lknbassman

Ran in to a buddy today and we talked about this some. He knows the guy and says he does it to secure short striking fish. Says it reduces the image of the bait in the water but still gives the bass plenty of treble loaded plug to take a whack at. As far as action goes he says it does not affect the "walk" of the bait but does affect the drift some so if you are going for the big lazy "Z" or sashay type of walking presentation where the bait drifts between jerks or reel winding this may not be right for you. I'm going to change one up and see for myself here.

Agreed, That's the all time top producer hands down in my book.

OK, so I have a bunch of topwater plugs that I love to use and wanted to hear from you guys on some things that you are doing also. My top plug baits this Summer have been the Lucky Craft Sammy 100 and Zara Spook Super Spook Jr along with Pop-R's, and Brian's Bees Prop-Bees. My question has to do with using a Feather Treble. Seems like it helps more than it hurts. What do you think? Also, I saw a guy on a fishing show successfully using a Sammy 100 with the Feather Treble on the Front Hook not on the back hook??? and was wondering why rig it that way and if it would affect the walking action of the bait or is it just a "different look" that he's after? Let me know what you think guys. Thanks!

No offense taken and thanks for the comments. This problem is unique to this fishing presentation only for me. I don't miss many with the pegged TX rigged worm, shakey head, or the jig which means I don't deal with too many deeply hooked fish so I don't think it's so much a lack of skill but instead a loss of feel due to a "disconnection" with the bait by means of it not being connected to the weight and in effect dead sticked and just sitting there doing nothing floating or laying on the bottom which is the top senko presentation from what I've learned over the years. Our water is hot and the fish are not real aggressive from sunup through sundown anyway so the strike is VERY subtle with these fish right now. Finesse fishing this deep, warm, very clear water is what's going on here right now for the high % and number of bites. When rigged this way the stick bait is basically dead sticked floating or sitting on the bottom and then gently engulfed. My guess is that a fish may or may not swim away rapidly with it for a moment or two. In over 50 fish catches over the past 2 weeks rarely has the line rapidly taken off. I've had maybe 7 deeply hooked fish out of the 50 or so I've caught using this rig over the past couple of weeks but it's 7 too many in my book. The bite using this approach is more like it (the line) SLOWLY starts moving and then I simply reel down and the fish is on. This presentation gives them an easy meal and doesn't require a fast getaway I'm guessing so they can just cruise up, eat it, and cruise away nice and casual like from what I can tell. We saw this same issue at Falcon Lake with the elite series pros this year and a lot of fish died because of it. They fished big 14-16" worms TX rigged and on Carolina rigs in really deep water and had a TON of deeply hooked fish as a result of it. A Carolina rig when rigged with a wacky style bait can create this same type of issue now and again. The angler doesn't know he's been bit until he takes up the slack on the "dead sticked" line and tension loads the weight and the bait to see if there is anything on the other end of it other than his bait. The disconnection is for sure what's happening and I don't know what else I can do to prevent deeply hooked fish on this rig other than go to a smaller hook that might not get so deeply engulfed before the line starts swimming away and I get the signal to set the hook which seems to be the most common senko "bite"for me and most other tournament anglers I've talked about detecting the senko bite. I have several straight shank hook sizes that I can try. I've also thought about mashing the barb straight down so I can get the fish freed up that much easier and more quickly. If anybody else has any ideas on fishing this rig more effectively please share what you know as it is catching finicky Summer bass better than anything else I'm using right now. I'm just looking for ways to use this rig without killing any of the fish if I can avoid it. Thanks for the help guys.

Guys, been fishing the Senko, Yum Dinger, and other stick baits this Summer as usual and am TX rigging Gammy 4/0 EWG with an unpegged 1/8oz tungsten bullet weight on 12# 100% flourocarbon line. Fishing has not been deadsticking as much as just hopping the bait and weight and letting the weight really swim the bait erratically back to the bottom. Super effective technique but not without consequences. I've been catching them really good this year but am getting a ton of deep hooked fish that are either tounge hooked or gullet hooked and for the smaller ones I am unable to employ the the In Fisherman technique of deep hook removal by going through the gill turning the hook upside down and removing it so I'm cutting the hook at the bend and taking it out in 2 pieces or if it's real bad cutting the line, getting the bait and the weight out and trimming the excess and releasing the fish hoping that it will survive which I doubt as they are usually bleeding badly by the time I lip them and bring them aboard. I'm not having this issue with any other baits worms, jigs, etc only the stick baits rigged this way with the weight sliding freely on the line. I'm using a Gammy 4/0 EWG and was thinking of downsizing with the hope that the hookset will be delayed just by that small bit of time and the hook point will penetrate the mouth or top of the head as opposed to being swallowed. These fish just love that bait and they take it in deep when they eat it. Detecting the strike with it rigged that way is tough and I'd like to get any advice you guys have for getting better quality hooksets with these types of baits rigged this way so that I don't unintentionally kill any of our fish. Thanks for the help.

