8pt172

Wolves in the Upper Peninsula will kill many deer at a given time in the winter yards and leave them lay. It is like shooting fish in a barrel when the deer are in huge numbers in close proximity. A predators instinct is to catch and kill things. That is why we often use reaction baits to catch bass who are not actively feeding.

Yes I saw that after i posted it. Is there a way to delete a post?

I use only 8 and 10lb braid on my SM set ups with 6-12lb FC leaders, depending on the structure, especially zebra mussels, etc.

Has anyone tried the new Berkley x9? or the Spiderwire Ultracast braid? I have been using Suffix NanBraid and was curious how these new lines are fairing?

Just purchased a NEW Limited Edition G. Loomis IMX-PRO 7'2" MH XF rod with a Shimano Bantam MGL 7.1 for $399.99. pre ordered and received $50 off The best bait caster I currently own is a Curado 150 DC, so I thought I would try one of the better Shimano's but didn't want to break the bank with a Metanium or Antares. Plus I love my several G. Loomis rods. Was say You?? Sorry just saw this was posted Friday.

Finesse Swimbait to me is the (Black) Marabou jig. Hard to beat when the water is cold and the fish sluggish or super heavy pressured.

Great Question!!! Spring time below 45 degrees can't beat the black marabou jig, and for 45 plus, it is the Keitech Fat 3.3 and 3.8' Sun gill swim bait. I slow crawl it along the bottom, keeping in contact with the bottom the best I can. When the fish transition onto the beds, the TRD is a killer. Suspended Summer Bass are the worst creatures to find and catch. Limited success with a Spy Bait and Deep Jerk on windy days. Deep crank has saved a day or 2 also. Fall, they eat most everything when you find them. Spinnerbaits and Jerkbaits in the wind are killer, when it gets flat calm the TRD and the Tube are my go to. Just starting to experiment with different drop shot presentations, but haven't had better success than with the baits mentioned above yet. If I had to only fish 1 bait all year, it would have to be the Keitech Fat.

Well, the first 2 hours of the break in is completed and I have been opening up the motor to WOT, and am getting 42 mph with 2 people and half tank of gas. The hole shot is much better and the RPM's at WOT is ideal at 5900-6000. So the 19 pitch was a good choice.

I find SMB a lot like Whitetail deer, they are creatures of the edges. I look for sand and weed edges and rock and sand edges. They seem to stay on the sand the majority of the time, only to enter the weeds or rocks when actively feeding. In lakes with large weed flats, look for isolated sand pockets. Often the SMB will hold up in these areas, opposite of a LMB where they will berry themselves in the cover.

A tiny 1/8 oz Black marabou jig will entice the BIGGEST SMB in the lake. Caught many 5+ and lost a couple TRUE GIANTS 7+ at the boat, thanks to the tiny hooks. But when the water is in the low to mid 40's, its the only bait i can get consistently bit on. I always cut the bottom 3rd off my tubes that are 3.5" or bigger. Just seem to bet better hook sets with the baits a little deeper in their mouths. In the Spring, the 2.5" tubes are definitely my size of choice. Match the color with the bottom is the key for me.

From watching several TV guys, they kill them all over the place on that end of the Lake

I pick it up tonight and start the break in process tomorrow. I have a G3 Angler 16.5', mod v. It ran 35 mph with the 70 hp and aluminum prop. I am primarily looking for better cruising speed and performance. I am sure with the 90 SHO, I will achieve this. Not worried about Top Speed.

I fished it a couple years ago, but during pre-spawn and had a good day. Started out on the long point on the NW side with tubes and swim baits and caught a dozen SMB, biggest about 4.5#. I then went east and north around the corner and caught a 5.5# LMB on a Swimbait. I was targeting SMB so I didn't go to the East side where I was told the larger LMB population is. A local told me the LMB is becoming the dominant species in numbers over the past few years.

I am hoping this new engine and SS prop combination will significantly increase my boat's performance!!!

Thanks, I spoke to several dealers who sell them and they all suggested a 19 pitch. So by next week I will have my new Re-Power on my boat!!! My problem was I was going from a 70 hp with 2.15 gear to a 90 SHO with a 2.33. I had nothing to reference with my boat. So, hopefully this puts me in the 5750-6000 range at WOT

Thanks, I did check this selector, was hoping to hear from someone who has a newer 90 Vmax and compare. I will go with the 19 to start.

I am re-powering my aluminum boat from a Yamaha 70hp to a New Yamaha Vmax 90 SHO. Currently I am running a 15 pitch aluminum on the 70hp and it performs pretty good with respect to the rpm range, I can hit the rev limit when I am running solo with 1/2 tank and very little gear and 3/4 trim. I am switching to a SS 3 blade and was wondering if anyone out there is running the Yamaha 90 SHO and what prop? I was thinking maybe a 18 or 19? I am not worried about hole shot, just top end performance

The Caracal is definitely the long run boat of the 2 with 52 gallons of petro !!! They both will run close to the same speed based on their Max Hp and weight.

I am looking to get back in a Bass Cat again. Kids are older and much more independent, so I have a lot more "ME" time these days. I sold my Pantera II when they got busy in sports. I have been looking at boats and cannot make up my mind. Do I go with the Pantera II again or take a step up to the Caracal? I want the boat to stay below 20'. so these are my 2 choices. Any suggestions or comments? Also, how many of you are running the G2 Evinrude? Are you happy?

Caught my PB last week while fishing the Bays of Grand Traverse. Ran into KVD, who had Johnny Morris from BPS and Truex Jr from NASCAR in his boat.

Gorgeous Toad!!!! What is the water temps currently up in your neck of the woods?

From reading many articles on this topic. It is best, as others have said, is to boat them as quickly as possible and then send them head first into the water giving them a little push to get back down. I do not fish for SMB deeper than 20-25' down. They may be in deeper water but they are usually suspended where I fish.

Made it on the big pond by 630am... went to first spot and boated a dozen 2-4lb in the first hour. Swim bait and green tube gold flake. The fish were cruising in packs, water 54 degrees. Fishing a huge sand flat 6-12 ft of water. Just covered water until a bite, then the next few minutes were fish after fish for about 5 casts each, then they would move. Then about 930 the sun broke and the wind laid down calm. This really slowed the bite, so we trailered up 10 miles and fish Elk Rapids area. We caught another dozen in the next 1.5 hours. There were lots bank fishermen catching SMB in River. If we could have had some wind, I think we could have caught over a hundred, but we were happy with 45-50 2-4.5lbs in less than 6 hours of fishing. Forgot to mention we REALLY slowed down and dragged 5" stick worms in green and red flake once the wind laid down.

Buddy is fishing East Bay today, the tournament he bumped into took 26lbs to take first. Water was 60 in close by State Park. Up by Elk Rapids temps were 55. Most fish are spawning right now on the other lakes in the Area, full moon on the 29th. This year was terrible it went from ice out late April to spawning by June 1st. I much prefer a few more weeks of prespawn fishing.

Thanks!!