Dwight Hottle

Great pics. You have got that river bite figured out pretty good!

Nice story. That must be where the expression " I WAS BUFFALOED" came from. :)

Rodger, Funny you should mention trading down. I just traded up yesterday to a 20 footer from my 18 footer. Better to handle Lake Erie on those non perfect days. Here's a 23" from this spring.

I would spend some time fishing the two humps in the middle area adjacent to the the 40' hole. And the two points Rolo suggested.

Tony, google jensen jigs. His site will give you plenty of ideas. He also has a tutorial for tying your own with bunny strips.

Welcome. You have joined a great site. I'll be up your way this November fishing the BOQ for big walleyes.

You might want to consider some jigging spoons for deep water locations . If you mark bait deep they can be effective.

KMS399 I catch a few muskies while out cranking or running topwater. I have caught probably 10 this season so far here is one I caught last weekend on a rapala x walk13. it went 38" That sure looks like a tiger muskie. Beautiful fish & coloration.

Muddy, Mount the tranducer to a wood board & then C-clamp it to the gunnel.

What Roger said. Amen.

I'm a big fan of both the 100 series & the 128 series. The 128's are not to big for smallies. You could try one 100, one 128 & one staysee 90 & still be under $50. I have had great luck with all three for both largemouth & smallies.

Nice fish. Your picture makes her look a lot bigger than 8lb-1oz!

Matt, You have a PM.

Hey paul, If Hank looks over your pictures maybe he will want to fish with you & pick your brain. Your sucess speaks for itself. Good luck. ;)

;) My choice would be a lc pointer 100 series.

Congrats on the new PB. Rapalas do deliver.

LCM, Your not that far away from lake erie. Here is my biggest from this year. 6lb-12oz.

My biggest smallie was last year. A 7lb-6oz beauty.

Look at St Croix Avid series crankbait rods. Priced at $170. Lifetime limited warranty. AVC70MHM 10-20 line weight & 3/8-1oz lure weight. Sweet traditional handle grip. 4.1 oz weight.

If your using braid just cast out & try a hook set. If the drag slips just a little your fine. Very simple and it does work. For mono you shouldn't have any slip on a hookset. Its not rocket science unless you want it to be.

I have been using braid for years. I started with power pro & have switched to fireline ultracast for less water absorption & smoother casting. Haven't tried the tracer yet but have heard good things about it also. When concerned about line visibility I add a leader of 4-6 feet using maxima ultragreen tied with back to back uni knots. Once you switch to braid the sensitivity will amaze you & hook sets are much easier. I do favor lighter drag settings & longer rod lengths/more moderate actions to add more give to the setup.

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who enjoyed that article. Sounds like a good idea to target deep areas on the great lakes.

Sounds like you guys had a great time. Congrats.

Hey Dwight! We have almost the same thread running two lines down: What is "big"? Kent I guess I didn't get my point across very well. I'm trying to compare what is your biggest largemouth to your biggest smallmouth from a personal goal standpoint. When you aspire to catch a certain size largemouth as a lifetime goal how big of a smallmouth does it take to compare to it. In your avatar your holding a 7lb+ and a 8lb+ smallie. From a personal satisfaction point of view how big would the two largemouth have to be to equal your accomplishment with the smallies. Would you have to be holding a 12lber & 15lber? Bigger? Kent

Not really. Pike often react to cold fronts by hunkering down or hugging bottom. Smaller pike like shallow water & will tolerate warmer water than large pike. Thats why large pike can be found shallow in the spring & fall when water temps are cooler. Once the water temps rise too much larger pike are found relatively deep. I have caught pike from 13-20 lbs in 60 feet on the bottom while jigging for lake trout.