smallies on Potato

[sami0115]

i caught 50 Smallies this last weekend on Potato. most were caught in the shallows near or on beds (all were released immediately) YUM dingers worked with great success as well as YUM crawdad (YUM's crayfish imitation that i Texas rigged)

water surface temps were between 68 & 72. the fish were very active, mostly males were caught.

largemouth activity was slow (i think they have moved deeper into the cabbage) i spent some time targeting them but gave up soon to fish the smallies..

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YIPPPPEEEEEEEE

[sami0115]

July 15 to 18:

surface temps 72-74
smallies have finally finished spawning. did manage to catch a few on topwaters (twitching a black and white rapala #11 near the surface and a 2 1/2 inch? clear Zara Spook)) also the YUM dingers are working well (color did not seem to make a difference, used junebug, white and green pumkin w/chart.)

i think they have moved into the cabbage or are suspending over deep water.

[NELS-BELLS]

Sami-
I love to fish Smallies and I've had fair success with just a black jig and 3" Pumpkin twister tail but I'd like to try these Yum Dingers you mentioned for some Potato smallies. Do you suggest rigging them Texas style or wacky? How much weight do you use if any? Last question: If you had to pick one color and size, what would it be?
Thanks, I'll let you know how I do.
Nels
PS CP&R of course.

[sami0115]

NELS:
i rig with a 3/0 Owner J-Hook, "Texas Style" (but use no weight) make sure that you run the hook down into the head of the bait about 1/2" and the have it come up into the slot on the worm to protect the hook. slide the head of the worm up over the eye of the hook and onto the line to cover the knot. this should give it the best fall so it is not diving head first. it should fall flat and shimmer while doing it. you can also fish it "wacky" by twitching and letting it fall. i have not found one color that works better than another. i have used "june bug", "green pumpkin w/ chart tip", "pearl w/silver fleck". i would also look into YUM's crawdad. it is an imitation crayfish that i have found to be very effective if the smallies are up on the rocks. i rig it Texas style with a red bead and brass bullet sinker. i have used a larger hook (4/0 or 5/0 Owner Wide Gap) to keep the bait sitting upright while dragging across the rocks.

[sami0115]

NELS:
i should have mentioned, i fish the YUM dingers by casting to a target and letting the dinger fall to the bottom, then wait. the experts say that you should retrieve immediately and the re-cast, but i have found that if i retrieve about 10 feet (just enought so that i can see the bait come to the surface) and then let it fall again, i can keep the bait in the water longer and cover more distance. also i seem to get follows periodically and if that happens i let the line go and the smallies hit it as it is falling.

when are you going to be on Potato?

[NELS-BELLS]

Thanks for the info. I am actually staying on Eagle lake the week of 7/24 - 8/1. I plan on taking the channel down to Potato at least a couple times during our stay.
This sounds like a real slow technique especially if I am fishing by myself. I still plan on trying it. I think I saw on one of your posts that you are going to be up the 31st. What kind of boat do you have? If I happen to be on Potato during that weekend, I will look for you. Maybe we can share some info over a beer or two.
Nels

[sami0115]

i'd love to have a beer... i will be in P.R. from July 31st (20th year h.s. reunion that eve.) thru Aug 8th. i should be out on the lake Sun. a.m. (Aug 1st) assuming my head isn't throbbing to bad.

i have a 17 1/2 Fisher Marsh Hawk (tan color) w/ 115 Merc. i'd love to meet you. i will probably be hanging in the west arm. or just around the corner in the main body, just south of the condos.

andy

[NELS-BELLS]

Well I made it down to Potato only one time during our week stay on Eagle L. It was early Saturday (7/31) morning and very foggy. Thank goodness for GPS. The first cast of the morning with a Devils horse (top water) and wham, I had a nice smally on. I proceeded to catch fish on top water for the first couple of hours and then when that slowed down I switched over to the YUM dingers. I had lots of fish on but my landing percentage was pretty low. I even sharpened the hook but it didn't seem to matter. I also notice that the technique worked the best when you spotted the fish and saw them bite because a lot of times I didn't feel the hit.
Anyway it was a great morning. Thanks for the tips Andy. I learned a new technique.

Nels

[sami0115]

glad to hear you had a good time. i was up last week, however i did not make it out Sunday a.m. (head just didn't feel quite right) fishing was tough all week, did o.k. in the early am in the bullrushes (caught a 4 lb largie) but as the day went on and the sun was up in the sky it go tough. i will be going up labor day weekend and hopefully will report better news.