WI_Angler1989

What would you recommend for a mono? You clearly have more experience with variety than me. Personally, I don't like straight fluoro on my spinning reels but do use it a lot as a leader on braid. Stren has served me well and is inexpensive but it's fun to try new stuff.

What tube jigs do all you smallmouth guys use? I've used some cheap ones I got online, and i love confidence baits draggin heads, but i want some traditional jigs for Sturgeon Bay.

Question for you, WIGuide. Do you have any tips for a Door county fishing trip? I know you have experience up there. We're hoping to go mid may roughly for smallies.

That's wierd, they bill it as less stretch than traditional mono.

Does anyone have an experience with Berkley Sensation? I have used Stren for years and like it but want to try something else. Stren has a lot of stretch which can be an issue with some things.

+1 to the St Croix club. I don't have tons of brand experience but I've used my share and will always love my St Croix rods. My LTB rod is the perfect rod for what I do.

In my area it's all dependent on the time of year and water temp. When the water is cooler the big fish prefer to be a little deeper, even for its only a few feet. So if the depth drops down from 6 to 10 feet focus on the deeper water and where it starts to slope down. When it's warmer and fish are focusing on runs or Eddies along current, try fishing the very top or bottom of a pool or eddy to find the more active fish. Bigger ones are typically able to withstand faster current so don't be afraid to cast weedless plastics or jerkbaits into moving water and just reel slack and wait for a hit.

I can't comment on copolymer, haven't tried it. Although I've asked around about it and heard of people using it as a mainline and still using a fluoro leader with it. Food for thought. I've always liked a fluoro leader, personally. If you can find a sale price on a higher quality fluoro go for it. I read TONS of reviews before deciding and settled on sunline super sniper. It's really abrasion resistant and strong for me and I fish very rocky snaggy rivers. Just remember if a more expensive leader material scares you off a bit, you'll be using 3-6 feet at a time....my 150 yd spool has lasted 2 years so far. There's plenty more on it. So if it's leader line specifically, a better line will pay off easily in the long run.

It's all gonna be the same sensitivity but lighter (15_20) is always better. It handles easier, casts further, is less visible in the water if desired. Too light is hard to control especially in wind. It can loop and knots a lot.

Braid to fluoro is what I've always used with great success. But I agree, go lighter. 20 pounds is the same diameter as 6 pound mono and works great. 15 would be good too I assume. I've had issues, and heard the same from others, that lighter braid like 10 or less is so thin that it digs into the spool. That can cause twists and knots and just a nightmare if you're lure gets tangled up and gets knotted. I love PP but plan on trying suffix 832 out of curiosity. I've used sunline super sniper 8 pound fluoro for leaders and like it a lot. It's pricey but I lucked out and found a sale. This beauty was caught on 20 pounds power pro with an 8 pound sunline fc leader.

Agreed, when it's on nothing else matters, maaaybe check a few knots if I remember. That's what I've been hearing, 832 is quieter. You'd thing that means less friction so longer casts. Even slightly. Have you ever had issues with flipping the line around and getting twisted and messed up?

I've got so sunrise fc sniper that I use for leaders but it's getting low. I got it cheap and it's pricey normally

Seaguar has a good reputation. Haven't tried any personally but it adds another option to the looong list haha. Is kanzen a fluoro?

Thanks for the input, guys. My braid was new in the spring. So it wasn't that old really. I'm thinking I just fished way more this year than previous years so it seemed to degrade faster. Seems like an even split between suffix and power pro fan here. I had some wind knot issues with the power pro on a full spool for the first time ever which prompted me to see what others thought. Maybe I'll try suffix just for the hands on experience and decide from there

For years I've use Power Pro braided line with a fluorocarbon leader when smallmouth fishing. Up until this year it has served me well. I don't know if it was the line, the amount of time that I fished, or just that I noticed it more, but it frayed and faded way more than ever. I do use mono on a number of reels and applications I have, but braid-fluoro is my ideal setup for fishing plastics and small jigs. So my question is what do you other braid users like? Power Pro? Suffix 832? Another brand?

Thanks, I appreciate the heads up. That sounds like it's really helpful. Is it only on PC? I just have a tablet and smartphone.

Thanks for all the info everyone! Tons of good advice. It seems like my problem is that they don't do trial runs haha. I need to use one and see if it feels good and either keep it or get the other one. I've heard the Patriarchs have issues wearing down quickly compared to stradic.

I'm gonna be in the market for a higher end reel, roughly $200. I've always been a Pfleuger guy personally, having used the President line for years with great results. So while I love Pfleuger, I'm open to other brands. I know Shimano has a great reputation as well. I've been looking at the Pfleuger Patriarch and Shimano Stradic FK. Anyone who has experience the Patriarch or the older FJ model, what's your take? Performance, durabikuty, how well has it held up over time, etc.

Concentrate your efforts in the blue areas and immediately adjacent to the blue areas Could you resend the image of Sturgeon bay? Ithanks isn't showing anymore since they updated the website for some reason. Maybe try a direct message?

2 years ago a friend and I went on a guided trip there and caught a lot of fish and a few 5# giants. That's where my buddy wants to go this spring but I'm trying to find a closer place (like Sturgeon Bay spots you showed)

Thanks for the help! I'm beyond excited to get out there. Do you have any experience in Rowley Bay?

That's a whole lot of info! Haha idk where to start. We fished rowley bay when we had our guided trip and had good success. Theres also a good flat south of there on the eastern shore ive heard about. Where is the "flats" area at? There's so many places it's hard to know what to go to!

Don't worry, I'm not planning on fishing only tubes. They happen to be a huge confidence bait for me in general, so it's a bonus that they're effective up there. I had a great day fishing jerkbait last time i was up there. What would you recommend to me?? If anyone can help me you can, 40 years up there, lucky! I'm guessing we'll be there in mid may.

Hey guys, does anyone have any experience fishing for smallmouth with the hairy craw jigs, from NorthStar custom bait, up in door county? Sturgeon Bay area to be specific...

Goby colors seem to be the route to take. Thanks!