The Baron

I’m pretty new to this, but am using a 3/0 Owner EWG J Hook that looks about prefect. A 2/0 would work too, but might me a bit tight for hook sets. A 4/0 looks too long. Here’s a pic with hooks (top to bottom) being an Eagle Claw 4/0 EWG, Owner 3/0 J Hook and Eagle Claw 2/0.

There doesn’t seem to be a lot of Canadian traffic on this site. We’re down in Kingston and I’ve fished a little in the Kawarthas, but not Pigeon Lake. When I was looking for smallmouth spots on Weslemkoon Lake I signed up (free) on anglersatlas.com and looked at the contour map. That was a help. There’s also a bit of basic info on species in the lake. https://www.anglersatlas.com/place/186110/pigeon-lake

I was looking for a crayfish bait and came across the 3.25” YUM crawbug at a local shop. At a price of $3.99 CDN for 8 they seemed like a steal compared to other brands, so I picked up a bag in green pumpkin chartreuse. This is the first YUM brand bait I’ve tried. I’m planning to try one on a 1/4oz. Texas rig tomorrow with an Owner light wire EWG short shank hook. After tying it up, I wondered if a 1/8oz. might be better for this little bait (?). Anyone else using this bait? What’s your favourite way to fish them?

Hello from Kingston, Ontario. ??

I was just switching a reel over to my St. Croix BASS-X casting rod and noticed the liner of about the 4th guide from the tip is missing. I’m not sure I want to bother paying shipping/fees for a warranty repair to fix that. Is one missing rod guide liner a big concern? I guess I should run a cotton swab in there to see if there are any sharp edges or burrs?

I've got a Shimano Stradic 2500 I bought used a couple years ago, in great shape (guessing it's 5-6+ years old). I'd like to pickup an extra spool to have loaded with straight fluoro, but I can't figure out if mine is an FK, FL, HGL etc. and it seems the spools are model-specific. Mine has only a few exterior markings... "STRADIC 2500" and line capacity markings on the spool (8lb.-140yds.), then the Hagane logo on the right side rear of the reel body. Is this an older model that I can't buy parts for? Any suggestions on where I could find a spare spool - I've already checked eBay and Facebook sites and found a few, but they have letters after the model number that mine doesn't so don't know if they're compatible.

That's a deal!? They're $7+tax for a 4-pack up here.

Are there any distinct advantages to the VMC Spinshot hooks vs. tying in a standard drop-shot hook? Not that they're overly expensive, but am wondering if they really reduce line twist or improve hookup enough to pay the extra?

Yeah, our Canadian bass are weird. Crank bait packages are all marked in feet so they might not work at all up here. LOL

I've been able to start fishing a new lake (Weslemkoon Lake in Ontario) recently. The lake is generally rocky (smooth rock, some boulders and steep slopes) and is known as a very good bass lake, but so far we've only caught a handful of small bass and a ton of rock bass on a dropshot setup. I've since looked at a contour map and have identified a few steep slopes and saddles, so will try to target those next trip (I've attached a pic of the contour map - any general suggestions are welcome). My Q. is... are there any tips on how to find (bigger) smallies in a new lake without any tech? We have no fish finder, so contour maps will give me a general idea of but I won't know exactly where I am on the map and have no way to see fish or find details like boulders, etc. I'm assuming I should be working the areas of steeper dropoff and humps? Are there any particular baits or presentations we can use to search for fish in areas of steep dropoff? I feel like Stevie Wonder, floating around in the boat and smiling in my sunglasses. lol

Nice buck. Good job on the recovery. ?

Welcome aboard! I'm just down the road in Kingston... where the St. Lawrence flows out of Lake Ontario... and the smallmouth grow fat on Goby. ?

Thanks for all of the great input. I figured a 20hp would be a bad idea, it's just so tempting to look at a nicely equipped new boat but hard to swallow the price of outboard motors. One thing I hadn't fully considered is that while we may pick our days and not be in a hurry to go out, the weather can change and the urgency to get off the water could be very different. I'll likely be forced to buy used, in order to get "enough" boat. Good thing is I've always driven a 4x4 truck and always will, so a "real" bass boat is very much an option.

Both my kids (10 and 12) enjoy fishing so I'm looking around for our first bass boat. As we all know, big outboard motors come at big prices so I'm considering a nice boat and a smaller motor. Mostly because we're on a tight budget, but also I don't plan to run too far - no more than maybe 5 miles at speed. We will be fishing the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario on selected weather days, but I'd choose my launch ramp to minimize on water travel and would rather put the money into a conformable boat and decent trolling motor/electronics than blow my budget on a huge motor. So, my question is how little is "too" little? I'm looking at the Ranger 178 aluminum series and they give the option of a 20hp Mercury which makes the package quite affordable. How fast would a 20 likely push that boat with 3 people? And, in the opinion of experienced boaters would buying that boat with the smallest motor available be something I'd regret vs. spending $3k more for a Merc 50?

I'm looking at this rod, on sale. It's an Okuma Dead Eye Pro walleye rod, 6'6" M/fast and I'm wondering if it wouldn't work well as a drop-shop bass rod. I mean, it's a M/fast rod on a 30t carbon blank so should be good (?). Are we/the industry getting carried away with species-specific rods?

