Turkey sandwich

Welcome to the forum! I haven't fished with, but have had a chance to handle the Loomis, Powell, and Zodias. I own an Avid X (6'10 ml X-fast spinning), and two Rage (6'6 Med Fast and 7'1 MH XF casting rods). The blanks on these rods (SCIII) are, to me, much better than any of the above that I've handled. The Avid X has become my favorite river smallmouth rod for tubes, drop shots, and essentially anything requiring lots of sensitivity and small weight. These blanks really are great blanks. Also, I've become a fan of the split grip for most applications. The majority of my rods moving forward will likely be Avid X or Legend Elite series rods. For $200-$230, I don't think another rod compares favorably to the Avid X. Also, with the SCIII blanks, if you can, handle both a MH and a H. St Croix tends to run a bit heavy. Since heavier lures seem your focus, the 7'1 MH Rage has no trouble throwing 1oz jigs (built on the same blank). There are other threads on Avid vs Avid X, but the consensus seems to be that he microguides really help sensitivity.

Cheers, that's a great fish! I was hoping to get my 6 wt out this weekend, but it appears the weather is going to make that impossible. I'm still pushing to land my first smallie on the whippy stick.

That's an incredible fish, and an even more incredible catch and release story. 19" around just seems crazy. That's beyond football. That's like a midget basketball with fins.

I have several pairs of Ray-Bans, including one with a few sets of interchangeable lenses. The only digs on the interchangeable lens aviators is that they aren't as still/don't fit me as well as the standard aviators and that it is possible to accidentally pop lenses out (can scare the hell out of you). They're much, much better than any cheap sunglasses I've owned, but also Bolle, Arnette, and Oakleys I've worn. I've never tried Costas, but I've heard great things.

Where and how you fish also plays into whether FC makes sense for you. In super clear water, and with pressured fish, it can make a difference because it minimizes visibility and it's density and fast-sinking quality can be beneficial for bottom contact baits. That being said, that same sinking quality can totally screw up the action of many topwater baits.

Also, I somehow forgot to mention a small jig and craw. Last weekend a Bitsy Bug and Bitsy Craw put something like 5 fish in the boat between 16-19.75".

I typically just rock a bandana over my face/neck. That said, I'm also the palest dude ever and my ears get awfully sunburnt. I'm pretty sure I'll be ordering one by this summer.

Big live bait fished properly is probably as good as it gets. If not live bait, I've caught more 5-6lb Largemouth on jigs w/craw trailers or T-rigged worms than all else combined.

I think for young kids, it's important to make it really simple, but also to make sure it holds their attention. For that, it's tough to beat live bait in a pond where you know they can catch their fill of panfish and/or bullheads. Plus, they also make great table faire. It can be a cool feeling for a kid to catch dinner.

Welcome to the forum! I'm not at all familiar with bass fishing in Utah, but keeping a log is a super important part of learning. I might suggest also searching the forum for your home lakes/rivers or similar conditions.

Both of those islands are mud along the main channel, but have shaped out a bit more since this picture was taken to provide more of a break from the main current. Not far off the main channel side (the right side in the pic) the soft bottom extends 10-25 feet off of the main island until it hits current. The river drops from 2-5' on the mud/weeds to 6-10' in the current with large rocks, logs, etc providing current breaks along this line. The current breaks are visible as eddies and surface swirls. Also, that channel dissecting the island is worth fishing as well as the entire tail section on the channel side of the bottom island. The channel dissecting the island is gravel, but the backside of the first island is washed out mud with windfall and weeds.

It can be, depending upon the river you're fishing. Ideal spawning sites are all relative to the water you're fishing, but smallmouth are willing to travel if better areas are available. Mud and silt can be good if there's also cover. For example, soft bottoms with weeds in slack current with near proximity to depth/current can be great. Gravel with weeds can also be really good. Think soft to small rocks with vegetation over boulders. (I kind of wish I shot video of this over the weekend) So, places worth checking out: -soft bottom or gravel shallows protected by points or islands. Big bonus if there's rocks, trees, weeds along the current seam. (Females will stage in these areas and feed pre-spawn, but also use them to rest and feed while males guard the bed) - a shallow oxbow can be excellent so long as it's not barren. - creek mouths - great staging point earlier in pre-spawn. look for creeks with reasonable depth, slower current, and soft bottoms where they enter the river. Spawning may take place up the creek along cover lined banks.

You want a soft, shallow bottom (3-5' is ideal) protected from current, but with close access to current and depth. Position your boat in the shallow, slow water and fish the current seams bordering deeper water. That's where you're most likely to find the females who are either just about to spawn or resting/feeding during the spawning process.

Congrats, dude! That's a great smallie!

The Mojo Bass line were good rods for the price point. Since the blanks have been updated, I've heard nothing but great things. I have Rage and Avid X rods built on that blank and love them. For the price, I can't imagine a better value.

I would suggest the shallow running/square bill option mentioned already. You can bump it off whatever you run into and let it float up to clear snags and shake some of the vegetation off the hooks. Fishing lipless on shallow running banks can make for some serious headaches.

Are you fishing rivers or lakes? Any idea on water temperature?

Nice! And the size makes sense since it's so early in the season. The Susky is not the place I'd want to take a fiberglass boat and even a Jonboat with a standard prop outboard requires some care. But it can be really worth it. If you have the cash to pick up a kayak, they're great for the river.

Great recap, and it sounds like a killer day on the water!

We did very well on the Susquehanna last weekend throwing jigs/craw trailers. What was the water temp like? What was the mix Largemouth/Smallmouth?

@Catt Really cool detail about feeding the extra line in the heavy vegetables, sounds similar to feeding slack line to get depth in current. Is there a noticeable difference in feel once you finally punch through the bases/stems? Am I correct in assuming you're also usually fishing rattles on those jigs since the vegetation is so dense? Do you ever C-rig a floating worm to fish the tops of the weed beds as an alternative to the bottom bouncing baits?

Did not know that. I just remember them being delicious.

Whitefish are salmonids? The others I'm familiar with. Brook trout, Lakers, bull trout, Dolly Varden/Arctic char - all char. Trout - brown, rainbow, cutthroat, golden. Hybrids - tiger, splake... Feel like I'm missing something.

If I had walleye like that close by... I'd be OK with catching walleye. It's just on the big side of "delicious", though.

This is a great start. Tatsu is killer, but Hybrid is an awesome all around line. I run braid (cheaper in the long run) and use Yo-Zuri leaders anytime I'm fishing around rock (because it's almost indestructible). If you add line conditioner and take care of it well, it can act as a really good low-stretch, low-vis main line. Also, it's indestructible because it's made of indestructible.