Heron

I’ll go ahead and be the odd one out..... while a hard fighting fish fish is lots of fun, I think over the years I’ve come to the conclusion, that I like a fish that doesn’t fight quite so much. Why? Well because all to often, we have those fish that fight like a 5lber, but when it gets to the boat, we pull up a 2lber.

Might try a chatterbait

That’s nice....and I can toss the same bait quite a ways further, on a 7ft Light rod with 4lb mono. I like that better

Tiny baits on larger rods don’t cast particularly well.

When I size up, from 2” to 3”. The bite goes dead. It really shouldn’t. Because a fish that is 12” to 16” should have no problem or inhibitions at all about slurping up a 3” bait. So this is not really an issue of bigger baits drawing bigger fish.

Yeah, Ive thrown the TRD, and caught a few.....but to be honest, a 2" black curly tail grub outfished the TRD 7 to 1. Size of fish was caught was unchanged. I would rather be catching them on my Kalins grubs, Tubes, and Dropshot. No real consistency with that yet.

I care... It was cool at first, popping smallmouth on every third cast or so. But, the novelty of catching these fish on such light gear has worn off. So, allow me to explain why I care. 1,) I dont like losing fish - My panfish gear is specifically tailored for Panfish. And though It can also bring in the occasional lunker bass here and there, it was never meant to sustain the onslaught of abuse from frequent 12"-16" Smallmouth. So, my line gets tore up easier, and fish break off semi frequently....I dont like that. 2.) I dont like losing gear - Obviously with fish breaking off, Im losing my heads, plastics, and other baits, and going through my stock at a much faster rate....I dont like that. If I were catching them with my Smallmouth setup, I would have lost no fish, and no baits....mostly. And of course, these tiny 2" baits do not cast as well on Medium spinning gear. 3.) I dont like wasting money - Now that I am living in Smallmouth country, I have invested a fair amout of money in gearing up for smallmouth. However, when the fish in these waters are turning their nose up at all or most of my Grub, tube, dropshot, etc. offerings, that doesnt make me feel too great about my investment...I dont like that. But Im sure once I get this all figured out, it will all come together. Btw, No Im not looking for smaller baits to use, per say.....instead, I want my fish to eat my larger baits that I purchased, just for them.

Honestly there have been times where I would be catching them pretty regular on the 2” baits...but then move up to 3” of the exact same bait, the bite would just shut off. Then pick up again when I switch back to the 2”

So they say, let the fish tell you what they want.... Well, I’ve just recently moved to smallmouth country, and I mostly bank fish. I’ve caught about 30 or more smallmouth from shore over the last couple months. My biggest so far being a tad over 16”. Not too shabby for starters. However, I’m realizing that I have caught ALL of them with my Panfish gear. I have caught exactly ZERO smallmouth, with any of my smallmouth gear. These fish seem to prefer 2” baits over anything else. So my qwandry is this - I don’t want to catch them on my panfish gear anymore. I want them on my smallmouth gear, that’s what I got it for. Can someone help me talk some sense into these fish? Do I need to hold a town meeting with them to discuss the issue? Thx

Swim jig has a skirt. Swim bait does not.

If it’s new water.....I typically start small, and throw 3” plastics. grubs, paddletails, and senkos

Depends on conditions, if I’m bank fishing amongst crowded bushes and trees, and the wind is blowing strong.... the first thing I’ll usually throw, is a fit.

What size hula grubs? 4” or 5”?

What size hula grubs? 4” or 5”?

Well....it’s been so far so good. No sinking yet, and if durability is an issue...I bought four.

Me as a bank fisherman, I keep my panfishing simplified. Ballhead jigs - 1/16oz - 1/32oz - painted and unpainted Plastics - southern pro 2” hot grubs - keitech 2” easy shiners - Charlie brewer slider grubs - Bobby garland Swim’Rs - kalins scrubs (the 2” easy shiner has been by far, my most productive bait) occassionally I would use a drop shot with a cricket. I rarely use a float unless circumstances require it. My primary technique is simply cast and retrieve, with occasional dead sticking. but bear in mind, when fishing right after ice out, and the water temp is still cold, then vertical jigging a marabou jig might still best

I agree with everyone else. I will just add this.......As a bank fisherman, whenever I start at some new waters, I typically always start small. My go to's for pond fishing are paddletail swimbaits and curly tail grubs in the 3" size, and slow-sinking baits also in the 3" size. I typically dont work the bottom until Ive become a little more familiar with the pond. My preferred go-to KISS baits, are - Keitech FAT 2.8" swimbaits - Kalins 3" lunker grubs - Yamamoto 3" Senko, on a #2 EWG hook. - Yamamoto Fat Ika, on a 3/0 EWG hook. But of course those are conditional on how much slop there is in the pond. In case of excessive slop, go with a small hollow body frog or buzz toad. This combination of baits here has always been productive for me, under most conditions.

The TRD suffices enough for my satisfaction. I have no need to switch.

Makes sense I wasnt really seeing much sense in throwing a jig instead of a tube, unless circumstances demanded it. Guess I'll find out when I get on the water. In the meantime, when bank fishing for smallmouth....Im finding the Fat Ika, and the 3 inch Senko have been the most productive for me so far.

Are there any specific circumstances when you would choose a jig instead of a tube for smallmouth? or vice versa? thx

I would pass on the turtle, for the purpose of “matching the hatch” per say. I suspect, that despite a large population of turtles, the fish’s primary food source will still be things like craws and fish. You’d probably be better served to continue matching that hatch instead. However, for the general purpose of creating topwater commotion, with a larger profile....then I suspect the turtle should attract fish just fine. Provided the legs don’t get fouled up

Already have last year.....didn’t like it also didn’t like the Damiki Air Frog the Stanley Top Toad is the only other specimen that I do like. Yeah I passed on the prop shad due to its lack of commotion. But I may consider it if I have need for something more subtle

Just recently tested this frog out......liked it. ive always been wanting a weedless, floating, buzzing, top water, and this frog fits that niche perfectly. nonetheless, since it has “mechanical” legs, one can expect the rotating legs to get fouled up on occasion by slop or floating bits of debris Other than that....it looks good, floats good, runs good....good bait. we’ll see how the fish like it

Where do you buy these at?

Same here