That's a nice brown right there John! Jerkbait??

Hitting up Champlain this weekend with a girl I met down there (she's really gonna go, which is impressive this time of year!), hoping to show her a couple chunky smallmouths.

From a couple of seasons ago ~

A-Jay

What a HOG that pike is, and at night? Never caught one after dusk, but maybe thats when the big ladies are on the prowl!

A REALLY bad joke. Same problems here, especially in fall and spring when everything seems to intersect the same habitat.

Yup ~ That's when, after a hammer of a strike and some very big weight on the hook set, we eventually learn to say (usually out loud, even when we're alone) - "If this is a Bass . . . . it's big" and then we get bit off.

A-Jay

I'd love to have the problem you have, getting that variety of fish that you get in the saltwater. At least the baits you normally use in saltwater seem to run a little cheaper. I've never really gotten to do any real saltwater fishing, just going out on the charter boats and dropping pieces of squid straight down and cranking like mad when you feel a bite. I wouldn't be tossing any Megabass or Lucky Crafts into the salt though

You're both right and wrong. I can go out and catch anything I want on a $2.00 bucktail and I quite often do, there are times I like to do something different. We have the fall mullet run going on now, that means lots of action. I start off yesterday 5:00 am morning on the beach with a bucktail, it's a lady fish on every cast, these are 3-5# fish that can strip out 30 yds of line in an eye blink, tons of fun, no wonder they call them the "poor mans tarpon". After catching some I decided to fish for snook, my mistake was not waiting until the ladyfish cleared the area and other fish come in. I put on an xrap #12, 1 cast and I was cut off by a lady, put another on and it didn't last real long either. Now the sun is up and blue fish are in and I'm using a gotcha which is a metal cylinder, after a few fish the gotcha is crushed and hooks ripped off. Total was 2 lost xraps, 3 or 4 buckktails, and a gotcha, cost about $40.00 and worth every penny, not even mentioning the amount of braided line I replace getting cut off on coral and barnacles...............cheap out here.......I don't think so.

Jerkbaits for smb and then ~ a Bonus Steelhead.

A Deep Diving Rapala Husky Jerk just got Crushed.

A-Jay

When we fish wisconsin we always hook into a musky or northern while bass fishing, so thats not even a bonus anymore. A couple years ago i went down to the Illinois river after work and was working a rage craw around a rocky point for smallies. Ended up catching a 22 lb flat head catfish. I didnt get a picture as i was by myself and didnt have a camera. It was fun though.

That's a nice brown right there John! Jerkbait??

Hitting up Champlain this weekend with a girl I met down there (she's really gonna go, which is impressive this time of year!), hoping to show her a couple chunky smallmouths.

No, a spoon. I do a lot of spooning in the fall. Everything likes the spoon.

Here's one that was a little bigger, heh.

^^What a brown! Well done. Makes me wish I lived closer to the big lakes

Very nice brownie John. You outdid yourself with that one. Ours are just starting to hit the 8lbs mark from the beginning of the annual brown trout stocking last year. Can't wait till they get bigger.

My PB is 22 lbs. I've had a larger fish on since, but I choked. The state record is over 34 lbs.!

Its always better to have the choke behind you than in front of you. I saw a picture of a brownie in a Niagara river tackle shop that went over 30lbs. I thought it was a king salmon it was so big & showed lots of silver. A 22lb brown is a trophy.

No, a spoon. I do a lot of spooning in the fall. Everything likes the spoon.

Here's one that was a little bigger, heh.

Wow that is an awesome brown. I love the kyped jaw too.....

Got this one today. 1lb 7 oz

Jeff