jjconnaire

I have a pond just like that. It is rite next to (but at a much higher elevation) a very well respected smallmouth and LMB fishery that has alewives and other baitfish. I have caught a 1-1.5lbs bass but not often. Mostly Dinks. I did see a 5lb or so on a bed but that was only once. I am thinking that food is probably the problem. I have never seen alewives nor any other baitfish. Just gills

So I was doing some poking around on the Internet and found a bunch of different species of freshwater black bass (Shoal, Suwannee, Choctaw, spots, NorthernLMB, FloridaLMB, SMB, and the red eyes) This got me thinking and made me analyze what bass I was catching. I live in the Northeast and have caught LMB that I thought looked like spots. But spots aren't supposed to be up here. I spoke to a guide on Candlewood lake in CT and he tells me that he has caught spots in there though not many. He also mentioned that he knows of ponds in CT that hold spots. I analyzed some pictures of my fish that I have caught and feel like i confused myself and maybe convinced that I caught a spot? The top fish did have a rough patch on it s tongue and connecting dorsal fin. What do you guys think? The bottom fish was a small fish but was built like a spot, or a LMB that just ate a bunch. I Can't recal if it had a rough patch or not.

For me it would be: Keitech 3.8" swing impact fat (smallmouth magic color) on a owner 3/0 swim bait hook LC 1.5 in TO Gill zoom 4" lizard PopR spinner bait

Wel if you refer to the recent paddle Tail swimbait post you will gather that Keitech's are high on everyone's list. The worst thing people can say about them is that they aren't durable, but with some glue they last much longer, so that's a solution. Here's my top 3 swimbaits 1. Keitech swing impact fat 2. Keitech swing impact 3. Keitech Easy shiner pair them with a quality swimbait hook and you are golden. I like the owners a lot and confidence baits draggin head a lot.

I got on the keitech swing impact fat craze 2 years ago. Became my first confidence bait. Tried basstriz hollow body and I had to burn it to get the tail to swim. Tried the 4"hudd weedless shad (forget the name) and it is ok but not as good as the keitech. Tried yum and it's ok but doesn't compare to keitech imho. I got the reins fishing rock vibe to try next. I don't know why I try other paddle tails bc I found the perfect one. That d**n tackle monkey has his teeth deep in me! I also use the 3.3" all the way up to the big 5.8" on a 6/0 owner beast and nothing is lost with the action.

Does everyone upgrade their treble hooks? I believe rapala uses VMC hooks and They are nice. I'm not sure what strike king uses but they seem ok however I just purchased Owner Stinger Treble Hooks (ST-36) in sizes 2, 4, 6 and they make all other hooks seem dull. I'd love to upgrade all my baits but realistically I'm not going to upgrade any baits that have brand new VMcs on them. would the owners outperform my vmcs?

I have the Schumacher 10/6/2 charger but I didn't realize that it is a maintainer also... I thought it would continually supply 2A at a minimum. Does it ever turn off "float" and turn back on when the battery loses some charge? I do like this charger however I did find it can be loud. Are all chargers this loud?

I have no idea lol. I'm a total newbie to tournament fishing.

Ok so I want to be a Co-Angler in a tournament on Candlewood lake Ct this upcoming season. I prefer Candlewood because it's my home lake and I just want to give it a whirl for fun. I have no idea how to even begin to try it where to enter. Anyone have some information? Thanks.

Yea I am going to get 2 cheap battery trickle charger/maintainers and keep the battery's in my house. I'm looking at either battery tenders or black&decker. What brand do you use and do you like it? My slip is Free so I can't complain! ?

I do have boat insurance but I leave my boat far away at a vacation house. And I don't have a on board charger because I leave it moored all summer long and there is no power at my slip

I was wondering how everyone charges/maintains there 12v battery's for their trolling motors. I don't have an onboard battery charger and have read about battery maintainers that trickle and turn on and off to keep your deep cycle battery's charged. Are these maintainers a fire hazard? I get concerned leaving these on all the time.

Candlewood... Hands down IMHO

Here's a better picture.

Here's my 1998 Alumacraft Lunker V16 LTD with a 2014 Yamaha F25 25hp four stroke. Also, it has the original 35lb thrust MinnKota on it which puts it along just fine. I inherited this boat last year from my grandfather who only ever had a trolling motor on it because the lakes we used to fish didn't allow gas motors. This boat is great! I got a Lowrance HDI 7 on it which performs great and according to that and gps on my phone, I can achieve 26mph with just me and a full of tackle.

Do MS slammers count?

I'm on this same mission on my lake in CT.. I have success catching fish but am looking for that once in a lifetime fish. I caught a 4lb13oz 22" smallie last year and that is definitely a big fish, but I know 6lb smallies live there. I'be been throwing bigger swimbaits 5-7". Have caught a lot more LMB but have also caught a couple 2-3lb smallies. Hoping i will get that big smallie on one this year.

I honestly think that it comes down to big fish eat little fish... Not that it's rite, but when I was younger I used to use goldfish from the pet store for bass in a tidal creek... Bass and cats used to crush them. I don't think goldfish are in the tidal creek, but I caught multiple fish on them. Again, I was 13-14 when I did this and didn't know any better.

Have you seen the herring 5" ? They are much thinner profile. Might work better for smallies?

yes i can 100% see how it was designed for hardbaits (moderate action), it as also designed for hudds with trebles

wound up getting the 7'11" okuma H 1-6oz guide series swimbait rod. Let me tell you the build quality is so much better than the IROD's ive had ots crazy.... you may think it sounds like a Broom stick but its actually very limber for the power it puts out. The micro guides are nice on the IROD but much too delicate and the inserts had came out on 2 consecutive rods i Bought. Not saying it wasnt-couldnt be a nice rod, but i cant deal with a rod that is unreliable. In my opinion, the Okuma casts a 8" hudds fine, however I wouldnt cast anything over 5 or so OZ on it. It will definetly work but you are testing the limits of the rod.

Keitech swing impact fat 3.8", 4.8" and 5.8" on a swimbait hook. All you need

Where can I find triple trout stubby? I really want a triple trout but would prefer the 5" stubby bc it best represents the alewife in my lake. Plus I fish for primarily smallies

Yea buddy! Do you fish a lake that's primarily smallmouth too? What other swimbaits do u use?

med-hvy (1/2oz-5oz) or hvy (1-6oz) I am planning on using this rod exclusively for swimbaits for bass/stripers