softwateronly

I'm very fortunate that I found a shore fishing location in the city that delivers both spring and fall and is only a 10 min drive with a half mile walk; the downside is that it's practically unfishable in the summer due to boat traffic. scott

Trick or treat on a 23+lb Bag!! The wind switched to 12mph out of the West instead of the last 4 days of 15mph+ out of the East and my magic rock water cleared up and calmed down enough to actually fish properly. The smallies seemed just as excited as me as long as I was throwing a 3.2" juster swimbait. I landed a lucky 13, got sawed off in the rocks by 2 more angry fish, and had multiple that I never quite got the hook into. Just a great morning of bfs city smallies. scott

I'm relatively new to it as well. My best success has been post-spawn to early summer, working weed flats and breaks. It shines for me when they're not very active, I like to double hop it off the bottom and line watch. I don't let it sit too long, 10 seconds give or take if it's a large mouth fishery and repeat, I'll deadstick smallies a lot longer. Popping them off steep breaks at the right time means they never touch the bottom and those fish have been my best. There's also a fine strand weed on my lake that creates a dense carpet, this is the best bait I've found for getting down but not buried in that stuff. What you really need is @RRocket advice... scott

Don't worry, you'll hate it just like the rest of us. scott

@Dwight Hottle Certified tank commander! scott ps - i'm guessing sakamata shad, but just want to bait monkey you with my deathadder success on lake michigan; a 5" on a ballhead or scounger head was a big smallie magnet this spring.

@Darth-Baiter I think @Goby is right to be concerned and I think his warning was appropriate, for now. There's lots of recent examples of shipping companies and retailers being slow to adjust to all the recent changes. And in their defense, tariffs in the last few months have been a whirlwind. Personally, I hope a known standard by everyone is in our near future and that Goby will keep us informed of the final outcome. scott

My post is also flawed. The problem could indeed be much worse than what the current statistics show. Breaking out by age and over time, is really the only way to know. scott

What often gets missed in these more recent statistical releases in my opinion is just our country's change in demographics. MN like most or all of the midwest has a rapidly aging population. As the over 65 age increases there's less of a chance for "new anglers" to be found to replace the quitters. The change in actual people's interests is probably less than what the numbers look like at face value. Breaking down percentages by age group might give a clearer picture. scott

I had a Fury 705cb and have a champ 706cb. I totally agree with your assessment. This also aligns with my experience. No stretch line with a softer rod works, add a leader in and it feels too soft for me. scott

I fish very long leaders on casting gear, 20-30 feet, but it's because I fish a zebra mussel covered rocky shelf from shore that is about 20' deep and need the abrasion resistance while landing fish, often cutting away 5-10 feet during just a few hours of fishing. I've seen nothing but benefits and have moved all my rigs, including the ones that I don't shore fish with to 10-15 feet of leader. If you reel the knot into the reel, I strongly recommend learning the fg knot. If just going thru the guides, or tying on steel leader, I still really like the albright. scott

It is my impression that gizzard shad spend the night near cover and migrate toward open water around first light. Is this specific to my water or a general rule or just luck? scott

Before the tariffs and the weaker dollar came into play, 2 piece major craft days rods could be had for $120 to your door. These rods fish like exprides and could be had for less than half the price. Unbelievable bang for the buck. Another one that blew me away was the rec from @bulldog1935; Abu Garcia Salty Stage Kurodai KR-X 7'3MLS-BF. With the ability to throw 2g - 20g, a solid tip with sensitivity, and the backbone to handle fat, angry smallmouth I can't put it down, allowing me to continue to go spinning rod free and throw tubes, finesse jigs, free rigs, spoons, and jighead minnows. scott

I completely agree, figure they know the lid is coming soon and those months slow everything down. The LM's seem active on my lake till the high 40's, not always chasing but certainly hunting struggling shad especially at first light. And any morning shad kill certainly perks them up a notch or two. The smallies on the big water seem to go shad/alewife crazy all the way down to the low 40's on some days. I have found pinch points on both waters in 20-25' fow that both provide consistent action and the weather the last few years has obliged by extending that window of nighttime lows of plus 40 degree weather. scott

The next 4 weeks are probably my most consistent time for catching 4lb+ bass. I hope to get out as often as possible. scott

May the bonus fish continue! scott

3/8oz bullet weight and a d-bomb correct? If so, got a 1/2oz just to be sure? And is there an outside possibility that your line was run thru the foot of a guide instead of the ring, especially near the tip? Because I've done that. scott

You positive it's not a reel issue? 3/8oz d-bomb should fly! scott I have exprides and enjoy them quite a bit more than my dobyns champions.

