i was fishing in lake stevens (the half of the lake near the aerators... won't tell where :)), and i found a place with many little baitfish swimmin around, sparse cover with a few large branches and tree trunks, and fish jumping around every now and then. i tied on a Rapala Jointed Shad Rap Size about 2 and 1/3 inches, Crawdad color. I casted it under an overhanging tree and started retrieving with a twitching presentation after the ripples subsided. Immediately, a smallmouth bass struck the lure. i thought i hooked her on deep enough, and when she was so close to the boat, she got away. I was pissed. i moved a little to the east along the shoreline, and found some more baitfish. i switched my crawdad colored one to a perch colored jointed shad rap. after a few casts into the semi deep (about 14 feet), and reeling in with a continuous no jerking/twitching retrieve, a HUGE smallie bit. I hooked her on, and landed the Monster 6 pound smallmouth. Probably the largest smallmouth i've ever caught. Definitely bigger than the 5 pound smalie i caught in lake washington last year with a texas-rigged twin tail grub. Crankbaits really seem to work right now, especially the jointed ones that are not fat (like those wiggle-wart crankbaits, i'm talking more like minnow baits). Use the suspending kinds.... floating ones and sinking ones just don't seem to work.

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