billmac

Couldn't that question be asked about any length leader? Why does anyone use braid?

I use the Uni-knot for everything except dropshot. I use a palomar knot for that. As far as your leader knot going through the guides, I just use 20- 30 yards of flouro as a leader, so my knot never leaves the spool and is unlikely to be a point of failure.

I'm right handed so I'm more dexterous with my right hand. If I'm going to land them by lipping them, I'll probably do it right handed. If I'm pulling them out of a net then I probably do it either way, but more often than not it's with my right hand. Although I've had to do it, I do not like to hold fish by the body.

The St. Lawrence is quite possibly the best smallmouth river in the world.

So I'll be fishing in a tiny (maybe 20 anglers) tournament out of Waddington this Saturday. Mostly I'll be ferrying around a couple collegiate anglers. But I have very little St. Lawrence experience. Obviously dropshot is on the menu, but if anyone has some more specific advice I'd love to hear it. I'd love to put these guys on fish. I tend look for things like current breaks, but a lot of the guys I've observed just drift out there in the main river.

When using circle hooks with artificial lures, do you set the hook? I thought circle hooks were primarily for live bait to avoid gut hooking, and basically letting the fish hook themselves.

Other than a pike that broke me off, and I caught again a few minutes later, I've never caught a fish with a lure or hook in its mouth or gut. I hate break offs, obviously because I hate losing tackle, but more so because I hate the thought of leaving a lure or hook in a fish. Has there been a study of the mortality of fish that keep our hardware?

I've had pike bite off (or break off) a lure, and catch the pike a few minutes later, and get the lure back.

I can't say I've ever experienced an air knot.

I've used Spiderwire braid for years. I think it's the only braid I've ever used. It's relatively inexpensive and it's what my local Walmart carries. It seems to work fine for me, but it seems a bit prone to fraying. But I don't have experience with other braids to compare it to. Opinions?

At the Collegiate championships a few weeks ago, I can't tell you how many anglers on the platform said they were dropshotting with the Berkely Maxscent Flatworm. Frankly, I don't think the smallies in the St. Lawrence are that particular on what they'll hit, but I could be wrong.

When I was a BASS and tournament wannabe in the 70s and 80s, a bassboat was way out of my reach. Spending $58 on my first baitcaster was a deep cut into my finances. But I had a small aluminum canoe and over time I purchased a trolling motor, swivel seats, and a friend gave me an old flasher unit.

I have an 88 Cajun Maverick. I'm sure that's not even close.

Well, it didn't happen. I was just warned it would happen.

Agreed. I bought my old boat a few years ago, and it came with a working separate oil mixer, but everything I read said to cut it out of there, that the first time I realized it wasn't working was when the engine seized up. So now I mix.

I have a 2 stroke outboard, so I mix my oil and gas in a 5 gallon can and pour it into the boat. Messy and a pain. This may seem like a silly question, but can I just pull up to the pump, pump in 5 gallons, and then just pour in the required amount of oil? Will the sloshing around as I drive adequately mix it?

I don't spend a lot of time on waters hosting tournaments, so this has never happened to me, but I hear talk of some lakes / rivers where there is a tournament practically every week. Do non-tournament angers frequently get pushed off their spots (or at least asked to leave) by tournament fishermen? Obviously no one has to go if they don't want to, but I was just curious how often this happens.

You need to fizz those fish. They are both belly up. Now I've got a crick in my neck.

We ended in 4th and 13th.

I haven't used BFS, mainly because I'm cheap. But I've always hated spinning reels. I have two rigged up in my boat and I use them frequently. I still hate them. I've caught lots of fish on them. I still hate them. I find them awkward to use, awkward to cast, awkward to reel. I'll have to give the BFS thing a try.

I don't know about smallmouth, but I will admit that I feel a little more satisfaction from catching an 8 inch native brook trout than a 14 inch stocked rainbow.

I don't think you can have intuition without experience. I think intuition is simply our brain connecting dots based on the knowledge and experience we already have. Like when we solve a problem when we are sleeping. And to play devil's advocate, we tend to count only intuitive successes, not failures.

I'm working on getting my 30+ year old bass boat a little more reliable, and then I'm going to try to get out there more often. I just watched 3 days of the college anglers pulling in giants every day.

It's a good question, but I really don't know. I grew up on the St. Regis river, a tributary of the St. Lawrence. You could fish all day and catch dozens of bass, but you'd be hard pressed to come up with 3 keepers. The Little Salmon river is a half hour away, about a third of the width of the St. Regis. You might also catch a third as many fish, but they would mostly be keepers.

I've fished river smallies my whole life, mostly wading and in canoes. I could catch 30 a day, but there is seldom any size to them.