The Baron

I’ve been fishing a new lake, with good sized largemouth and smallmouth. There’s a rock bluff that goes down near vertically into 40ft. of water, with at least 2-3 narrow ledges on the way down with heavy weed growth. The water if fairly clear and I believe the primary forage are 2-4” shiner minnows. How would you guys fish something like that? Hop a T-rig worm down the ledges? Or a jig? Or…?

That's a big spread in intended uses, but my vote is definitely for 7' M/F. 15-20# braid main line with 8# fluoro leader for the ned and 12# mono leader for the topwater (floats and might add a little stretch to keep trebles pinned). If you go with green braid and are throwing in cover, I'd just tie direct for the T-rig. If more open or clear water, I'd use 10-15# fluoro. Hard to make all those presentations work perfectly with one setup, but it'll work fine.

Both the wind and my work load were quiet this morning, so my son and I slipped out for some more canoe fishing. It was a gorgeous morning - zero wind and we actually wore hoodies to stay warm. We were on the lake before sunup and off again by 8:30 when the bite slowed down. He landed mostly largemouths with a GY wacky-rigged senko and I continued to explore the world of Keitech swimbaits, landing a couple good smallmouth (19.5” and 20”) plus a few smaller ones. I definitely prefer the 1/4oz. jig heads. I was fishing a 4.3” FAT today with a 3/8oz. head, but will be experimenting with 4” Swing Impacts next - thinking maybe better hooksets with a slimmer bait. I was also trying out some new rod holders for the canoe - a big help, just need some tweaking.

Given where you're fishing (potentially bigger fish in cover) I'd recommend your first setup be a baitcaster - 7ft. MH/F with a 7:1 to 8:1 speed reel. Probably most economical to start with a combo (Lews or Abu Garcia have some good ones at lower price points, I think). One trick of a baitcaster might be to decide which hand you're going to reel with - I'm right handed, but I prefer a left-hand baitcaster same as my spinning reels. If you don't have a friend with a baitcaster to try, you could hit your local shop or BP and try both to see which feels more natural for you. Spool with 15#-20# Trilene Big Game to start. Mono is cheap and easier to learn with on a baitcaster. Tie on a 1/4oz-1/2oz. weight and go casting in your backyard or a quiet park, until you've got the hang of it (school of YouTube will show you how to setup a reel - it's very intimidating at first, but not complicated at all). For lures, keep it simple and don't try to cover every technique until you've been catching some and finding what works/what you enjoy/what water you're fishing most often. A frog (a classic summer bass technique, but it's questionable to frog the thick stuff with with mono), a spook or popper, a couple shad colored crank baits of different running depths (maybe a DT4 and a DT10, for example) and a small selection for Texas rigging - 4/0 worm hooks and 5/0 EWG, 1/4oz. and 3/8oz bullet weights, bobber stops and a bag each of 5" senkos, 6"-8" worms and a beaver bait in whatever colors guys tell you work on Fork. Once you're catching some, take your wife fishing. Hopefully she likes it, so then you'll need another rod/reel for her and some baits. You can then divert some shoe money into a M or MH spinning outfit with wacky worm and paddle-tail swimbait gear. ?

Yes, it was partly your videos that are to blame… er, I mean… are to thank for me thinking I “need” a GoPro. ? @MN Fisher… I wouldn’t have known any of that. Thank you!

That is a crazy story indeed! Congratulation on your PB - even after she gets bumped off the podium, you'll never forget her!!

Sounds like a great day! I hear you on the solo photos - I'm actually thinking about getting a go-pro or something to mount on the front of the canoe, just so I can get better photos of my fish. Trying to hold a phone at arms length and do a fish selfie is awkward and I'm slowly building a collection of photos that all look the same. lol

Excellent! Congratulations!

I decided it was Fish Flu Friday and left very early for a rematch at the smallmouth lake I discovered (went equipped for largemouth last time). I bought a selection of Keitech and jig heads to try, and was not disappointed. I started with a 3.3” FAT with 1/4oz. Keitech tungsten head and landed 3 fish on my first 4 casts, including the best smallie of the day (20.5”… no scale) followed by a largemouth that wasn’t far behind. But things died off very quickly after the first hour of daylight. It’s been hot here so I moved out deeper as the temperature climbed and picked up a few on dropshot. In hindsight, I should have got the message and left at about 9am. I caught about dozen or more in the first hour, then progressively slower and caught only two from about 8-11am. Lesson learned for next trip - go early, leave early. Also, I caught more largemouth than smallmouth so seems I need to work on my smallie mojo at my secret smallie lake. lol

Hello! from just over your north shoulder...

There was a thread just started about replacement lenses for discontinued glasses. I didn't know this type of option existed. Could be just what you need, someday.

I didn't even know this was a thing. Thanks!

I found a great little smallmouth lake and am planning a return trip tomorrow. 4#+ fish are a definite possibility. They're feeding mostly on small emerald shiners and I expect to find them suspended in 15-30+ft. of water, so my plan is to throw a 2.5" Swing Impact or 3.3" FAT on a 3/16oz. head, and 3.3" FAT, 3.8" FAT or a 4" Easy Shiner on a 1/4oz. or 3/8oz. head. I'm assuming one of my 7' M/F spinning rods with 15# braid to an 8# fluoro leader would work well on the lighter stuff, but at which point, if at all, am I better off going to a baitcaster? And when I make that switch, which of the following from my options would y'all recommend? 1. Okuma EVx CB-701MHb with a 7.3:1 reel and 30# Power Pro Superslick (with a leader?) 2. Fenwick Elite Tech ETB70M with a 6.5:1 and 10# Suffix Advance 3. Dobyn's Fury FR705CB with a 6.2:1 and 10# Suffix Advance

Yesterday was pretty epic. The winds were so calm we were able to slip the canoe into Lake Ontario, for much better access to a spot I found while shore fishing. The smallmouth were there and I did very well on a tube jig, fishing the transition area where rocks slowly change to a sandy bottom with some patchy weeds in about 5-15ft. of water (casting in and fishing from shallow to deep). We caught good numbers and a couple double headers. Best of the morning was 4lbs on the nose and I beat it by an ounce in the afternoon. You can rest assured we’ll be back again whenever the conditions permit!

