Shadow1

Ok guys . . . just for fun . . . if you could only have one color of topwater for the rest of your time on the water, what would it be? This means all of your topwater baits have to be this color. I know, I know what about buzzbaits? We'll say they aren't on this list. Mine would be black.

I have had much more success with the Pop X than the Pop Max. Don't get me wrong . . . the Pop Max is great, I just get bit more with the X. I use a St Croix Victory 6'10" m/l rod with a Shimano Miraval reel. The reel is spooled with Sufix 832 15lb braid and 6lb McCoy's Mean Green as a leader. The thing I love about the Pop Max and X is, you can pop it, splash it, or walk the dog with them. I can sit the Pop X, and with a slack line, make it walk and hardly ever move forward. It is a great great bait.

I have used McCoy's Mean Green for well over 10 years. It is manageable and very strong. Story . . . I was fishing in Canada last June (2023). I was drop shotting in 8-10 feet of water off of a rock bluff. I had caught 2 really nice Smallies, but I also was fighting the rocks with snags etc. I broke off a set-up, retied, and thought I had another snag. Anyway, my drag starts buzzing. My line goes down to my backing! Anyway, after a long long fight, I reel in a 42" Pike! 15 lb Sufix 832 braid, but most importantly, 8lb McCoy's Mean Green leader. The line was all scuffed up, but didn't break. I won't use anything else.

I use McCoys Mean Green for all of my leader material. However, I have a friend that loves Yozuri as leader material. He said he had problems with breaks using a Palomar knot. He uses a double pitzen knot now, and said he never has anymore breaks.

Magabass "Flap Slap" . . . why you ask . . . It only dives about 5 feet. However, it makes a great jerkbait, and I can play with weighting it and get it to suspend or slowly sink. Can be used as a crankbait, BUT is very good as a jerkbait. Go watch one of Smallmouth Crushes videos in jerkbaits.

Used both the Sleeper Gill and Dark Sleeper in Canada last year. Couldn't keep the Pike off the Sleeper in perch pattern. Anyway, we got some bad weather for a couple of days and the Dark Sleeper saved both days. Crawled it slowly along some rock bluffs in 10-12 feet of water. Caught some real nice fish.

I love the Zoom Dead Ringer . . . however, if you want a bait that is a little fatter and the same look, Lake Fork Tackle has an 8" ring worm that is a much fatter profile. I cut about an inch and half off the top end, and trim the tail an inch or so. Use an 1/8oz Rugby Head and boom . . . they eat it up.

Lifted Jigs makes a great weedless jighead for Ned fishing. I use them all the time on the Dead Ringer. Also, VMC has a jighead called the Rugby Head. It is a little larger hook, but still a great head.

I've had two experiences with game wardens. Both were very polite and positive. Just moved to a new area and went about two miles away to check out a creek. I was about 30 yards from a bridge when he came walking down the path. Asked me how I was doing, and what fish I had caught. I had only caught one. I asked him if he wanted to see my license, and he said no. Told me to walk and wade about 200 yards north of the bridge and I would run into some great smallies. I did and he was right! The second interaction was a year ago. Fishing a different creek only difference was I was armed. Had a 9mm strapped in my chest rig. I was threatened the previous year by a landowner who thought he owned the water in the creek. The side I was on is owned by a gravel mining company. I have permission to use their side of the creek. Owner of the farm on the other side came up to me with a shotgun across his 4-wheeler. Told me to get out of the creek. He said he purchased the water from the state!!! What a dumba##. Anyway, I still fish the creek, and see the farmer watch me at times. He isn't so tough now that he sees my pistol. That's why the warden was there. Farmer called him. Warden didn't like I was armed, but told me I was well within my rights. Said he talked to the farmer.

I go the opposite route . . . I will take a sponge pad that is used for dishes (the ones with the rough pad on the opposite side) and lightly scuff my jerkbaits up. After I scuff some of them up, I will take the Spike it pens or a sharpie, rub some of it on the lures, and wipe with a paper towel. It gives the baits a more natural flat mat look for me.

Thanks guys for all the replies and info.

Looking for opinions on the Berkeley Fusion hooks. I know they've been out for a while, which is good because people have had time on the water with them. Looking for a specific opinion on their feathered treble hooks. A friend of mine says the trebles are much better than their worm hooks etc. As always . . . thanks much.

I use the old fishing saying, "a bad day fishing, is better than a good day at work". I quit tournament fishing years ago. Got into musky fishing (talk about determination), wading small creeks, paddling small rivers in a canoe with a friend, and pond hopping. By not tournament fishing, I save enough $$$ to take two trips to Canada each year. I've been catching much better fish, and enjoying my time on the water much much more. I can wade a creek and catch one nice smallie or catch ten, and I'm happy. I admire the tournament addicts and their determination, but not for me anymore!