Here it is in a fishtank. Doesn't get much clearer than that. Shows the lures action albeit's being worked a bit fast but hey it's a fish tank.... I just put in an order for 2 packs of *'s with the guys at ***. Will let you know how it goes with them here on Lake Norman. I got the green pumpkin and the watermelon seed with red and gold flake.

Want to see it in action? Here is it courtesy of John Crews of SPRO doing a demo on YOU TUBE.

Looks great. Hope it works AND holds up better than the Strike King King Shad. That thing broke apart in no time with plastic joints holding it together.... > Contacted SK and they say a new one is on the way (3 weeks ago) so we'll see. Regardless, this bait from SPRO looks incredible and with 2 more joints in the body probably swims much in a much more realistic manner as well. Nice paint job too! $20 committed on my end when it's available......

Exactly.... Every when? It's more like how many thousands a year?

Was using a spinnerbait box by Bass Pro Shops (XPS spinnerbait box) but had the same issue so I went to a spinner bait wallet. They make it as does Falcon Lures and other manufacturers. It works like a CD case for your music except the sleeves are 4" X 4" ziploc bags with metal rings in a soft backed 3 ring binder. You open the end up and slide your SB in there and you are good to go. Each SB has its own sleeve so no tangling and you can label the outside of the bag so you know what you are grabbing weight wise. You can add or take sleeves out of the binder too which is great. Gotta give a big hand to John Crews from the elite series and Anglers Choice Marine in Martinsville, VA for that tip. He turned me on to that approach and it's the best. The binder is super easy to stow also and takes up very little room!

Hype? Maybe.... Effective? YES! If you are fishing a body of water with pelagic baitfish such as Blueback Herring this bait will catch fish. I caught 2 personal best's with the series 5 during the post spawn here back to back with it. That's a rare occasion in my book so I am a fan. Also the spots love the red eye shad in that color 1/2oz in both the flat and the chromed versions around here anyway. I bet smallies will go for it too. So yes, it works and as far as the others copying it: "Imitation is the best form of flattery" -Benjamin Franklin circa 1775

Not a hot seller I take it? Anybody other than me got any of these critters?

Looking at doing some small mouth fishing and understand these will produce along with some others I'll be using. Wondering if you guys have thrown these and if so what you thought about them? Action, durability, type of bite you got, type of hookset you were able to get (clean ones where they ate it or foul hooks due to side swipes). Thanks for any feed back.

Update here: yesterday I bought some Falcon Lures "K Wacky Hooks" and tried them today in a 3/0 weightless and weedless model on a 5" Yammasenko and on a 5" Yum Dinger. Had plenty of bites, let the fish take it and run so my line was moving laterally and I lost every bite I had... The wire guard is too heavy and the hook point never made contact with the fish or if it did it did not penetrate enough to hold them and allow for a single handle turn... So it's back to the experiment of finding a wacky hook for a 5" stickbait, senko, yum dinger, etc that I can fish weedless with the "O" rings. Any info you guys have would be much appreciated. Thanks gents!

Guys, I've been fishing Senkos, Yum Dingers, etc for some time with a lot of success in regard to number of bites but am losing more fish this way than ever and think it has to do with hook size on a 5" stick bait. I'm using "O" rings on Senkos and Yum Dingers with a 2/0 Gammakatsu Wide Gap Finesse Hook that has a weedless wire guard on it and fishing them wacky style. The 2/0 gammy hook is the largest I've seen available with a wire guard and I'm fishing these baits in heavy laydowns and brush quite a lot so not going weedless means losing lots of baits and hooks. My thinking is that a 2/0 with the "O" ring is so small that the hook doesn't penetrate due to the size of the bait as deeply as a larger hook would. Wondering what you are using for this presentation when having to go weedless and avoid snags in heavy cover? If you have a 3/0 weedless wide gap hook that you like please mention it and provide a url if you know it so we can check it out. Thanks!

