Last Four Years Results On Lake Erie

[NEjitterbugger]

That's ok, I'm 44 know how many small jaws over 4lbs I've caught? Exactly 1.

 

 

Yea but you are really young. It will happen. Just need to fish a big system that has plenty of big girls.

 

 

Thanks. On Erie the 7 lbers are as rare as hen teeth.

 

I did catch my PB this year 3.64lbs... During a tourney too... I don't have to many good smallie spots close by...

[NorcalBassin]

That is incredible... awesome job. You giving discounted guided trips to BR members?

[Bankbeater]

Those are some numbers you have! Great job!

[Lucky Craft Man]

This post had me curious over how my Lake Erie Spring numbers looked for this year (Post Dwight System Implementation) and all the years before (Pre Dwight System Implementation). 

 

This Spring, I was only able to get up to Lake Erie 4 times (I know, very dismal, but with three little girls all under the age of 3 and a half, I had to sacrifice some fishing time).  In those 4 days, I fished a total of 28.5 hours.  Here was the breakdown for my boat.

 

2013 Spring Results (Implementing Dwight's System)

Total Number of Smallmouth Caught = 63

Number of 5 Pounders = 7

Number of 6 Pounders = 1

Number of 7 Pounders = 1

 

Pre 2013 Spring Results (Before I really implemented Dwight's System)

Total Suckiness

 

I seemed to have been able to fine tune Dwight's system for my needs each time out (e.g., changing line diameter, drift patterns, lure choices, etc.).  I can't wait until this Spring.  I have a few more things I want to try and dial in. 

 

Someone mentioned Dwight being able to write a book on this system.  I tend to agree.  There is a lot that goes into it that I am sure many people don't think about.  I know there were details that I would have never considered until after talking with Dwight.  It really was a game changer for me.    

[A-Jay]

The following is a post made by Dwight Hottle a while back.  In it he shares what is essentially "The System" Lucky Craft Man describes above.

 

A-Jay

 

Alright Shimmy I'll share a little bit about jerkbaits. First of all my jerkbait fishing evolved around pike fishing. Big predators. My favorite jerkbaits were made out of wood or plastic & weighed about an ounce to 2.5 oz. . I would practice jerk bait strokes along side the boat to see what kind of action I could delvelop with each bait. Some baits would dart 90 degrees to either side like a walk the dog motion but under water. Other baits would glide forward or sideways & some rare baits would almost turn around like in your face mr pike. Hard violent jerks or strokes would elevate the motions. Then you have to incorporate a pause period or let the bait rest. Usually the baits will get eaten while your pausing or just as you start your next movement. Remember jerk baits work on all species.

Now to jerkbaits for smallies. Typically when you first start fishing you use a search bait until you find fish unless you know exactly where they are. Then once you find fish you switch to your favorite presentation. I fish big water with lots of suspended fish spread over lots of rock structure. I seldom find lots of big fish in a small area. So my approach is to cover water with a jerkbait as my search bait until I find some big girls. Once we find them we work over the area. We put in waypoints when we get bit so we can revist each spot. When drifting on lake erie the waves cause the boat to surge & pause just like a jerked bait does when you are working it. Boat motion adds motion to your baits. I always prefer to drift downwind with the wind hitting my stern. I work one rod while i dead stick a second rod in a rod holder. When my forward progress is between .3 to 1.0 mile an hour drifting with the wind at my back it all works. Most of the time my worked rod out fishes the dead stick 3 to 1. But sometimes the dead stick rod is extremely effective all by its self because the boat is working the bait. This tells me to slow down the worked rod. This approach also allows you to run a deep diver suspending jerkbait while you are running a shallow suspending bait. Then you can decide to use all deep or all shallow baits depending upon the conditions. My prespawn smallie fishing is between upper 30 degrees to 65 degrrees surface temps. The colder the water the more subtle the action. As the water warms I use more erratic movements. I also select baits with more subtle action for cold water & more erratic action for warming water. You have to learn the action of each style bait you use and develop an understanding of what works best for the conditions you are facing. Colder water with poor visibility finds me using loud colors with subtle action & loud rattles. Warmer water with good visibility finds me using subtle natural colors with more erratic action and softer rattles. Smallmouth bass are extremely curious about noise & erratic action. Remember that statement. Your jerkbait represents a dying bait fish to a smallie if properly worked. Smallies will come up thru the water column to hit a jerkbait. How far they will travel depends upon water visibility & sound. When I can see the bottom in 15 feet of water I will not hesitate to work jerkbaits out to 30 feet. I try to use a bait that will get down to the depth I want to fish based on overall water depth & visibility. If your marking fish or marking bait you can key into that depth. My jerkbait inventory covers baits that run from 2 feet down to baits that run 20-22 feet down. Now I can fish jerkbaits effectively in forty feet of water with good visibility. Since i'm fishing relatively open waters I use ten pound braid with a leader on spinning tackle. And I use ten or twenty pound braid with a leader on casting tackle. The thin braid adds up to five feet of extra depth on the baits. Now when casting jerkbaits your depth is based on the bait, line diameter & the length of your cast. Maximum depth on most baits is increased by letting out more line up to around 200 some feet with diving bills. So I run my baits back from the boat about two to three cast lengths to achieve more depth when needed. This also allows you a more stealthy approach. I find that smallies move during the day between deeper water to shallower water based upon changing conditions. So I try to target different depths until I can observe a pattern of where they will be.

