TOXIC

Yamamoto makes a Baby Bass color. It's 305. It's a lot lighter and has more gold fleck than the pic shows.

I actually used to be able to get QC caught "mistakes" in the 901 pours where the green and white got somewhat blended and either swirled the 2 colors of gave them a weird tint. They were absolute killers. I got them in packs of 100. Yamamoto stepped up their pours and there's far fewer of them now. But you are right, the 901 is a good color.

I don't throw straight white that often but I have caught more Virginia Citation Bass (over 8lbs) on Yamamoto color 901 which is a watermelon/white laminate.

Unless it's windy and I plan on casting into the wind most all of my baitcasters are in freespool. You just need to educate your thumb a little more.

@riverbasser the OP asked for just 1 bait. With that condition, you naturally would go with a bait that has the highest probability to catch fish in the most varying conditions. It's hard to beat a Senko in that respect.

Easy answer, a Senko by far. Simple to rig, catches fish, works in all conditions.

Yes............to a point. At some point you will exceed your skill level and the extra $$ for higher end gear becomes redundant. Usually this is most evident with fishermen just starting out. In that example they get no real benefit from higher end gear until their skill level advances to the point they can take advantage of it. Better reels offer longer and more accurate casts, better drag systems, more functions, etc. Better rods offer actions designed for specific techniques, better sensitivity and upgraded performance. But those advantages are lost if you don't know how to use them. It is much easier for an experienced angler to catch fish on cheaper gear than an inexperienced angler to catch fish on more expensive gear.

Fished it 2 ways. Long leader (12"+) with a 1/4 oz weight for casting or dragging and with a shorter leader (6") for sight fishing bedding fish. I also upsized the weight. Main bait was a Yamamoto Shad Shape Worm in either Goby or Natural Shad.

Just got off St Clair where the majority of my damage was with the ol' Dropshot. Cleaned house with it. You can see the "Fairy Wand" in one hand and the result in the other!!

That also works.

The string method would have popped that loose.

On St Clair las week we had a LOT of Gar in one area we were fishing and catching smallmouth. Pods of 6 or 7 rolling on top. I wear sun clothing back here at home but usually once I become accustomed to the heat it's not a problem. Remember to hydrate all day, no carbonated drinks, no alcohol, no caffeinated drinks either. On really hot days, I start my hydration the day before. I've had heat stroke and believe me it's no fun!!

Personally, I am still on the quest for a 7. I've been close but no cigar. A 7 will constitute a replica for my man cave.

All of my frog fishing is done at night, with a spotlight and a frog gig. Frog Legs are yummy.

One thing I would add to Glenn's post above is to know and use the right hookset for the bait you are using. I broke 2 off on St Clair last week first thing because I forgot to adjust my hookset to the dropshot I was using. I was trying to cross their eyes like I do with Senkos and other presentations then I realized I was overpowering my equipment. Never lost another fish on the dropshot all week. Had a few pike/musky bite offs but no more lost smallmouth. Every technique has a different or best type of hookset.

My mentor and the one who introduced me to fishing, my Grandfather passed away waaaaay too early (he was 51 and I was a teen) and I couldn't handle the memories every time I picked up a rod. I quit fishing for a number of years and concentrated on my career. When I moved to Virginia 25 years ago, I had 2 neighbors that got me back on the water and I had an epiphany wade fishing the Shenandoah River where I felt his presence right there with me and I got the passion back 10 fold. So much so, I ended up guiding for a number of years. I do know of some hard core anglers both recreational and competitive that just "burned out" after many years of fishing. Sometimes it just happens. Some ease back into it and some never get the drive again.

Yes, we were there 05/19 - 05/26. The weather was absolutely brutal. As A-Jay said, we are used to some dicey weather on that lake and we have experienced it all from 90 degrees to sleet, wind and rain to flat and sunny but this year it was pretty much every day with small craft advisories and a tornado warning just for good measure. We had to really pick our spots and be mindful of the wind and weather. We just got caught 1 day and had to call for backup!! As usual it was a species extravaganza with smallmouth, largemouth, musky, pike, perch, white bass, goggle eyes, drum, walleye (enough for a good feed) and gills. Because of the weather we explored some new locations and found fish when the weather allowed us to fish them. Since home base is on Harsens Island, we had a lot of cold water to deal with other than Muscamoot. We usually plan for a couple of blow days but this year it was all week for the most part. With that being said, we are making plans for year 17.

