WI_Angler1989

That's the fish of a lifetime for me! Lucky man!

I need to get better at tossing a follow up bait out quick. I tend to just throw whatever they just missed or got off of. A wacky Senko will be my choice probably.

That's some trophy Smallmouth country! I'm near sine decent smaller rivers here but no solid lakes.

Typical spring weather. Its the same jere with rain the last few years. Where are you based out of? I'm in west-central wi.

Pretty fitting name! Most of the bigger and average sized fish are "black pandas." Must be because of the rivers I fish. Those fish In your profile are gorgeous! Fish that big never have those classic colors here. Awesome! So when are we goingoing then?!

Personally, I'd fish some Kalin's grubs and Aglias. If it's topwater season I'd throw a popper too.

Thanks! Like I said, the pic doesn't do it justice even. That fish was SO fat it was crazy.

New favorite from the OP! Still, after another season, I'm not the best fishing pic taker. They never seem to do the fish justice! This Smallie was 22.5" and 5.1 pounds! Cabin Creek Salty Critter Jr tube in green pumpkin blue flake rigged on a Cadman's Smallie Slidin' jig. St Croix Legend Tournament Bass 610mlxf Shimano Stradic FK spinning 2500

Still love this picture! Idk if you remember, but you gave me a few lake tips for here by eau claire last winter. I won't name it here, but I got up there a couple times and caught a few good fish. Sadly the days we were out were less than favorable for canoe fishing, windy and such. Made it tough to really fish slow. I'm gonna have to get there more next year! Takes some time to figure out the waters without electronics. Happy new year, Nik

@smr913, wow that's a light combo! I could fish that all day without any fatigue. I like that line setup too. I went with 15# super slick power pro and a fluoro leader. My Legend Tournament is a ML and perfect for my needs. But if you like those light rods, then who's to stop ya!

@smr913, is it super sensitive? I have a Legend Tournament Bass that use for most finesse baits. I fish bottom contact lures for river smallies a LOT, and am looking into an Elite this offseason. Good luck finding some trout this winter!

Great river smallie! And beautiful rod too! How do you like the Elite? I've been dreaming about one since they came out last season.

Man, the Whopper Plopper is popping up a lot (pun intended)! I've been wanting to try one, but the reviews are hit or miss. Some people swear by it, some people haven't caught a fish on it ever. Makes me wonder if it's worth it. I don't fish topwater too often, but that's mainly because it's hard in the fast rivers I fish. I fish from shore and wading a lot when I'm not in my canoe. That makes it hard to fish a popper or spook. The Whopper could be the fix for that, since it's like a buzzbait and good in current, but then it floats and can be paused too.

That's one big fish! How have you liked the Spro Rckcrawler? I really like the look of it. Does it come through rocks well? I don't really fish a lot of deeper water, so the 11' depth kind of scares me. I canoe fish shallower rivers mainly.

Seems like the opinions are pretty 50/50. I've always wanted to store plastics in planos, but it'd be a shame to end up with ruined boxes and dried plastics. I'm way to poor and frugal to risk it!

I love tube fishing for smallies. Like others have said, anything is fun when they're biting, but tube is my favorite! I'd say any topwater, but I don't fish topwater much because I fish lots of high current rivers and it doesn't always work well. When it does though! Holy crap!

Makes sense. Still, for my needs, the ML is perfect. I fish those light lures all year for river smallies. To each their own, eh? The thing that makes me go with my ML is the action isn't just a fast, it's a extra fast. That stout er tip makes hook sets a lot better despite the lighter power. So I have the lighter, castable rod with 1/8 oz tubes, and the power thanks to it being XF. For sure man! I'm in Eau claire, so not super close. But ya never know. I go on a few fishing/camping trips up there each year. I'd LOVE to fish Sturgeon Bay again. Been there once on a guided trip. Sadly I have a canoe and it's not big water friendly haha. This fish is from up there!

Nice fish, man! Notany largemouth that big around me, just big smallmouth. Yeah, they get real dark as the season progresses! This one is nearly black haha

Beleive it or not, there were dorkier ones! . Thanks man, she was awesome! I'm hoping to find her next season too.