When fishing the chunk rock, concrete, and general detritus of the chgo lakefront my goal is more fish than jigs lost. After about 4 years of narrowing my spots, I think I'm finally on the winning side of fish to jigs but just barely. Today was a wash, first cast of a 1/2oz underspin landed directly in a crevice, and I only threw this hair jig 8-10 times after landing this on the dot 5lb smallie before the rocks ate another. This is my risk/reward ratio.... scott

My deep divers don't quite make it to the bottom where my bass are sometimes located. Using a hard stop and go retrieve is a great second place to grinding the bottom and is also effective for suspended bass. scott

The mooch minnow lived up to the hype for me. It's a subtle roll but I think that tail design is clear water magic. scott

This doesn't help you now, but on my small lake there is a shad pattern related to season that has historical consistency, the open water side of pinch points and shade lines dominate the early morning. scott

Spoons have revolutionized my fishing, I was missing so many opportunities before I dedicated time to it. The only thing I've learned that I'll add, bass are competitive predators and erratic speed is the trigger more than not and I mean speed that is at my physical limits. Matching the size is also very important. If they are feeding on 2" shad, they often ignore anything in the 3" range. Currently my bass are in about 25' fow over 35-50' fow and eating 3" gizzards. The shad are hanging around 12' fow in a clear natural lake and my water temp is in the mid 60's. For the last 2 weeks, bombing a 1 3/4oz duh spoon, counting down to 30' about 12 seconds, and burning a 7 speed 8-10 handle turns while lifting my rod, then immediately clicking my thumb bar and feeding 7-15' of line, allowing my line to tighten and repeating. Oftentimes, my line doesn't sink because a bass has chased it up thru the water column and smashed it as soon as the "fleeing" has stopped. As the water keeps cooling, I'll shrink the amount of vertical water column I'm covering and tightline the slack, but I will continue with speed on the burning cutting down to 2-4 handle burns. When the shad and bass are in water 30' or less, I definitely benefit from letting the fall get all the way to the bottom. The bass you're on have so much real food, that speed, flash, fleeing and being erratic are the keys to getting them to trigger in my opinion. Being natural gets me ignored in these conditions. There are times like now, when I cannot fish it fast enough. This gets the big girls too, they're running on instinct. I've had multiple 20+ fish mornings with multiple 4's mixed in and 2 5lbers on water that I'm not positive holds an 8lber. The schools of shad and bass do break up as the day progresses, so this is unfortunately best before noon on my lake. scott

I spend most of August thru October chasing pelagic bass on my home lake. FFS and spot lock would definitely get me more fish during this time. And if it were truly all the bells and whistles I might take it on the big water to up my smallie odds. Chips are great too! scott

I'm on a 250 acre natural lake in MI, and my fish are almost exclusively following and busting gizzard shad. My flasher is showing heavy solid marks around 10', some around 14-16', and larger separate bars in 20-24' fow. It seems that the shad are in 10, the crappie around 15, and schools of bass around 20. Subtlety has gone out the window the last week or so. Before jerkbaits, underspins and tailspinners worked in that 8-15' range were accounting for my fish, but now it's highly erratic and fast jigging spoons (duh spoon and hopkins) floated down to 20 ish and burned up to the 8-12' range and killed with slack. This is almost exclusively over water 30-50' deep. The hits range from vicious rip the rod from my hands strikes, to swipes, to my line stopping from sinking and me having to frantically catch up with them. I've only gotten on this bite the last few years or so, but it's some of the most exciting ways to catch em. My biggest issue is following the schools that I want to. These bass are definitely schooled up by class and it's rare that I can stay on the big fish school for more than two maybe three bass. I still have lots to learn, but the fall feed is most definitely on. scott

@woolleyfooley they are more similar than not. It feels like the extra length of the 755 means the very tip is softer than the pp. I fish a lot of grass and that extra softness and length means the 755 loads a bit too much for my liking when working 1/2-3/4oz jigs on the bottom in the heaviest grass. Like Catt described, I have good success when I can hang and shake the jig and ever so lightly pop if forward. With the heavier jigs and lighter tip, the 755 give me a sense of a little less control doing that compared to the pp. When fishing t-rigs, it's kinda the opposite because I'm at a lighter weight or a better shape to slip through, so the rods flip in terms of favorites. In general, they both have a somewhat moderate first third that really stiffens up into a powerful backbone. I find them both to be really fun to fish and some of my favorite production rods that I've owned/tried. Sorry for the delay. scott