Ohioguy25

That would make the most sense idk why that hypothesis gets so much traction

I have long heard that within a week of the autumnal equinox, no matter what the water temperature is smallmouth begin making their way to where they are going to be spending the winter. What puzzles me about this is don’t they need that current they have been feeding near all summer to feed up for fall, or do they relocate to different current nearer to adequate winter habitat (deep, slow water?) Lastly, are there any areas you target during the summer that you stop hitting from this point on?

What’s the website, Asian fishing portal?

That’s a thought, better than the xps lead pinch on weights?

Exactly I can get 20 fish on one bait, and unless I get hung up get multiple trips. I bought some of these to try, thanks. Do you think these will impart a different action being shorter and the weight more concentrated than traditional belly weights?

I suppose yes

Unfortunately the screw locks are a no go with ElaZtech.

Zman & Mustad both have great belly weighted swimbait hooks for fluke rigging, but both are unfortunately stupidly expensive. $7+ for 3 hooks is outrageous, especially the way I’m fishing them. 1/8 oz is just enough to reach bottom and so while I typically get a bit more use out of these than neds they have a finite lifespan. I can’t seem to find any cheaper options than these two brands, Gammy has one but it’s their powerline hooks for braid. In fact these are the ONLY two brands I seem to be able to find, anyone got any ideas for me? I am using to reach smallmouth in anywhere from 3-10 ft of water with a 4” Zman Jerk Shadz, usually with current. Thanks!

Interesting, what part of the country are you in? High pressure, bluebird days push smallmouth to the bottom of the river here and they rarely come up to hit moving presentations, typically have to come to them with either finesse or a reaction bite. Wonder what caused this, pressure? Amen to that regarding hard and fast rules, I‘ve been trying to pry myself free of them. Having said that, interesting on your topwater color choice, I’ve always heard the inverse - bone/baitfish with sunny skies, black on cloudy days which made sense to me as the silhouette is more visible on sunny days while black is more visible on cloudy but who knows.

I will occasionally pitch a spook, rico or even a plopper at shaded areas but only when nothing else is working.

Also, does it matter what brand or material that way to use? I found these lead oval nail weights on Amazon for relatively cheap, seems to be a pretty good deal if I can make that work I would love to. I have a bunch of gammy 3/0 EWG worm hooks to use with them, will this work and give me better action than the ZMan Chinklockz I’ve been using? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D3LS5MBS?psc=1&smid=A2NIBW08X8WWCJ&ref_=chk_typ_quicklook_imgToDp

In Ohio these overnight lows have turned the fish on overnight. However, in my experience it generally is short lived and we are left with a scattered, inconsistent fall bite that alternates between bouts of aggressive moving presentations and slow, very subtle finesse tactics. Mid-late September is when this initially kicks off with the smaller fish going first, followed closely by the 17/18” fish for a day or two. Then it really seems to be sort of all over the place. The bites quickly become very few and far between, with most of the squeakers suddenly absent from their summer feeding grounds but a shot at your 20+“ fish getting you off the couch. What I’m wondering is if this is due to the autumnal migration or if the yo-yo temps (it is now back in the mid-upper 80s) have stunted the fish back into summer pattern?

I have long been relying on others and it’s just one more thing to coordinate every time it needs done and they’re usually backed out. Is it reasonably easy to figure out?

Interesting, so you think the cooler water temps take precedence over oxygen content? That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out.

How important is oxygen content and how low does it get in 80 degree water with little flow?