MIbassyaker

Hey, I bought the coffee tubes and the caffeine shads, didn't I? And then I bought some more.... Pretty good business model.

If you're just fishing 1/4oz stuff and spinning rig is working, there's no reason to be "bothered" the baitcaster is collecting dust. If you want to use the caster, just make a point to try a presentation that suits it. Smallies will absolutely nail a spinnerbait, buzzbait, plopper, jig, or heavier t-rig if you choose the right time and place.

There are a few possible ways scents could work. First, they could cause a bass to strike if it wouldn't otherwise. Second, they could cause a bass to hold the bait longer than they normally would. Third, they could cover up other scents that bass would otherwise avoid or reject. Most research shows bass are attracted to scents they find in the prey they eat -- certain amino acids and salts. But for most things you can buy at the tackle shop, it's not really clear whether they're using the right kinds of compounds that you'd need to achieve this. The Strike King coffee smell? Smells great to me...but come on, man -- it's coffee. Fish don't drink coffee. I understand anise and garlic have been demonstrated to have some minor effects, but it's not exactly clear which of the three mechanisms above are at play. And heavily salted stuff, including the big grains of table salt you see in a lot of plastics, is probably not the right kind of salt. Berkley has researched scents extensively and have tried to perfect the second mechanism of the three -- holding the bait longer. This appears to be the primary effect that Powerbait, Gulp, and Maxscent have. I don't recall whether Berkley have evidence these products actually attract strikes, but they have a lot of data supporting the notion that bass hold on a bit longer. As for the third possible scent mechanism --covering up other, noxious scents-- lots of scents could probably achieve this if powerful enough...as long as the scent itself isn't noxious.

OK. Whopper plopper smallie from a baitcaster: ....and, you'll have to take my word for it, but a Senko smallie from a spinning rod:

It's easy to keep track if you don't catch very many! (which is usually what happens in my case)

With an understanding that there probably is not a wrong answer, I like my jig colors to approximate the colors I see when I look in the water. Craws, baitfish, and other critters tend to adopt the hues present in their environment. I look at the colors of the predominant substrate (sand, mud, clay, rock), cover elements (weeds, wood, concrete walls and pilings), and stain (tannic brown, algae green, muddy, clear), and try to pick a jig that "fits" with the palette I see. A pretty-clear lake with light sandy loam bottom (common in my area) might suggest a brown with muted highlights that aren't too gaudy -- PBJ, or Amber/brown, or a light "pumpkin craw" pattern. Darker water might call for a darker base, like black; I like orange and red highlights in brown-ish water, chartreuse highlights in algae-stained water. Maybe green pumpkin or watermelon around weeds. Plain black never seems to be a bad choice anywhere. I don't quite understand why black and blue is so popular. Nothing wrong with it, I've just never experienced it outperforming anything else. I'd probably rather use plain black, or a black/brown. Reds and oranges are popular early spring colors for crankbaits and chatterbaits. Why? Maybe red contrasts well against spring background environments, like early weedgrowth? Maybe bass are looking for any snack they can find, and greater contrast makes red/orange baits easier to find? And is this true of bottom baits like jigs as well as moving baits? This is something I need to try more systematically.

Hi from Grand Rapids. Stay warm down there.

Moving again?

Relax! It's not like were just going to reveal Menderch..... Oops. Sorry

Continuing a trend from the last couple years, I plan to spend more time on some of the larger waters in my area. Wind and recreational traffic in the summer typically make me look elsewhere, but I've had a few really good outings in the last couple years when I timed things carefully. For instance, last summer I took the yak out to Gun Lake for the first time in about 4 years -- was able to find a couple of productive spots for both green and brown bass, and actually have them mostly to myself for the time I was there. Pretty sure I know which one you're talking about and that's one I might check out too.

Sometimes they want a presentation that I can make better with a baitcaster: Other times, they want a presentation I can make better with spinning: So for me it's not "vs"......it's "and".

I'm going to extrapolate the strategy I used for the partial season last year: Rather than go event-by-event, I went angler-by-angler and asked, "what event(s) would be my top choice(s) for this person"? I then earmarked 8 "starters" and a few "bench" anglers for each event based which anglers had that event as a top choice. I then planned the whole (remaining) season at once, and saved a list, so I always know which event I was saving each angler for. As each event came around, I adjusted things a bit here and there -- swapping between the starters and bench, or between different remaining events occasionally, but ended up entering most of the anglers I had earmarked ahead of time. The classic is tricky because of the different roster, but you can also take advantage of that fact by including some anglers who aren't otherwise fishing the elite series, and save some regular elites for other events. I haven't done any of this yet for 2022 though.

That looks exactly like something my father-in-law would have tied on: "I'm just gonna put a couple of these things on that thing...yeah, looks fine. Whatever."

Cavitron black blade, black skirt. When I've tried a plastic body, like a toad instead of the skirt, I haven't liked it -- I have to move it faster to keep it from sinking, but I tend to get more bites at a slower retrieve.

I just hop them around on bottom or lift-drop next to cover. But you could swim them too. Yeah, I use them in Black, GP, and Pumpkinseed more or less interchangeably.

A go-to finesse rig for me - 4" power worm on an owner bullet ultrahead:

Black and blue is fine, but given the choice, I pick Junebug every time. It has the "secret sauce" for the places I fish: Green flake

Yes, just a 4" zoom original fluke. Good budget trailer for chatterbaits.

A few years ago I couldn't find anybody who sold a "baby largemouth" bladed jig, so I made one myself:

These are outstanding. I overlooked them until two years ago when I was looking for a good head to use with a hula grub, which I think they are perfect for. I don't think anything I own is more weedless while still providing a reliable hookup. EDIT: for reference

Saw this and had to double-check the schedule, thinking the first event was way earlier than usual -- nope, they just opened fantasy early! 62 days to wait? Oof. No idea who I'll pick yet for st. johns, and no time at the moment to do much research, so I guess some breathing room before first event is welcome. I'll be playing both the regular and the drain-the-lake, which I thought was a nice addition last year.

I learned a lot this season about interpreting side-scan imaging from a new sonar unit I got in the spring -- the first SS-capable one I've used. Aside from that, I don't think I learned any Deep Truths, but (as always) I learned a lot of little things about some of the waters I fish. Got to explore some new areas, and checked in on some familiar places at different times of the season than I had visited in the past.

Rough translation: "Condition that makes the skin darker than usual." Probably what I'd call it too! Goes to show scientific names are (appropriately) descriptions at most, not explanations.

Nice! True Fact: My wife is from Fergus Falls. We fished a couple of the lakes in the area years ago for bluegill, but haven't been back in a long time after her parents moved away. There's so much fishable water in that area, it's hard to know where I'd start if we went back!

All I know about Kent is it's a popular and heavily-fished lake for all species. Most recent DNR survey appears to be from 2007, which reported good numbers of both smallmouth and largemouth, and especially good growth rate for the area for largemouth : https://www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/2007-36_208896_7.pdf Smaller baitfish reported were golden shiner, logperch, bluntnose minnow, brook silversides, and several species of darter, but no shad. And, of course, lots of bluegill, crappie, yellow perch, and various sunfish species. Very typical jnland fishery for southern Michigan. As for what you are seeing swimming around, I would bet many are small bluegill, sunfish, perch or baby bass.