Snakehead Whisperer

The only scent I ever use for smallies is Spike-It Lure Dye. I use it mostly to dye the lure, but also to cover my scent. I'm not necessarily convinced that it works as an attractant though. Anise scent is an old favorite for smallmouth. The Spike-It "Gamefish" flavor is anise scented. I also have had good results with the Crawlic (garlic/crawfish) scent. I also use Keitech Swing Impacts and Jackall Cross Tail Shad's quite a bit, and both have a squid scent that definitely does not deter smallies from crushing them.

I C-Rig them and fish them almost year round.

Nice evasion there.

Sounds like a trick question. I'm assuming you're talking about rod building, but either way this is how I like to balance my outfits. Are you talking about a Tennessee grip rod? Place it wherever the reel balances best. I usually like the rod to balance out about an inch above the reel at the top of the grip, so I place the reel accordingly. If this can't be achieved, I am using the wrong sized reel.

Yes, you can catch smallies at night. This is going to sound like a boring reply, but just use the same baits/techniques you would in the day time (bait fish don't change color at night.) They may move shallower in the dark, but this is relative. Shallow may mean inches to 10' or more, and they may not move shallower at all.

To me skin hooking is either like this... or like this...

No hooks on those plugs.

You could also view it full screen and take a screenshot.

I catch quite a few that are similarly colored, although they're usually on the smaller size. Around here even the smallmouth are light like that until they reach 10" or so.

Since a lot of things come with stern warnings, I figured I'd share my story. A friend of mine bought a used boat for a really good price. The hull and motor were in great shape, but the wiring was done by the previous owner who was obviously not an electrician. Everything worked, however. The first day that he had the boat we took it out for a test spin. Apparently the trolling motor wires had some areas on the shielding that had worn thin, but we hadn't noticed it at first glance. While on plane, the wires crossed and the hot wire shorted to ground. Sparks were flying everywhere and the wires were too hot to touch. I was able to cut the ground wire because I happened to have my tool bag with me for the test ride. If I hadn't acted quickly, there definitely would have been a fire. Touching those wires at that point could prove fatal, and being on a boat that is on fire is not a good thing. The trolling motor was stowed and not running at the time that this happened. Had there been a circuit breaker or a fuse on the TM, there would have been no issue. Breaker would have tripped or fuse would have blown, end of story. Needless to say, we spent the next several hours re-wiring the entire boat. The boat is reliable and a pleasure to fish from nowadays, but could have been a costly anchor if it had caught on fire. A fire also could have cost us our lives.

It is a fire hazard to run the TM without a properly rated breaker. If adding a breaker to the wiring, install it as close to the battery as possible. You could also use an inline fuse, which might be more streamlined if you're removing the TM from the boat after every outing. This should also be installed as close to the battery as possible, and be sure to carry spare fuses. If it were me, I would install some sort of circuit protection before using the TM. I like breakers for TMs, but a fuse will protect you all the same. Installing screw down battery terminals will also improve the performance of your TM over the alligator clips. I also can't overemphasize the importance of having a fire extinguisher on board your boat.

Glad you signed up. Welcome to the site.

I use this stuff too. It reminds me a lot of the glitter on Norman crank baits, which I like.

There are many different ways to seal crankbaits, but if you are looking for a good product that's easy to use and durable just use Devcon 2 Ton epoxy. Do not use the 5 Minute epoxy, it sets too quickly to effectively seal a crankbait or self level. The finish quality is also much better with the 2 Ton. Devcon 2 Ton takes about 16 hours to fully cure, but the 5 minute epoxy actually takes 12 hours or so to fully cure so in reality it's not much faster. It's supposed to functionally set in 5 minutes (more like 20, but whatever...) but it needs to cure fully before you go submerging it. If you're chucking these baits in the water without allowing them to cure fully, this could be the problem. There are many other options, but all have their pros and cons. If you are looking for something that will cure quickly then you should check out UV cured resins. Solarez makes some very good products. They are hard, durable and set in minutes with exposure to the sun or a UV lamp. There are some downsides though, for instance the finish is not as clear or glossy as epoxy. UV cure resins are indispensable to me for rapid prototyping and they are also very useful for sealing balsa baits prior to painting.

This.

Keep us posted on what happens.

Glad to hear it. I read your other thread and was really bummed when you were having engine problems with your new boat. Hope you have many years of good service from that new rig. Take care of it, and it'll take care of you. Looks like you're off to a good start. I have an '89 Merc 25HP with a shot lower unit. The power head is good. It's yours if you want it, although shipping to Georgia might be a little pricey.

The only reliable way to do this is to use a carb synchronizer tool. It measures the vacuum that each carb is pulling, so you can be certain that they are all adjusted the same. They need to be very close all the way from idle to WOT. You can make your own synchronizer with some bottles, hose and ATF (auto trans fluid, that is; and a few other odds and ends.) A good carb synchronizer will probably cost you less than taking it to a shop, however. There are countless articles/videos online showing how to do this procedure, for both land vehicles and marine. Take your time, and do the research for your carbs/OB. It's not too difficult of a job, just tedious.

I've always liked the idea of the spinnerbait/crankbait/baitcaster portmanteau.

Spot on. In the last few years the number of blue cats I catch when targetting smallmouth has risen to the point that it's almost 1/3 of what I catch in the DC area sometimes. I catch them anywhere from inches of water to 80' deep, and all on bass lures (plastics, jigs, crankbaits, topwaters... pretty much anything.) Most of the cats I catch are at least 5-6lbs, with 10-20lbers being not uncommon. My PB was caught on a dropshot. Not sure of the weight, but it bottomed out my 30lb Boga with ease. Probably 45-50lbs if I had to guess.

Downsize and slow down.

Alberto/Albright knot with the braid wrapped around the fluoro (more wraps for light line, less for heavier.) I'm guessing that the difference in diameter is negligible with 50lb braid to 10lb fluoro. It probably doesn't make much of a difference, but I usually tie my leaders about twice the length of the rod I'm using; this allows me to re-tie several times on the same leader. I'll replace it entirely when it gets to about 24" or so, and my knot usually holds up until that point. I remember that it took me several years before I truly mastered leader knots. Sometimes they were solid, other times they would fail almost instantly. Uni to uni was the first that I used, but it's too cumbersome to tie and less reliable than the Alberto. Whatever knot you choose, practice it until you understand how it works and can verify that you've tied it correctly. Check your line guides for any rough spots/nicks. Also, on some baitcast reels the level wind mechanism is an area that catches the knot. Check that too.

That might be your issue. The fishID may be giving you false positives. Is there anything that you can see with your eyes that suggests that there are actually fish there?

I totally read that wrong. I read it like you got 4 for the price of 10. I'm assuming you meant 4 for $10, like $2.50 a piece.