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Went on leave for a month and we headed north for 3 days to chase big smallmouth in some inland lakes that are very unknown for giant smallies. First day we head out me and my buddy and we get to the lake start off on a 5ft deep point. Nothing but a small largemouth on a zara spook. So we head over to a 3ft deep flat and i get blasted on top. Fish misses bait big time. That was the last hit on top we had the rest of the day. Saw a bouy marking a point and big flat. We head over there and once we get close we see bigger rocks on this spot only area on lake we fouind anything like this. I pick up a spinnerbait and bam almost instantly start catching in 5ft of water. We stick aroiund there for awhile and fill our bag pretty quick. Wind comes up and it ends up being 2 footers exactly what the forecast said. Small craft advisory lol. We stuck it out and absolutely pounded the smallies on spinnerbaits. His trolling motor on his boat eventually almost died and we would idle up and just float down this big flat and keep catching. First day best 5 went 23.75lbs. with 2 at 5.5lbs. Day 2 We headed to a lake an hr more north. I had never fished this lake but he had a week prior. There isnt a launch just a beach that you can barely get a boat into. And to get out there was no way of driving onto trailer. Had to get waders on to get boat up lol. So we get out on the lake and almost the whole lake is 3ft deep except one 20 yd stretch that is about 8ft. We start off with topwater and nothing again super weird. So we are going in 1ft of water and i see an old smallie bed and whip a tube up there and dont get hit. We get close and then a 4lbr swims outta it. I toss tube out and she swims over and inhales it. Fish on. Get her to the baot. then we started seeing more and more in these little depressions in 1ft of water. But couldnt get them to bite. So we head over to a 3 ft section and i get smashed on a zara spook middle of the day and catch a 5.75lbr. Pick up a spinner bait and bam i get crushed again by a 4.5lbr. We find an area that is 6ft and buddy ties on a jig and fills the rest of the bag and adds another 5lbr. Catch a few more and we end up culling out 4lbrs which is awesome. Especially on an inland lake in michigan. So this lake that is 3ft deep in the whole lake except one section ends up being amazing smallmouth water. Day 2 is 23.5lbs. Day 3 We head back to same lake as day 1. Weather was totally different and super calm,. Instantyly we are getting smashed on zara spooks on our bouy point. But these fish are not getting bait they are hitting 3-4 times on each cast. But will not get hooked. So buddy catches a 4.75lbr on zara then we say screw it and pick up 6" keitchs. We fill our limit but not the action like day 1 during the hurricane force winds. Which if anyone knows anything about fall smallmouth. The worse conditions the better the fishing. So after only maybe 8 fish that helped the bag throughout the day its almost 4pm and i told them i had to leave that day by 5 cuz it was my last day with my inlaws. Buddy was throwing an alabama rig all day and caught some good ones. We say ok time to go and take our pics with the best 5 and then we release them. Buddy says lets fish 15 more min. No kidding 2nd cast after releasing our best 5 he catches a 6lb1 oz inland lake beast on his bama rig. So our best 5 for that 3rd day was 23.67lbs. So all in all amazing 3 days of fishing our best baits were spinnerbaits, alabama rig, keitechs and jigs. Ya we caught fish on everything but those produced the most fish. Biggest fish came on spinnerbait, alabama rig, jig and zara spook. So after 3 days we had 4 over 5lbs and 1 over 6lbs with 3 days topping 23lbs of footballs. The single fish picture with the 3 of us is the 6lbr

I wouldn't give up just yet - Yesterday was decent. A-Jay

Uh, this fish came the tail end of November. It's not over. Once the lakes freeze, you can fish tribs for steelhead all winter.

I just watched the video in how to remove the hook with fishing line and now I can't wait for my fishing buddy to hook himself so I can try it!!! haha

B.A.S.S. made a nice PR move with this new rule on information, but it means nothing unless they stop going to the same lakes/rivers over and over again. Classic example is the next Classic, where most of the competitors already have information about Hartwell that this new rule is supposed to ban, gleaned from several recent Classics held there. If they really want to "level the playing field", then pair this new rule with a schedule full of new locations, or at least places that they haven't held an event in the past 20 years.

