stk44

What about in muddy conditions? Still throw a jerk?

Ok, and i take it I should slow crawl for anything under 55-60 degrees?

What was the water temp and what was the water clarity?

I didn't get to do more than 30 minutes of actual fishing, me and my buddy scoped out the two islands and got a slight idea of the depths and contours. I was having issues with my sonar so I wasn't too effective. all I did was throw an IMA pin jack 200 Which dives to about 6 feet. Water temp was between 47-50 degrees depending onwhere I was. Would a grub, spinner bait or lipless crank be a better search bait for smallmouth?

That's amazing! This will be my first ever Lake Erie trip, I'm so excited.

Thank you sir! I will definitely pm you once I get the green light to head north.

Yeah, presque isle bay. Never fished there before so I'm pretty pumped.

Even with the warmer for the season water temps?

Thanks. What types of structure are you fishing?

I went out yesterday which was after a cold front. Same thing, sunny bluebird skies. Around 2 pm when the water started to warm to about 55 degrees at least 100 bass in groups of 10-15 cruised the shallows to a cove. I was leaving at the time and tossed a drop shot and a small 3" wacky worm at them and they were very skittish. It seemed like they were transitioning and I only saw a few hitting flies on the surface. Maybe a float and fly or a fly rod is the solution?

Sounds like a plan. I guess the only way I'll know for sure is by fishing it.

Good Luck, stay safe. If you need anything (care packages etc.) let me know.

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but what is a full floating spool? I understand there are probably only two points of contact and it obviously wouldn't be contacting like a normal spool, but what does it mean and what are the benefits? I have an SX and never really paid attention. What are you using it for? I have a hard time casting crankbaits under 3/8 oz with the SX, but it bombs 1/2 oz lures smoothly.

My water temp in the Allegheny River near Pittsburgh, PA is around 45-46 degrees. I plan on kayak fishing this weekend, and there is a good highly pressured spot that I will most likely avoid. This spot just so happens to be a good sized feeder creak that small mouths tend to stage outside of just before spawning. There are boulders, eddies, a wall, and all kinds of good spots, but you have people that setup on the banks with a lawn chair and have 15 rods in the water, it gets a bit stressful. I was going to head downstream and fish a couple of unpressured islands. There are some smaller eddy's formed on the downstream side of the island with some brush, stumps, and partially submerged trees. I've never fished it, but from google earth, it looks as though the left side of the island is shallower, maybe 5-7 feet, the point of the island drops into 10 feet of water, and the right side could be potentially 10 feet to 15 feet. I was going to start hitting the downstream side of the island with a 1/2 oz spinner bait, and drop shot a jerk shad or tube, and pitch a jig. Any other suggestions?

Check out this backpack: https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/catpage-OKUMSTORAGE.html?from=basres I'm really pleased with it.

I have the Avid X MLXF 6'9" - AWESOME. This works GREAT for drop shot. I have been using 8 lb invisz with a 3/16 DS weight and it's super sensitive. I can feel the bottom contour and tell whether I'm in grass, rocks, etc very easily. The water temps have been in the mid to high 40's so most of the largemouth are still pretty lethargic but I've felt little bites before I've even seen the line move. This to me makes the rod worth it. I'm willing to bet its the best $200 rod on the market. Plus I believe they still have a 15 year warranty on the rods. As far as the Avid vs. Avid x goes, it really just is personal preference. I prefer the split grip and it reduces weight, which is nice for drop-shotting.

So....about that...I usually use my ML for Rapala HJ 06 and 08's. I was trying 10's and that seems to be the limit for this rod. What are your thoughts on that? I know the action is good for the jerks, just not sure about the power. Also, I could make the case to my wife to get another rod...like a 6'6" medium baitcaster...

I plan on going on a fishing trip to Lake Erie (PA side) to fish for SM bass between late April- Early May. I'm limited to 2 rods and just a little bit of tackle, because we are taking my Dad's friend's boat which doesn't have much room. Which 2 rods would be best for this time of the year? 6'9" St. Croix Avid X ML -Extra fast with Revo STX spinning 8 lb flouro 7'4 St. Croix GLASS Mojo bass Medium -Moderate action with REVO SX baitcaster 12 lb copolymer 7' Dobyns Champion Mag Heavy fast action -with REVO MGX reel 50 lb braid + flouro leader 7' Ugly stick MH with Penn conflict 4000 reel with 30 lb braid. 6'10 shimano sell us MH fast action with silver max reel 30 lb braid I was thinking the St Croix ML avid X for drop shotting and dragging tubes, and even t-rigging smaller soft plastics and taking my mojo bass rod for throwing some medium running cranks. Thoughts? Thanks, Steve

Ok cool. Thanks for the info. Actually I was fishing the little northmoreland lake. I've never been to cross creek lake, looks awesome though. I have a little one at home now so if I want to fish a lot I have to hit the little spots close to home.

I don't know about the 1/2 oz, but I've fished the 3/4 oz and it seems to have really good action, and has super sharp hooks on them. I received the 3/4 oz in a MTB, but it's a bit heavier than I usually use. I think they are definitely worth $4-5 dollars.

The fish all seem healthy looking but I've yet to catch any with guts on them. I've heard that there is a fairly healthy mix of smaller class bass, but it's a rarity to pull anything over 1 lb out of there.

Yeah that must be it. I signed up for an account.

For the most part, the size limit is 12" with some exceptions. The majority of the fish look like this:

The problem is that since it's a "big bass lake" the minimum harvest length is 15"

Did you sign up for a free account? It looked like this: Shipping fee - $5.99 Shipping discount: $-5.99 Are you sure it didn't say that? I was going to get some 6 sense cranks, but they are so expensive. I will just buy there squarebills and silent cranks.