WI_Angler1989

Thanks for the input. I'm thinking I'll just go ahead and get the 5". I tend to gravitate towards tubes and hard jerkbait early in the year any way, so I may not end up using the smaller Case minnow anyway. I've also never really used a white color for flukes, or any plastics honestly, but that white pearl really seems tp be the goto for people. Their site has some vids by a sponsored guide as well and he loves that color.

Guess I'll just have to try a variety! I wish they had a green pumpkin blue.... That's a killer for me in other plastics.

Haha so it's pointless to ask what colors you prefer. That sounds great though, I think the smaller may work best for me but I don't have a ton of experience with fluke style baits. Senkos on the other hand..

Those look awesome! Do you typically fish the 5" variety? I googled them and saw they also have a 3 3/4" size as well. Fewer colors though.

I feel like color makes a difference for me. Especially when I fish plastics. I fish lots of really clear waters in Wi, and it seems like I do best on certain colors at certain times of year. Mind you, they're only small differences. ▪Early spring- green pumpkin with some chartreuse ▪Prespawn- pbj ▪Spawn- green pumpkin orange or gold. ▪Then throughout the rest of the year green pumpkin blue or pbj are good bets. Now that doesn't mean other colors don't work, but those catch constantly. Plus, I have loads of confidence in them. I've also seen tons of small crayfish in the river and they're literally green pumpkin blue... so that sort of makes sense why that's my best color!

Exactly. I too have lakes around, but the fishing in the rivers here is fantastic and diverse. Plus like you said, dinner is hard alone in currents.

Oh right! Dropshot! I have to work on that too haha. But yeah, I know what you mean. I tried the Ned a bit last year but had better success in the current with my go-to tubes. The Ned worked well in eddies, but it's so light I can't reach many from shore. Go figure, I have a canoe but want a yak. Its too hard fishing alone on the rivers in my canoe. Not as safe.

1) Get a kayak!! I don't care if it's with tax return $, saving each month, or a crippling impulse buy. I wanna get a kayak! 2) learn, use, succeed and gain confidence in the Ned Rig. There aren't many decent places to fish it from shore on my local river, so #1 and #2 sort of go hand in hand.

How do you like the Siebert Morel heads? Have you had a chance to fish them? You see, I have some Ned rig tackle, but didn't give it the time I should have last season. So now I'm dedicated to giving it it's fair share this next year! The one thing I can't help but notice, even without catching any big smallies on them, is the Shroomz jigs are sooooo flimsy. I mean, fine wire and finesse is one thing, but it seems like they're just plain old cheap. I know Siebert quality is top notch so how do they seem to you? I've been keeping the Bait Monkey at bay better than ever this year too! So honestly, if those Morels are super awesome, I may have to add them to my current "on deck" order to Siebert asap!

Thanks for the comments, guys! I guess I'll just have to do some trial and error and get a variety of colors. I didn't have anything in particular in mind lure wise, although I do hope to get some more spooks! Maybe a BBZ-1 rat. I've seen some insane vids of that Ppro rat killing smallies.

Happy winter, All! I'd like to hear some input from you (WAY) more experienced anglers on here about your opinions on topwater color selection for Smallies. I've been using whitet/red Spooks and Perch Whopper Ploppers with pretty good success, but the winter Bait Monkey is calling. So what's your take, folks? The classic "y'only need white n black"? Au naturale? Or dp any of you have success and fun with vibrant choices like clown or lots of chartreuse? Maybe it all depends on the lure? I've heard Smallmouth are prone to hitting those bright colors in jerkbait, grubs, etc, but I haven't really experienced it for myself. Is that mainly a certain time of year for you or is it all about the specific day?

I really like the War eagle Mclelland Finesse spinners too. I typically use the same: whites and silvers, limetreuce has worked great for smallies here. I also have had tons of success with the cheap'o strike king mini kings. That little single colorado blade spinner in black and blue gets slammed by fish for me. Plus theyre dirt cheap.

Ya gotta love manners and civility! It's not often people can discuss and debate differing opinions respectfully these days. I had a bit of a thought on the topic too. My own personal situation made me realize how, well, personal and situational this topic is. Some people want high end gear because they do. Cool! Some people don't because the fish don't care. Cool! Some want it because they crave the performance they get out of it, the way it works and feels for THEM. Cool! Me? I fish a lot of inexpensive tubes, grubs, craws and worms on inexpensive jigs that I rarely lose. I'll buy a few packs of Smallie Crawlin' Jigs and a 25 count of Cabin Creek tubes and catch a few hundred Smallies on them and have leftovers for next year. That "frugality" and fine tuning that I've made for myself on my waters (through much trial and error and $$$) allows me to save on tackle and spend my hard earned money on better gear. Better reels like my Stradic FK; better rods, like my St Croix Legend Tournament Bass. You get the idea! Anyway, that's ME and MY situation. I am, by no means whatsoever, well off or in a place to buy these things on a whim. But I spoil myself with a few nice things with excess money because I want to. To each their own, right?

