Have you used a whopper plopper style lure?

[OhioFisherman]

It's interesting how locations and personal experience can dictate lure choices? A surface lure here would be about last on my list for targeting smallies. I caught a lot of bass at Pointe Au Baril on surface lures, but I can't recall any of them being smallies.

The 90 mm size looks smallie size, just guessing a 110 mm would be too, but I didn't see that size in a knock off. The 130 looks more largemouth - pike sized to me, but it could work for crazy smallies?

[AKRISONER]

1 hour ago, OhioFisherman said:

I caught a lot of bass at Pointe Au Baril on surface lures, but I can't recall any of them being smallies.

 

shame you are retired from wetting lines ohio...i would take you out and show you how to put 20lbs in the boat in the early season using spooks no problem.

 

Once the middle of August hits the topwater bite vanishes...but June...look the hell out.

 

My PB was caught on the weekend following opener using a zara spook jr, stupid me didnt weigh it...you can call it a 2lber if you want. I know it was the biggest ive caught.

 

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Edited February 21, 2018 by AKRISONER

[OhioFisherman]

LOL, it was a forced retirement! I know there are good ones there, and I would still rate PAB as my favorite place to fish!

[BillM]

My oldman loves the Zara Spook Jr, probably his fav topwater bait.   Some days it's what the fish want, some days it's not.  

[OhioFisherman]

Part of the fun of fishing to me Bill, figuring out what lure was going to work on any given day. You can look like a hero one day and a zero the next?

[BillM]

Absolutely man, patterning out the fish is the best part!    and my oldman wonders why I've got 6 rods at the front of the boat    

[SaugaPikeSlayer]

Had what I consider great success first time using one after work at a Toronto marina. Senkos, paddle tails, and square bills werent catching anything. Hooked up 3 smallies in under an hour once I started tossing the WP. Used a 90 Perch. 

My only issue with them is if anything gets stuck on the rotor, the body starts to spin and if you don’t have a swivel your line will twist. They only work well where there is no crap floating on the surface. As well, the front hook would occasionally catch my line. I’m going to switch it out to #6. 

Otherwise highly recommended. Wish I had one earlier. 

 

Edited July 16, 2018 by SaugaPikeSlayer

[BillM]

Run heavy mono instead of flouro for a leader, it doesn't sink and won't snag that front hook.

[OhioFisherman]

59 minutes ago, SaugaPikeSlayer said:

Had what I consider great success first time using one after work at a Toronto marina. Senkos, paddle tails, and square bills werent catching anything. Hooked up 3 smallies in under an hour once I started tossing the WP. Used a 90 Perch. 

My only issue with them is if anything gets stuck on the rotor, the body starts to spin and if you don’t have a swivel your line will twist. They only work well where there is no crap floating on the surface. As well, the front hook would occasionally catch my line. I’m going to switch it out to #6. 

Otherwise highly recommended. Wish I had one earlier. 

 

A short shank treble the same size may help? Possibly the mechanics of your cast? Mono will sink, I used big chubs and shiners under a slip float, one of the issues was figuring out if I had all the slack line in from them wandering around, and I was usually using 14 - 20 # mono.

If you need your line to float? that stuff will work on it too.

[SaugaPikeSlayer]

That’s cool. Will have to try it out. Does it affect the invisibilty of fluoro?

I have about 18” of 20# fluoro leader on braid. 

[OhioFisherman]

LOL Sauga, the bad thing about fish traveling in schools? they are learning? No idea, my experience with fluoro was limited to berkley vanish and that not often, just usually didn't see a need for it.

Really no issues with vanish either, except that it seemed to get nicked up easier than mono around areas with the zebra mussels, and that may have been just me fishing lower and slower during a tough bite.

[David Chong]

They have their place and time! Very popular in the Mid-West, still prefer a walking style bait like a LC Sammy or Yo-Zuri Pencil. On bodies of water where there is a good schooling shad bite, they are every effective.

[Sterling]

On 7/16/2018 at 11:36 AM, SaugaPikeSlayer said:

That’s cool. Will have to try it out. Does it affect the invisibilty of fluoro?

I have about 18” of 20# fluoro leader on braid. 

There's fluoro and then there's fluoro "leader material". I didn't know there was a difference until recently. The fluoro "leader material" they sell is incredibly rigid and wants to spring out of your spool, so be careful with how much you put on. Personally I'm a big fan of fluoro.

This pike was caught on a whopper plopper earlier this year. It was wavy, cloudy but I was antsy to try it out and got this baby on my 2nd cast.