40 lb. bag of smallies

[Mark Perry]

Certainly is public water, and I will say it's hard to really claim its a "secret" lake when publicly posted tournament results have been available on it for years. That said, calling up and inviting youtubers / social media guys is definitely a move that is going to draw eyeballs that would've never read the tournament results.

You guys would hate Fork and Rayburn if crowds bothered you....

[brnzbaklvr]

Kudos to the guy for boating a 40lb sack of smallies. But you know the saying be careful what you wish for? Well, all those who support the Googan Squad and want to "grow the sport" are getting exactly what you wished for. IMO, this type of behavior and the whole YT clickbait culture in bass fishing started around the time the googans took off. The main reason the Northern smallmouth fisheries haven't been as wrecked as G'ville etc is because of the winters and the wind keeping the bass from getting hammered 24/7/365.

Michigan has thousands of lakes and the Great lakes so that spreads everyone out so that helps.....Plus there are so many different species and ways to fish here that you can pretty much choose a different way to chase fish every day of the week...
I started jigging for Salmon and Lake trout on the big lakes last year....Holy Crap is that fun....

[Okie Poke]

Dang! What’s the Idaho state record for a smallie? Fixing to go to my bedroom and pack my bags…..

[bass-o-maticjm]

Certainly is public water, and I will say it's hard to really claim its a "secret" lake when publicly posted tournament results have been available on it for years. That said, calling up and inviting youtubers / social media guys is definitely a move that is going to draw eyeballs that would've never read the tournament results.

Can't blame it all on Youtube. BASS has been exploiting lakes for years with their yearly top 100 lists. Remember reading it in magazines prior to the internet? I do!

[Mcjenson]

You guys would hate Fork and Rayburn if crowds bothered you....

It's funny I've fished down at Falcon and I can remember the guide getting annoyed with "crowds" and I was thinking good lord you call this crowded? Guy hasn't experienced the parking lot style fishing during salmon runs or walleye spawns up here . That said, I know Fork crowds I'm sure are insane compared to Falcon.

[Poppin' Frog]

Same thing happened to Headwaters. Everytime these guys post videos about a big bag the lake gets annihilated

[ColdSVT]

Psh...i got 50 lbs of smallies one day last year in NY...course i caught 20 smallies to get there lol

[Mcjenson]

Enite lake being a dead zone in 3...2..

I think the rumors of the lakes demise are not going to be true. Might be a little tougher, but the population will be fine. That lake is a pain to get to for PNW people, I can't imagine trying to get there from California / Texas / Midwest. Plus it's a big reservoir, relatively few launches / facilities, and brutal weather for a decent chunk of the year.

[Aj14]

I just look at it like it's public water.


I am a shallow water guy but it stuns me to see people dismiss these guys catching crazy bags of big fish by using FFS. Calling it cheating or easy just makes no sense to me. It's anything but easy.

I know and I get it.
It is easy when you know how to use it.
You can find them using basic seasonal knowledge, dropping the trolling motor down and scanning to the left and right.
If you catch them or not, just by seeing them live you know when to leave or not.
That yes impressive catch would not have been able to be accomplished two years ago. That's how fast this technology has evolved.
It's not hard to realize that when you have 20 year old kids winning major tournaments with FFS.
Lastly, I'm not against it, just showing an honest feeling of it which I believe many have also.
And the more I post my opinions like this and not buy this system, the more I will keep losing tournaments against these guys.
I will soon have to join the crowd to remain competitive. I get that.

[Big dreams]

I think the rumors of the lakes demise are not going to be true. Might be a little tougher, but the population will be fine. That lake is a pain to get to for PNW people, I can't imagine trying to get there from California / Texas / Midwest. Plus it's a big reservoir, relatively few launches / facilities, and brutal weather for a decent chunk of the year.

Every lake I know of goes through cycles. Just a matter of time. Big girls don't come easy and learn fast. No big deal, just need to find the next gem before the Internet does.

