Finessegenics

Not at all...usually see the wardens around during walleye opener but after that they’re gone. If someone really wanted to fish with 2 lines in the water they would get away with it easily.

As for the 1/16 oz jig heads; Keitech makes some tungsten jigheads with 3/0 hooks. As you can expect, they’re a little pricy because of the tungsten. The quality is definitely there though. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Keitech_Super_Round_Tungsten_Jig_Head/descpage-KSR.html

It’s the same here too. One line out per angler. I’m honestly glad it’s that way because if not the bucket brigade would be having a field day...

I do it exactly like @jbsoonerfan and @new2BC4bass. I don’t think I’ve ever lost a fish because my initial drag was too loose or too tight. What I do find odd, is how I seem to never have to tighten or loosen the drag on my casting setups. I really found the sweet spot on those. But I haven’t caught any fish recently which were feisty enough to even peel line on my baitcasters. I’m constantly tweaking the drag with my spinning reels depending on how the fish are fighting.

I think that's the case. I just looked up some simple charts on the weather here compared to the twin cities area. Your average lows in the fall months (October-December) are colder than ours but then the average lows during the winter months (Jan-Mar) seem to be the same for the both of us. Interesting stuff, not really sure what would cause that.

Yikes, that's a lot of snow for October. Just thinking about it has me feeling depressed. It's been cold here with lots of rain but nothing under freezing yet. The forecast does show that wet snow for next week though...

They'd be good for skipping baits under docks or low hanging tree limbs. Or maybe wading a river where you're wanting to throw heavier lures? I find shorter rods more comfortable when wading.

Why not? I think any predatory fish would be tempted by a fluke. I've caught plenty of bass and pike on soft jerkbaits. They're probably not popular for walleye because it is somewhat difficult to fish a fluke effectively in deeper water, where walleye like to hang out most. So when the walleye come shallow in the fall, like right now, the fluke could be productive. I guess it could be a year round thing if you're fishing a shallow river where walleye are present.

That makes a lot of sense. I hadn't seen anyone on this thread actually explain it but I may have missed their post. The thing is I don't even "set" my drag with weights like a lot of people do. I just play it out by feel which is leaving a lot up to chance but I just fish for fun ? I've never had a drag set too loose or too tight on an initial hookset. If I feel the fish wanting to run I just loosen it up a bit from whatever the heck I set it at. But thank you for your explanation, it's clear to me now. I'll try backreeling next time I'm out just for the fun of it.

I have nothing against backreeling, I mean if it works for you then go with it. No issues there. But can someone explain how it gives more control? If your drag is set right, wouldn’t the fish be able to run anyways? I think this is really just a preference deal.

My father still exclusively uses old Shimano reels with those drag systems. I still dont understand how they work

Literally anything will work well on rip-rap because it often holds fish. I just match the conditions and throw based off that. But I do like throwing a swinghead over those rocks and sometimes it produces very well. I usually use a Speed Craw as the trailer.

It doesn’t matter at all, that’s why I was pointing out that a “true bass” doesn’t exist

What makes a white bass a “true bass”? They are just part of a different family of fish. The word “bass” has no scientific meaning and is just a word we use in common language. The white bass belongs to the Morone genus along with yellow bass, striped bass and white perch. They are part of the Moronidae family. Bass is a name used for species in the Micropterus, Morone, Ambloplites (rock bass, ozark bass) and Centropristis (Black Sea bass, found along the whole east coast) genuses. I don’t know how someone can argue what a “true bass” is but if you were trying to suggest that LMB and White Bass were not directly related then yes you are correct.

