The Baron

Here in SE Ontario, we can fish bass until Dec. 15 on back lakes and Dec. 31 on Lake Ontario/the St. Lawrence River. I’m wondering how late into the fall/early winter is the smallmouth fishing potentially still “good”? Our nights will (probably) be consistently below freezing by early November, with ice likely forming on smaller lakes by late November. Assuming it’s safe to get out there, how late in the year would it be worth trying? Is there a point (water temp maybe?) where the chance of a good day really drops off? And if you have had good smallmouth days in really cold weather, where are you typically finding them?

After a great morning goose hunt, I opted to have a coffee instead of a nap and get my butt out fishing in the gorgeous fall weather. My goal was to learn something new - I had my first ever bag of flukes (Strike King KVD Caffeine Shad) and was determined to add another technique to my toolbox. It was a bit windy, so I decided to hit a small lake that has good numbers. I could call this place Dink Lake, because I’ve fished it several times and never beat maybe 2#, with most less than 1#. But, I’ve never got skunked there and with the goal being to learn how to fish a fluke I wanted the best odds of some success. I rigged up with a 5/0 EWG Superline hook with 40# braid on a 7’ MH/f BassX rod. With nothing to go on except my YouTube diploma, I was happy when one engulfed my bait on my second cast. I went on to catch about a dozen and feel I’m ready to go after bigger fish, now that I have some confidence in how to fish this bait. I ended up preferring a Mustad KVD Grip pin 5/0 hook. Water temps showed 64-65 degrees. I’m in SE Ontario, Canada. I had a ton of fun - and slept like a log last night. Worn out from a great day. ?

I had that happen this year with a Shimano Curado DC - had a sudden tug on a cast and my line broke about 20ft from the lure (had a slow sinking jerkbait on and was very lucky to paddle over quickly and get everything back). It was a total mystery to me, until a month or so later my line somehow got down between the thumb bar and the reel frame and I couldn't slide it out so had to actually cut my line. My thought is maybe the line also went in there in that cast and broke/was cut by the force or the cast. Just my best guess. My line was 10# Sufix Advance. EDIT: Read your follow up post and if yours is getting cut repeatedly, it's likely not a fluke problem like I think mine was. I'd very carefully inspect your rod guides, or even switch rods and see if it happens again - narrow the problem down perhaps.

I visited a small lake this morning, and got an hour in before a light rain started. It was glassy calm and just felt like a great day to throw a popper at rocky spots and wood along the shore. I was not disappointed, and had 100% landing percentage for 10 fish on a Storm Arashi Cover Pop, only two dinks the rest were all 2-3#. But, then the light rain turned to heavy rain and the bite shut off. Pretty interesting to see how a bite slows rapidly and stops… from 10 good hits and 100% hookup in about 1.5 hours, to one missed strike and one swirl a foot from my bait in the next 2 hours. I tried a couple other baits, but after an hour of pretty heavy rain my cheap rain gear was leaking and there was enough water in the canoe that I was getting wet feet. So, when the skies really opened up for round two I tapped out and went home to dry.

My 15yo daughter likes fishing. She is patient, listens to suggestions and doesn't get flustered when she loses a fish - she just laughs. My 13yo. son likes fishing. He has no patience, is stubborn and will rage quite if he loses a good fish. Advantage: Female. lol (I know - partly their ages and not a blanket statement of the sexes - it's still funny though).

For me, it's having a bass boat. I've been canoe fishing a lot, and have blown around a cursed a borrowed tinner too many times. The savings account is growing and my hope is that by next spring I'll be in a position to change that. A casting deck, a trolling motor and netting big 'uns for my kids is what my dreams are made of these days.

It all comes together? Huh. I'll look forward to that. lol

I’ll revisit it next July, for sure. ? ??

