Reel

Spy Bait - Perfect situation for a Jackall I Prop

For a bit of change, I sometimes do an history tour in the morning and then, in the first part of the afternoon, I choose a part of the lake that I have not visited or a section that doesn't look to good and try to get the most out of it. You often get surprises.

Yes, you can CHANGE history by adding a variable that was not there before if doing exactly the same thing that brought success doesn't work. Hiistory is surely not going to the same spots over and over again without taking in to account other variables.

I've glued back a couple of rings and they are still there after 10 years. I use flexible glue of the goop type.

I also live in Canada and a lot of the smallmouth are still on beds.

Here is some of the high end gear that I've got and really like : Reel: Shimano Conquest Stella 2500- high speed, shallow spool Rod: 901 NRX (spinning)

No

History is what you did three weeks ago. Practice is what you do a couple of days or the day before the tournament.

Most important : Have a plan and stick to it. After practice, write down the spots where you saw, felt fish or caught ONE fish. On a piece of paper, write the spots down in order, from the best to worse according to you and visit each one on tournament day. When done go back to the first one and follow the same order. It might sound boring but most days that's how you have success.

I'll try to give answers... sort of. Something that has not been mentionned is that bass need to reproduce and that is another reason for going to shallow water. If you take that out of the equation, depending on the location, that leaves 6 to 9 months. I can only talk about smallmouth. I fish extremely clear water and I can see fish moving from deep to shallow. What I have seen is this: Fish will move further when there is a transition zone that border deep water like weeds. Fish will move further if there is a lot of bait on the flat. Fish will move further if they are in a group. The last one is surprising: Fish will move further if they are not feeding but just roaming.

I use a G Loomis GCX rod, MH 7' 6'' 903 with a Conquest reel

If DC reels were the answer to all, Shimano would be building only DC reels. They are not ! DC reels can be beat when throwing a 1/2oz spinnerbait into the wind a country mile... or almost.

32 degrees is not cold. Check if you want. At that temperature the batteries hold their charge longer than at say 90 degrees.

On

Almost nothing. Less in cold temperature than if it was warm.

I use the first method you suggested.

Same here

Smallmouth fishing has gotten much better where I fish.

Ned Rig - open hook... no grass

When you retrieve a Ned Rig rapidly to cast again, it often twist the line bvecause it's so light.

Jackall Rerange

I've got both that I use for flipping. I've got three 7' 2'' Zodias so I really like them. They have a great balance between power and a soft moderate tip for precision. To me the Poison is a little stiffer/crisper but nice also. The one I have is the old generation two piece model with the blank that the is inserted into the handle.

Good knots are more important than line size.

I fish the clear waters of the St-Lawrence river where you can see the fish all around you and the sonar pings don't have any affect on them. Carps are the most nervous of all and they swim around the boat with the sonar on. Make a sudden noise and they scoot.

I make my own jigs : 1/8 oz marabout, and use an G .Loomis NRX 901. For somebody who doesn't want to spend that much, the last generation of Curado spinning rods has a 7 1/2 foot light rod that's pretty good.