Anyone going to the Bassmaster Elites

CrowMan · **Posted:** Thu Jul 21, 2022 11:28 am

Not a cop out...but it depends.
The type of bait, depth, how far out you're casting (angle of the line), current, where the fish are....
For example....fishing a Little Trooper (craw style bait) in shallow water maybe 3 inches from hook to weight.
Fish are 30 ft down feeding on suspended clouds of shiners and you're fishing a Baby Z Too (minnow style bait) maybe 4 ft from hook to weight.
With most worm or minnow style baits about 12 inches is a good starting point.
The other thing to keep in mind with drop shot is your line. Use at least a 6 to 7 ft long FluoroCarbon leader 6 to 10lb test. Its a slow if not stationary presentation and the fish have lots of time to eyeball your bait ....unlike a reaction strike on say a SpinnerBait or CrankBait. I actually like a 15ft leader..as I like the braid to FC connection knot to be on the reel when I'm landing the fish. Also, use a Palomar knot with the tag end looped through the hook eye facing the weight...that way your hook is riding up in a good position for a solid hook set.

My go to on Lake O is a Maxscent Flat Worm in Goby colour 12 inches above a 1/4 oz tungsten weight. Decoy Shot Rig #2 hook. 7 lb SunLine Sniper FC leader with 12lb NanoFil mainline. My favourite drop shot rod is a MegaBass Addermine...you can feel fish breathe on your bait with this stick.That's what I start with for most of the summer with Smallies.
The fish and conditions will tell you what's best...keep experimenting. Remember...fishing is chess not checkers...

GAP · **Joined:** Thu Jan 04, 2018 8:16 pm **Posts:** 223

Made it out to Wolfe Island on Wednesday afternoon. First of all I guess I need to pay attention to when the tournaments are. Jaw dropped when I pulled into Olympic Harbour in Kingston and saw all the trailers

.
Anyways, I went out with the son-inlaw and tried some drop shotting. Went probably 2-3 hours with no bites. We were fishing in 20 fow. Then I remembered Dan and Bigbassin18 talking about the shallow bite so we moved in. Started catching in 11 fow and eventually got into them and set the spotlock

11 fow seem to be the depth for us. Caught probably 30 SM in an hour in the one spot (nothing huge) along with three pike one after another which was strange. Biggest pike was 10 lbs. Biggest bass maybe 3 lbs. Everything went back. Didn't try the marabou jigs as my order hasn't arrived yet. :roll:

All and all it was a fantastic day. Thanks a again for the tips. I would have just stayed deep all day without them.

bigbassin18 · **Joined:** Mon Jan 07, 2013 9:55 pm **Posts:** 431

We just fished the thousand island open. We didn’t make it to day 3. Go figure. But we had to make the switch to deep mid tourney. Took us after day 1 to figure it out. Most fish came from 20-32’. For the bigger fish. Day 2. We had a better day. Our biggest was 5.48

GAP · **Joined:** Thu Jan 04, 2018 8:16 pm **Posts:** 223

I watched the weigh ins. A lot of big fish. Sorry to hear you got cut. Were you fishing the river or the lake?

Also I have another question that I have always wondered. Do small mouth school by size? So if someone was fishing a tournament (which I have never done by the way) and they are catching 2-3 pounders do they move? Or do they just keep catching until the pull up a big one?

bigbassin18 · **Joined:** Mon Jan 07, 2013 9:55 pm **Posts:** 431

GAP wrote:

I watched the weigh ins. A lot of big fish. Sorry to hear you got cut. Were you fishing the river or the lake?

Also I have another question that I have always wondered. Do small mouth school by size? So if someone was fishing a tournament (which I have never done by the way) and they are catching 2-3 pounders do they move? Or do they just keep catching until the pull up a big one?

Typically yes they do school in size range. I have caught a 4+ with 2 pounders. But it’s rare I find. And the bigger the fish sometimes smaller the school size.

But we messed up. With the winds Thursday we went to the river hoping to beat some of the wind. When we should of battled the lake. Friday we went into the lake with the 6’ waves it was brutal. But the bites were a lot bigger for sure

GAP · **Joined:** Thu Jan 04, 2018 8:16 pm **Posts:** 223

bigbassin18 wrote:

GAP wrote:

I watched the weigh ins. A lot of big fish. Sorry to hear you got cut. Were you fishing the river or the lake?

Also I have another question that I have always wondered. Do small mouth school by size? So if someone was fishing a tournament (which I have never done by the way) and they are catching 2-3 pounders do they move? Or do they just keep catching until the pull up a big one?

Typically yes they do school in size range. I have caught a 4+ with 2 pounders. But it’s rare I find. And the bigger the fish sometimes smaller the school size.

But we messed up. With the winds Thursday we went to the river hoping to beat some of the wind. When we should of battled the lake. Friday we went into the lake with the 6’ waves it was brutal. But the bites were a lot bigger for sure

Thanks!!

CrowMan · **Posted:** Sun Jul 31, 2022 8:27 am

With Smallies...the smaller fish are typically in packs (sometimes up to 20 to 30, even bigger schools later in the autumn), the bigger fish are usually in pairs. Always have your partner ready to drop another bait for "followers" when bringing a hooked fish close to the boat.

HOME	Bait&Tackle	Bed&Breakfast	Boat Rentals	Campgrounds	Contact Us
Cottage Rentals	Guides/Fishing Charters	Hotels/Motels	Hunting Supplies	Ice Huts/Ice Guides	Marinas
Outfitters	QUINTE FISHING SERIES	Resorts	Tourism	Trailer Parks	Launches

Quinte Fishing

Anyone going to the Bassmaster Elites

Who is online