[Mark Perry]

I know and I get it.
It is easy when you know how to use it.
You can find them using basic seasonal knowledge, dropping the trolling motor down and scanning to the left and right.
If you catch them or not, just by seeing them live you know when to leave or not.
That yes impressive catch would not have been able to be accomplished two years ago. That's how fast this technology has evolved.
It's not hard to realize that when you have 20 year old kids winning major tournaments with FFS.
Lastly, I'm not against it, just showing an honest feeling of it which I believe many have also.
And the more I post my opinions like this and not buy this system, the more I will keep losing tournaments against these guys.
I will soon have to join the crowd to remain competitive. I get that.

I don't think anything about FFS is easy. I feel I have a decent grasp on seasonal patterns and locations but I am not out there scoping up 10-14lb largemouth or a 8lb average smallmouth with ease. Very, very few are doing that. Less than 5% of FFS guys.

[Big dreams]

I don't think anything about FFS is easy. I feel I have a decent grasp on seasonal patterns and locations but I am not out there scoping up 10-14lb largemouth or a 8lb average smallmouth with ease. Very, very few are doing that. Less than 5% of FFS guys.

Nobody is doing it with ease. They are getting a lure to a fish that normally doesn't have a lure presented to it. It is new and like I said, big girls don't fall for gimmicks often. The ones these guys are after are situational and they are lucky they are that big. Sooner than later the big girls will have to be caught a different way... probably back to the roots of bass fishing with an old lure from the 70's.

[Rangerdeepv]

[Mark Perry]

Nobody is doing it with ease. They are getting a lure to a fish that normally doesn't have a lure presented to it. It is new and like I said, big girls don't fall for gimmicks often. The ones these guys are after are situational and they are lucky they are that big. Sooner than later the big girls will have to be caught a different way... probably back to the roots of bass fishing with an old lure from the 70's.

I honestly think all these people scoping out on popular lakes etc are gonna push a bunch of fish back to shallow water.

I catch my fair share of big fish up shallow and will just keep doing my thing. I occasionally fool with my 360 and FFS but I will always prefer tve shallow bite. It's been good to me.

No one is getting lucky and those fish "happen" to be big. Those guys understand the whole game and FFS is just one of the tools they use. As I said a handful of guys catching 10-14lb bass fairly regularly is more than just stumbling across them.

[RNKingCx19]

55 followers on this site. If he releases them let’s go get em. Learn how he’s getting it done.

[yatesville88fan]

I really doubt he make much if anything with that few of followers. He caught them legally. Congrats to him that was a heck of a bunch of smallmouth good for him.

[jlperkins]

Dang! What’s the Idaho state record for a smallie? Fixing to go to my bedroom and pack my bags…..

If you come through Ky I will pay for the gas !!!!!!

[250bassFL]

[castforcash]

Maybe it will take some of the pressure off from Michigan smallmouth...
They are getting some nice Walleyes through the ice out west also.....
It has to be good for the economy, local guides and outdoor stores to get some free press......
Lake pressure goes in cycles....Just try to fish where no one else is at...Its alot like hunting public land... Dont get tied to any one spot or pattern..

I almost don't even enjoy LSC anymore. Waaaayyyy too many people following bent pole pattern. Last summer I was out perch fishing and lost count of how many people pulled up on me just because I was in a bassboat. I was basically out in the middle of the lake where I thought I wouldn't be bothered.

I'm not bashing this guy, it is a very impressive day on the water and a day to remember no doubt! I'm sure places like Fork, Rayburn and Guntersville are crazy as well. You would be amazed as stated earlier in this thread if you experienced shoulder to shoulder combat fishing on the Manistee River at Tippy dam, or the walleye run on the Maumee River in Ohio. The Detroit River is stacked with boats every spring with boats jigging for walleye. Before the internet and social media it was no where near as busy as it is now. I'm not yelling at clouds, just pointing out what we all have experienced. Congrats to the guy who caught that once in a lifetime limit, but I feel like he should've done a better job of concealing where this happened.

[basscat tyler]

I saw this come across my Instagram a while ago. Not the video but pictures of each fish. He’s caught some really nice fish from there.