Jar11591

I know Dick's always has St. Croix t-shirts for sale.

A "flat" is any area withouth depth change. You can identify those on contour maps by looking for the areas with no lines. And you're correct as far as I know about points. Just pieces of land that jut out I to the water...but points often continue under water for some distance and they usually drop off on either side.

Looks like I'm giving no leader a shot first then. Thanks for the info.

So how often do the hooks get caught on the line, enough to cause a problem or just occasionally? Thanks

I have never used braided/fused line before, always fluorocarbon or monofilament. But I decided to put 10 lb Fireline on one of my reels. Now I'm wondering, when I fish topwater like poppers and jitterbugs can I tie the Fireline directly to the lure, or should I use a monofilament leader? I'm new to braided line so any advice would be appreciated. Thanks Jar

You're right, it could be an unlisted species. But I would think that a non native shad would be killed by the harsh winters, no? I know down south they have shad-kills if the temperature falls too low. And DEC actually states the only herring found inland was the gizzard shad. I'll post a picture as soon as the lake isn't under 2 feet of ice. Lol

A few months ago I was fishing in a small 50 acre lake in upstate NY and as usual in this lake, the surface with alive with baitfish schools and bass chasing them. I wanted to know what baitfish these were, so I tossed my jerkbait into a school and snagged one. It was some type of shad/herring as it had the black dot on its head. The NY DEC does not list any shad in this lake and the only shad inland in NY is the gizzard shad. Im pretty sure this was not a gizzard shad because it did not have the overbite, and gizzard shad prefer clearer water.(this lake is slate-colored and has a visibility of 1.5' feet on a good day). Also I know it wasn't an alewife because this is basically a big pond. Can anyone help ID this fish? Thanks

Thanks a lot.

It wasn't really a habit because this person hadn't fished before but a buddy that went fishing with me rigged his pole up with a Rapala Husky Jerk and then put a little piece of worm on a couple of the hooks and and casted right next to shore and just waited. I could not stop laughing. When i told him you don't have to bait the hooks and that you usually should keep retrieving the lure he was shocked.

I'm ordering some new tube baits online and I'm trying to figure out if the length is really the length of just the body of the tube or the body including the skirt or frills. None of the lengths of the tubes i have match the lengths that are online with neither body or body and skirt. the ones I'm looking at are the Bass Pro brand. Anyone have any idea? It would be appreciated.

Haven't noticed that specifically, but i like to think that whatever scent of mine that had been on the bait would be covered once i caught a fish. But I've never noticed a real difference.

For me, fishing is all about odds and percentages. Lure color, size, style and depth as well as time of day, location, weather and water conditions all change your odds. When I seek "answers" I'm simply looking to increase my chances of catching fish. With fishing nothing is guaranteed.

My absolute favorite type of fishing is top water for smallmouth. There is truly nothing better than fishing in a crystal clear northern lake on a morning when the lake is smooth as glass and seeing a bronze back come up to clobber the popper. It's addicting.

I guess the best one can do is seek advice from people who have been more successful than oneself. Almost as good as an answer if that's the best you can do right? And not to be cliche but it's called fishing, not catching. Haha -Jar

Storm Chugbug in Tennessee Shad color has been the most productive for me.

Interesting...so a more subtle approach for LM? I do catch them on topwater occassionally, it just seems like smallies are far more willing topwater biters. Wierd thing is i fish for largemouth a lot more, and i dont have a problem catching them with other methods, just cant get consistent with the topwater.

AMEN!

My all-time favorite smallmouth lure is the Storm 2.5" Rattlin' Chugbug in Tennessee Shad color, provided of course the conditions are right for topwater. Senkos and Hula grubs always work as well.

Does anyone else feel like smallmouth are significantly more willing to bite on topwater than largemouth are? I have fished for both species extensively and it seems like during evening and early morning hours, the smallmouth cant wait for the popper to hit the water before exploding on it. But in largemouth lakes that i fish in, it seems fairly rare to get a strike on topwater, whether its a buzzbait, popper, walking stick or a frog i throw over the lillies, even in spots i know there are fish. Any ideas/input?

I actually had a ton of luck trolling for largemouth this past summer. Most of the lakes i fish are small so we always do at least a couple trolling runs around the lake. Its a great way to locate fish. Even caught three 30+ inch Northern Pike and a dozen big bluegill and crappie. Another great thing about trolling is you run the lure by so many different fish, you never know what is gonna be at the end of your line.

"is that a Red Snapper?!" "I have no idea" haha too funny

Hey Everybody...New guy here from Upstate New York. I mainly fish Adirondack Mountain lakes as well as the local ponds and rivers. I try to be on the water 7 days a week and usually am. Cant do much fishing during the winter in NYS so right now im going crazy counting down the days!