padon

this is what i was thinking. i catch a ton of smallmouth every year on neds. now some do get off its just part of the game. i dont catch many or any 5 pounds or more but im fishing a large river that can have heavy current so your still putting alot of pressure on a 3.5 pound fish plus the current. with bigger smallmouth i like to leave them out there a little bit to fight. you know when they get near the boat they are gonna go nuts so i wanna have them a little tired before i get them that close. id rather have the inherent give and stretch of the system with some distance while the fish is hot.

my situation is kind of unique in that all my lakes are electric only. they are fairly large fore electric lakes, about 4000 acres. anyway i have a 16 foot tracker grizzly i made rear aluminum deck with strorage for my 8 6 volt batteries . on the front i extended the deck and made storage for tackle and on the left side i came in 14 inches went down the side cut a hole in the front of the rear deck and was able to get rods to 7feet 6 inches in there. i dont have pics i could take some but dont know how to post them. lol . anyway the point is it can be done look at some of the pics above. also look on you tube at a page called tiny boat nation. they show all kinds of mods.

that used to be me also, but you need to remember that part of power fishing is a numbers game. if you make 500 casts with a crankbait etc you may only make 200 with finesse baits. you will cover way more water and put your bait in front of more biting fish.what i mean is if you fish one area with a power technique and then slow down and finesse it you will probably catch more on the slower bait.if you commit to the power bait and cover more water for a few hours you may get more bites that way. you just have to kind of develop a feel as to what you think may work best that day. also remember fish feed only a small percentage of the time. if your betting on a finesse approach and fish feeding on your slow moving offering you may be better of trying to MAKE those fish bite a fast moving bait that that is in their face or looks like its trying to get away.

outcast tackle heads are good and so are the siebert heads. go right to the banner on the right of the page and get some. excellent heads.

for me its not an issue casting them they actually are pretty heavy for a bare plastic.i just have better feel for working them on a spinning rod. i seem to feel more connected to the light bait swimming and sinking with the spinning rod and a slightly softer tip. never had a problem hooking fish so thats what i fish them on.

spinning rod if your having trouble. braid to fluoro leader sticks em.

i dont usually do as well on an east wind,BUT if im off and i can go i go. always better to be out there.

idk if it helps but i use it. mega strike and pro cure. doesnt hurt, might help and im sure it gives me a couple extra seconds to set the hook.

i like the fritside, been using the flat75x for several years. it does well any time fish are shallow around grass for me. regardless of season. the strike king 1.5 flat is a great little bait too. although it casts better for me on a spinning rod.

jason christie has a good video on spinnerbait selection on you tube. now of course everything he says isnt gospel but hes caught more fish than i ever have so its worth watching. what he says makes sense.

well it doesnt really matter what others think or believe. you know the truth and are comfortable with your opinions thats all that matters.

yeah thats probably because im fishing it faster at that point . not many pauses. so not a steady retrieve like a squarebill or chatter but still a constant moving bait with only a slight pause every 4 or 5 jerks.

the sound is normal. once you get used to it i like it.lol makes me know i got a good cast going. the bait itself is fantastic. my choice most of the time when the water hits 55 plus.

side scan is very helpful in locating structure, cover , and fish. it just allows you to see alot more area at once. just remember the shallower the water the less to the side you should set your range. 3x the depth is the general guideline. meaning in 10 feet of water you should set your side range around 30 feet. its all about angles distortion etc. when i locate something on side scan i use the cursor to put a weight point on it. it is very useful around grass. you can idle around outside the grass line and very easily identify and waypoint the grass edge. i cant really see fish in weeds but i can see hard spots indentions. points etc. all of which can concentrate bass.

i use them and like them. theyre not an absolutely necessary but they save you time rerigging your baits.

yup looks like a twitch tail minnow to me. again no disrespect to jason. hes a power fisherman by choice but he picked up the spinning rod and went to work. great versatility. thats why hes one of the best.

i have a 704 and i wouldnt want to go any lighter for shakey heads. champion .

exactly. this is nothing new.from what i could tell watching he wasnt fishing vertically.(damiki style) He was casting and swimming it. but on a relatively light head in 25 feet of water like you said you can make that bait kind of gluide and hover. a ned, tiny fluke or twitchtail minnow may have done just as well. not taking anything away from christie he went a little out of his comfort zone went to the spinning rod and caught them.

i wont say they dont work in colder water but i will say that when i fish a jerkbait around grass in the post spawn thats one of the baits i like. it seems to work better fished more agressivley and faster. i wont say they dont work in colder water but i will say that when i fish a jerkbait around grass in the post spawn thats one of the baits i like. it seems to work better fished more agressivley and faster.

idk what size you like but i take a 4 inch power worm and cut the last part of the tail off. works like a champ.

way to go jason!!! glad he got the monkey off his back.

i generally use worms with less action early in the spring, but ill mix it up just to see.i fish a straight tail alot but in the dog days of summer on deep weeds or brush its hard to beat a 10 inch curly tail.

im getting right in a hurry. ive got christie , taku , nania, scott martin and brian new.

agree 100 percent

lots of options in that range, megabass orochi xx, shimano expride, loomis imx pro, diawa blm, and others im not thinking of . take your pick.