Attila

Holy gobsmacking pig bellied studs right there...lol

They have the lures you're looking for...would stop there ahead of any other place I mentioned. Really great store and nice people there too, you might even run into some Elite anglers when you go who pop up on occasion to say hi. Cheers, enjoy your stay.

Largies, smallies, walleye, sauger, pike, musky, perch, bluegill, pumpkinseed, rock bass, black crappie, rainbow trout, brown trout, brook trout, chinook salmon, common carp, drum or sheephead, white suckers, white bass, channel catfish, mudcats, gobies, creek chub. So twenty three for now...I'm sure there are others but I can't remember them at this point.

@Brett's_daddy, sorry for the late reply. Here's a few notables. If you're interested in the high end bass gear, I would stop in at Pro J Fishing, their selection is totally impressive. Bass Pro Shops at Vaughan Mills Pro J Fishing Tackle on Sheppard Avenue one block east of Warden Bass City at 4361 Hwy 7 #4 Markham, ON JB’s Fishing Depot, 24 Ronson Drive, Etobicoke, ON Sail out in Oshawa at Stephenson Road exit from Highway 401

First time out in a bit, was a numbers game instead of size thanks to the past couple of days of odd weather...

Mono; it's the easiest to handle and is very forgiving and can still handle large fish under various conditions.

I've gotten skunked, nothing wrong with it. If anything days like that teach me the most about what I might do to not get skunked the next time I go out. I do a couple of things now to ensure I'm catching fish; first is to pack an UL combo with some tube jigs and more often than not I'll catch a variety of fish on them, including some decent sized bass. The second thing I do is keep a log. I can keep track of trends and what worked where and in what types of conditions I was catching fish. You're already doing the right things with researching everything, so keep that up. Cheers!

May I ask, are you using a rod with micro guides? I use the uni-to-uni and fish it on a spinning rod setup, not a baitcaster. Nothing wrong with the size of your leader, but if you want to avoid the eyelets at all, I'd shorten it to about 2-3' in length.

I'll be interested to see if anyone has and what their success has been with the modified lure too, @Megastink. Personally, beyond swapping out and upgrading trebles, I wouldn't alter a bait at all especially if it involves drilling into it but that's just me.

May I ask why the extra treble? Perhaps upgrading the existing trebles will help?

I went with a Daiwa Lexa 6'6" Medium Action XF rod matched with a Tatula 100HSL in a 7.3:1 ratio spooled with 30lbs braid for my walking topwaters. I use a separate setup for my jerkbaits. I like the Ike rod noted above and feel it will help you with the presentations you're looking to do. My suggestion, and my suggestion only, is to run a fluorocarbon leader when using the setup for jerkbaits. Cheers!

What if you fish straight fluorocarbon for crankbaits and spinnerbaits? What if I only use braid for walking style topwaters and use a fluorocarbon leader on poppers which have a frog pattern on them that smallies are coming right up to and looking at during a long, 30 second pause? Thing is, every presentation may have a nuance to it. It's these nuances that pros and some co's are trying to pick up on which make them more successful. I'm not going to get into the whole bass can see braid argument...I don't have time. I do know that for me, certain presentations work better running either straight fluorocarbon or a leader of the same. What works for me might not work for others. Has my mind ever been changed? Yes, because before last year I only used mono for topwaters, crankbaits, and jerkbaits. Heck at least one member here throws his jerkbaits on tieable wire and still catches 5-6lbs smallmouth; what does that do this whole argument? Anyways, just my 0.02 worth on this matter...

Yup, that's me...breaking the rules for the worse.

Much like @A-Jay I was watching on Bass Live and it looked like he was due east from the launch site on the eastern part of the lake. Definitely not south of the launch. I think the fluoro helped him a lot; I know it helps me a lot when I fish topwaters in really pressured, clear water.

The very first thing I show people on the reels that they're interested in is the line capacity numbers. Same goes for the rods that they look at. Then I inquire about what type of lures they're throwing with the setups they're looking at. Please do yourself a favour; follow the guidelines on the rods and reels. It'll help you in the long run, and you won't be demanding more than your equipment can offer.

Seaguar InvizX 12lbs fluorocarbon - to me it fishes with a stretch similar to the mono I used to throw. I also throw my spinner/chatter baits on a glass rod....I find it helps with hook ups when paired with this fluorocarbon.

Lot's of great advice in this thread. The only other suggestion I would make is look for fallen timber or mats that have been created by blown in weeds and fish these thoroughly as they both provide excellent cover for friendly neighbourhood largemouth. I would also experiment with different lures; my favourite is a 10" Berkley Powerbait Worm followed by a Yum creature bait of some type. Both are relatively inexpensive but work really well. Have a great summer!

