Crestliner2008

Sounds to me like an ideal situation for using blade baits. Blades and the drop shot would be the two primary presentations that I would consider.

I'm just a tad too old to be doing the extreme cold anymore, but not that many years ago, I use to regularly fish the Ct. River system for smallmouth & walleye, prior to ice up. I'd be out there today if I could take it, but the arthritis wins every time! Find deeper water structures and target each one with on/off bottom blade bait presentations, and/or tubes. Both will catch them, but I prefer the blades because of the "feel" I have with them as opposed to tubes. And during this cold water period, I break from my gospel goal of finding structures with bait. River structures can/do hold smallies without the presence of bait fish - for whatever reason. Which makes it simpler actually. Just hit all shelves, inlets, drop offs that you find on your sonar and you'll pick 'em up. Remember, catch one and you'll catch many. Cold water smallies in rivers bunch up. Mark those structures well on your GPS. They will repeatedly produce for you, year after year.

J is correct on all counts. You must know what structure is and how to located it on any given body of water. Not all structures you find will hold bait however. It's just a starting point. Once you locate structure that is also holding bait, then you've got the right place to fish. And locating these structure in deeper water after the spawn, is the challenge. On some lakes it could be at 25' and others 40'. You just have to put your time in on the water, eliminating structures as you go along. And if you check out a structure and it doesn't show bait or fish, don't give up on it. Smallies like to roam. Check & re-check structures each time you go out. Pretty soon you'll establish what I like to call my "milk run".

Before they closed down the coal burning power plant here on the Ct. River, you could always find cooperative fish around the warm water discharge. Miss that plant!

Water is icing up up here fast. Put the boat away last week. That's it for another 3 months sad to say.

Storm's Wildeyed Shads are great baits for just about any species. Very inexpensive and available everywhere. They work!

The big 1 1/2 oz. size is pike and catfish killer. I like it in gold plate.

I'm curious about the loop knot usage. The purpose is to afford the lure you are using as much action as the designer intended. I believe that to be correct, which is another reason most lures come with the split ring. However, a free floating lure eye rubbing against the loop knot, does give me a great deal of confidence that it will not wear the line in the loop - probably sooner than later. Line should not be freely rubbed by anything, to maintain the integrity of that line. This is why I remove the split rings on all my lures, tie a snap securely to my line, and use the snap instead of the split ring for my lure attachment. JMO Folks!

Thanks for the feedback guys. I'll have to pick up a couple of more.

Where? The only pricing I ever see has been the same for years - $49.00 for the 6920 and $59.00 for all other sizes.

I do hope that Pflueger doesn't go down the road of Shimano - kicking up the price and repackaging the same reels! I have 4 Presidents that have been in service for several years now. Nothing wrong with the design or quality.

I've been using Vanish for leader material for more years than I care to think about. From 4# test on my panfish braid to 17# test on my baitcasters. I have not experienced the horrific problems most folks have with this line. I take my time tying knots correctly - using only the Alberto knot for the joint. Have had to break off a lot of snagged jigs in my day and most times the line breaks at the jig knot. Again, I do not have a problem with Vanish - sorry!

The best suggestion was to change out the hooks and add a split ring. And while you are at it, remove that rubber skirt and put on a silicone skirt instead. A touch of super glue will assist with the replacement. The rubber, once wet, has a tendency to get gummy and loose a lot of it's original action.

The VMC Inline that I use most often is size 1/0.

I stand corrected! Wow....time sure flies by when you're having fun! Looking back on it now and talking with my long time fishing partner, he reminded me that we've been using Fireline for many decades. As early as the late 80's! I can't remember that far back though. LOL!

I'm in agreement with "GrumpyOlePhartte" here. I love the Alberto. And here's a hint, the higher the rating of your line strength, the more wraps you can/should use. I do a lot crappie fishing with 2# test Fireline Crystal. I start out with 7 wraps up and 5 wraps down. Have not experienced the failures described here. When I'm drop shotting with 6# test Fireline, I wrap 9 up and 7 down. I'd do the same for 12# - 17# test as well. It is important to wet the knot and SLOWLY pull it together. And it is important to snip the tag ends close, so as not to cause hang problems going through the guides. I use to use a dab of super glue on the windings, but no more. And have not experienced any negatives by doing so. a GREAT knot!

You are not alone! I've been using Fireline since it's original conception, over a decade ago. I have reels filled solely with the Crystal version these days, in 10#, 8#, 6#, 4# and 4 of my crappie rigs are filled with 2# test. Great line. Under rated in my opinion.

Another vote for the Storm Chug Bug here. But I gotta tell ya, for a popper and a walking bait, it's hard to beat the "Popn' Image" by Bill Dance. This is the easiest walking bait I've ever used. And the sound it makes is incredible. Add to that the fact that they inexpensive and you have a winner!

Yes I have LFLBS and still do. However, you go through a lot of plastics with this style of lure, both on crappie and the large sizes for bass. The great action of the segmented body is certainly attractive to most species, but it tends to make them much more fragile - and costly in the longer haul. My preference for crappie/panfish are 1/16 - 1/8 oz. ball head jigs with a variety of plastics. Some of these, which I find most effective, are Charlie Brewers Crappie Sliders (paddle tails), Bobby Garland's Baby Shads (straight tails), and just about any 2" curly tail plastic out there - however, I'm really fond of SK ShadPole CT (curly tails). And I never go crappie fishing without a selection of 1/16 oz. marabou tailed Roadrunners. I fish these lures mainly on B n' M rods, preferring the 7' & 9' Sam Heaton Super Sensitive models. Balanced with Pflueger President #6920 reels. I use 2# test Fireline Crystal fused line for the mainline, with a 4# test fluorocarbon leader which is attaced using the Alberto knot. Very effective panfish setups if you do not have to deal with a lot of brush and debris.

I have no idea how/why a small section of red has such an impact on bass, but it certainly does, from my experience. You might want to go to a hobby shop and pick up a small bottle of fluorescent red flat enamel. What I've done is to paint a small section of the lure body near the rear hook hanger. It may just be the old confidence factor, but I swear it has always done well by me. JMO!

Myself and a few fishermen I know always carry a few #7 original Rapalas in their boxes for just such a situation. Hard to beat that old lure! I also would try nose hooking a 4 fluke-type plastic (Zoom makes a good one). That kinda subtle, sub-surface, erratic action will sometimes out do the Rapala. Good Luck!

The key here (and on any other body of water this time of the year) is location. Find bait fish, with your sonar, relating to structure (humps, drop offs, submerged islands, etc.) and start there. Don't go looking for fish. If you find the bait, the fish will not be far away. In your situation I certainly would be focused on the drop shot as my main presentation technique.

You can certainly cast it out and retrieve it with a slow pull for a few feet followed by and pause and a few shakes and repeat. As long as you maintain contact with the weight. However, I'll be honest with you, I've always done much better using a vertically presentation vs. casting.

As suggested, the 20# braid is a good match for a 3000.

When wacky rigging stick baits, I always use a 2' leader tied to a swivel and then tied to 2 more feet of leader. Then that is tied to the main line. Some folks don't like using that many knots. But it's never been a problem for me. That way you just don't have to worry about spin.