TimJ

I have tapped the foot control switch on the Motor Guide when the motor was 90 degrees left and on full. can you say splash? KCL...I have only cut the line once instead of the tag end and when I threw my buzzbait over the side of the boat, it was gone. I dont do that anymore.

I am with SirSnookalot. I use a small swivel (goes through the top guide) between my braid and flouro when drop shotting and on tougher days with tubes, etc for smallies. For flipping or all my other braid uses, I tie direct.

congratulations. it was good of everyone here to help you out and good luck for you to draw a good boater. just remember that it may not always be that good a situation. Also, it may be a better one. you never know. the only thing that you can control is that you fish your a** off! go get 'em.

funny that the golf analogy is used because I have always believed that the best rig for a certain job is the one I am using...and I have an alphabet of rods and reels in use. the only time I used only one rod/reel type was +/- 20 yrs ago when I was fortunate to be assisted by Shimano. they were some great rigs but I just could not duplicate a couple of rigs that I had been using. it is all up to one's personal choice and feel.

you already have one smallie location...head to that feed river mouth. fish the mouth and deeper hard structure or distinct weedlines in that area. whatever works upstream may work at the mouth too. match the hatch. good luck.

BassIdiot, I could not have written that any better. Nick, good points. No matter the skill of your pro, treat them with the same respect and professionalism that you would expect. Good luck to you all and enjoy your experiences.

I am confirmed as a co-angler for the BASS Northern Open on the Detroit River (as well as the FLW Open on same). I have fished 2-BASS Top 150s in the past and I think I am correct when I say that Lakes StClair and especially Erie are 2 great examples of places where you stand a very low chance of being back-boated. Open water smallmouth fishing has got to be the most co-angler friendly water...except for the possibility of 3-5 footers! I do not have a rig so this is the only way I can fish at this level. Good luck at whatever you choose to do. My experiences as a co-angler have been excellent.

I realize that this is late but, yes, we have been fishing LSC often this summer. We are at opposite ends of the lake though. We fish the south shore from The Detroit River through to Stoney Point, from shore to prob 5 miles out...big area. Tubes have been hit or miss but craw brown with gold flake and, lately, white have been outproducing the 8-10 colours that we throw. Also gobies, like poor boys, have been doing very well on a dropshot, carolina rig (my fav) and a goby sled jig head. Best goby colour for us has been cucumber. Last few trips, the dropshot with a minnow (hawg shad) has been producing more. Overall, nothing has stood out between rocks/weeds. Prob caught more big fish from rockpiles though. Watch your message box. TJ

I bought 2-704C this spring and they fish very well. lightweight and strong for use with spin, buzz, frogs, swim jigs. fyi...also now have 702 and 703 spin rods. I find the 702 nice for topwaters, 703 great for tubes and c-rigs for smallies. I am still learning DS rigging and not really sure which way to lean yet. I need experience there. good luck to you.

the bottom line on the earlier post about Icast best-of-show winners is the VMC spinshot. on an Ontario-based forum, a post was put up about the spinshot. basically, it is a drop shot hook built on a swivel. it keeps the hook upright with no worry about tying special knots. you can tie your usual knot to both ends of the swivel. this also cuts way back on line twist. there is a youtube video. not sure if I can post the link. someone let me know if its ok, please. thanks.

I take it that most of you are speaking of LM fishing. I find that Great Lakes SM fishing is probably better from the back of the boat. Just have to concentrate on fishing...and if not targeting something specific, there is no "back" anyways.

thanks Nick. dwtaylor got back to me on a pm. they didn't have a good tournament showing. tried for sm staying channel oriented and caught a bunch of walleye. if he says it's cool, I'll copy and paste his pm. Tim

welcome to the site

welcome to the site

welcome to the site