C.Tucks

Water temps still in the low 40s but the feed bags are on The morning was slow but the afternoon heated up and I managed to hook into biggest I’ve caught on this particular lake

I must be tired, I thought your flag in the first pic was the lure and it thoroughly confused me 😆

Got a few today. First full day out there. Water temps still low 40s where I am

Finally on the board for the year.

Northern Ontario is bucket list for me. My first exposure to bass fishing was on tv shows like Fish’n Canada when I was a kid. Hooked me instantly.

I have 3 lakes I can fish ‘near’ me. All 4-6 hours round trip depending on traffic. One is paddle only so I get my kayak fix there. Smallies in numbers, biiiig largies if you can find em One has smallies in numbers with the odd largie One has trophy smallies and largies

Beautiful fish and an impressive yearly total!

I kind of rediscovered them this season and I’m glad I did!

A little late posting but just wanted to show some examples of the amazing smallie fishery we have up here. These were from a family camping trip last weekend of Sept. and just the highlights of many fish caught. The oft overlooked tube was the ticket on this trip.

British Columbia. Bass are also considered to be the spawn of Satan here by the Government.

I typically avoid fishing deep but mostly because I suck at it haha livewells are actually illegal here so it’s always a quick release unless she’s picture worthy

Any updates on the zoo dog? I bought one a while back but haven’t had the chance to use it yet. Love the idea of it, hoping it translates to the real world

IF I could only take one with me it’d be a 3.75” rage swimmer in green pumpkin on a 3/16 jig head. BUT I only get out a few times per month on average so conceivably I’d have to go 3 or 4 months on one lure. I’d be afraid the bait monkey would track me down and lay a whoppin on me 😆

These are smallies. I’m sure they all aren’t as I pulled a couple pike minnow along with smallies from the surrounding weed bed edges. But that’s the thing about this lake. There isn’t much for structure in most areas. The bottom is hard in this particular spot but it’s not chunky rock.

Thanks for all the replies. I’ll rig up a few next time and try to focus solely on deeper water to get some confidence. I had some really good success with a blade this winter. Definitely going to try that next time out.

I struggle when the fish are deep and need to improve my deep water game. I came across some areas yesterday just stacked with fish in 30ft but couldn’t get them to commit. What are your favourite deep water (25ft+) techniques/lures/presentations? Glenn just posted a good video the other day but I don’t feel it applied to this lake. Bottom isn’t rocky and there’s not a lot of cover like boulders or stumps out deep.

Closest smallies to me are 2hrs, closest lake with potential 6+ lbers is a little less than 3 hours. I do both multiple times per month. Quite often days trips.

I started throwing a tube again this year and I really don’t know why I stopped. They flat out catch ‘em.

CrushCity Freeloader and Mooch Minnow have been catching me a lot of fish. The Ned Bug from Great Lakes Finesse has been solid too

I bought some swammers years ago before I really got into small swimbaits so I never really used them. now I look at them and they inspire zero confidence. I might have to give them an honest go next time out My go to’s right now are The crush city freeloader and 3.75” Rage swimmers usually use a VMV moon eye jig or northlands smeltinator or dirty jigs guppy head anywhere from 1/8 to 1/4 depending on desired depth All thrown on a Medium action rod. I find baits around 3.5-3.75” get more bites and bigger fish

I agree length is more consistent. On a tournament day last fall I caught 18.5” and 20.5” smallies, both weighed 3lbs, 4oz. And then a 20.25” that was an even 4lbs. The lakes around here are pretty variable in terms of ‘big fish’ but generally anything over 4lbs or 20” gets me excited for both large and smallmouth.

The dollar store around here has a bunch of weirdly named Chinese branded beetle spins so it wouldn’t surprise me if they’re all being mass produced in the same factory using cheaper parts

I live 4.5 hours away from the closest Bass Pro. I recently went on a family holiday and went into 2 different BPS locations…and did not buy a single piece of tackle! Needless to say my wife was confused and concerned about my well being haha I’d like to say I’m done with buying new stuff and I’ll probably succeed until winter when the bait monkey becomes rabid

How long of a leader do you run? I think my catch rates increased when I switched to braid for wacky because I could see the line a lot better and react quicker. I usually run at least 6ft for leader. I think hi vis with a short leader might have an affect with finesse lures but probably negligible on reaction baits.

I actually just ordered a 2500 for my wife. All my spinning reels are low-mid 2500 Daiwas. Revros and legalis. All have been solid for me. Smooth drag, good line management (I typically have 8-10 lb braid or 6lb yozuri hybrid). I expect the Regal to be no different.