I switched from PowerPro over to the PowerPro Super Slick last season with great results. I had pretty much no issues with it. No wind knots, no spool jumping and no slipping knots despite fishing in pretty rough and windy conditions mostly. I'm a fan of it, but I've also never used the other popular answers on here. With fishing gear and tackle, I'm constantly trying "this over that" and "thing B ove thing A" so i decided to just use PP Super Slick for fun and not try a few other brands and spend a bunch of $$$ and I've been pretty content with the results.

Cabin Creek Salty Critter Jr, 2.5" tube, in green pumpkin blue flake. I rig it on a 1/8oz or 1/4oz Cadman's Smallie Crawlin' jig. A green pumpkin blue Buzz Baits Killer Kraw is a close second though! Depends on what the fish want i spose. Now that I think of it, the actual jig is probably my choice, seeing as the plastic varies depending on how well it's working.

Great pictures, A-Jay. You made some fantastic catches and have quite a knack for photgraphy. Man o' man, those lakes and woods look like pure heaven! Sooo I'll come live with you next season then!

Not sure if it's been mentioned yet, I didn't read through everything, but ndyakangler is an awesome channel. He's a (mainly) river kayak fisherman who targets smallmouth. There are a few LM vids and some stray pike and musky too. Easily my favorite channel. He's not just another gear review enthusiast, or purely technical and educational. If you wanna watch a dude who knows his waters, catches tons of smallies.... he's your guy.

I have a St Croix Legend Tournament Bass rod and it cost more than I ever thought I'd spend on a rod. Lo and behold, now I want a an Elite. Why? Every reason others have said. I know how sensitive they are and I love that feeling, I enjoy good gear, they're straight up gorgeous, etc. Who knows if I will get it, but it's hard not to look and dream. That's half of the fun of high end gear for me!

Nice hauls everyone! Some crazy generous anglers out here! Merry Christmas all.

Fair enough. After lots of trial and error on my end using all sorts of riggings (Texas rig, standard tube jig inserts, and what I use now) I have 100% landed on the Cadman's Crawlin' jigs. I know the pros of the insert and would love to use them, but I fish rocky rivers from shore mainly. I do have a canoe but it isn't very accessible. The weedlesness overshadows any and all cons for me, easily. Not to mention I've never had any issues with production because of the exterior weight and possibly gaudiness of the jigs. I just love the versatility. Now, on lakes or up north while in the canoe, I use inserts all day. They don't last 1 cast for me here on the river though.

I love those River Rock tubes too! My only issue is that I always gravitate towards "finesse" sized tubes (2.5", 2.75) and the 1/4 oz draggin/slidin jigs I use don't fit well. The 1/8 oz size work great but it's not always heavy enough if I'm fishing current. I really like the Cadman's Smallie jigs. They're super well made and a good price. Just keep a small hook file on hand of you fish rocky current like i do haha. I stocked up with a bunch last season and have a lot left over! @Munkin, thanks for the offer man, but I've got my eye on the 2 3/4" size. I'm confident a 4"er would fit my presentation. I should have been more specific, sorry man!

Yes, that's the one. I believe it's essentially a swim jig mold with a screw lock. Makes for a killer way to rig up weedless tubes, craws , worms, grubs, senkos... anything you want. @fishwizzard, it's a great set up. I use it a majorty of the time I fish honestly.

Hi all! IIts been months since my last post, lots of fishing adventures, not enough documentation. hope everyone had a productive and successful fishing season! Winter is finally settling in up here in WI. So here's my question, who out there fishes with Get Bit Baits tubes? I'm (always) dabbling in new companies in my off-season and they popped onto my radar again. The thing is, I fish my rivers with Smallie Slider jigs by Cadman's custom jigs and not all tubes fit on that style head. Anyone have experience woth this rig? How about the GBB tubes in general?

I'll never forgive myself, but I don't have the weight of this fish. It is very clearly my PB, caught on a guided trip in Door County. I was dragging a tube along a Sandy trench in shoreline rocks when she slammed it. It was even a double with my buddy! His wasn't as big haha.

I agree that jigging doesn't give a complete feel of the rods capabilities. Especially with such versatile rods like the LTB's. I prefer the 610 length. Anything shorter doesn't feel right to me anymore. I actually had the 610mxf, the shakey head rod, and traded it in for the ML. I like the feel and handling of the ML a lot. The XF tip makes the ML power much more stout than people think it will. My rod has tons of power and backbone, but can launch an 1/8 oz tube plenty far.