It's been some time...help needed

[EMS2]

Hey guys,

I live in central Ontario and am headed to the North Bay area next weekend for some small mouth fishing.

Here is the trouble, I have been so busy with family and work the last 12 years I have not fished since then, and sunfish and rock base with the kids don't really count.

Here is the situation, the lake we are fishing is WAY back in the bush on private land. It's spring feed and about 12 acers around.

I have been out of touch with techniques and such so I'm looking for tips.

Brother-in law, which ownes the property has fished this lake some but not too often. He is suggusting frogs.

I know the lake is LOADED with smallies and you can see 25 feet into the water. This lake has NEVER even seen a boat motor.

I need to buy a new rod, reel and line set-up. I want to buy a mulit purpose set-up for pickeral, bass and such. What size of line should I get. What type of line should I get and what bait or lures should I be trying that are out there.

Thanks

[SammyLee]

Well, I'm gonna jump in here just to get the ball rolling as much better answers will likely follow.

First, what gear do you like and were good with?  Were you a spin caster, open faced spinning reels or level wind bait casters?

A good medium sized and quality spinning outfit should do fine for smallies and large mouths as well, if you have not mastered the baitcaster.  

If I were in your shoes I'd get a Shimano Saros with a 6 or 6'6" medium power quality rod.  Some of the Bass Pro XT series rods seem fine to me.  I have both the BPS rods and St. Croix.  You could buy this type combo for under $225 or so.  I do not recommend low price, low quality gear.  It is frustrating and breaks quickly under real fishing conditions.  My gear has to work everytime, every weekend and many weekdays.  Often the cheap stuff breaks on the first outing.

I'd put 10 or 12 pound mono on it and buy some of the basic lures.  A couple dozen worms of various sizes and colors.  Three or four lipless cranks.  Maybe 2 topwater poppers.  Some diving cranks.  Two or three spinner baits.  Frogs might be good too, the SPRO fogs come recommended.  Rage Tail makes a good one too so I've heard.  I've thrown one a few times but nothing so far.

I am somewhat at a loss regarding the clear water.  I've never fished water that had more than about 4 feet of vis.  I'm sure plenty here have and should chime in soon.

[D4u2s0t]

I would say it depends on how often you plan on fishing.  If you likely wont plan on fishing much after this trip, theres no need to spend over 200 on a pole.  My setup was about 80 dollars, has tons of hours on it, and i have never had an issue.  I often outfish other people on the lake with my 18 dollar backup pole, which is also holding up fine and i've never had a problem with.  Plus, the tip is broken.  (my fault, didnt break fishing)  Got the 18 dollar pole when i first got back into fishing, and just keep it as a backup or with something different tied on.  As long as you have the right pole for what you're doing, it doesn't need to be very expensive.  If you plan on going fishing every week, and are planning more trips, I would get the best quality pole and reel you can afford.  If not, just get something decent and you'll be fine.

as far as baits, i do well with stick baits, and various creature baits.  the faves on here seem to be the ika, and tubes.  I've done well with smallies on space monkeys and brush hogs.  If the fish have pretty much never seen a lure before, it should be fairly easy because they havent' been conditioned to avoid a hook.  good luck!

[EMS2]

I don't want to spend a pile of cash on a rod set-up, might fish 3-4 times a year. Brother in law says live frogs flipped onto the shore line and slowly worked back work well first thing and last thing during say.

Just wanted some input on cast baits. I never got to involved in anything fancy but would like to get more in depth on more advanced techniques.

What is a good kind of fake frogs or cast and real items for smallies?

[SammyLee]

Different things for different folks. Still, if you buy a 50 dollar combo, it "might" last you a year. Times four years, you've spent the 200 bucks. Or $12.50 per use. (and ignore the aggravations)

Buy a quality outfit, which could easily last 20 years for 250 bucks or 3.13 per use. With higher quality stuff, you'll have more fun and be more likely to fish more than once a quarter, reducing the per event even more.

Live frogs? Don't know about that at all. SPRO and StrikeKing/RageTail both make nice frog baits.