I’m looking at some used gear tomorrow, getting a left hand baitcaster setup to try. One of the rods is a available is a Fenwick EliteTech 7’ medium, which I believe is a fast action. What niche might that rod fill?

Should have mentioned... my main line is hi viz yellow, and I don't want to change it yet.

I'll look into that knot too. As for using 8#, that's what I had on hand but agree it's too light and will be buying something more like 15#. Thank for the tips.

Cool. I watched the video and have practiced that know a few times - I think I've got it. Thanks! I have been tying an old/traditional knot that I learned literally in the 70's and used with mono for 20 years with no issues. But, I just got back into fishing recently after about a 20 year hiatus and am coming up to speed on all the new gear and techniques. Clearly, not everything I learned in the 70's is directly transferable to current day. lol

Fluorocarbon line is pretty new to me. I’m using Suffix for leader material and am curious how frequently is it recommended to re-tie knots and how often to replace leaders? I’ve noticed fluoro seems quite stiff compared to mono and am wondering if it’s brittle? Reason I ask is my son was casting a Live Target Poppin’ Frog this afternoon - 8# fluoro leader tied to 30# braid - when the knot broke at the lure and we lost our frog (leader still firmly attached to braid). I don’t think we’d made 50 casts and had not caught any fish so I’m a little surprised. And I’d wet the knot well before pulling tight. I fished for years with mono and never had that happen.

IMHO, bass fishing is so addictive because it’s so easy for it to fit exactly into anyone’s personal preferences. Assuming a person is the type to like fishing, bass offers a hugely diverse opportunity of location, habitat, bait/style and convenience. By location, I mean almost anywhere in North America, you can go bass fishing and likely are no more than a short drive from some really “good” bass fishing. North, south, east, west - you can be a bass fisherman. And by habitat, I mean whether you love to fish rivers, ponds, small lakes or on the Great Lakes - you can find a good spot. And by habitat, I mean whether you prefer fishing them shallow, in the weeds or over deep rock shoals - it’s all good for bass. By bait/style, I mean you can fish for bass when and however you like. Morning, noon or night - whatever time feels good is the right time to go. And whether you prefer spinning, bait casing or fly fishing - it’ll catch ‘em. Surface lures, jerk baits, crank baits, spinners, spinner baits, buzz baits, spoons, jigs of all sorts, drop shot, live bait, hook and a bobber... it all works so you can use/master your favourite technique and be a successful bass fisherman. By convenience, I mean what could be easier than lipping a bass, snapping a great photo and letting it go? No teeth, no slime, no hands in gills or needing both hands to show it off. No fish to clean (unless you want to), so you can go straight from the lake to breakfast, lunch, dinner or bed. Which is all great for kids, especially! Add to all of that the fact that bass fight way above their weight class, are plentiful and you never know if the next one you hook will be your PB or a new one for the record books... and the real question for any such fisherman is why are you not addicted to bass fishing - what’s wrong with you!? ?

We were fishing the St. Lawrence River a couple weeks ago, just outside of Lake Ontario. Most fish were in 10-30ft of water but we went to a spot that was 45-55ft and picked up several smallies, including a couple of our better fish for the day. We were fishing on a Monday and the theory was that the exceptionally heavy boat traffic the previous weekend may have pushed them deeper in some of the busier spots. It got me thinking about just how deep SMB will “regularly” go. So, what’s the deepest water you’ve pulled a smallmouth up from? And was it suspended or feeding near the bottom?

I’m new to drop-shotting as well. I did it for the first time on the Ottawa River - rocky bottom, fairly calm and no current. Fishing 5-15ft of water we tried 1/8 and 1/4oz, and found much better feel for what we were doing with the 1/4oz. Next trip was on the St. Lawrence in 10-50ft. of water. Again, fairly calm, with sandy-hard bottom/some rocks but noticeable current in some shallower spots we fished. We found 1/4oz too light and stuck with 1/2oz. I’ve now got 1/8-5/8oz weights in my kit (in 1/8 increments) and expect to use 1/4-1/2oz most often. For the cost of weights I’d recommend grabbing a selection until you find what works best for your fishing location and style. Drop shotting is a ton of fun. I wish I’d known about it 40 years ago!

A local shop still has a couple of Duckett Terex "Dean Rojas" edition 7' M/f DFTX70MCC Crankin' rods on clearance for 1/2 price ($80 CDN, which equates about $60 USD). If matched with an appropriate reel, would this be a good dedicated crankbait rod? I read that there have been some issues with guides breaking on Duckett rods, but this rod (and the M/H I bought for general use) does not have the micro guides and the handle is marked as having Fuji guides, so I believe these are an updated/improved version? I really don't "need" a crankbait rod anytime soon, so have no problem waiting for a better rod for next season but I hate just as much to pass over a great deal.

Thanks for your post DanielG. I’m 50, and same as you have used only spinning gear all my life (well, at least ever since I stopped using a piece of line tied to a branch down at the local creek. lol) I recently grabbed a Duckett 7’ MH/f on sale 1/2 price and am meeting a local fella soon to pickup a gently used Chronarch Ci4+ in 7.6:1. So quality gear, bought frugally. I hope that will make a decent first/general baitcasting setup for me. It’s already spooled with new PowerPro 50# so I’ll just stick with that for learning. I'm looking forward to becoming a better equipped fisherman, and hope I can get the hang of casting as quickly as you did! ??