It is frustrating to see the trash but don't get down on fishermen as the cause all the time. I fish the Potomac which runs through big metropolitan ares like DC and Alexandria. Not to mention the thousands of feeder creeks and streams that feed into the river. The trash from the cities makes its way into the waterways via storm run off and there's literally hundreds of miles of feeder streams, creeks and rivers that also feed into it. It's a daunting task keeping the litter in check.

Well, our 2019 Lake St Clair trip is in the books. It was our 16th straight year going to the big pond. What a trip it was!! The weather was the absolute worst we have ever had in the 16 years. 37 degree take off temperatures, 48-56 degree water temps, 30mph winds some days and rain most days. We busted up some boats (nothing serious) and had bottles of Advil lined up at the end of every day. A week straight of getting tossed around and trying not to get thrown off the deck puts a hurtin your back, knees and stomach. I have a newfound respect for the Ultrex trolling motor and the spot lock feature. We used the Power Poles a lot when we were in Big and Little Muscamoot Bays bed fishing. One day the winds were so bad, we called some of our crew who stayed close to the island where the cottage was located, to come pick us up with a truck and trailer on the other side of the lake so we didn't have to make the run across in 5 footers. The wind came up after we got across the lake. We have trailered over to the other side when winds were predicted to be bad but we never had to call for a pickup. Thank heavens some of our crew decided to stay over on the other side and fish Muscamoot Bay while we ran over to our spots on the Detroit side. We threw a lot of different baits but as I have said in the past, one presentation usually stands out. This year it was the trusty dropshot and the Yamamoto Shad Shape Worm. I used Goby color when pitching to bedding fish and Natural Shad when we were drift fishing or blind casting. It was too windy for a Ned rig most days but a few were caught on it. I fished a weightless Senko for a few fish but not many. We also threw cranks, DShads, Jerkbaits, rattletraps, chatterbaits, spinnerbaits and my #2 producer was a Shakeyhead with a Pro Senko in Natural Shad. I shortened my tag line when I was dropshotting the beds and upsized the weight from the usual 1/4 oz. When drifting, I used the 1/4 oz and a longer tag line. We caught a LOT of fish but the combat fishing conditions really took a toll on us this year. Already gearing up for next year. Here are some pics of our average fish. We were catching anywhere from 20 to 30 a day which is down a little for numbers. Still my favorite lake even when she fights us!!

If you only knew. We eat like Kings for the week. We get a 20lb box of King Crab Legs, venison steaks, Russian Boar and usually a huge italian meal with chicken piccata, crab stuffed portabellows, jerk chicken and other dishes. It's wild!! I traditionally do BBQ. The cottage is right across a canal from Browns Bar and they have some good burgers as well. 4- 1/2 gallons of Jack, case of Virginia made moonshine and our traditional bottle of Jack Daniels Sinatra. 16th year and it only gets better with the off the hook smallmouth fishing.

Exactly my point. We over think stretch and the advantage of other lines like braid with its -0- stretch properties. Good hooks are way more important.

IMHO, you should look at store branded combo's in the price range you want. Typically, you can get a good combo without paying for the name brand.

What type of other boats do you see on the lake? Which are the most popular? That will give you a good idea.

Looks good maybe it's the pic but looks medium well to me. I like my steak rare.....very rare. I just put a set of 3 racks of ribs on my smoker. Did 3 racks yesterday and will take all 6 racks up to Michigan for our annual trip. Trying something new this year, I have tried 1/2 smoking them and finishing up there and I have tried full smoking and reheating both on the grill and in the oven and I was not pleased on how they turned out. This year I am doing sous vide style. We'll see if they turn out any better. No one has ever complained but I am very picky about my BBQ.

Well, we are loaded and will leave at 3am tomorrow for our annual trip to Lake St Clair. It's the highlight of my fishing season.