FryDog62

I think we experienced 3 seasons in 5 hours this morning... water temp 69, most fish were in 4-7 fow... outside the weedline and not very near shore or under the docks. Plastics, Chatterbaits..

LiveScope is awesome looking straight down, but just so-so forward. It’s more of a toy than a tool, although for drop-shotting its the cat’s...

Im a Minnesota guy and use a lot of different Heavy rods. Our state weed is milfoil and there’s a lot of good fish in there. My main flipping rod is a Dobyns 746 and it is NOT too heavy.

I think with the nomadic nature of smallies it helps to enlist a guide the first day. Yes they are probably on rock piles, points, etc but what depth? Once you find that out you can dial in. If you’re looking for a guide, try Billy Rosner.

For me the equation is the same - if I need to use it to skip lures then it’s Tat SV... if I don’t then it’s Curado 70. Simple as that... close to the same price but different uses..

Overall one of the best mid-prices reels on the market IMO. Great value, versatile, SV skips, etc. Only negatives can be spool capacity is less, and it’s not as sleek/palmable as some other reels similarly priced (Curado 70, Lew’s). Hard to find any any significant negatives on it...

A 15, two 18’s and a 20 1/4 in about 3 hours. Missed a couple too. Shoulda retied my line-to-leader knot from last year! Wacky Worm near shore... 65 degree water temps.. Got this ugly scud missile too... I think he’s won/lost a few battles along the way (like me

This X2 those exact 2 lines... ...drop the mic

A couple just coming off spawn in a local river... despite high/chocolate water..

Trolling motor is fixed...

As much damage the hooks do to the lure, they absolutely ruin a good landing net...

Cut the hook, they swim off, with an 80+% chance of eventual mortality. Hemostat in the gills and twist is the best chance at survival.. it works.

I’m a recovering St.Croixaholic... I think you’ll find many rods (including Megabass) to be less tip heavy and cumbersome than the MH and H St. Croix Rods. I have a Braillist and Perfect Pitch and they put the AvidX to shame IMO. So do all the Daiwa Tatulas for $50 less.

I love the combination of both... but if limited to one on a smaller craft would take TNT.

The lightest lures, or if using to skip I recommend SV TW. I use mine for Ned rigging light stuff and can even skip it Medium distances under docks/overhangs... I use 20 lb braid/fluoro leader..

I had an old Premier that was I think a 6-3 Medium... don’t know if that is the rod you have, but I thought it was fairly close to Medium action. I would think a 1/4 inline spinner would be about ideal for what you describe. I used to throw Mepps 4 and 5’s with mine. My opinion only, but today’s St. Croix ML and M rods are fairly true action/weight. If getting into MH and H, I think they tend to be thick, tip heavy rods.

The line is above or on top of the water and the topwater moving, walking, etc... I have never had a problem tying braid directly. I have used swivel snaps on Topwater if I know I’m going to be switching out a lot and it hasn’t been a problem either, although I usually tie directly. In general, largemouth aren’t very discerning and line and/or swivels don’t make much of a difference IMO. In really clear water fishing for Smallmouth ... they are more visual creatures so it may make more difference there, especially with topwater lures that pause (poppers, skitter props, etc).

On the lighter side, I like to throw a VMC Rugby jig (3/16 or 1/4 oz) along with a chartreuse Twin Tail Hula Grub... hard to beat around light cover, rocks. If if I go a little heavier, I like a Dirty Jigs swim jig and Craw Fatty.

I much prefer the 75 WP over the 90 for SMB. Doesn’t nose dive and I think the “tone” of the prop on the 75 seems to resonate better with the smallies. I’d rather move up to the 130 before I’d use the 90.

Good points above. Smallies are nomadic and will be in the rock piles but also moving between the piles or the areas surrounding. Just because they were there the day before or an hour earlier doesn’t mean they are still there... keep moving.. this is different than LMB that might stage in a specific weed bed or along a weedline for long periods..

Use side imaging to locate rock piles and drop waypoints... also areas with broken rock, gravel points, etc. These are places where crayfish hang out and that is the #1 preferred food source of SMB.

x2 what Glaucus said

I got caught on a lake on a trip to SoDak when the winds were 15-20 but then kicked up to 45 mph in about 2 minutes. Hid behind an island for an hour and it only got worse. Eventually got to the ramp and loaded the boat solo (somehow) with 3 footers at my back. Almost put the bow of the boat through the back of my Jeep. End result was a snapped TM cable and a new 4 foot Duckett worm rod Everything else was fine (except my nerves)!

I have the SV reels in Tatula, Zillion and Steez. They are all good, and honestly in terms of skipping I don’t find a significant difference between the Tat and Zillion. Both resist backlash approx the same IMO. Steez is a bit better and the smaller/lighter size more palmable/comfortable but you pay up for it. Overall best value is Tatula, but it’s bigger and not as palmable as for instance a Curado 70 or Steez.

I really do use mine often enough that I couldn’t go back to fishing without it. I don’t rely on the Link features all the time but the extra functionality is really worth it at times. Just this past week, a friend of mine and I were in a tournament on a lake we really didn’t know and due to weather, really had a hard time locating fish. We experimented at several different depths - so used follow the contour to try several different depths inside the weedline, outside, etc. Eventually did find them... and most importantly could stay at/near that depth the rest of the day and scratch out enough fish to weigh when many others didn’t. I also use “Go To” for waypoint fishing, for instance where we’ve marked several deepish rock piles located in the same general vicinity that hold Smallmouth. The fish are either on the piles or traveling in between. I will drop shot each waypoint as well as the areas between that have broken rock. If they’re not there, hit Go-To the next waypoint and keep moving through high percentage areas. Works fantastic. All this and the best part is the hands-free nature which allows me to really spend time searching and fishing while not constantly checking my graph and adjusting direction of the trolling motor. Add in Spot-Lock and I really think this is one of the best overall inventions in the electronics game in the last decade. So I guess it depends on how you fish and if you’d use the Link technology... but if you fish similar to the above, I think it’s worth every penny.