A Canoe you say ? I've got one of those myself - an Old Town. This bass is from last November A-Jay

Thanks to everyone who helped, I have plenty of bass tackle now. Or Do I... (Looks like im workin for the bait monkey now...)

I had a guy lose 3 in one trip. Almost didn't make any money on that trip he lost so many of my baits. I think a lot of people fish them too fast. I've seen it time and time again on guide trips when I'll tell someone to slow down and they'll get slammed the next cast or two. Reel them just fast enough to get them "plopping", and they seem to be at their best. I have lakes that they won't touch them, but they kill a buzzbait, and vice versa. Sometimes a bait just doesn't seem to work on a body of water while another does great for whatever reason.

No spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, spooks, spoons, bladed jigs, cranks? Maybe not quite done yet.

My one and only tattoo, after a dark period in my life this is my reminder to keep things even. The ying yang symbol using a smallmouth and largemouth.

did great with the 115 so grabbed these two on ebay. heard the 75 was discontinued.

My personal best this year. Beautiful bass pushing 18 inches. A little over 3 lbs. Oh yeah...

Dad and I won our first team championship with the Northern NY Bassmasters trail at the end of September! Knocked out 21.46 lbs of smallmouth from the St. Lawrence on day 1 then backed it up with 18+ of largemouth, anchored by a 6.01 hog, from Black Lake on day 2. The local paper did a cool write up for the event also. Super fun weekend! http://www.ogd.com/ogd02/falcons-soar-to-club-championship-20170926

December 2009: Lake Ontario steelhead

I made one trip in November just before thanksgiving, I was tossing a yum money minnow. I used the dying minnow twitch. I latched on to the biggest bass I ever had on my line. It was snow flurries too. Don't give up till the ice is on. the bass don't give up so soon too.

Apparently it's me hah

Keep fishing! Find a way!! I'm gonna go after the catfish this winter.

I just spent a week up there last month, and I'm sure that if I was a local I'd be breaking through skim ice at the ramp and catching brown fish (and pike) before hanging it up most years.

I'm heading up to the 1000 Islands region next weekend to fish a couple tournaments with my dad. This is the best bassin time up north!

They're used in molds to pour jigheads. You might be able to use them if you buy some screwlock keepers though. Just clip onto the eye of the hook and screw on the plastic of your choice.

Are the rods comparable application wise? If not, I'd get the rod that fills a needed niche in my arsenal. Tough to decide if the comparison is apples and oranges. If these rods are in the same class, you might want to factor the guides used. I am not snooty but I have a difficult time buying a rod with less than aluminum oxide guides. Or, whichever feels best in your hand.

Had to be figured out at some point!

You are a great example for us all Ajay. "The longer we wait the harder it gets. The first step is the hardest." I agree with you 100% My son says he has abs and you Dad have flabs. The struggle is real. I have battled weight issues all my life. I am down to 190 lbs from my heaviest 280 lbs I lost the weight in stages. 40 lbs came off when I quit drinking soda. 25 lbs came off when I got an app on my phone to track calories. 25 lbs came off when I got a fit bit and started walking 10,000 steps a day. I have been doing the 22 for 22 challenge since early last year. Once I have done 22 push ups a day for 22 days I start over again at 1. I feel like I am doing a Benjamin Button and aging in reverse as I am in the best shape I have ever been now.

my friends wife 20 plus years ago, when they were first dating went out and she stuck a Zara Spook in his head.then about 2 months later she was trying to get a worm unstuck from a tree and when it let loose the bullet weight went in his forearm. but wait there's more. she also stuck him in the groin with a Trap on the backcast. it was a heck of a wedding though.......

Caught this bow deep nymphing the Roaring Fork in Colorado over the weekend. Caught over 30 viscious pre-spawning browns off streamers from a drift boat on the Upper Colorado River the day before. If I wasn't in AZ, I would probably be more addicted to streamer fishing. Such a fun annual trip!

