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my mind is literally blown. The first bait in my hands every single year at 5am on opener is a walking bait, it immediately tells me how far along into the spawning cycle the fish are. Those first few days they are always seemingly somewhere between 0-10 FOW. Interestingly one year i spent the first half an hour skunked and I was in a panic wonder what the heck was going on, and it was simply that I wasnt casting shallow enough. I literally had to bank my lures off of the rocks aiming at any nook that had reeds protruding up, sure enough everything was still up protecting beds. I take the entire week off every year and fish every day and its the same pattern, by the end of opener week the fish transition out off of the edge and start slipping more and more into their summer pattern. Hence why the evening/morning is always my favourite time to fish. The smallies come right back up as the sun goes down. Find a sunken island and throw a topwater right on top of it and the action is seemingly non stop. I recall one evening having 6 fish on 6 consecutive casts to the exact same marker on top of a shoal. UGGGGHHHH just thinking about this is giving me crazy anxiety and a pit in my stomach...were close, but still so far hahaha. Opener morning on G bay is perhaps one of the most special moments in any fishing season. Unlike the kawarthas/tri lakes opener (that i also fish the week prior every single year) the morning is still dead quiet up there. Usually you dont even see a boat for the first couple of hours of fishing. I cant believe its been 4 years since this photo was taken, but heres a photo at 7am opener morning.

If I had to pick one for the French River, it would be the Rebel Pop R. Everything, including muskies, attack them. Easiest my favorite smallmouth bait if I'm not fishing below 10 feet.

This has got to my fav so far Next to my Muddy Waters

your right arkrisoner that topwater bite can make your heart pound .......

and what you spend will not show up on the bank statement 🤣

You guys are wild, especially you bill you’re a mad man lol this is tough because for me it depends on the body of water I’m fishing an absolute ton. You can’t approach the kawarthas necessarily like you can g bay, and even then honey harbour is totally different than pointe au baril. i won some money throwing a jackhammer in October but I wouldn’t necessarily call it a “smallie bait” even if I do catch a lot of big smallmouth throwing one. Because honestly I never throw a jackhammer on shield lakes, I’d always rather be cranking or throwing a jerkbait if I’m not contending with grass. 1. 3 inch hazedong drop shotted 2. Ned rig with a z man trd tickler 3. nishine erie 115 4. Evergreen cr-8 5. MB giant dog X - My favourite way to catch em but not something I do a lot of tournament fishing

Another batch ready to go to get eat,n up ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,