Banor

Smallies will smash wacky rigged senkos in a heartbeat. The problem is finding smallies holding in water shallow enough to properly work a wacky rigged senko. RW is very correct in his bait choices. It's been my experience that longer worm shaped/presented baits do not work as well for smallies. You want crawfish/creature type baits or small minnow immitations. Or in my neck of the woods on the great lakes you want gobie immitations. If you are looking for smallies, put away the texas rigged worms and pick up a texas rigged grub or hula grub or tube. Again, dont rule out the drop shot. B

Standard Erie bait. Green 4" tube in about 22 FOW. I know that sounds like a cliche but it's amazingly accurate. B

In my very humble opinion the size of your bait does not matter as much with smallies as it does with largies when you talk about the cliche "bigger baits for bigger bass". From my limited first hand knowledge and tons of research on the web from past tourneys and such I think location matters most. What I mean to say is on a certain body of water, if green is the color then green is the color. If green with gold fleck is the color then that's the color etc etc.. but what you will notice is certain areas or depths or rockpiles will hold bigger bass. To further explain... from what I've heard/seen on Clair if you are fishing the right bait you are going to catch smallies... the only variable is the structure that the smallies are holding on. If you find a 2lb area you need to move on and find a 3 lb area and so on. Down south I would say find the deeper structure for smallies. Hula grubs, single tail grubs, tubes and craw type baits will get the job done. You just have to match the color and way the bait is presented with the primary forage of the smallies in your area and how they move. Dont rule out the drop shot. Drop shot is deadly for smallies on deep structure. This isnt gospel, just one man's experience. I could get debunked by the local experts in a heart beat. B

My first Lake Erie fish. Not too shabby but not a big one by Erie Standards. B

So much so that I've made the decision to quit fishing inland lakes in my off time and just fish Clair and Erie. They are just amazing fisheries. Squid I'm going out most of the weekend to Clair. You busy? Revtro may go out with me Early morning Saturday. B

The bend in the frog is key for me. Just imagine a V bottom boat. The bend in the frog keeps the nose up and swimming on it's belly. B

Fortunately on Tritons the front storage is made for 3700's and so are the two rear storage compartments. That is one great idea though! I could have used it before I owned a boat. B

They are deadly for smallies during the spawn. Outside of the spawn I like to Trig them unpegged with a bead around cover and on the edges of breaklines. Very productive bait. I may have to give the *** a try. The one thing I dont like about Zoom stuff is that it does smell suspiciously like plastic!! I prefer the babies also. I like the brush hawg alot. It's more and more becoming my creature bait of choice. The big ones are definately situational. I dont use them often. Just too bulky. I will use them when I'm pitching or flipping heavier weights, but even then I'd prefer to use the babies. B

Who has time to worry about all this when there's fishing to be done....? B

Yer better than that Squid! Kalamazoo is in Michigan. Everyone knows KVD is from there! Get some more coffee bro! Fishing is tiring you out!! B

It's going to be a slugfest if the smallies are on beds. If I cash a check I'll be at the St Clair Open on Sunday. That's a big IF. This will be my first time at Burt/Mullet. B

I was just on a Fluke bite yesterday, if you've ever been "on a fluke bite" you know that the most important thing is just getting the Fluke in the water!!! Flukes catch fish when the bite is on. It didnt matter how I worked it, I caught fish. I think I fished it every way listed on this thread, except I didnt necessarily skip it across the water fast. I did twitch it to the surface quite a bit and literally had fish come out of the water to eat it. I would say it's about like a senko in that you are only limited by your imagination on how to work it in the water. It will catch fish if the bite is on. B

I'm going to be pre-fishing Burt/Mullet Wed, Thurs and Fri. I have a practice partner for Friday but so far am fishing alone Wed and Thurs. I am going as a boater so I'll obviously be providing the boat if any co-anglers would like to get on the water Wed/Thurs send me a PM. I heard there were 102 boats signed up as of last Thursday. Should be a great event! B

Leo, I am just a beginner when it comes to fishing the Great Lakes so take this with a grain of salt because I am no expert but I've been told that Gobies have no swim bladder and just "drag" across the bottom like a sucker fish. This is why dragging tubes is so effective. So when I think of a crankbait's action compared to that I dont know that you'll be mimicking a gobie very well with a crankbait. Just food for thought. Again, take it with a grain of salt. For all I know that pattern could become the next great thing on the Great Lakes and I'm full of poop. B

A 7 Foot B&R Outlaw rod Medium power with a shimano chronarch MG50 is a match made in heaven for throwing weightless senkos. I use 8 lb Seaguar Carbon Pro. I use circle hooks for senkos if I'm wacky rigging. If I'm texas rigging I'll use a 1/0 Owner EWG. B

