New pb smallmouth

[bigben]

Like i said in another post i have been getting back into bassin again. With the deluge we got this past weekend i wanted to see how bad it took its toll on the local habitat. I was surprised but the fishing was tough. Ended with two small mouths one broke the 4 lb mark. The scale was bouncing between the 4-5 lb mark.  The water temp was 12 deg colder then last week this time. I ended up with two fish on the day.

Here is a pic. That is a 30 series spinning reel for referance.



Thanks for looking

[coyote101]

Nice fish Ben.  Don't you love the way those smallies fight? 

Pat

[bigben]

It was funny cuz i was sitting there thinking just one bite id be happy and about then "thunk". I set the hook and we were off to the races. He put up a heck of a fight.  Even on the medium heavy rod i was using. If he would have been on my medium rod i would have had a fight on my hands.

[FinsnFur]

Awesome fish. Nice work.
I wont use anything but a medium heavy. Love em.

[nastygunz]

Thats a brewza! Smallmouth are awesome on a flyrod, we call em green trout.

[bigben]

This was the first fish for that rod as well. I have always bought ugly stiks and in the last two months i bought some bass pro shops branded graphite im6 rods. Im feeling the bite better now and can tell the difference between a rock or log and a fish.

Some more details i caught the fish on a black 4" tube with a 1/4oz 4/0 jig. Im getting better at not looseing the jigs as well. First time out i was disgusted at the amount of tackle i lost. Yesterday i lost one jig in a tree.

[FinsnFur]

Yah you have to donate some tackle to the river once in a while.   I've never liked ugly sticks myself. I've always considered them over sized clumsy catfishing clubs.
I paid just under 100 bucks for my IM7 a couple years ago and with that thing strung up with Spider wire or Suffix 832 you can feel every tooth in the fishes mouth. I'm not kidding. Anyone who uses them will tell you.
Why would you want to feel the fishes teeth?...you wouldnt. But thats how sensitive of a combination it creates. More direct hits, more solid hook sets, and no more guessing on the strikes.

[bigben]

I havent been a fan of braids for a while. I have been using floro for this spring and wasnt sure it was worth it till dad was fishing with a rod strung with green mono. His catch rate is lower then mine thus far anytime hes out with me. The fish im getting are really finicky. I can pitch to same gole as someone else and pull out fish.

[Dave]

Awesome smallie, Ben!  I'm guessing Susquehanna?  Did you measure it?
I'm starting to use braid in fresh water, but slowly converting - especially where there's current.  Just feel it's all too visible and I usually don't need a lot of line off the reel.  Everything saltwater is braid, though, and boy you can feel every little tick during a retrieve.  Cuts through the water easily with it's thinner diameter and casts a country mile.

[bigben]

No the main stem is shut down till the 15th i think. This was in a local creek that has a decent population of both small and largemouth bass