Really nice fish. I'll bet he was Beaming!
My Grandson hasn't "Gotten th' OK from Grandma yet...For the boat..", he's five...but recently I got SEGA Bass-fishin' for the playstation, it should give him some good ideas about baits, lures and presentations. (And "cover types")
Pier-fishing around here sucks.
My brother will be here later this month, we are going to Delavan Lake, here in wisconsin. It's a really good lake for all species, and of late the smallies numbers are coming up nicely.14" to 17" are the average, there have been 22-24" caught in the last couple years.
Pike and Muskies are all over the shallows, some 'o them in the 42" range.