You dont have to use the horny toad hooks. You can buy the cork screws seperately from BPS. I would not use less than a 5/0 and definately an EWG. The 5/0 rigs up better and I havent had a problem going through frogs. Generally my issue is after a few fish the cork screw has chewed up the nose. IMHO the horny toads action is slightly different than the Mann's Hard Nose. I prefer the horny toads. I would not base my decision on which one to throw because they tear up. I'd use different hooks or rig differently. Stick with the horny toads! Just my personal opinion. B

I love my pistol grip for shaking and skipping! The fellas are correct though. You need to buckle down and learn to cast proficiently. Get a pistol grip because it will fill a role in your game plan, not to get out of learning baitcasters! B

It can go either way. During the spawn all bets are off. Smallies will attack anything that goes near their bed even if it's connected to your pole and you are sitting over top of them. In the fall I've had a bass just sitting about 3 feet from my boat staring at me. I dropped a senko wacky rigged over the side and he attacked it. That was the quickest boat flip I've ever had. It just depends on the fish's mood. B

Michigan goes so far as to state "catch and immdiae release" for our catch and release season. So it wouldnt matter. If a state record fish was caught during the C&R season the best you'd be able to do is take a picture of it on your personal scale and put it back in the water immediately. You'd be legal in that regard but would you be able to get it certified after the fact? Probably not but it's possible. B

There's no actual "rule" and I dont want to come off as a jerk because I'm the nicest guy you'll run into out in the boat, but if you cast in front of me or over my head, it's going to be a long day on the lake for one of us. Generally I'll position the boat so that the co-angler has a good cast angle to the structure. One of the best techniques for a co-angler is to c-rig off the back of the boat especially if you've got a boater who likes to stay on the move. Spinner baits and fast movers are a good idea too. If you are holding on a spot then keep an eye on the sonar at the console of the boat. I leave mine on for the co-angler. This will keep you informed of the depth. If your boater is bank beating or fishing flats you should concentrate on fishing the next depth change behind the boat. Find the ledges behind you. This is what I would do anyway. Let your boater dictate how relaxed your afternoon is going to be and how casual. He may even tell you "hey cast over here this is a good area" or something like that. You just wont know how he's going to be until you are out there. B

I am totally not being sarcastic here. The best way to fish them is in the water. Period. They catch fish. Off the top of my head I cant remember a way that I've presented a senko and not caught a fish. B

I'm a soft plastics guy. I fish lead and plastics in some form or another probably 85% of the time. When I practice I'll try to find the predominant pattern and will work other presentations but for me I nearly always end right back at the soft plastics. I've never met Raul but I'll be darned if I dont have that sinker box he's talking about. I've got a couple 3700's devoted to just lead. B

I'm fishing a tournament there on Memorial Day. I'll be targetting smallies. Anyone have any tips on where to start? I've never fished this lake before. I'm going to explore out on Lake Michigan too. I've got 3 days of practice so I'll be able to put together a pattern but am trying to get a jump on it. B

The most important conversation must happen before you even get out on the water, and preferably the night before after you meet up with your boater. Feel them out. Ask them the questions. Especially ask them about equipment limits on what you should bring. Second most important is find out before hand how they want you to handle the netting/landing of their fish. I personally do not use a net but always have one incase the co-angler wants it. Do not just show up on the boat and start stabbing at their fish with a net. If you've never used a net before or arent comfortable netting... dont be afraid to tell them that. They need to know. As for the discussing of lake information, it's not as big of a deal on a one day tournament. There's not much danger of giving away secret spots since you arent going out with a different boater the next day. 2 day super tournaments that might come into play. My co-anglers will get one of the back compartments for tackle and they get the rear rod holder to put their rods on by the console. 3-5 rods is realistic. I've made the mistake of letting a co-angler bring as much gear as they wanted and that didnt work out well. I will tell them if they have too much gear. If you are fishing a body of water that requires multi state licenses make sure you have the required licenses. You will tick a boater off if they have to deal with you not having the licenses for the state they want to fish in. This is a big deal in michigan where we fish Clair and Erie that you could need 3 licenses in any given tournament. Treat their boat like it was the queen. If you tear up my boat or start banging my cowling with lures you might find yourself back at the launch. Dont bring beverages and food that are going to stain up the carpet or make a mess. I wouldnt suggest candy bars on hot days. Some boaters have a problem with nasty scents/attractants. Ask first before spraying/globbing the scent all over their boat. Just a few things that come to mind... Do not be afraid to ask the questions... check that... MAKE SURE you ask the questions prior to even launching. Above all, with gas prices soaring out of control dont show up to the ramp with 5 bucks for your boater for gas. That is just an insult. I've heard stories of co-anglers offering a couple bucks which is just about enough to get you a mile away from the launch. B

They call Cass Lake "Little Clair". It's a great small mouth inland lake. Burt and Mullet way way up north are great small mouth fisheries. Lake Erie has the bigger fish of the Great Lakes. Wixom Lake has some smallies in it too. B