Edit to add, other peoples experience with low cost equipment seems different from mine and a few others I've been with.  I've never had a combo under a hundred bucks that held up under my fishing conditions for more than a few weeks.  I have had and have seen low end stuff break the first day out.  Maybe I am just hard on equipment and have very high expectations of its performance.  Read some of the customer reviews of any gear you plan to buy.

[EMS2]

My last $80 setup lasted me 5 years.....still have it...I just want to upgrade....

[Shimmer]

I agree with alot that was said above. If you are planning to get back into fishing ya know maybe you could go a little more expensive. It also depends a little bit on if you like your baitcasters/spinning/or spincast.

I always recommend to my friends who may go out fishing a couple times a year for a broad array of species, an Ugly Stick. 30 bucks at Walmart and you can apply them to any fishing situation. Just a cheap alternative for ya  

Oh and line, maybe 12 lb Trilene X-tra Tough mono or something to that degree.

[suenrod]

My .02 cents worth. (about worth that:-)

I like to have 3-4 medium quality (Walmart quality) rod/reels available rigged with several different types of baits. That way all I have to do is reach down and pick up a different pole for whatever I think the conditions require.

1- rigged for plastics

1- rigged for crankbaits

1- rigged with a spinner bait

1- rigged with Popper or buzz bait

Even if something does go wrong with a pole, I have options and can keep fishing. Also the outlay of cash is on par with 1 QUALITY rod/reel combo.

RoD

Hey guys,

I live in central Ontario and am headed to the North Bay area next weekend for some small mouth fishing.

Here is the trouble, I have been so busy with family and work the last 12 years I have not fished since then, and sunfish and rock base with the kids don't really count.

Here is the situation, the lake we are fishing is WAY back in the bush on private land. It's spring feed and about 12 acers around.

I have been out of touch with techniques and such so I'm looking for tips.

Brother-in law, which ownes the property has fished this lake some but not too often. He is suggusting frogs.

I know the lake is LOADED with smallies and you can see 25 feet into the water. This lake has NEVER even seen a boat motor.

I need to buy a new rod, reel and line set-up. I want to buy a mulit purpose set-up for pickeral, bass and such. What size of line should I get. What type of line should I get and what bait or lures should I be trying that are out there.

Thanks

[D4u2s0t]

Different things for different folks. Still, if you buy a 50 dollar combo, it "might" last you a year. Times four years, you've spent the 200 bucks. Or $12.50 per use. (and ignore the aggravations)

Buy a quality outfit, which could easily last 20 years for 250 bucks or 3.13 per use. With higher quality stuff, you'll have more fun and be more likely to fish more than once a quarter, reducing the per event even more.

Live frogs? Don't know about that at all. SPRO and StrikeKing/RageTail both make nice frog baits.

Edit to add, other peoples experience with low cost equipment seems different from mine and a few others I've been with. I've never had a combo under a hundred bucks that held up under my fishing conditions for more than a few weeks. I have had and have seen low end stuff break the first day out. Maybe I am just hard on equipment and have very high expectations of its performance. Read some of the customer reviews of any gear you plan to buy.

i've never in my life had an "expensive" pole, and have never had one break while fishing.  I've broken them in car doors, stepping on them, dropped them in the lake etc.  but have never snapped a pole on a hang up or fish.  I also never have problems with the line on the reel.  I'm not saying that a cheap pole will always perform as good as an expensive pole, but from my experience it's more how you handle it.  And especially for someone planning on fishing maybe 3-4 times a year, I don't think it's necesary to get something too expensive.  For someone that is going to fish 4 times a week, and fish in tournaments, and really put alot of stress on the pole, i would say to get the best you can afford.  But i'm out probably 4 times a week, and have never had a single problem with my 2 "cheap" poles.  I also catch just as many fish as my buddy who has a $300 loomis, and I have alot of fun doing it.  I've always been a firm believer that it's not the equipment, it's the person using the equipment, to an extent.  I do video for a living, and have a very expensive camera and editing setup, more than most in my industry.  But that doesn't mean i can't take my parents $100 camcorder and make a nice video.