mnbassman23

Well done sir! Way to put in work on those MN fatties.

Your best option is straight braid or mono. 20lb mono is the absolute biggest you should go with that size of a bait, and 15-17 is going to give you a much better glide if you decide to go straight mono. One of the benefits that I like of fishing straight braid with glides is I can fish 40-50lb braid and it has the diameter of 10-12lb mono which creates less drag in the water and better action of the bait IMO. But most guys will tell you to fish mono or fluoro.

Thanks guys. Biggest was 5.25. Jeff I was sight fishing. I caught a few fish on beds, but most of the bigger females were roaming in and out of the shallows from deeper water while the small males were sitting on beds.

Perfect day to be on the water. Smashed a bunch of nice Smallies on the drop shot.

Lakes. Seems like guys all over MN are finding bass on beds right now and the cotton has really started to fall in the last 4 days. I noticed this about 4 years ago and so far it has held true each year since.

I have found this to be true in MN as well. Also when the cotton starts to fly I know the bass spawn is usually in full swing.

Found some footage from last summer that I forgot about. Most of the fish came on home made jig pitched around wood cover. Ended up with a few solid MN largies. Watch in HD.

If you're searching for large fish, then swimbaits are a great tool. A big glide bait will show you fish that you dream about. If you are just looking to cover a bunch of water and don't care what size fish you catch then stick to a crankbait, spinnerbait, keitech, etc for a search bait.

I got it installed and working like a charm. Ended up mounting it like the first picture, as you all had suggested. Thanks again.

Thanks WIGuide I was figuring pic 3 was a no go. I wish I had my boat to take better pictures. I have a thru hull for running so that isn't an issue. I just want it to work at speeds up to 3-5mph.

Maybe a long shot but has anyone here installed SI on a ranger 175 vs? Just trying to find the best place to install the transducer. If anyone could post a pic of their install that would be great. I grabbed a few pictures off of google images (not my boat) and if anyone wants to give me some input on where they would put the transducer I'd appreciate it. I don't have my boat here to take pictures, but hopefully someone can help me out here.

I've always had good luck with red label and have never had an issues with the Uni and San Diego Jam knot. Make sure your wetting your line if you aren't already.

I have the size 40 as well and you can easily throw it on a MH jig rod and even a heavier rated cranking rod. The size 30 is really small.

If you really want to stay around that 20$ range I'd say spro rat 40. There are a few guys that have had their Spro rat split and guys complain but I've also seen Bill and Spro take care of the issues and replace those baits. The slammer is an awesome bait if you decide to spend a bit more. Never thrown a Mickey jr so I cant comment on it.

This ^ I only have 1 on my boat as well and don't think I'll be adding another anytime soon. Think about how you want to approach your spots and how the boat will pivot and you'll be fine. I load and unload my boat solo more times than not and having even 1 pole is a huge benefit.

I did really well with them this summer/fall in the bluegill color. Stock hooks are not great. I ended up changing all mine out after having a few open up.

t-rigged havoc craw fatty

Great story. Pretty cool to see all these trophy class spots being caught. Makes me wish we weren't covered in sheets of ice.

Why I'm a better jig fisherman than you. Because most people tend to fish their jig to fast and don't put it in the areas they should to catch big bass. Skip it under that dock/overhang, pitch it into the heart of a big laydown, and crawl it through that rock point that eats lures like it's going out of style. Once you get it in a prime area let it sit and move it slow. People tend to pitch their jig in, shake it quick, and pull it right back out. You get the point, fish slower. After I bought a GoPro I realized how fast I actually fished my jigs and it was a real eye opener. I've since slowed down with my retrieve. Next time your retrieving your jig count how long it takes you from cast/pitch to getting it back to the boat. Probably much faster then you expect and much faster than you should. Another good option is to anchor up, power pole/talon down, and methodically work a high percentage area. I didn't start doing this until 3 years ago and the amount of big fish I caught after doing so went up dramatically. Most people do not work an area thoroughly enough by a long shot. Getting that proper boat position, maintaining it, and working the area slowly is key to those bigger bites. I also make my own jigs so I have colors specific to the bodies of water I fish. If you don't think color matters that's fine (not here to argue) but I can tell you on the lakes I fish you will get out fished if you don't have specific colors at certain times of the year. I can also dial in the ROF I get with my jig based on head weight and strand count which is another important factor. There are plenty of guys on here that would whip my arse when it comes to jig fishing but over the past 7 years of focusing on jig fishing I have made a lot of improvements that I wish someone had told me years ago.

This is solid advice. There are a bunch of good baits out there and it really depends on how much you want to spend and what forage you want to imitate. I've had pretty good success and the biggest thing for me was buying 2 lures and learning them well. It gets addicting and you'll want to buy buy buy but that does't give you time to learn the baits you have to be successful. Glide baits like the Deps and Gan Craft are fun to fish and put big fish in the boat. Hardgills, triple trouts, bull shads, etc have a straight swimming action and can be great for covering water. Soft baits like a Hudd 68 are great for working the bottom similar to a jig or slow rolling and shine in colder water and when the fish are inactive but they put big fish in the boat year round. Make sure you have atleast 1 hard bait and 1 soft bait and start fishing high percentage areas. Here in MN we have one of the smallest state records but swimbait fishing is good because people don't throw them. 2lb fish will smash a 6-7" bait without an issue and to a 5lber it's a snack. Be ready to spend some days on the water with little action but the rewards are worth it.

Mattlures Hardgill and U2 soft gill. He could sell his baits for more and his customer service is top notch. Jackall Gantarel is more readily available but the paint is going to chip off if you don't put clear coat on it. Shellcracker G2 for a topwater bait if you can find one. Deps bullshooter's are good glides but not sure if you want to spend that much. 3:16 is coming out with a glide gill that looks very promising but again it's going to cost over a Benjamin I'm sure.

Trailer Hitch is the real deal. Unless the claws get bitten off you can use the same trailer all day. Worth their weight in gold, especially if you skip a lot of jigs.

I fish a certain lake that has a good population of fish like that. I caught around 20 fish this year with those black blotches. These 2 had a fair amount of spots and black heads.

Slow dragging a 1/4oz t-rigged havoc craw fatty. I was fishing a big rock flat that has a rock point off the end in 3-8ft of water with deeper water around it. This time of year I can usually get good numbers of fish out there as well but they aren't there this year. I fished a few other spots that were dry that usually produce well in the fall. I'm usually on a good jig bite as well and that's not happening, been a weird fall.

Got out Saturday and ended up with 10 fish in 4 hours. Smallest was 3.5 and biggest was 5.73lbs. Best 5 went just under 24lbs. Good quality but the bites were sparse. Had to fish slow to get bites. Water temps were between 43-45. I might end up winterizing the boat this weekend with deer season coming up. Hate to do it but it's getting to be that time.