DubyaDee

There are a lot of factors that come into play. If perch is the main forage in your body of water and the water is clear I'd throw a simple perch color. If the water is stained and they want perch, I'd throw a firetiger/clown. To stay pretty generic you should throw translucent colors in clear water and solid's in dirty water. There is a ton of info on throwing jerkbaits on here, so much that there is no clear answer. What works for me won't be the same as what works for you. I can tell you that for Michigan smallmouth, jerkbaits are my first option.

I put a fluke on the underspin to make it as natural as possible. Grubs are always a good lure for fall, just not as "sexy" as some other options. Blade baits are sweet when the temp drops less than 45 degrees. Some folks have success with flutter spoons like the Johnson Slama. Once the water gets to that temp I like using a hair jig better.

I've got these all tied on during the fall. I'll usually throw a jerkbait half the time and rotate the rest till I know what they want. This time of the year is my favorite. Spring produces, but the water is way too crowded.

My dad got a 4 pounder mounted about 20 years ago. He keeps it tucked away in his closet because we give him crap about it frequently. I'm trying to get him on something over 5 so I can surprise him with a mount for his next birthday.

I'm confused about the term "no stretch fluorocarbon" that all the pros feel the need to use. If it was no stretch you wouldn't need to reiterate it any chance you get.

I think we've got another week or so before you can get numbers. You can always find smallies in the river.

I saw this long post and was excited to read about what reel 'spoke' to you and earned it's right onto your rod. Then I read that you found a deal on one so decided on it....oh well. You should put this in the deals thread. Congrats on saving a few dollars! Hope the reel does everything you expect it to.

I like the idea of not having to use a live well. The mortality rate of tournament quality fish is too high. Kayak fishing tournaments do a CPR (catch pic release) style is similar to MLF stuff. I doubt bass masters or any of the big dogs will change the way they hold their tournaments.

I agree with Molay. It depends on what rod I'm throwing them on. My Dobyns 734 is kinda soft, so I make up for that with 30 pound power pro for spinnerbaits. If I want a little more give, I'll switch it out for 10 pound izorline. I'll never be content with my line choice for each setup. Even when I'm mowing the lawn I think about switching out the izorline with flouro, or using 12 pound XL, or going to 832 instead of power pro. Half of the fun is playing around with your setups to make it all work well. You should tweak the line, drag, and rod to you what makes you fish more confidently.

They replaced an elite tech smallmouth that broke on a hookset for me. I don't know that it's worth it for a guide, especially if it's not their fault. I just feel like that's not good fishing mojo, which I need as much as I can get.

Spook rod for sure, 7.1:1.

I use gamas g finesse swivel shot and haven't had any issues either. One of the videos I'm referring to is when Mike Ike was hosted by the local Sbarro in the food court of his mall.

I've always read/heard that you don't want to reel much when a fish is taking drag on your spinning set up because it will create tons of line twist. The pro's on Mille Lacs this weekend are drop shotting these 5 pound smallies, and a lot of them are reeling like crazy while their drag is working overtime. Shouldn't this be putting tons of twists in their line? What's your take on this? Obviously their the pro's and most of us aren't.

I switched from straight braid to braid and a 15 pound flouro leader and it worked wonders. Don't jack the hook set either. I think most smallmouth lures need a sweep set anyway. Pike love expensive lures, maybe they don't like the cheap ones?!?

Every trip I usually do something embarassing, I get too excited to be on the water and don't think things through. Last trip I was retying, cut the main line (not the tag end) and tossed the tube over the boat into the water. I picked up my rod to make a cast and my tube was gone.

Straighten it out and put a split ring on it. You'll be walking in no time.

If I were in your shoes I'd get the fenwick methods. You can make a medium or medium heavy, should be able to chance the action from fast to extra fast too. I've had 3 fenwick rods, and they are all pretty nice. Perfect for travel!

Pro blue and perch. I have a dozen or so 110's and half of them are perch. It's my go to year round.

Great read. Nothing like a smallie hitting spinnerbait. I'm partial to war eagles screamin eagle in sun perch. What do you feel about trailers? I've got some family that will put a kalins grub on anything they can get their hands on.

I use dou's spinbait 80 in morning dawn on a 7'2" ML fast on 6lb flouro. You should fish these painfully slow. When all else fails I throw the spybait and get bit.

I'll use a 110 year round for smallies. The staysee 90 is the best for deep water though. The confidence that the 110 gives me is worth the extra money. I think megabass colors are more appealing too.

It's like a gray color with purple flake. I think it looks more like a goby than a craw.

So, obviously wave bounce isn't the correct term. With my bow mount fish finder, the transducer is on the trolling motor like most folks do. When I am fishing in steady waves the screen shows that the bottom of the lake has the same contour of the waves. I hope that makes sense. Is this just what we have to deal with when we've got a TM mounted transducer? Do you put the transducer on the stern to avoid this?

1. Perch jerkbait 2. Canadian mist tube 3. Dropshot anything 4. Spybait 5. Bone spook

I'd get a super spook jr in bone or a simple shad color. That'll get your confidence up in the spook line up and you can go crazy with size and color combo's. The Jr model already comes with a feather tail too. My favorite is the one knocker spook in bone, then I'll add my own feathered treble. If you get the original spook, I'd suggest adding split rings to the hooks.