Lake O smallies

DanElliot · **Joined:** Mon Apr 08, 2002 8:59 am **Posts:** 4329

They were biting pretty good with the nice stretch of stable weather. Most of the fish were in the 25-40' depths. Ed and I lost count with the majority of fish in the 3-5lb range. The water temp was 56 and we were hoping for a shallow water jerkbait bite but it didn't happen for us. Water clarity is improving. We launched our of waupoos and noticed Joe(owner Waupood marina) has spray painted a "No power loading" sign on the wall at the launch.

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

DanElliot wrote:

They were biting pretty good with the nice stretch of stable weather. Most of the fish were in the 25-40' depths. Ed and I lost count with the majority of fish in the 3-5lb range. The water temp was 56 and we were hoping for a shallow water jerkbait bite but it didn't happen for us. Water clarity is improving. We launched our of waupoos and noticed Joe(owner Waupood marina) has spray painted a "No power loading" sign on the wall at the launch.

Hey Dan. I was out yesterday around Wolf Island. I went for pike but couldn't find them so I switched to smallies. Drop shotting in 10 feet of water was good for me. Not a lot but biggest was 5.5. Have never tried the jerkbaits but did a bit of Googling when I read your post. Looks like X raps are a good start. #8 3-5 feet or should I go deeper.
And i also read they are better when the water is 50 degrees or so.

Any little tips?

Really wanted to get some big pike though. Maybe I will try like Mallory bay or hay bay next time. Looking for that "deep weed edge"

legacy · **Joined:** Tue May 10, 2005 7:55 am **Posts:** 992

I was out yesterday and launched from POH.

It was a tough bite but managed a few with this 5.3 the biggest.

I couldn't believe how many huge bass we saw sight fishing, but wouldn't touch anything we threw at them, in an area I caught a 7.0 last week. I'd bet there were multiple smallies well over 7lbs.

GAP - I'm partial to Berkley so would also suggest looking at the their Cutter jerk-baits. They have Berkley Fusion hooks, which I think are the sharpest on the market and a great price. They come in 2 sizes - 90 and 110 and will run 4 - 8'.

Cheers

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

legacy wrote:

I was out yesterday and launched from POH.

It was a tough bite but managed a few with this 5.3 the biggest.

I couldn't believe how many huge bass we saw sight fishing, but wouldn't touch anything we threw at them, in an area I caught a 7.0 last week. I'd bet there were multiple smallies well over 7lbs.

GAP - I'm partial to Berkley so would also suggest looking at the their Cutter jerk-baits. They have Berkley Fusion hooks, which I think are the sharpest on the market and a great price. They come in 2 sizes - 90 and 110 and will run 4 - 8'.

Cheers

Will do. Thanks!
You

DanElliot · **Joined:** Mon Apr 08, 2002 8:59 am **Posts:** 4329

Nice fish Paul!! Super frustrating when you can see them and they wont bite. Sometimes you get lucky and can get one to go which fires them all up.
Gap,
I have a bunch of different jerkbaits Xrap, megabass, cutters and pointers ect. I find its less about what you're throwing and more about the cadence they want, fast , slow, short rips , long pauses and so on. I generally throw jerkbaits in 12' or less but occasionally 15'

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

DanElliot wrote:

Nice fish Paul!! Super frustrating when you can see them and they wont bite. Sometimes you get lucky and can get one to go which fires them all up.
Gap,
I have a bunch of different jerkbaits Xrap, megabass, cutters and pointers ect. I find its less about what you're throwing and more about the cadence they want, fast , slow, short rips , long pauses and so on. I generally throw jerkbaits in 12' or less but occasionally 15'

Thanks Dan!

Does anyone use Husky Jerks as jerk baits for smallies? I have a bunch of those for some reason.
And any tips on what colors I should be aiming for with jerk baits? I stick to black when dropshotting

CrowMan · **Posted:** Sun Oct 30, 2022 8:47 am

Although I have a bunch of the newer Japanese style jerk baits, I still often fish the reliable old school Rapala Husky Jerks. The smaller sizes (3 and 4 inch) and natural minnow colours (nothing too gaudy) work best for me.

Black works well for dropshotting because it imitates Gobies which are bottom dwellers. Jerk baits are usually fished in the top 10 ft of the water column ... so
Shiner, Shad and Perch imitations generally work better.

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

CrowMan wrote:

Although I have a bunch of the newer Japanese style jerk baits, I still often fish the reliable old school Rapala Husky Jerks. The smaller sizes (3 and 4 inch) and natural minnow colours (nothing too gaudy) work best for me.

Black works well for dropshotting because it imitates Gobies which are bottom dwellers. Jerk baits are usually fished in the top 10 ft of the water column ... so
Shiner, Shad and Perch imitations generally work better.

Quote:

Thanks Crowman! I will be trying them out tomorrow.
Back permitting :roll:

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Lake O smallies

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