Live Target for Erie Smallmouth

[zeeter]

Has anyone had any success using Koppers Live Target baits on Erie? I'm looking into picking up a few, particularly the smelt suspending bait in blue/silver. I fish Erie for smallmouth usually once a week and predominately use tubes, drop shots, and zenko's. Greens and purples seem to work the best. What works best for you?

[Garry2Rs]

I have used the Kopper perch, bass, smelt and sunfish patterns successfully in the Kawarthas.

[Ben_Daniels]

I have an In-Fisherman mag somewhere with an article on Lake Erie Smallmouth, but I can't find it. It had a chart showing the diets of Smallmouth's based on stomach contents for a whole year for each month, their diet changed a lot from month to month if I remember right... gobies to perch to crawfish to shiners to....I think its at my parents house though, next time I'm over there I'll take a pic and post it. I'm thinking the live target perch would work really welll when there feeding on perch.

 

-Ben

Edited July 30, 2010 by Ben_Daniels

[Radnine]

Has anyone had any success using Koppers Live Target baits on Erie? I'm looking into picking up a few, particularly the smelt suspending bait in blue/silver. I fish Erie for smallmouth usually once a week and predominately use tubes, drop shots, and zenko's. Greens and purples seem to work the best. What works best for you?

 

I'm with you on the Senkos and tubes, but have never tried Koppers. I have a couple of them but have yet to catch a fish anywhere on one (I have to admit though, I don't really fish hard-body baits a whole bunch anymore).

We were out on the reef a couple of weeks back and our tubes/senkos got out fished by a guy drop shotting a worm (a real one, imagine!).

I also hear from the pro ranks that something called a "Rattle Trap" is killing smallies this year.

Good luck!

Jim

[zeeter]

The guy from fishful thinking was using Live Target on Erie. If you go to myoutdoortv.com and select his show it's the "Suspending Smelt for Bass & St. Clair Muskie" episode. I usually only use hard baits on Erie when I'm in New York State waters early in the season, but was thinking they might also work well on top of shallow reefs.

[T.Barry]

I also hear from the pro ranks that something called a "Rattle Trap" is killing smallies this year.

Good luck!

Jim

 

Yup new hot bait out this year.