Shadow1

Lot of great advice on here for you to take in. Seems like you are on the right track. If you're a tournament fisherman, which knot can you tie fast, but correctly? Which knot can you tie correctly and quickly in the wind and rain? I have a friend that can tie 3 or 4 different knots. He must have been a boy scout . . . anyway, he can tie some great knots in his garage. Get him on a boat in the wind and rain . . . he always ties the Alberto.

All very good reels. I have a Miraval on a St. Croix Victory 6'10" med light rod. Love the set-up. It was recommended by someone on this site.

McCoy's Mean Green for me for years and years. Was fishing a dropshot off of a rock wall in Canada 3 years ago for smallies. Had been snagged up a couple of times. Retied and put a new sinker on . . . cast out and it felt like another snag. Not quite . . . my line started peeling off my reel down to the backing. After what truly was 15 minutes of reel and run, I boated a 34" Pike. This was with 15lb Sufix 832 braid with an 8lb Mean Green leader. Got her released, and checked my leader . . . it was big time nicked up but did not break.

Would never claim to be an expert, but I have been on well over 20 trips to Ontario in search of the "Bronze Monsters"! A friend and I are doing a two week trip this June. So, here is my advice and experiences . . . I only use 6'9" or 6'10" medium action rods. I have taken a med/light or a med/heavy with me . . . I just really never use them often enough. As for line, I use 15 or 10lb braid (usually Sufix 832) and an 8lb copoly leader (usually McCoys Mean Green). Lures are what I use here in the states except for colors. A lot of the water I fish is dark tannic water, so I have changed up colors, but not lures themselves. My advice, fish what you have confidence in. If you take a lot of tackle, you will be playing with baits all day instead of finding where the fish are. Many fisherman say smallmouth move around, not sure if that is true on smaller lakes here in the states. However, they do in Canada. Say we have had success on a rock pile off of a point on Monday, we go back on Tuesday . . . no fish . . . none. Fish it on Wednesday . . . none. Go back on Thursday and boom, fish! Ok, lures . . . as I said fish your confidence baits. My favorite popper is the Evergreen OB. This comes from a Megabass fanboy! If the weather is even close, it gets killed in Canada. You can walk it or splash it really well. Caught three 5lbers on it last year. I love the Big Bite Baits "Nekorama" for Neko rigging. Canadian smallies do also. Drop shot fishing off of bluff walls with rock has really worked well. 3/16oz weight with an HDTackle 3" black hellgrammite has always been good. So, from what I have written, use your confidence baits. You may have to adjust your colors from the states. As for where, I always look for rock shoreline with some boulders especially if they are next to main lake points or secondary points. Avoid weeds and wood . . . PIKE!! Now talking Pike . . . I don't use any Ploppers or Buzzbaits. Smallies love them and so do Pike. I had one pike chase my popper last year. Other than that, they left it alone. My buddy lost two ploppers last year to pike. I have used the titanium leaders mentioned on a previous post. I only use them on Megabass Vision 110 jrs. As for jerkbaits, they work, but I get more bites on flukes than jerkbaits. Again, coming from a Megabass fan boy. I am waiting impatiently for June 5th when we head up. First time I have ever done two weeks in a row.

I only own two "fisherman person" items . . . both are Megabass hats that I wear a lot. Not sure if that qualifies or not. I wear shorts year 'round (even in freezing temps), t-shirts, and hoodies. I only own one pair of jeans.

Love flukes, but mostly use D Shads now. I learned this from a fellow fisherman over ten years ago. I take a 3/0 Trokar off-set worm hook, wrap some lead wire around it and insert. Keeps the fluke down to fish for suspended fish. Core Tackle now has a jig called the "Scamper" rig. Been fishing mine this way for years. Quit using EWG hooks years ago. Way to many missed fish.

Thanks guys . . . appreciate the comments and help!!

- Yamamoto Senko - Yamamoto Senko - Yamamoto Senko - Megabass Vision 110 Jr - Megabass Pop X - Lucky Craft Gunfish - Tackle HD Hellgrammite - Zoom Trick Worm - Tim Poe Spinnerbait Not only is this my 10, but I have actually sold most of my tackle, and these baits are all I have in my garage. Now I have a lot of them. I have for instance 21 Vision 110's. Literally 200 4" Senkos in 301 color. I buy them in 50 count bulk bags My fishing is much simpler, and I have caught better and more fish the last 2 years since I did this.

Has anyone purchased lures from this Japanese lure store? I have never bought anything from a Japan lure store. They have a few things I am very interested in. Just wondering what some experience might be. Any issues with your credit card etc?

Wow . . . never more better words of wisdom spoken . . . I started out with the Yamamoto and just can't give them up. I have tried every brand of stick bait you can name, and I just don't catch the fish I do with the OG. A friend of mine and I did an uncontrolled experiment a few years ago . . . we went out on his boat, and were both wacky rigging. He was using a Yum Dinger in watermelon/red flake, and me the OG in color 301. About 2 hours later he said, "can I have some of those senkos". I let him use some and he started catching fish.

After years of fishing for Pike and Musky, and getting our hands all tore up, we started doing this on the boat. No more infections or sore hands.

I just bought a new Victory last year. I put a Shimano 2500 Miravel on it. All I can say is "wow". It's been a great combo. I mainly use 10lb 832 braid with a 6lb McCoys Mean Green leader.

I was fishing a river system last year with a friend. He was down stream fishing, and was slaying them. Decent size also. I asked him what he was throwing, and he showed me a Neko rigged 5" single tail grub. He used a 1/32 oz nail weight, and an Owner Mosquito hook. He set me one up, and about 5 casts later a very very nice 2 plus pound smallie destroyed it. I will have to give this a try. He told me he's been Neko rigging grubs for a few years now.

I watched a video on YouTube of Shin Fukae using them. My understanding is he invented them. I have been thinking about getting some of them. There is an old mine quarry where I have permission to fish. Lots of standing timber and brush piles. But like you, I wonder if the bite gap is large enough for a stick bait. Shin was using a 5" Senko as he was demonstrating rigging.

I have used YZH in the past and liked it very much. Had a friend give me a spool of McCoys Mean Green. Haven't looked back. Very manageable and strong. Drop shotting in Canada 2 years ago. Fishing on a bluff wall in 7-10 feet of water. Cast out let it soak for a minute, my line starts moving off, set the hook, and my drag starts buzzing. Quite literally 10 minutes later, a 40" Northern is in the net! 10 lb 832 braid with a 6lb Mean Green leader. Enough said about strength.