeper, concentrated around the water inlet for cooler water, and in areas of the pond with a hard bottom. Coontail is a very popular home for small developing fish and bluegill in the summertime but my thoughts are that it doesnt provide the stability that larger fish look for in plants like Hydrilla and Millfoil, nor does it require a firm bottom. Note that coontail is a nonrooting plant, its pretty soft (a pain in the arse to fish).

From a Kayak I would go with a 6'10" Medium *** Black. These rods are as good as it gets for those techinques. Especially if you have not tried one yet. Note that if the grip is uncomroftable just take a file to the sharp edges on the reel seet until they are rounded and smooth. Honestly once you buy one you will not want to fish with any other rod (for these techniques).

^^ Yep. Otherwise you are forced to adapt to some type of swimming lure. I like pitching a tube from the back of the boat. They skip well and cast aerodynamically.

My DD's run fine. Never tried the other stuff.

Split shot or C-rig a 4.5 inch curly tail roboworm on a Gamakatsu G-Lock hook. Its a weedless presentation that will stay on the bottom and the fish will hook itself. Has accounted for great snoopy pole action on a somewhat difficult river fishery. We basically just have the kids cast it out, let out a bunch of slack while we continue to drift.

Drop Shot or Mojo rig. Downsize your bait to a smaller profile lure. Say 4.5" curl tail robowork or shad shaped worm. Or 4.5" straight tail roboworm for the mojorig. You are really limited to fishing early mornings of inlets now that the spawn is done. But the shallow bite will fire up again in the fall. The crappy think about the dropshot is that you really want to be fishing it in rock so you will snag alot from shore. Just be sure to use a braid mainline so all you have to do is retie the leader. It shouldnt take you very long to find the hot shore spots because there will be crowds.

Pfluegar spinning reels are not equivlant to their casting reels. Dont make the same mistake I did in thinking so. Go find a Curado E, D or G either new or used on ebay and you will have a real that could last you fifteen years instead of a real that may only last you three.

Abu Cardinals hold up pretty well.

tried it. loved it. threw out all my lead. no regrets.

Anybody compare smallmouth to largemouth? Am considering getting a deep fryer as result of this thread. That sounds pretty good. I just feel bad about keeping largemouth because their populations are not great in our area.

Try to start around midnight. The period from dusk until around midnight is usually pretty slow.

yep. Just try it out and take it back if you dont feel like it is not loading well enough with the baits you like to throw. I have bought and returned rods from Walmart on two occasions while on the road.

Storm Drone 6.

Shotgun followed by a compound bow as a close second. But seriously.... Crankbaits if there are not too many weeds. They are bottom feeders so diving baits almost always produce best. I probably catch between 30-50 carp each season on diving crankbaits. A few on dropshots or other soft plastics with exposed hooks each season as well. Note that I am not snagging them on purpose and neither would you be. Just remember to practice C&K...

I tried it and it failed. I was using a propane torch, as it was advertised that propane would work but was told otherwise by people who know better. I could not get it to bond whatsoever. Eventually had it welded by an acquaintance (a handy guy but not a welder) and it took about 40 minutes. My bow was torn up from my trolling motor pretty bad and the top shee was delaminaing from the bow. Not only did he fix the cracks and tears but he built up some of the stock welds so the trolling motor wouldnt cause any future damage. Its a great feeling knowing that my hull is solid again, was pretty upset after reading claims on the internet about how expensive and difficult Aluminum repairs are. Just get it welded. Don't take it to a dealer and waste a bunch of money. The guy I had do it said Aluminum is not that difficult and anyone who says otherwise probably shouldnt be welding.

For smallmouth... Drop Shot, Tube, Crankbait Largemouth... Drop Shot, T-rig beaver on straight shank hook, swimjig (swing impact or swim-n-shiner trailer)

There might be some burrs or rust on the swivel. What the heck are you using a swivel for anyways??? Go with a braid main line and just tie a leader. Line twist wont be an issue with braid. Also the Alberto Knot is nearly as fast to tie as the improved clinch.