I do not limit myself to just one manufacture of jerkbaits. I find that on some days a particular bait from one manufcture will out preform all others. Especially on a tough bite day. So I carry about four different manufactures jerkbaits. Now within just one manufactures line of jerkbaits there can be five or six completely different baits by action, size, depth, sound, suspending, floating or slow sink & tilt. They can all shine based on changing conditions. Generally I prefer suspending jerkbaits with rattles. Then I look for level suspenders, nose down or tail down attitudes. Lucky craft probably covers the most diverse offerings of all jerkbaits manufactures in my experience.

Just remember when fishing a jerkbait that you are trying to excite a neutral fish into striking it because it mimics a dying baitfish. The more action you can impart to the bait the more fired up that big smallie gets. It is very similar to teasing a cat with a mouse on a string. Some times they want it barely moving and other times they want it fast and erratic.          

[Lucky Craft Man]

A-Jay, I have studied that post by Dwight many times.  There is so much "gold" in just that middle paragraph.  The day I caught my PB, the fish weren't aggressive at all.  I slowed my drift down and got my jerkbaits just grinding on the bottom.  That fish must have lightly mouthed the lure, because I caught her with the rear hook just on the tip of her mouth.  All those variables mentioned in Dwight's post need deliberate consideration and an effective means with which to cover them (this is part of the system I still need work on).  I have found that these big fish are big for a reason and the attention to these details seem to be the difference between netting those bigger fish or ending another day wishing for a 5 pounder. 

[RoLo]

Dwight, your batting-average with trophy smallies has been nothing short of phenomenonal!
Then again, knowing the perfectionist that you are, I'm not at all shocked but nonetheless impressed.

Going back a few years, I'm on record as dubbing you the "Al Lindner of the Northeast",

and some things never change (eat your heart out Joe Balog  ;-))
 

Roger

[Brian Needham]

I have nothing to add but a hearty WTG!!!

 

just wanted to subscribe to this thread.

[00 mod]

RoLo,

 

Where have you been?  Welcome back!

 

Jeff

[RoLo]

RoLo,

 

Where have you been?  Welcome back!

 

Jeff

 

 

Thank you Jeff (all is well)

 

Roger

[MIbassin]

Are jerk baits only winter time lures?

[Dwight Hottle]

Are jerk baits only winter time lures?

 

All year long.

[Dwight Hottle]

Dwight, your batting-average with trophy smallies has been nothing short of phenomenonal!

Then again, knowing the perfectionist that you are, I'm not at all shocked but nonetheless impressed.

Going back a few years, I'm on record as dubbing you the "Al Lindner of the Northeast",

and some things never change (eat your heart out Joe Balog  ;-))

 

Roger

 

Thanks for all the kind words Roger. Glad to see your back & all is well. Miss your informative posts.

[roadwarrior]

Well looky-here...Woke the cat up, too!

 

Great thread and good to hear from RoLo again.

[Brian Needham]

Dwight, My wish for you is to catch one like this one day.

 

Got her on the TN River, Jeff skillfully guided me to this once in a lifetime hawg. I might have reeled her in, but Jeff truly did all the heavy lifting.

 

8 3/4# Baby!!!

 

[A-Jay]

Dwight, I wish for you is to catch one like this one day.

 

Got her on the TN River, Jeff skillfully guided me to this once in a lifetime hawg. I might have reeled her in, but Jeff truly did all the heavy lifting.

 

8 3/4# Baby!!!

 

smallie1.jpg

 

 

Congrats to you Brian - 

 

A Real Mutant if ever I saw one.

 

 

A-Jay

[Brian Needham]

really didn't hit me what I caught until I got home and downloaded the pictures to the computer!!!

 

Thanks, A Jay!

[Dwight Hottle]

really didn't hit me what I caught until I got home and downloaded the pictures to the computer!!!

 

Thanks, A Jay!

 

 

Brian you beat me to it. I heard it was coming.

[00 mod]

Dwight, My wish for you is to catch one like this one day.

 

Got her on the TN River, Jeff skillfully guided me to this once in a lifetime hawg. I might have reeled her in, but Jeff truly did all the heavy lifting.

 

8 3/4# Baby!!!

 

smallie1.jpg

 

 

All I did was put you on the spot and get her on the Boga!  You sir, get credit for all of the rest!

 

Jeff

[Dwight Hottle]

Brian they are supposed to look like this. You got the head right just missing the body coloration.

 

 

[Shane J]

BAM!!!

[A-Jay]

And the painfully insane truth about this man's skills is . . . .  ..

 

There is a very high probability that he dink-dropped several fish the same size or perhaps a little smaller than the two he's holding a few moments before that shot.

 

A-Jay

[Brian Needham]

Thanks for the kind words Ajay, but I am not one to brag...

Hahahahahahahahaha.

Seriously, those are two lifetime fish for us mere mortals, well at for me it is....It is amazing to watch guys like Dwight and see how they absolutely have a lake clocked.

[Dwight Hottle]

Thanks for the kind words Ajay, but I am not one to brag...

Hahahahahahahahaha.

Seriously, those are two lifetime fish for us mere mortals, well at for me it is....It is amazing to watch guys like Dwight and see how they absolutely have a lake clocked.

 

 

Brian I only get lucky when it is easy. Rest of the time I struggle like everyone else.

[Siebert Outdoors]

Did the lake level drop when you pulled those two out?