I’ve had some poor outings recently. Went out on a lake I’d only been to once before, with a better plan. The smallmouth were hitting topwater, but I failed to put one in the boat. Third cast with my Choppo 105 I had a very good smallie pull off at the boat - fish and lure gone, but just a squiggly end on my line. Must have missed one of the loops finishing my knot and felt like an idiot for not testing it better. That was the only Choppo I had - 4 more at home, so I switched to a spook. I then had 4 more really good sized smallies miss my spook, so I think the Choppo would have been the bait for the day. Next trip, same place I didn’t get a single hit on the Choppo. So I think I missed a good day because of one bad knot. ? Went to a different spot yesterday, on a tip from a friend. It was hot and sunny so I expected a great couple hours of midday of frog fishing. But, the whole area is shallow and weedy and the weeds are dying so I think I was too late. I caught one fish - only bite I had. Water temps are 70F here now, down from 80F is the last 8-10 days. I’ve been so excited for the fall topwater bite, but I’m actually thinking I might pack away the fishing gear and switch over to goose hunting.

I've had luck keeping either a 2.8" or 3.3" Kytech ready on a 3/16oz head - pitch it out and just let it pendulum down. But, like TNRiver46 said they're unpredictable. I had never heard that, so maybe it's only common knowledge among good fishermen? lol Or perhaps common knowledge has become as scarce as common sense.?

Try throwing a spook or whopper plopper out over deeper water off those points. Especially a spook when shore fishing, because you can cast it a mile. I've also had good luck from shore casting a dropshot on spinning gear. 1/4oz or 3/8oz. weight and a bit longer drop (24" or so) to account for the angle of retrieve. Nose hook a Berkley MaxScent Flat Worm. Cast as far as you can and feed line until it's on the bottom. Wiggle it a few seconds, if no bites reel in a couple turns. One cast should take a minute or two but if you pick up a couple you can dial in. Oh, and the weights we were using were long, thin lead and we'd bend them into a "C" shape - I found they get snagged a lot less than pencil or ball weights, and the soft lead will just straighten if they do so you don't always have to break your weight off.

I'm using a Dobyn's Fury FR705CB, currently paired with a Curado DC 151 spooled with Suffix Advance for whopper ploppers, poppers and spooks of about 1/2 - 3/4oz. I've also used it for crankbaits from squarebills down to mid-depth baits (DT-10, 5XD and shallower) . I've been very happy with this setup. Fluoro might have some benefit for getting a little more depth from crankbaits, but the added stretch of the Suffix Advance helps keep fish pinned with treble hooks. Also, it floats which is a bit better for poppers and spooks. I've also found it to be very user friendly line, and very economical. If you run braid for treble-hooked surface lures, I'd recommend adding a 3-4ft. leader of 12# Trilene BG. The mono will float and has a bit more memory to help keep from overrunning your braid when working a spook. The added stretch is also beneficial for landing fish, as mentioned above.

I use 15# or 20# braid (hi-viz yellow or hi-viz green) with 10# or 8# fluoro leader (Seaguar Blue Label) on all my spinning setups. A double uni-knot is easy to tie and has worked very well for me. Be sure to really tighten/test your leader knot - I have a 6" piece of about 1" dia. PVC pipe I use - wrap the braid around it several times, not overlapping itself, and pull very hard to tighten. Then trim your tag ends and do it again.

I tried it with a 1/4oz pencil weight and a t-hooked senko. Caught a few, but it didn't set my world on fire. I find myself leaning more toward a bubba shot setup, with a texas hooked senko or 6" finesse worm. I think only because I've caught some good fish on the bubba shot, and once you build some confidence with a bait and fish it more... and catch more... you get into a (good?) rut. I'll throw a free rig again, I'm sure - it just hasn't made it's way to the top of my mind yet.

I made an early morning trip to one of my best little lakes. I had two goals - catch some on a spook and catch my first fish on a jig. Yes, believe or not I’ve never wet a structure jig before. The spook bite was pretty good, I caught one good lmb and a handful of smaller incl. smb. Of course, I lost the “largest” smallie - only a glimpse of him and he dogged and simply pulled off. Likely only 3#, but when you don’t land them they sure are big. lol. I also tried the buzzbait and a frog briefly in some shallower spots, but no takers so I didn’t spend much time on them. I tried the jig off and on, losing my trailer claws on one bite but didn’t hook up. Finally near the end of my available time I put the hot Yo-Zuri 3DB away and was determined to fish the jig until I caught one. Didn’t take too long and I’d caught two - one lmb and one smb. Then, I had to skeddadle to be home for a 12pm conference call… scheduled by some idiot (me) on a day with almost no wind and a hot topwater bite. lol

I also have both an SLX DC and a Curado DC. I enjoy both and think they help a bit when casting lighter baits, especially on windy days. But, I also have very little issues with backlashes on standard reels, so maybe I just like the DC whine. lol Like any baitcaster, learning the adjustments and keeping the spool tension set at minimum will help maximize casting distance. And computer chip or not, my thumb is always there out of habit to stop disasters before they happen.