Too much power! Ain't that like having too much money or a car too fast. If you have it, don't mean you have to use it all the time, but it sure sucks when you need it and don't have it. The miss conception most people have with boats and motors is horse power is for going faster. That's actually completely the wrong way of looking at it. In stock motors, more HP usually means more torque or better yet, more CC's/CI's. That boat has got to get on plane before it can go fast and since boats don't have transmission, getting enough torque developed to hop out of the water is a lot harder than pushing the boat down the lake once it's up and going. It takes torque to get you going, and HP to go faster. Boat might run 100 mph but if it struggles for five minutes or have to have a passenger step to the front of the boat to get on plane, it still totally sucks having to drive it. Your max out the hull for it's rated HP for the power to get up and go, not just because it will go faster. Actually in the 55 years I've owned boats, I've never owned one that I did not over power and that's from my canoe to a 20' bass boat. Shoot, I once had a 15' ProCraft rated for an 85 with a 225 Merc on it. I Need a motor, already had that one so why not. I would take a 17' boat with a 150 on it any day of the week over the same boat with a 50, (provided it ain't against the law where I needed to use it). Same thing with props. That's the only thing that motor uses to transfer it's power to the water yet 95% of boat owners give very little consideration to that fact and put the cheapest, crappiest thing they can get on the motor. Then run over rocks, limps, stumps and everything else, and beat the heck out of it and start asking what's wrong with their motor when it will barely move the boat.

bait monkey got me good

she absolutely smashed my new popping pirch, only caught three this evening but this was one if them

Because it really serves us well to lie to you. Jeez. Do you all realize we have to be EXTRA diligent in our reviews because one iota of doubt would betray the entire site, future sponsors, and most importantly our members trust. Yes we receive the gear in exchange for our input (good, bad, and ugly) and reviews. Since I wouldn't be very likely to buy an entry level reel, this would be the only way I'd test the gear. I receive no compensation for this. So, my question to you personally: would you rather I lie to you than actually use the gear sent to us for review? Would lying help you trust our input more? Your comments included mentioning their service was not as good as other - totally unfounded, since you never bought the product. You called the product cheap. Finally, you said you don't trust moderators opinions. You're not ruffling feathers, you're setting a tone that shows you haven't got all the info, and you don't really know what you're talking about. Don't buy a Kastking. Buy a Kastking and [fill in the brand] reel in the same price point, and higher price points. Fish them, and you tell me about both. That's basically what I've done. Thanks to the rest for respecting the extra work we do for members. I know I must sound snarky, but that's not it. Our sponsors want to engage with knowledgeable members on this site. We become the mouthpiece for them. We attend training classes, watch videos, use the gear, and report back. There's no cloak and dagger, pulling the wool over people's eyes.

In many ways, I'm an old hippie. Personally, I just don't get tats. I can't see the point. To echo Tomustang, good luck to ya. Just saying, for the price of a tat, you could buy a decent reel (or 2).

I stopped by Academy to pick up some new hooks, but I left with hooks, frogs I didn't need, jerkbaits, swim jigs and lipless crankbaits. Ended up spending nearly $50 on what should have been a $6 stop. Bait monkey sucks.

Works for me

Yes it will work. 20lb is plenty but 25 will be great

Yes i have the medium and medium heavy. If fishing below the mediums max rating then get the medium

If you are getting line twist when using an inline spinner, your spinner is bad. Only the blade is supposed to spin. If the entire bait is spinning, try a different lure.

I’d suggest an Ugly Stik GX2 (medium or medium light) and a Penn Pursuit. If you’ve got a few extra bucks, upgrade the reel to a Penn Fierce 2. Worth it just for the braid ready spool on the reel. I know now that Ugly Stik and Penn aren’t regularly mentioned on these forums (seem to be more popular with the saltwater crowd), but I have a medium light GX2 with a 2500 size Penn Fierce 2 on it that’s caught everything from my PB largemouth to bullnose rays out of the river with zero issues. Both the rod and reel are tough as nails. I also feel like (and I’m sure not many will agree with me) that the fiberglass tip on the GX2s are relatively sensitive for their price point.