Talked to an Ohio State biologist one time about this. I was fishing musky a lot back then. Musky go crazy when fronts come thru. Anyway, she got down to the small details of a "front". She said the zooplankton quit multiplying and moving around when a cold front moves in. This is what the baitfish and crayfish feed on, so the basses bait are dormant. This takes away the bait for the bigger fish, and so on up the food chain. When the front moves out (depending upon temp drop and barametric pressure), the zooplankton return to do their thing, and things get back to normal.

Mbirdsley, I rig them up with a Lifted Jigs 1/16 oz. weedless ned head or like you are talking about with a split shot rig. I don't use a split shot. I peg a bullet weight 16" above the bait. I have used them all over for smallies . . . western Maryland, WVA, Ohio, Michigan, and Canada. I was using them on a drop shot in Canada last year. Major front came through. Air temp fell from low 70's to the 40's. I caught some nice fish in that weather. I was fishing them 6" off the bottom out from rock bluffs in 8'-10' of water.

Most of mine stock out of the box were nose down slightly. Is your a silent version? The silent ones I have are the most inconsistent as to how they suspend.

There are a lot of "good" jerkbaits out there. I have caught some real nice smallies on a LC Pointer, but I just don't get bit nearly as much as I do with a Vision 110 Jr and my new favorite (after last year) the Megabass Flap Slap. On a lake in Canada with a good friend. In my opinion he is a better and much more experienced fisherman than me. We are both throwing jerkbaits . . . me a Vision 110 Jr +1 in Mat Shad, he was throwing everything else in his tackle box. While he is experienced, he is very stubborn. Loves his Rapalas and Rogues. After my seventh fish including two over 3 lbs, he said, "I give up", give me one of those "way too expensive lures". His first cast with a 110 he caught a very nice 3 pounder. This was after fishing for an hour with his baits. My friend now has numerous Megabass baits in his box. I know, I know, they are fragile and cost way to much to lose etc. In my opinion, they will catch them when most others won't.

I do use the tubes they sell. They are very good. That is how I found the Helgripede. A small tackle store in my area had some of their tubes. They were out of the particular colors I wanted, so I went to River Rock's website. That is when I found the Helgripede. Bought some and boom . . . the smallies in the creeks and rivers I fish ate them up. Used them later that year in Canada and same thing. Been buying them ever since. As for my previous posts, the color selection they have can drive you crazy, so keep it simple . . . dark colors for dark water and lighter or transparent for clear water.

You will love them. I have been fishing them for years. I found them by accident. A local tackle shop had some of their tubes. I wanted a color they were out of, so I went on their website to order tubes. Found the helgripede, bought them, and been hooked. They catch them when nothing else will. I throw them in a 1/16 oz Lifted Jigs weedless ned head. If the smallies want a different look then I use a 1/0 Gama straight shank hook with a 1/16 oz bullet sinker pegged 16" above. They will work weedless, BUT they are so light I had some trouble with fish in the current hitting them and I couldn't tell.

There is a thread about this on the Smallmouth Forum. If you go to "River Rock Custom Baits", you will find a bait they call the "Helgripede". It is a cross between a centipede and a hellgrammite. These baits are fantastic for smallies. I use them in small creeks and rivers all the time, as well as, in Canada twice a year. I fish them on ned heads and with a small straight shank hook with a bullet weight pegged about 16" above. We had one of those days in Canada last year where the temp dropped from about 70 degrees to 40. I was using these and caught one just over 5lbs with quite a few "small" 3 pounders thrown in. The baits are very soft. You will go through quite a few of them, but they do catch the fish. Dark Special for stained to dark water, and Light Special for clear water. Now don't you guys go and give this secret bait away!

Bass Rutten, man I was just thinking that. I have some great micro jigs from Andy's Custom Tackle, and those look like great trailers for them.

I may or may not be in the minority here, but I thought fishing was supposed to be a skill using knowledge and techniques honed over time to figure out the fish and conditions. Not some carnival game where you throw a lure to a target you see on a screen. Let's run a real tournament with the only electronics being a depth finder. We'll see who the real fisherman are.

GReb is exactly right about availability. I buy bulk spools, so I never run out. McCoys is very good.

I have used a Med rod, but I bought a St Croix Victory 6'10" med/light rod with a 2500 size reel. Love the set-up for drop shot.

The one and only McCoys Mean Green. It is very strong and very manageable. I was drop shotting in Canada last June. We were on a rock bluff that came out 4' of water with a drop off into 8'-10'. I had caught 3 nice 3-4 pound fish, but I had also lost a few baits to some nasty rocks. Anyway, I retie and cast out my bait. Just moving it real slow with very light shakes of the rod. All of a sudden, boom, I thought my rod was going to get jerked out of my hand. This fish took off and stripped almost all of my braided line. After what seemed like a 15 minute fight (Med/Lt rod, 10 lb 832 braid, 8lb McCoys) I reeled in a 44" Pike. Don't know how my line didn't break or my knot break. I have used this line for many years with no break offs. You can get it in clear blue or moss green. Oh, made right here in the US.