I watched @A-Jays latest video about the kayak angler catching his PB. Hearing mention of putting that smallmouth in the livewell for a few minutes, to bring back it's markings was a revelation. I fish from a canoe (or a borrowed tinner, or shore) and had noticed I wasn't catching any of those gorgeous tiger-marked smallmouth like so many other fellas do, especially out of Lake Ontario. I'd assumed it was partly just my crappy photos, but now I get it - the fish are stressed right after the fight and turn dark/lose their markings. Makes me sad to not get to admire my own good smallies and get better photos. Just one more reason to want a bass boat with a livewell, I guess.

? <laughs in Canadian>

Tried a new lake on Sunday with my 12yo son. It’s a very clear lake and quite deep off the shore in many spots. Despite my recommendation against it, he insisted on throwing a frog so we spent way too much time in shallow water with me just maneuvering the canoe. Oh well, that’s what Dads do sometimes. I sucked in all the info I could and may return again. I did catch the biggest for the day on a Yo-Zuri 3DB cast beside a small tree laying in maybe 2ft. of water. Funniest part of the day was while I was prepping the canoe, a group of 4 fellas packed into a 14ft. tinner caught about a 2# lmb right in front of the launch. They were going on about it being a trophy fish and digging out their scale. As we launched and paddled past them, I said that’s a good start - congratulations. One of them asked me what we’d be fishing with and I replied I’ve never been here before but likely dropshotting and some crankbaits, looking for smallmouth along the far shore (which I could see looked rocky). Another of their crew said no smallmouth here, only largemouth. So I said well, I guess we’re fishing for largemouth. I then caught about a dozen smallmouth, just the one lmb as we worked our way back toward the launch. lol

We've really been struggling with slow days in August. Mostly littles and few of those even. A handful of decent ones, but they've been on-of's and only one per day at best. I even got skunked at one of our best little lakes last time out. We were hot and humid, but in a drought for most of July and into August, but the weather has been very unsettled and some intense storms the last week or so. Cooler nights now, so hopefully the fishing pickup as the weather straightens out. I would fish before the fronts, but I've only got a canoe and wind makes my fishing life miserable plus I can't run from the nasty walls of rain when I see them coming.

Whoa! I could fish all day after catching that one and wouldn't care if I caught another - I'd not stop smilling.

This pretty common, due to the bait causing your line to twist when retrieving. I use swivel mounted hooks (VMC Spinshot or Gamakatsu), which I think helps. When you're done for the day, cut off the hook and tie a light cylinder weight on. Let out a long cast and a bit worth of line and drag it behind the boat at low speed for a 5-10 min. It will help remove some of the twist.

I’ve got a One Knocker in bone color, that’s been a good producer for me on both species. I’ve actually never tried a silent spook - I’d think that would be just as good or better on a calm day and/or in very clear water. But that’s just me guessing.

I watched the video last night. Your verbal reaction to the first jump of the chatterbait fish is truth. lol

I needed a change of scenery and to expand my options, so I tried a new lake today. It’s a bit big for a canoe so I barely saw a fraction of it and the wind made it a chore - dropping and pulling anchor constantly, trying to hold at some likely spots. I caught a few little lmb, then switched sides of the lake. I was working my way along a steep shaded bank with overhanging cedar trees, casting a Texas-hooked Yum Dinger on a bubba shot. I was expecting largemouth when my line took off. He dug for deep water first, then came up for a lazy jump that I thwarted by getting my rod tip down and keeping his mouth full of water. So he could only wallow and then back to digging. I thought I had a good largemouth right until he was in the net. Turned out to be an 18” smallmouth that had a hump back like a largemouth. My arms-reach selfies suck and I wish I had gotten a better profile pic. Not sure of weight, but he was one of the thickest smallies I’ve seen. I really do look forward to having a bass boat with a trolling motor. Don’t get me wrong, I’m thankful to be on the water by any means. But this canoe thing is growing old.