Scott F

My preference has been the single, Colorado blade. I must be in the minority because of how few of that model I see in stores compared to double bladed, willow leaf baits and most every other combination.

In-Fisherman co founder Ron Lindner dead at age 86 https://www.outdoornews.com/2020/12/01/international-angling-icon-ron-linder-passes-at-age-86/

In the spring, for prespawn smallmouth, I have a Pointer 65 on one of my rods at all times. The lake I fish has a lot of small minnows that the 65 mimics pretty well. I’ll bet in the last 6 or 7 years, I’ve gotten a thousand smallmouth along with walleyes on it including this 28 incher.

Because wading boots need to provide support, are constantly wet, need soles that are not slippery on rocks, and are expected to last more than one season, it makes them more expensive. Inexpensive wading boots are going to fall apart way too soon. If cost is an issue, use old sneakers or cheap shoes, just don’t expect them to last very long. By the way, the neoprene socks are a good way to go if you insist on wet wading. Sand and rocks are going to find a way into whatever footwear you choose. With waders, I use neoprene gaiters that wrap around the top of the boots to keep out rocks and sand. Fold the socks over the top of your shoes to reduce stuff getting in.

The problem with all of those is that they don’t provide any ankle support. If river bottoms were as smooth as the beach or you could always see where you were stepping, it wouldn’t be an issue. Twisting an ankle is pretty common while wading so boots/shoes that give good support like wading boots do, are important.

I bought the Revo cap last year. Is the Z2 a new model? Looking at the catalog, I don’t see a $500 improvement of the Z2 over the Revo. What makes the Z2 more expensive? I don’t have a dog to ride in the back so I don’t need side windows that open like I had on the Z series I had on my old truck. I really like the way the ARE’s look and are designed.

I didn’t say that. If you are wading for example, covering water, you are moving relatively slowly. Fish all the water you can, just don’t spend a lot of time fishing low percentage spots. Stop and spend more time on those eddies and current breaks where you are more likely to find feeding bass.

Smallmouth cannot live full time fighting current. The spend very little time actually in it. They find slack water eddies which can be identified by the current breaks. They tuck in behind and between rocks, or logs waiting for the current to bring food to them. Probably 70% of all the river smallies I’ve caught were in the eddies right next to faster current. In slower water, they’ll cruise flats and be scattered.

Smallmouth will often hold in deep pools and it could even be a spot they stay in all winter. But it isn’t a feeding area. When they feed, they’ll move up near or in the riffle, feed, then move back deep. During the winter, in a wintering pool, they’ll lay almost dormant stacked up like logs but won’t bite at all. Warm, sunny afternoons, some of those fish may feed again, near the deepest water but seldom at the bottom of the pool. Then again, they are fish and don’t always do what we think think they should be doing.

I tried it a couple of times when pike fishing which can be a big mistake with a big fish. Got my thumb burned more than once.

For me, 20lb braid is the heaviest I use for bass on a bait caster and 10lb braid is what I use on spinning reels. Lighter braid doesn’t dig in on my reels unless I do something wrong like not get out a backlash all the way, set my drag too tight or use the reel to try and free a snagged lure.

Your success catching a smallmouth will be more dependent on you finding them this time of year than which lure you throw. Any of the lures mentioned and probably dozens of others will all get them, but none of them will if you are fishing the wrong depth or location.

This time of year and into the winter, bass do seem to feed more often. Experience has shown the fall to be one of the best times of the year to catch bigger river fish. The rivers I’m familiar with are often the clearest they will be all year and smallmouth like to site feed. Warm, sunny days often trigger a good bite in the afternoon especially when overnight temps are colder. Through the winter, fishing gets very tough and your best shot at bites come on sunny days, better if it’s a warm, sunny day.

Next time, lay it along side your rod and note the length. Measure it when you get home.

I had a couple of those I bought new back in the 70’s. Here is an actual picture of the last one I had. I guess they weren’t very good cars but I really liked the ones I had.

I paid $100 for a 1964 Ford Falcon station wagon back in 1972 when I was 17. I probably had it for a year or two before the engine blew up. Looked a lot like this one...

Skeet Reese Ian Poulter

Spotted Cow beer from the New Glarus Brewing Company in New Glarus Wi. Only available in Wisconsin, brought some back after my last fishing trip.

When you get hung up and cut your line, where are you cutting it? So you try to cut it as close to the lure as possible? Do you pull on the line to let it break at the knot?

Abu Garcia had an anti backlash reel several years ago. I bought one for my wife before we did a fly in trip to Canada. She’d never used a bait caster before and there wasn’t time to teach her to use a normal reel. She used it for the entire week and never had a backlash. I got a couple when I tried it but I kept thumbing the spool when you aren’t supposed to. It has been discussed here in the past where it got no love at all. The only real drawback is that it doesn’t cast as far as a normal reel. They can be had on eBay for $50 give or take.

Anybody who follows this forum has seen that guys like collecting rods, reels and lures just for the fun of it, not necessarily because that gear will catch more fish. The other thing I’ve seen is that many, many fishermen believe that there is a magic lure that will be the difference between a skunk and a boat full of fish. Even though they already have tackle boxes full of lures that will all catch fish (when put in the right place at the right time) there is an excitement in trying to find the next “magic“ bait. The fishing industry depends on those guys to stay in business. I jumped on the Whopper Plopper bandwagon and caught a bunch fish on them, but the bass in my favorite river seems to have tired of them because they haven’t been effective lately. I went back to my old school Mepps spinner and got them. As long as people are not being scammed by fake reports just so someone can sell lures, they should have fun and buy whatever they like.

GoPros were designed for closeup shots. Like where the camera is pointed to something very close like a selfie. Pointing it off into the distance makes bad videos. Put it on a tripod and point it at yourself if you are fishing from the bank.

When you talk about the last generation of comedians, you can’t leave out Rodney Dangerfield. Present day favorites of mine are Jerry Sienfeld, Lewis Black and before he got blacklisted, Louis C. K.

When hitting spot lock, you must be sure the boat is not still moving forward. If it is, you’ll coast by the spot you locked and the motor will try to put you back to the spot. Also, always point the boat into the wind before locking in your spot.

A silver minnow always had a very dull hook out of the package. Make sure you sharpen the heck out of it!