Medium heavy for shure, its got a medium fast taper that let it thorw smaller baits too. I have a bunch of zodias

There is a 'fishing windy days" boat control thread just below this and the angler has the same boat. My suggestion is read it! Tom

well said

Fall to the bass isn't a human calendar period, it's all about changes in their environment. Bass being a cold blooded animal water temperature, not air temperature controls thier activity along with light and dark time periods that combine to change the water temperature. If you go to the store to get some food and the shelves are empty you go to a different store. Bass go to where the food was and it moved, they follow to where it is now located. Fall to bass is a change in water temps that affect their body temperature in most regions of the country that is a change from 68 to 58 degrees, colder water is the basses winter. Tom

Well, I got out on the lake before work today and I was able to successfully "eliminate more water".

I have no idea what part of the country you are in. Maybe its not really "fall fishing time" where you are. Fall is not a free for all bass catching frenzy. It is easy to get that picture in your head by reading articles and watching videos. In my experience the bass are not as spread out in the fall. You really have to find them. When you do find the bass you will catch more and the fish also tend to be fatter. Its not about shallow or deep, to me. I look for Food + Healthy weeds or wood. If I can find the 3 together that is even better. Wood is normally easier for me to fish so I prefer that. I find schools of bait fish then find the good cover (healthy weeds or wood) and fish that. If the area is void of bait fish I keep on looking. If your body of water does not have schooling bait fish than I would skip right to finding healthy weeds. Food will be in those.

This fall the fishing has been on fire for me. The bite has definitely changed a little though. I’m catching zero bass off of laydowns, when that was a big producer all summer. The fish I have been catching have either been super shallow, like less than 2’ or deep in any green weeds that still exist. The topwater bite has been incredible, even as the water has cooled down a lot. I’ve caught bass in water so shallow this fall that I would have usually ignored it. Sometimes you have to make minor tweaks in location to stay on them. Top water super shallow or over any remaining submergent weeds has been the key for me.

Solid advice ~ Fall here in northern MI has been nothing short of epic for me. Although I've been guilty of it myself on more than one occasion, try not to fish the 'calendar' but instead fish the conditions. Water temps and the amount of daylight have been driving my fall fishing for a while. Also the day Before a good front has been a reliable trip maker. As long as the water temps are above 50-ish, I sticking with a horizontal presentation. Once it starts to dip below that, I usually working low and slow(er) ~ on or near the bottom. A-Jay

I also live in Illinois (central). The calendar says fall, the morning air says fall, but it is NOT fall for fish yet. All the water temps around here are still way too high (like 75 degrees last time I was out). Night time air temps are getting to the 40's sometimes now. Just wait a couple/few weeks and the water temps will get down where the fish like it and it will be on like Donkey Kong. Find an overcast afternoon first week or two of November, throw some topwaters and spinners. You should make a comeback.

When I want numbers and few bigger fish thrown in, I just throw plastic. The right plastic will work in any water anywhere. Mike

The good ole' spinnerbait.

Ok, how many of you have the tools, knowledge, and ability to measure micro-millimeter line sizes? Nope, me either. Did a quick search, and this is a copy-paste job of the same post on other sites. Looks suspect to me. First time poster and this is what he posts, with lots of allegations about "cheap" products with no proof? The line size was different than expected? That doesn't mean it's "cheap". There's nothing still that says the line is bad. Kastking stands by their products, and welcomes reviews, both good and bad. They don't ask people to remove bad comments, nor try to "bribe" them. That's just plain trash talk. Seems like this guy is just trying to troll. That said, I haven't personally used their line. But I do have the Assassin reel and I'm very impressed. I've used it all season long without any issues. I honestly didn't expect such a good reel for the price.

So today was a good and bad day , first time out in a week so I was pretty excited.. hit the water around 6:30 am for some great top water bite.. well the bite was amazing buut the fish just wanted to play today.. throwing buzzbaits and all the fish wanted to do was come up and smack he lure 2 feet in he air and swim away.. must have been a game of tag between the fish. Had some huge ones come out of the water but nothing wanted to really commit.. switched over to a senko and they just couldn't resist. Got these two 5 pound piggies back to back.. the one decided to jump out over a log and back down threw.. it was at that moment i remember why I always always use braid.. overall good day!