TheBasslayer

Those are some good-looking creature baits! May have to pick some up sometime!

Definitely Green Pumpkin, that is the one color that the fish in my lakes really love.

Huh. I seem to be catching them a lot on the senko. I caught my Pb of 2021 a few weeks ago and all of the largemouth that I caught while wading today on a Green Pumpkin Senko. Maybe it’s just Michigan, though. And also I want to try my topwaters when I can fish in the morning this weekend!

Best fishing day I’ve had in all of 2021! 6 fish today, 4 of which were in the 1.5-2.5 range! First 3 were caught wading, and the last 3 were caught from the bank. I forgot to take a picture of a 1-pounder that I caught.

This year has been pretty low on numbers, but in my lakes that I fish, a 3.10 pounder is a pretty good fish, and I caught one earlier this year than ever! Normally I catch my 1st 3 pounder in June, and if that 3 pounder was fat, it would be 3.6 pounds! So this year has been ok overall.

I got my dad the Olive Ghost, but next time I go Jerkbait shopping I may pick up another color like Tennessee Shad.

I have a Husky Jerk that I bought for my dad, but he doesn't fish that often, so I just have it in my tackle box. Haven't used it as much as I want to, but I would like to try it. And like the post above says, I would up-size the bait if you want to catch bigger Smallies.

I don't really have any brand loyalties, probably because I've been fishing for 4 years. I own anything from an Abu on a Fenwick(Baitcaster) to a Shimano on an Okuma(Ultralight). Whatever works for my action and for my price point and feels good, I'll buy.

That is a very good fish! Nice job on your kayak PB!

Welcome to the forum!

Sorry I'm late, but welcome to the site!

Hello! I am looking for new places to fish for Smallmouth Bass around my home town of Portage, MI. I would like to try the Kalamazoo River a lot more this spring/summer, but is there any other places with good Smallmouth fishing? I am stuck from shore most of the time, but I have chest-high waders, and I would like to try my dad's inflatable kayak this summer even though it isn't a fishing kayak. Thanks!

My first and still my only baitcaster is an Abu Garcia Black Max in 6.4:1 that I got for Christmas in 2019. I still use it regularly, in fact my PB of 2021 was caught on the Black Max! I'd say that is still has a few summers of life in it before I upgrade, and I probably will upgrade it for Christmas. But it still works!

In the game that I play called World of Tanks Blitz, there is a new tank called the Obj. 260, and the legendary camouflage is called the Obj. 260 Pike, which is based off of a Northern Pike! (Still waiting for a Largemouth Bass legendary camouflage)

I'm only an beginning-intermediately skilled fisherman having only fished for bass for 3 years, and even though I am kinda decent with my baitcaster, I notice that I can cast my spinning poles a lot further than my baitcasters. And they handle the light lures that I use a lot easier than my baitcaster.

In Southern Michigan we don't have anything except for mosquitos, so I feel pretty lucky! I don't have really any experiences with gators when I visit Florida, but then again the last time I visited I wasn't really into bass fishing. And I'm glad alligators are more docile than those Saltwater Crocodiles, or I wouldn't be fishing in Florida!

I also like the pretty calm days on the water, especially if it is overcast. If I fish in the wind, I'll throw Crankbaits and the occasional soft plastic paddletail swimbait. I need to buy a spinnerbait!

I like the Ned Rig, especially in smaller canals and lakes. I caught a Crappie on a Ned Rig when nothing else was biting anything on that day. A bass also bit it, but he got off. It works pretty well for me.

I've always loved my Jerkbaits! That is what I caught my PB on, and ever since that, I have been using Jerkbaits a lot! I like my Shadow Raps, and pretty soon I'll buy a Vision 110 to try it out. Weightless Senkos have to be a close 2nd though. At least 50-60% of my fish over 2 pounds have been on weightless Green Pumpkin Senkos!

Welcome to the Forum! Good Luck on your journey to become a pro!

Welcome to the Forum! The Black Max is a good starter reel, and it is what I started on!

There is a lake around me called Austin Lake, and at least when I'm from shore, that is my nemesis lake. The park I have to fish at, Lakeview Park, is EXTREMELY pressured, and the only fish that I have caught there is a Bullhead. The Crappie I caught was in a small canal on the side of the lake. Unless you have live bait, a bass there only looks at a Jerkbait and refuses to eat a Senko. According to my friend it used to be good, and I've seen 6 pounders caught there when it was good, but it just sucks now. It may be getting better, but I'm not sure.

I caught my first Bullhead Catfish and a Crappie in the most pressured place in Portage! I caught the Catfish on a red crappie tube of all things, and it put up a nice fight on my ultralight. I caught the Crappie on some new Ned Rigs that I got, and all fishing was done at Lakeview Park, which is one of the most pressured places in Portage.

I was at fishing camp in Kalamazoo MI, and for our last day, we went to KVD’s pond! He signed a Rapala crank bait and a Zebco 33 that the fish camp handed out, but the Rapala is missing . I met him, and he was a nice guy! And I caught my Pb at the time!

I don't fly fish, but on the fly-fishing magazines that I read every once in a while, they say that a good all-around bass weight would be an 8-wt. I just got my first fly-fishing pole, which is 5-wt, so I can't wait to trout and bluegill fish with it! But yeah, I would try an 8-wt.