Presque Isle Smallmouth

Going to Erie on the 23rd fishing for smallmouth looking for current water temps in the bay

thanks For the info Fishing should be good

Sounds good how's the smallmouth bite

Didn't see many caught on Sat. Lot of boats on the bay and they lake.

Glad to see we weren't the only ones struggling on Saturday. Thought it might have been us, though the number of boats running around led me to believe others weren't catching either. We managed 6 smallies, 1 largie, 4 sheep, 1 pike, 1 rock bass and a snagged goby.

I thought it was just me.  With the nice day I decided to go out straight from work (gear was already in the truck).  Only caught 1 and it was an effin rock bass.  I never struggled this much to land fish ever before.  Must have lost 6-7 consecutive hook-ups.  All on tubes, with high quality, sharp hooks.  Maybe the bite was slow and they were just grabbing the tail.  I'm at a loss for explanation.

It was nice to get out, but would have been more productive going home and mowing the lawn.

ORIGINAL: Claypool313

I thought it was just me.  With the nice day I decided to go out straight from work (gear was already in the truck).  Only caught 1 and it was an effin rock bass.  I never struggled this much to land fish ever before.  Must have lost 6-7 consecutive hook-ups.  All on tubes, with high quality, sharp hooks.  Maybe the bite was slow and they were just grabbing the tail.  I'm at a loss for explanation.

It was nice to get out, but would have been more productive going home and mowing the lawn.

 
Couple things could have been happening to cause the lost fish. They could have been getting only the end of the tube in their mouth, like you mentioned. Bedded fish will do that frequently.
The other, smallies have incredible jaw strength. They clamp down on the tube and when you set the hook, it barely moves in their mouth, and you either get poor penetration or no penetration. They will hang on for awhile, but all they have to do is open thier mouth and the tube comes flying out.
One other possibility, if the tubes you are using are thick, the hook on the heads may be too small, and not allowing good penetration. I pour all my own tube heads on 4/0 hooks, either Mustad Ultra Points, or Gamakatsu hooks. The 4/0 seems to help with thicker tubes.

I agree, I do the same thing. When you couple rod bend, line strech, hook flex, all when the jaws are clamped down, it sometimes makes for poor penetration. Nothing worse than setting the hook, fighting the fish for a brief period of time, only to have it sky rocket out of the water with the fish going one way and the tube going the other. Seems that if you can reel as fast as possible, and pump the rod a few times as you're doing so, the landing percentage goes way up.

I make my own tube heads.  smallest hooks I use are 4/0 Gammies (for 2.5" tubes).  I also make them with 5/0 and 6/0.  I found the bigger hooks give a higher hook-up percentage because the longer shank.  The 6/0 heads are almost as long as the 3.5" tubes.  If they are just nipping the tails, they get hooked.

I've been out twice, May 20th and 28th. Most smallies came on jigs tipped with shiners, some on stick baits, some on wacky worm rigs and some on Super Flukes