UPSmallie

Saw this lure featured in an article and have to say I love the look of the smallmouth bass. A little pricey, but I can't help but think that the local apex predators will be all over this. Does anyone have experience throwing this bait? It also comes in largemouth bass coloration.

Dang, sorry to hear. I once forgot a tackle box full of $75 worth of lures at a public fishing spot. Didn't even notice it was missing. Came back a week later, searched the area as well as the lost and found and it was gone. Not sure if you don't already do this, but every since that incident I've taped a 3 X 5 card just inside the tackle box lid of every tackle box that I own and wrote down my name, phone number, email, and mailing address. It reads "If found please either contact or return: (List the information)." And then Thank You. I have yet to lose another box, but I think I now have a better chance of having my stuff returned in the future.

If a fish hits and it misses the hooks, yes you have a VERY good chance of hooking up. If it hits and mouths the hooks but you miss the hookset, you STILL have a chance. If you set the hook on it and it starts to fight for even a second, then I'd say move on and come back later in the day. This generally applies for any fish species. Literally had this happen two days ago splake fishing. Tank followed me in and struck my husky jerk, but missed it and swam off. Pitched it back out 20 feet and started cranking it in. He came back and crushed it, but when I set the hook the the lure came flying out of his mouth. Game Over. Gotta love fishing.

Haha yeah, fishing for these fish wears me out, so when I get home I just try and muster out a smile before I go lie down. All worth it though.

Amazing Day! Congrats

There's a reason why I only keep it on my tipups haha. Couldn't imagine spooling that on a reel though.

Thanks! Definitely a blast to catch.

Cast out and twitch it back in. Fast, slow, doesn't matter. It will get pounded. Best for fishing in 10 feet of water or less. Have caught some good ones on a straight retrieve though.

Thanks guys

Thanks!

I usually just make sure I can barely pull line off with hands. You don't want it to not give any line, or give too much, but just enough that if you're pulling hard enough some line will come off. Trial and error helps too.

Finished up school for the year and had the day off today so I went back out to try and catch another splake. Started out bobber fishing smelt and got a hit, but nothing was on the end. Nothing happened for a while until a guy hooks up and lands a 6 lber on a Husky Jerk. I dig through my tackle box and find a HJ12 Ghost that I painted white down the sides to mimic a smelt. I pinch on a splitshot 27 inches above it and chuck it out. I twitch it back to me with a steady retrieve a couple of times, but then decide to slow it down. I slow-roll it back, giving sporadic twitches on the way in. I was straining through my polarized lenses as it got closer to the pier, hoping that a fish would be following it in. About 6 feet out, right about the place where I should start being able to see the Husky jerk, my rod nearly gets ripped out of my hands! Somehow I manage to net the splake, while it's thrashing on the water's surface with just the back treble in its mouth! As soon as I net it the hooks pop out. Definitely crazy. I gave it away to my neighbors to try out. Fish On.

Beautiful fish and amazing story! Congrats

Very nice!

Awesome! Great pictures.

Great question. I think you have a great start using the input of what others have said. Here's my $0.02 for open water topwater fishing. Whenever I pull up to my fishing spot, whether it be from shore or in a boat, I immediately analyze the water and light conditions. You're looking for a scenario where the sun is not 100% beating down. Like others have said, it is still doable if this is the case. The sunlight could be broken up by clouds, the sun rising/setting, etc. This is what I look for/plan ahead for. As for water conditions, I'm mostly referring to wave/wind action. How big are the waves and how much of a factor is the wind going to be? Waves roughly 4 inches or less make for ideal topwater conditions. Throw literally any topwater you can think of and you should be set. I'd give each topwater 20-30 minutes so that you can start to identify which ones work best for the area you are fishing. When fishing topwaters I hit a spot once or twice and then fan-cast to the left or right of the spot I started with. After hitting middle, left, right, I move over 10-15 feet to the left or right direction and repeat the process. As for wave conditions over 4 inches, I would opt for heavier, more durable topwaters such as one knocker spooks, whopper plopper, pompadour, etc. for casting convenience. Keep in mind that the fish are not always on a topwater bite, but this shouldn't stop you from throwing your go-to's when you first start fishing. Keep at it and go get em!

Beautiful fish. Congrats.

Found these in the archives and thought everyone could use a good laugh.

+1 Forgot about Google Earth. Especially when fishing somewhere for the first time, it's a great idea to try and locate areas to hit that look good. The Navionics Boating App for $10 is also a great start in the right direction. You can mark waypoints on your smartphone and the satellite connected to the app will always show where you are and in what direction you are going with or without service. Downloading your local lake maps/regions you will be fishing is free after purchase.

Standard Bullfrog has done best for me. Love chucking that thing in the slop

Ah ok thanks

Everyone pretty much summed it up. My 2 cents would be to look for where moving water is getting pushed into the system you are fishing. As others have said, this can come in many forms from channels, creeks, rivermouths, pond fountain systems, etc. Usually that's where the baitfish stack up as well.

Good work. Yes I have done this before usually with Rapala Jerkbaits. Put a single split shot 12-18 inches above the lure and you are good to go.

Hmmn. Good point. I just assumed it was a splake since everything caught there tends to be either a pike or a splake. I can definitely see the similarities of either one. If I catch another the next time I go there I'll post a pic. Here's a picture of a splake caught in the same area ice-fishing for somewhat of a reference. The dots along the body are all circles, whereas the lake trout has more irregular shapes. Truthfully, maybe lake trout/splake hybrid?

Thanks, yeah they taste like normal trout that you'd buy at the store, except with a natural cedar wood smoke kind of flavor. Probably not the best tasting of the trout species, but definitely flavorful.