I remembered what they were and found them... they're Matzuo rigged salty tubes in "chartreuse". I'll buy something similar if I see them, but it's not critical - we went out again in the evening (same area) and I did every bit as well with Strike King Coffee tubes in green pumpkin. And using XZone 1/4oz. tube jig heads my hookup/landing percentage was much better than with the cheap pre-rigged tubes.

I had a great morning using tubes on Lake Ontario. The tubes I had were pre-rigged bargain bin stuff I bought just to try tubes. After catching a Goby (the food of choice for Lake O. smallies) I was impressed at how well this tube matches. Now I’ve looked in the three local shops and can’t find anything that light colored. Can anyone name a tube brand/color that looks like this? It’s much lighter than green pumpkin, which is the next lightest color I have. And oddly enough, “goby” color tubes are even darker.

Another solo canoe fish this morning. I slipped into a small lake, only to find out I came ill equipped. I was geared up to frog fish, flip Texas rig, do topwater and one spinning rod. Turns out this little lake is a dual fishery, offering great smallmouth fishing. After frogging my way out to open water with no takers, I picked up two back to back on the first 14-16ft. deep weedbed, using a wacky rig. The first was a decent smb, then next cast a good lmb. I was excited for what was to come, but found out via calls and texts from a buddy that I was geared for the wrong species and the wrong lake conditions. I made the most of it, catching a couple smaller fish on my TR, then unfortunately lost a good smallmouth on a spook, but that bite was really slow. I went back to the wacky and caught a few more before I had to go. I’ll be back to this little spot… better prepared to catch smallmouth.?

Group would typically be myself and my son, likely often with my daughter or another guest. Some of my guests have kids who would want to come so max. group would be two adults and two yutes. In those cases I’d think we’d concentrate on letting the kids fish and the adults would just supervise. And if 4 in the boat, we wouldn’t run far, or fast, or in any rough water. I’m really just looking to find out if the 17ft. is a delight and the 19ft. a poor handling scow in comparison, or vice-versa. I’d definitely prefer the 19ft, but having never even sat in a Bass Tracker I don’t want to find out after the fact that guys hate the 19s for some reason.

I'm in the process of shopping for a used aluminum bass boat. I'll likely end up with a Bass Tracker, which dominate the market up here. The 175's are readily available, but I'm thinking the extra room on a 190 would serve us better for 3-4 fishermen (typically will be my son and I and a guest, or perhaps a guest and their kid)? Are there any cons to buying a 19ft. aluminum boat vs. the more common 17ft? I've never been on a Bass Tracker of any size - wish I could try both lengths before buying but I don't see how that would be an option.

Yes, next trip to Dink Lake I’ll be bringing my portable fish finder. I’ll float the middle and see what lies beneath - maybe all the little ones I’ve been catching around the shore are just pushed up there by the giants of the deep. lol

I'm in the process of exploring and finding canoe fishing spots, trying to use the portability to my advantage and go places the bass boats can't. Thinking that means bigger fish. However, I'm finding that the small lakes that I can slip into produce higher numbers of smaller fish. One lake in particular is maybe 20 acres in size and I've been there a few times, catching dozens of largemouth under a pound and just a handful over that, with nothing over about 2#. I don't know how deep the lake is, yet (will be taking my portable fish-finder next trip) but there are lots of bluegill, so there's no reason I can think of there aren't bigger bass in the lake. Conversely, there is a well know lake system near me that regularly produces largemouth up to and over 5#. I've fished it a few times and broken the 4# mark, with a few others over 3#. The lake has tournaments on it regularly and the parking lots always have trucks/trailers parked and we see a few boats on the lake wherever we go - not crowds, but steady pressure. So, what makes one lake produce big bass and another only small ones? Are the bass in the small lake just overpopulated and maybe I should take a few meals home? Or do some lakes just have that special recipe and other simply don't?

Well... you're right. I stand corrected. I actually had to go through my bag of worms and throw some in the sink to remember which one of the worms that I tried floats... it's the ZMan BangStickZ. I tried to use them like a senko a couple of years ago, not knowing the difference but wanting a bait that stayed on the hook better. I've learned a lot since (I threw my first senko ever into the water in 2020). But my memory is no better. lol

@casts_by_fly… outstanding response, with really great information and thoughts. Thanks! ??

I think they’d sell just as many with 50 colors (?)

I was browsing Gary Yamamoto senkos in my local shop, trying to find another bag of the color I'd had a great morning with. They had about 20 colors in stock, which seemed like almost too many to sort through when it's so hard to identify the colors at a glance. My 1/2 coffee thought of the morning was to look at the Yamamoto website... and I see they have over 150 colors(!). My first thought is that's way too many and there's so much similarity in them, it's not necessary. What a PITA for a store or rep to manage so many SKU's... and for the factory to be pouring them. Even if a store had enough peg space to stock all 150, it would be an unwanted chore shopping through them. I'd be very curious to see the sales figures on different colors - they must all sell, or they wouldn't keep making them (?). I mean yes, once someone buys a bag of something and had a good day, they'll want that same color in their kit (guilty), but if there were not 16 different shades of gr. pumpkin and 14 versions of black I'd think those same sales numbers would be funnelled into the 3-4 they could offer. So is it just me or does 150+ colors seem unnecessary, to the point of being ridiculous?