Jig Man

I made a bunch of them for night fishing. They work great.

I doubt that many here can tell much difference in the design, construction and performance of today’s bass boats. Lots of people have opinions about different brands. FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Which dealerships are in a reasonable driving distance of you? Does the dealership take service appointments or do you have to drop it off and wait until they get to it. Your boat will have to be going back for service and possibly repairs.

Spend some time reading the manuals of the Ulterra and Helix. They can do lots of things. In the winter I use follow the contour a lot and most every trip spot lock jog comes into play.

Congratulations. You have the best overall aluminum boat on the market. I assume that you have the Ulterra with Ipilot link. What Humminbirds do you have? Are they linked up via Ethernet?

I’ve been going through my stuff and have decided to take jigs, Neds, hula grubs, beavers, baby brush hogs, swim baits, jigging spoons, a few top waters and a couple of glide baits. Now I have to decide how many and which setups to take. Thanks you all of the suggestions.

Black blue is great in crepuscular periods. Junebug not so much.

When I use worms for smallmouth I use Elaztech. I fish them on a vmc 2/0 hook in various weights depending on how deep I need to go.

I’ve never used live worms for smallmouth and don’t know anyone who does. However, many guides on our area lakes use live worms with their clients in the summer fishing for spotted bass. Their worm of choice is night crawlers.

We do that a lot in the winter and early spring. I hadn’t even considered it. Thanks

I’m being invited so I don’t have the wait option. I don’t drop shot so I will be looking for other suggestions.

So is the 20-30’ dropshot the way to go?

What is down deep to you?

I fish a lot of Keithech fat impact swim baits. I have more success by changing hook size as I move up in length. I use Gamakatsu 114 hooks. Here is my method: (2.8 -1/8 or 1/4 head on a 1/0 hook), (3.3 -1/8 or 1/4 head on a 2/0 hook), (3.8 -1/4 or 3/8 on a 4/0 hook) larger ones on a 3/8 head with a 4/0 hook. My fish are 20-30 feet down and come barreling towards the top. I also keep my rod tip low and my drag light.

A friend has invited me to go to a highland reservoir in Northern Arkansas. I fished with him there in late winter. We had some good days with swim baits. We’ve been having a tough time lately on Table Rock and yesterday he suggested that we go back to Beaver and search for smallmouth. This is a 30,000 acre lake over 450 miles of shoreline. The water is very clear and surface temps in area lakes has been in the mid to upper 80s. Since we have been finding spotted bass in 30+ feet of water I assume smallmouth might be as deep or deeper. There is little to no vegetation. There are lots of rocks and standing timber. There are a few gravel areas. There are lots of boat docks. You guys with smallmouth experience, what would you look for this time of the year?

It is the Catalog Outlet that might have them not the regular store.

I bought a half dozen Shimano spools at the Bass Pro Catalog Outlet in the reel repair center. They were dirt cheap. I don’t know if they would have any but it might be worth a call.

If I had a dollar for every fish that I have caught on a whopper plopper I would have $2.

Good for you. Keep on keeping on. I’ve been down that same road. Mine was Jine 1, 2016. I have only a couple of residual effects left.

I’d be interested in 10, 15, and 50 but evidently one can’t choose.

I have a couple of 7.6’ mf casting rods. They work great for cranks and shaky but I have never tried them on spinner baits because I don’t throw anything under 1/2 oz.

I have never seen a rod with the tip broken that was acceptable for fishing after it was repaired.

My opinion is the guides will make a difference. If you have micro guides the knot might affect the distance of your cast. If you go this route I suggest you use the thinnest knot which I believe is the FG. I know it goes through the guides on my spinning rods easier than any other knot I have used.

It will probably be difficult to get a trailer to fit that boat. Have you called the Ranger factory to see if they can help?

I use the Pitzen knot with all lines and all baits.

Do yourself a favor and learn how to tie the Pitzen knot. It is similar to the San Diego Jam but easier. Double knots are not necessary.