Mixed bag on the Rock

[Hookmanski]

Hit Splitrock reservoir at sunrise this morning for some fishing. I’ve been neglecting the sweet water recently, so I threw the kayak on the car last night and drove up to the launch early this morning. On the water by 7, it was stained brown and warmer than the air temp. The plan was to fish spinnerbaits, jerkbaits and Ned Rigs for whatever was biting. Fourth cast I get a dink smallie on the ned rig, a good way to start the morning!

About 20 minutes later I was paddling along the shoreline throwing a large white and chartreuse spinnerbait when I get smacked by something. I immediately thought it was a decent pickerel. Much to my surprise it was a good sized yellow perch! Definitely my PB. Couldn’t believe it when I pulled it into the boat!

Kept paddling along the shoreline and picked up a crappie on the ned. Right after the crappie I casted into a cove and I thought I was snagged until I felt some head shakes. I fought the beast for what must’ve been a full minute or longer, got him all the way to the boat and he decided to do a backflip, launching the hook back into the water. It would’ve been my pb smallmouth!! :rolleyes:

Picked up a few more dinkers before calling it a day right at noon. No love on the jerk bait but the other two lures got some fish in the boat. A good day on the water! Tight lines!

[icebadger]

nice trip to the rock that place can be fun. good to see the crappies still playing.what size of spinner bait did you use? or was it a in-line spinner?

[thmyorke1]

Classic smb throwing hooks. Had two nice smb do the same this weekend. Nice fish. Ever try a slow falling lure from the kayak? Ive been doing great on flukes with snap swivels as the only weight.

[AndyS]

Such a pretty lake, nice fish also !

[Hookmanski]

nice trip to the rock that place can be fun. good to see the crappies still playing.what size of spinner bait did you use? or was it a in-line spinner?

It was a spinner bait! Not sure if the size off the top of my head, but it has 2 blades and a trailer hook off of the main hook. Mostly meant for esox. Couldn’t believe he hit it, and very close to the boat too!

Classic smb throwing hooks. Had two nice smb do the same this weekend. Nice fish. Ever try a slow falling lure from the kayak? Ive been doing great on flukes with snap swivels as the only weight.

I haven’t tried near weightless free falls, interesting. I’m definitely going to give that a try, especially when I get a new net and look for pike!

[thmyorke1]

It was a spinner bait! Not sure if the size off the top of my head, but it has 2 blades and a trailer hook off of the main hook. Mostly meant for esox. Couldn’t believe he hit it, and very close to the boat too!



I haven’t tried near weightless free falls, interesting. I’m definitely going to give that a try, especially when I get a new net and look for pike!

For pike i did well with 4-5 inch paddle tails. Pearl color. With a weighted ewg hook or a jig.not too heavy. Throw the lure somewhere fishy and slowly bring it in , it can stay high in water no need to bring it low. They usually smacked it in motion or just after i slowed it down. Barbless hooks was essential after like three of the four first fish were tough to unhook. I think weightless would be good too. For smb ive been fishing the flatter/open water with flukes. Ive noticed smb dont really like too-deep water, at least this time of season. I always seem to never understand what the hell these Raritan smb are up to.

[Jigman13]

No snap swivels!

[thmyorke1]

No snap swivels!

Why not. Swivel+leader is better i guess if you dont trust the snap. I need something for line twist with weightless flukes.

[Jigman13]

When one fails you'll understand lol... leader and barrel swivel is a better way to go.

[FASTEDDIE29]

Sweet mixed bag my man! That lake is a gem! The Smallies should be going nuts there by next week with the temp drop. Get em’!!!:D

[thmyorke1]

When one fails you'll understand lol... leader and barrel swivel is a better way to go.

Ill take ur word and do leaders :D

[Hookmanski]

When one fails you'll understand lol... leader and barrel swivel is a better way to go.

as someone who's pretty bad at knots..... would you recommend a barrel swivel or tying the leader directly to the backing? I don't use braid currently, but I've been thinking about making the switch from all mono to braid with a leader. I haven't had many issues with mono, but the sensitivity of braid seems worth it.

