BuzzHudson19c

I stay away from social media. These forums and Tnation forums are it for me. That other stuff (facebook, twitter etc) just seems toxic.

This for sure. I haven't tied on an original in years (also the jointed floater). Scatter rap crank has been great this year for me.

It just has terrible hook placement. The trailer hook helps, but it's still pretty bad. I fell for it, bought one and it was a waste of money. There are plenty of baits that do what the duck tries to do much better. The rat however does look pretty legit. I haven't picked one up, but a few buddies have them and catch fish pretty consistently.

On open water especially. One of my favorite techniques is to cast a frog on the shore parallel with a dock. Drag the frog into the water and walk it the whole way. I have caught some of my best large mouth this way. There are a few lakes that I fish with very little vegetation and I will use a frog all day walking it on open water. Remember kids, a hollow body frog doesn't allows imitate a frog.

The best way to fish the duck is don't.

for learning on a spook first. It's the same motion but with a frog it's much more subtle. One day I was walking a frog and my friend says "How are you doing that, it doesn't even look like you are moving the rod?"

That's on the high side for spinning stuff. Try going down to 8lb (I personally like Stren). Or run braid to a mono or flouro leader.

I love Lake Durant! I just tie on a frog and never take it off.

It looks like a good "crawling" type of bait. The fact that it's a bat is an irrelevant gimmick.

Grab a few lures for each part of the water column. Specific name brands and colors aren't too important. 1. buzzbait 2. squarebill 3. Rat l Trap 4. Jig 5. Senko That is a cheap and easy box to make happen and should cover a lot of situations. Of course there are a lot more options but this is "must have."

Not sure what they call the color. It's white on the bottom. The buzz was a boo yah with the clacker removed (1/2 oz I think). That day I was using a reaction innovations beaver in "donkey punch" as a trailer and then a kvd rodent in "summer craw" (no skirt). Both got equally devoured.

I have the froggtoggs in max 5 for waterfowl. I haven't had a problem except for the lack of insulation. I can never wear enough socks in them. Definitely not a cold weather wader.

This is what I was leaning towards. Either way I will be giving it another go on Sunday.Tuesday was a record high of 90 and today's high was 68. Smallies will be feeding hard for the next couple of weeks.

I appreciate the replies guys, but I never said I was "giving up on the bait." I was just asking if the 90 would be a better smallmouth lure? Believe me I have caught dinks on big baits and big fish on crappie jigs. Just looking to see if anyone has prior experience finding the best fit for the particular species.

I finally bought a whopper plopper. Got the 110. Went out on the river today and was very underwhelmed by the performance. I had numerous fish come up to it and at the last second turn back. They would not commit to the bait. I tried many different retrieves all with the same result. I'd get a good swell and a view of a smallmouth's back. So I switch to old faithful buzzbait and get clobbered the rest of the day. No problems committing to the buzz, they were inhaling it ( got a nice one in the 4lb range.) Do you think the 110 is too much for most smallies? Should I switch to the 90 and use the 110 for Large mouth? These weren't small fish shying away from the plopper, they should have killed it.

The closest BPS is 100 miles from me. Closest Cabelas is 130 or so miles. Maybe we get a store when they merge. Won't hold my breath though.

Pickerel are my frog nemesis. 50lb braid and they slice right through it. It got to the point whenever I fish a particular lake near me, I use 4inch steel leaders which are just enough to not pull the frogs down. It's not ideal but saves money and me throwing a tantrum when I lose another lure.

Don't eat that bass. When we clean rabbits we always check the liver for white spots. If they have them it usually means parasites and the meat gets tossed. No way I'd risk trichinosis over a little bass.

I am 31 now and will never forget when I was 13 my mother closing the car door on my first fly rod. I was so bummed. It was a gift from my parents, but they weren't in a position to just go buy me a new one.

Waterfowl. Just got into last year and I love it. Nothing like shooting a goose in the face. I used to like grouse, but the numbers have dwindled around me. Rabbits are fun from time to time. Deer, for food only. I don't care about the antlers. I will kill a doe just as fast as a buck. I just want to eat it.

I bought whatever cheap junk paddle they have at Field and Stream when I first got my kayak. Well this spring, heading upstream right in front of a rushing dam, the paddle snaps in half. I managed to fish the rest of the day paddling like you would a canoe, but it was exhausting. Bought an Aquaglide from a friend (at a serious discount) and it's a much better paddle. Point being, buy a good one or buy several bad ones.

BooYah Buzzbait has not let me down once this season. River smallies can't get enough of it. Every other bait I have is jealous.

Yup. I tried Vanish this summer. After one trip I took it off my reel and threw the rest of the spool in the garbage.

I'm on day 7 right now. This was supposed to be the fall feed week, but the weather has been wacky. Looking at being 90 degrees tomorrow (water temps holding in the high 60's). Still, vacation well spent.

In NY we are only allowed 3 per day during regular season for Canada geese. Snow goose is 25 per day. They need to up the limit on Canada's to at least 5. Most of the laws pertaining to waterfowl however are Federal being that they are migratory. Goose hunting is a lot of fun. Not a lot of things more satisfying than having a flock of say 10 birds come into the decoys and none of them get away. Make it rain so to speak.