I get what you mean about being worried, but I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Just be sure to get hands on whatever rod you wanna get, if you can. Then you can feel the balance and give it a little bend to feel how the backbone feels. Thanks man! That was my biggest bass last season. Idk the weight but it was a solid 22 inches.

Sadly, I don't know the weight of her. The length was 22.5 inches and FAT! Obviously take it with a grain of salt seeing as there's no scales to back it up. Caught on a Cabin Creek Salty Critter Jr tube (2.5") in watermelon blue flake.

I fish rivers pretty much exclusively. Here in WI there's no shortage of big river smallies either! Of course, I love fishing lots of lures, but for the sake the topic here are my favs/best. -Tubes- (Cabin Creek, River Rock) easily my most productive and favorite way to fish. Nothing beats the feeling of a big fish hitting a little tube for me. Tubes are also my best numbers bait. So long as you know there are or should be fish around (eddies, pools, break lines), youll catch smallies on a tube. It's the first thing I fish and the lure that I have the most confidence in. -Grubs- (Kalin's) also super productive at any time of the year. I play around with colors and length to see what they want. Greens and smokes work best here. 4" usually, some 5" and 3" for trailers. -finesse jigs- they'll will get bit any time the tube bite is on in my experience. The kicker is that I've had days when a tube gets nadda, but the jig gets slammed. -Mepps Aglia- for me it's Mepps. Not inline spinners. Mepps. They're money here on any fish and Smallies love them. Downside is they're very snaggy if you're in unfamiliar water. -Plastic Craws- I use these as jig trailers a lot, but fish them alone more probably. Some days they out fish tubes, some days it's about the same but the claws make them fall slower which can be key. I cast into current and just reel slower lack as they bounce down river. I do all my tubes, craws, finesse worms, etc on Cadman's Smallie slidin' jigs (confidence baits draggin heads too) and that's the key. They weedless, pretty snag proof unless it's super rocky, and make plastics sit up on the bottom. Finding this style jig hook was the best thing for me. No more worries about snags and lost lures so I fish confidently! Well, that's my run down on what I do and like. Now I wanna go fishing... crap.

I don't think you'll be disappointed. I agree with all the previous comments that a ML rod, especially a St Croix, will be perfect. I think this because I run that setup too: St Croix Legend Tournament Bass Dropshot (mlxf) rod with a Shimano Stradic FK. This is more than enough for my needs fishing rivers in Wisconsin for smallies! I have zero regrets and it has never let me down with big fish in fast currents. Plenty of power.

I just picked up some 2.75" River Rock tubes (pro series) in a few colors. I've heard great things about the for years now, but never jumped. Anyone else on here use or used them? I'd love to hear some opinions and stories while I wait for warmer weather to use them!

I fish a shallow (relatively) river here in WI with great success. Seems like the target areas have been well covered by others here. On thing ill add is to cast into the gnarliest current and keep the line as taugth as you can. Not so much as ro reel faster than it tumbles, but you dont want to have line all over the place. Fish setup in current and wait for things to fall past, may as well imitate that! My go-to is always a weedless tube. I like Cabin Creeks 2.5" tubes personally, rigged on a Sliding jig by Cadmans custom jigs. Grubs are also big producers. 4" or 5" kalins grubs in various greens on jig heads. They're much snaggier than the tubes, but once you learn the watersame, you know when you reel over snags etc. Plastic craws on the slidin jigs have gotten me HUGE fish lately too. Not a numbers bait for me, but if I want the big ones thata what Iversion needed recently. Mepps Aglias are a confidence bait for me too, but are snaggy too. Some days jerkbaits are the ticket too. Keeping it simple is my key, I have my staples: tubes, grubs, aglias, craws and jerbaits. Some days I switch it up but almost always get the bites on my usuals. There's a reason they've become my stand bys. Play around with these and other reccomendedations and lures you already like and you'll figure out what works in your waters. Edit: I don't often, but topwater is awesome for smallies! It's hard in the areas I fish thanks to current though. I had some awesome hits on a popper yesterday! Such a blast!!