Consider visiting the store to be more of an experience. I mean, where else are you going to go see a big fish tank for free? How about the kids who come who look at and touch all the mounts in the store? We just finished an event where we stocked our pond with trout and a couple of us helped kids catch their very first fish, taught kids about how important it is to clean up our environment, etc...on top of all that we had our pros in to give demos in the tank. As for Daiwa, I know you can purchase some baitcasting reels online from the website. Our in store stuff is limited to line counter reels that are really popular with the downrigging crowd which we also cater to. Our number one selling bait will always be either a Senko or the BPS Sinko simply because they're the easiest way to catch bass. Walleye season opens and its jigs and worm harnesses. I try to show and explain to customers that every lure has its place but people always think I'm there just to sell lures...the biggest part of my job is to educate people. Thing is, most people just don't want to learn...they just want to catch fish on every cast. Back to the Senko aisle I go.... I own a couple of Bass Pro rods and a couple of baitcaster reels and you know what? They're not that bad. I would compare them to the Tatula's that I own any day of the week. So yes, we sell an in house brand; so does every other major box store like a Cabela's, a Home Depot, etc. Don't knock them until you try it. As well, we sell a lot of Pflueger gear and some Mitchell reels as well which we sell a tonne of thanks to their very reliable reputation. And Ugly Stik...can't get enough of those Ugly Stiks!! As a part time job I enjoy it; I get to talk fishing and hopefully impart some knowledge to some youngsters which nobody did for me when I was their age. I see kids coming in with a lot of knowledge now and it's a vast difference from when I was growing up. That's all thanks to the internet. And one last thing...please don't flip out if we don't have something in stock. I get people who come in to the store and say "You're Bass Pro, you should have everything all the time!!" or "If my small store in *insert small town here* has it then you should!!!". Reality is that we get stuff in and it's usually sold out within 24-36 hours and then it takes a while to get more stock in. Not to mention that we have way more foot traffic than the small store in your small town... Only one more thing to add; please, if you're bringing in your reels to be spooled, please take off the line you have on your reels currently. It'll save time and you and those behind you in line won't have to wait as long to have your reels spooled...that's all.

@TxHawgs I appreciate what you're saying, there's definitely a size difference in the fish that you catch down in east Texas! Might I suggest trying the TATULA SV TW? Built to throw light baits...while I don't and won't ever use one I've heard some great things about it!

Anyone can catch average fish when they're biting...finding the right conditions that hold the big one in the same water is what is hard to do. Look at what Feider did today...that to me showed that he stuck to a game plan and executed regardless of what everyone else around him was doing.

I picked up a couple of the Ayu coloured baits and they work well in the situation's that @A-Jay explained above. I also tend to use Rapala Shadow Raps and Shadow Rap Shads as I find the colour patterns match the forage up here really well. Much like you I fish from shore and I've spent a lot of time learning about the structure that is available within casting distance of my spots. Sometimes there's a bass boat passing by and I'll ask about the depth I'm fishing at and they'll usually be kind enough to provide that information if it's a new location. Look for shoreline indicators like pebble rock or sand leading out to the lake that'll help you understand what you might be finding where you're casting. Echoing A-Jay's advice, when the water turns colder don't be afraid to lengthen your pause during your retrieve. It really does impact your bite.

For lure's that light I switched over to a spinning combo...the lightest lure I'll throw on a baitcaster is a 3/8oz bait and I'm doing that on 12lbs InvizX on a Team Daiwa S Glass rod with a Tatula. My spinning combo for those light cranks is a Daiwa 6'6" Procyon ML action rod matched with a Daiwa Fuego 2500 reel spooled with straight 6lbs InvizX. I fish a lot of pressured water here and throwing those smaller cranks on a lighter outfit along weedlines and rocky structure gives me an edge. I find using this presentation has also made me a better angler, learning how to take my time and use patience when bringing fish in. Hope this post helps some even though it didn't answer your question directly.

Jerkbait kind of day...Rapala Shadow Rap Shad in yellow perch produced on outside weed edges.

Had 30 minutes to catch a fish...only took 5 minutes on my 3rd dock...lol Not huge but was nice to see the newly purchased Hornet patterned Spro Bronzeye 65 bring it in.

Well I fished the combo and it was nice and smooth, everything I expected from it. Will let you all know about the drag performance when I catch a fish on it. One thing I now know...I like the feel of glass over graphite or any other blank when fishing spinnerbaits and crankbaits. So if you're in the Greater Toronto Area, feel free to contact me as the Daiwa Tatula pictured earlier is for sale at $100.00 Canadian and comes with a Rod Glove cover. Cheers.