Late in the year, the goal is to catch as many fish as possible, by any means necessary. From now until first ice, every bite is precious, as smallmouth bites can dwindle and lessen weekly due to cooling waters and low metabolism. Many anglers nowadays over-rely on forward-facing sonars in late season, while others live for the simplicity and relaxations of live bait fishing.  Live bait, scorned by the elite and traditional bass angler, is northwoods fishing culture, and has been this way since the turn of the 20th century for every gamefish species. This new-age old-school, non-traditional smallmouth angler salivates at this cold water fishing strategy once we roll into middle of October. Per Wisconsin hook and line fishing regulations, up to 3 lines per angler are allowed. This allows me to run a spread of 2 live bait rigs trailing behind the boat, and am able to continue casting with artificial lures. This multi-tasking approach leads me to trophy smallmouths every October and November.  I slide my intricate live bait set-ups into the two Scotty rod holders mounted at the boat’s stern. Most days of the week, I run two lines out of the back end.