Sweet mixed bag my man! That lake is a gem! The Smallies should be going nuts there by next week with the temp drop. Get em’!!!:D

Thanks man! The smallies were already pretty active, can't wait to see what happens in a week or two :D

[NJSquatch]

Only time I use mono is for top water. Sensitivity with braid is amazing. You will love it using the Ned rig and Texas rigs. I always tie palomar knots with braid to terminal gear. Unit to uni for braid to leader.

[thmyorke1]

Only time I use mono is for top water. Sensitivity with braid is amazing. You will love it using the Ned rig and Texas rigs. I always tie palomar knots with braid to terminal gear. Unit to uni for braid to leader.

I frequently had problems with powerpro, the time I tried it out. Some terrible and seemingly random wind knots/birds nest with a spinning reel. I did notice better sensitivity although I cant say it's a major factor vs mono. What brand do you use?

[JDTuna]

Great work on the mixed bag. Sounds like an awesome day.

[Jigman13]

If using an inline spinner or something that spins, a barrel to leader is ideal to avoid line twists. Main line is always braid.

If using plugs, jigs, soft plastics, etc etc., I connect braid to leader (typically fluoro) via uni to uni. YouTube it. Practice it. Get it in your arsenal. I've never had one fail in sweet or salt water.

Re: braid types, I'm a firm believer in daiwa j braid x8--the new stuff. I've tried about 10 to 12 brands and I like the daiwa best for most of my freshwater applications. The key with avoiding the wind knots is to never auto flip the bail. Manually flip the bail always. This will noticeably decrease wind knots; and check your spool often as you're fishing. Just things to add to the routine.

I also do not use clips or snap swivels unless it's a TA clip and I'm plugging the beach or back back. Bucktails get tied direct. Freshwater--everything gets tied direct.

[thmyorke1]

Re: braid types, I'm a firm believer in daiwa j braid x8--the new stuff. I've tried about 10 to 12 brands and I like the daiwa best for most of my freshwater applications. The key with avoiding the wind knots is to never auto flip the bail. Manually flip the bail always. This will noticeably decrease wind knots; and check your spool often as you're fishing. Just things to add to the routine.



Thanks ill have to try that j braid. I always flip manually too. Heard it's also better for the life of the reel

[Jigman13]

I think its j braid grand. It's good stuff. And the colors dont fade like other braids nor do I get the wispy wear as frequently

[NJSquatch]

Some terrible and seemingly random wind knots/birds nest with a spinning reel. What brand do you use?

what lb test braid are you using?

I find < 15# gets wind knots more easily. i run 15 - 30 on spinning gear. I haven't had a problem with powerpro or suffix 832 except for the color bleeding out. A quick couple of swipes with a sharpie fixes that problem.

[nate01]

One more tip...do NOT over-fill the spool with braid, that is the kiss of death for wind knots.

[thmyorke1]

what lb test braid are you using?

I find < 15# gets wind knots more easily. i run 15 - 30 on spinning gear. I haven't had a problem with powerpro or suffix 832 except for the color bleeding out. A quick couple of swipes with a sharpie fixes that problem.

Thanks, i was using 10 I believe. Ill probably try 20.

@nate, it was not overfilled but spooled up high

Thanks for the advice, ill try out braid again and see if I convert :)

[Jigman13]

I use #15 for most sweetwater

[Hookmanski]

Great work on the mixed bag. Sounds like an awesome day.

Thanks man!

If using an inline spinner or something that spins, a barrel to leader is ideal to avoid line twists. Main line is always braid.

If using plugs, jigs, soft plastics, etc etc., I connect braid to leader (typically fluoro) via uni to uni. YouTube it. Practice it. Get it in your arsenal. I've never had one fail in sweet or salt water.

Re: braid types, I'm a firm believer in daiwa j braid x8--the new stuff. I've tried about 10 to 12 brands and I like the daiwa best for most of my freshwater applications. The key with avoiding the wind knots is to never auto flip the bail. Manually flip the bail always. This will noticeably decrease wind knots; and check your spool often as you're fishing. Just things to add to the routine.

I also do not use clips or snap swivels unless it's a TA clip and I'm plugging the beach or back back. Bucktails get tied direct. Freshwater--everything gets tied direct.

Thanks for all this information, I'm definitely going to switch over sometime soon and give it a shot!

[phil]

how is the water level @ SR? I hate fishing there when its low.

never reel slack in with light braid. as soon as it hits the water raise your rod to gather slack then start reeling and slowly lower the rod.