Hollada

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Z-Man_Mag_Shroomz_3pk/descpage-ZMMS.html https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Big_Bite_Baits_Limit_Maker_Jig_Head_4pk/descpage-BBBLMJ.html

Livescope ducer and 12”garmin (or a gift card for the equivalent amount and wait to see what HB comes out with....) Expride 610M casting rod to try as a Jerkbait rod !aybe an Aldebaran to pair with the expride May get an Expride DS rod as well to try out.

Primarily target smallmouth bass. Pound for pound they are 5X the fight of a ditch pickle. I also can’t stand beating the bank and mucking through thick weeds. Give me an open water smallmouth bite on st Clair or the st Clair river any day over beating the bank or flipping docks on some inland lake. Or any of the hundreds of glacial lakes in Michigan that are loaded with smallies as well.

No. It’s just your perception that they fight harder due to pulling against the current.

Come to Lake St Clair and take a guide trip with Marcel Veenstra or Gerry Gostenik or any of their guides. or let me know and I can get you out.

Which of the 3 versions of Phantom color do you like best?

Gotta love spring on St Clair.

Where did you buy it? TW has taken back my broke lures before. Great CS!

Short leader dropshot, tube, trigged craw, Ned. Like Toxic said, if they are locked on you can typically get a bite. One of my favorite days in muscamoot last year I caught a bunch on a Sammy.

Looks good, but probably no better than a tube. Definitely more expensive....

15 lb braid to a 20-30 ft leader of invisix FC 6-12 lb depending on what I’m doing. Mostly it’s an 8lb leader. I like a long leader so the knot is solidly on the spool when the bass is close to the boat. Long leaders also result in less frequent reties of the leader.

I do the torque check every couple of trips, but good reminder! And thanks for the other suggestions as well!

Going to retrieve my girlfriend from her winter hideout soon. Just thinking through what I’ve got to get done this spring: - confirm my batteries are sound (left them in and never got down for a mid winter charge) - update my graphs to latest software (Solix) - pickup my Ultrex from the repair shop - send my 4 blade back to croxton for a little love (more cup and maybe another 1/2 pitch) - install NMEA connections to graphs and point 1 GPS/HS puck - should have spec’d That with the G2 - check my flares to see if they need replacing - they are 3 years old so I’m betting they do - see if I can reduce and reposition some weight - move the anchor and tools to the passenger side rod locker, etc - add some LU fluid to the G2 as it was a tad low in the fall - grease and lube whatever the Manual says needs to be greased or lubed - consider changing the charges on my life jackets - finish inventory and insurance pics of my tackle, rods, and reels for just in case purposes - test to see if the sw upgrade and TM fix have helped my interference problem Go walleye jigging on the Detroit River Go blade baiting for SMB on St Clair What am I forgetting..... hmmmm?

Last one I got was a year old. Got it in 2016. This is a 2019. Totalled the last one and basscat worked hard to get me in this one. They are a great company.

The MVM strikes again. Have fun! Have a Jack n Coke on me. I’ll holler if I see you guys in the moot.

The Detroit river today below ambassador bridge. Two brave trailers in the parking lot. Walleye season is close. Smallmouth season not far behind.

LC Pointer 100’s, MB Vision 110 & 110+1, shadow raps, kvd slash - they all work. Natural colors when water is clear, bright colors (ie something with chartreuse) when water is dirtier. Vary the pause until you find what they want. Some days it can work to let it sit for a 20+ count.

I fished as a BFL co for 5 years in the Michigan division. Here’s my 2 cents: - be honest with the co about your fishing plan when you connect on friday - let your co know if you want him to net and how you want your fish netted if you have a oreference - ask your co if he’s comfortable backing you in - have an open compartment for his stuff - agree on where you will meet on tournament morning and be there - don’t back-boat your co, unless your “that guy” or turn off your console graph to “save battery” - Karma is a beeatch. The best boater I know (Michigan division AOY last year) has helped more co’s Cash a check than any other boater in the division. I’ve fished with him and he makes sure his co’s Get fish. Not saying you have to do this - and most dont - but it’s good karma. - give a 5 minute heads up when your ready to move - take the money the co offers you or not, that’s your call - be open to ideas of places to fish if you’re not on them thats about all I can think of right now. Hope it helps.

Spybaits tend to be best later in the summer and fall - at least from my experience. And like was said, calm bluebird days seem to be best. And clear water - I wouldn’t bother with them in April or May. Check these out - watch Chad grigsby winning the Flw on st Clair with spybaits This is pretty good as well % as are all of Ben’s videos.

Stop in to sportsman’s direct tackleshop on Jefferson when you’re up here. They will have everything you need.

Kinda sort of. What I’d want is a dedicated Michigan page that we could add subsections to.

We used to have a pretty active section for Michigan on ***, but too many folks ticked off Al the owner and got banned. Would be nice to rejuvenate that here - but need a dedicated are for the state versus the area in here where Michigan is lumped into “north east”. I really don’t want to have to wade through a bunch of stuff from other states to find something about Michigan. I’m sure others would agree. just some “customer” input. Do with it what you will.

Any chance we could get this broken down into a series of single state reports - each with its own moderator or two? would love to have sub folders for local tournament results, etc.

Marcels team will provide all equipment and baits unless you want to bring your own. I’ve fished with Marcel, Ryan, and Matt. Garrett, Cody and Jayson are also studs (Garrett qualified for the elites this year so not sure if he’s guiding). Do you know who you’re going with?

Often just a small twitch after it has sat that long is all it takes. I think they just get ticked at it sitting there and kill it as soon as it twitches.