The “black bass” all fall under the micropterus genus. This list includes SMB, LMB, spots, shoal, guadalupes and so on...Micropterus dolemieu = smallmouth bass, micropterus salmoides = largemouth bass, micropterus punctulatus = spotted bass. None of what we commonly refer to as sunfish are part of the micropterus genus. Bluegills, pumpkinseeds and warmouths (what we commonly call sunfish) etc are all part of the lepomis genus. However, the micropterus and lepomis species are both part of Centrarchidae family. So they are pretty closely related since they are part of the same family. But still very distinguishable since they belong to different genus. For some reason the scientific community calls any fish in the Centrarchidae family a sunfish. Which can be confusing to us since in common language, sunfish usually refers to a fish in the lepomis genus. I think that’s where the confusion comes from. Now the Centrarchidae family are all part of the Perciformes order like @J Franchoalready mentioned. This is an extremely broad range of fish. It includes a little tiny old bluegill and Goliath groupers. Here’s a diagram to explain the hierarchy:

From what you've already mentioned, it seems like the fish weren't in the mood to chase a bait. However, this can change the next time you're out there depending on the conditions. In your case, I would have continued with something slow like a wacky rigged fluke or stickbait. The fish already showed they were more interested in the t rigged craw which I assume you worked much much slower than the crankbait. If I can see the fish and know they're right there, I'm throwing a wacky rig or a tiny plastic on a light jighead. Think a finesse trd on a 1/16oz jighead or a 3" chigger bug. I don't think the line was a factor, were you using a leader? If not I would try a fluoro leader before switching over to a fluoro mainline.

Fair enough, but that is an inaccurate representation of smallmouth fishing as a whole. Like LMB, there are the "shallow" fish and those that feed offshore. SMB may not live in heavy cover the way LMB do but they still feed around it. In fact, I don't think they live anywhere, they're always moving. It just seems like it's trendy to "video game" fish nowadays but it's not the only way to target smallmouth. I'm far from an expert but I think the experienced smallmouth anglers on here will agree with me.

This is gold. I still find myself making that mistake from time to time, especially when the bite is tough.

Well, I kind of have no choice so smallmouth is what I *exclusively* target. The river I fish has very few largemouth and the section I most often fish, has none at all. So naturally, smallmouth became my targeted species and my favorite fish. I need to drive a good hour to reach a body of water with good largemouth in terms of size and numbers. That being said when I do go to a lake with good lmb, I tend to focus on them just as a "change of scenery" sort of thing. Targeting either species is lots of fun and I don't see the point in having a debate about which are harder to catch (edit: I know this is not what your thread was about, but it is something I see often when people talk of smallmouth vs largemouth). Largemouth can be just as difficult to catch as smallmouth in certain situations. The elite series tournament taking place at chickamauga right now proves just that.

I don't think there's any reason. They're just pulling the bait from one of its ends because they're trying to eat it. It could be smaller fish which are not able to inhale the whole bait, so instead they miss the hook. Don't overthink it. Maybe try a smaller worm and see if the bites result in more hookups.

Good choice. You should also take a look at the XZone Swammer in 3.5”, they have more of a rocking motion compared to the keitechs.

I’d rather get skunked than just sit at home. I get out there anytime I have the chance.

Well, all depends on the size of the underspin right? All sizes work well depending on what you are trying to replicate. I use underspins with tiny 1/0 hooks and at the other end of the spectrum some come with 5/0 hooks which I obviously use with bigger baits. However, a 3.8” keitech is the sweet spot for me and I usually throw that with a 1/4 oz VMC underspin on a M/F spinning rig. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/search-tackle.html?sort=no&start=0&count=30&searchtext=Vmc+underspin+ When fishing for a bigger bite I use the Strike King tour grade spin head in 3/8 oz with a 4.8” Keitech. A 5.8” keitech would do just as well on this underspin as it has a very large hook but I’m not sure exactly what it is...a 5/0 or 6/0 for sure. This is good for imitating large gizzard or threadfin shads if they’re in your fishery. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/search-tackle.html?sort=no&start=0&count=30&prevsearch=Vmc+underspin+&searchtext=Strike+king+underspin+

The Powerbait Power Tubes are super thin. But they work just as well as any other tube would. Not the best color selection though.