Am thinking of getting a few to try for myself but have not seen them first hand. They have a variety of colors some that don't look like the bait fish I'm used to seeing for bass (Threadfin, Gizzard, Blue Back Herring, etc). What's been the most productive color and size in this bait for LM and spots? IM me if it's easier but I'd be the other guys would like to know also. Thanks.

JCRZY4BASS, thanks so much for that information. I really really appreciate it. I'm doing as much prep for this as I would any major tournament as I really want him to have a ball while we are out there. He's never been on a bass boat or been on the water with an angler who can pattern fish so I'm hopeful that I don't get skunked and want to do as much preparation for this trip as I can. I really appreciate your help. It's getting to the point where I don't know how many days we'll get to share together on the water and I want to make sure he has as much fun as I used to when he'd take me fishing. It comes around full circle and it's my turn now to make sure the trip is great. Thanks again!

Guys, my dad is a senior citizen, lives up on Lake Anna, and he's not much on fishing other than from his dock so he's pretty limited with regard to his total lake fishing knowlege and does not understand patterns and seasonal migration etc that much. He's never been on a bass boat and I'm coming up to take him fishing and hoefully really put a smile on his face. I on the other hand do understand fish movement, seasonal patterns, etc and do fish competitively. But I live down on Lake Norman in NC. I'd like to bring my boat up to Anna for Fathers Day and take him out for a couple of days fishing but don't know squat about the lake, never fished it other than from his dock now and again, so all I'm bringing with me has to do with general post spawn and Summer patterns and I'll be starting from scratch. I do have the Navionics Platinum chip in my boat so I'll have a lake map and the contour lines as well as the 3D rendering of the lake bottom so I won't be totally clueless but what I don't know is what depths are the fish generally and on what kind of cover or structure? I know Anna is relatively shallow compared to some other lakes but it does have channels, boat docks, grass, etc so they are in there somewhere. Just need to know where to start looking so me and the old man have some fun and I can make Fathers Day great for him. I have to imagine that the lake is in a post spawn pattern and early Summer pattern now so are points, outside grass lines, and docks the places to look for them or will I find them off shore on structure? Any advice and general locations to locate some fish would be much appreciated. Again, if you need ANY information on Lake Norman just look on this site under the NC/SC Bass Club link or the Fishing Reports By State link and you will see the detail that I provide. I'm all for helping guys have a great time and a successful tournament. I'll sure be grateful for anyone who could do the same for me and my pops. Thanks to each of you! If posting makes you uneasy re: your secrets please send me an email at cdaymude1@windstream.net I'll completely respect that fact that you want your comments to be kept confidential if you wish. Thanks again for any help!

Homer Circle's "Bass Wisdom". It's a great read and very informative. If you are a science guy the In Fisherman series on Largemouth Bass and Bass Location are pretty good too but a lot less entertaining and kind of dry yet full of good information.

Catt said it best. It's a migration right? They move up from the Winter into Pre Spawn, they move in and Spawn and then they move back out for the Post Spawn and get in to their Summer pattern. Just think about where you caught them back in early Spring before they got on the beds and that's where they should be. Points, drop offs near the spawning flats, bluff walls, etc are all good places to look. If you have grass in your fishery then check both inside and outside weed lines. Remember that regardless of spawn phase bass are edge creatures and relate to edges more than any other kind of structure. They are an ambush predator and don't fight fair out in the open water that much so find your best cover, depth, and structure that affords them the best opportunity to eat and not get caught or killed and that's your seasonal honey hole most likely. Summer patterns may differ depending on your fishery. Our Summer and post spawn patterns are very similar until Fall sets in. Don't forget to throw your topwater stuff too. Good luck.

No issues at all. I'm running 2 Lowrance 520c units linked together with the new 2008 Platinum chip in the dash mount unit. I had to update the firmware on the unit to version 2.3.0 before the chip would work. I send Lowrance $8 and they sent me a chip loaded and ready to go. I put it in, powered it up, it updated, took it out, powered it down, put the new chip in, and it works fine. The new 3D stuff is amazing. The photos are not that useful but the 3D overlay is out of sight. Really great stuff. Lowrance is supposed to come out with something this year that will put Side Imaging on its ear. Hope they can actually pull it off.

Best one so far Glenn. His insight and tell it like it is approach makes him one of the most sought after BASS pros from a fan stand point. It's easy to see why he's so successful marketing himself, he's very believable because he's simply telling the truth. That was really a pleasure to watch and I can't help but pull for him whenever he's in the field.

Yes, it's having an effect. I run a 21ft Triton with a 250 Pro XS and it uses gas, lots of gas. Oh yeah so does my V8 pickup that I pull it with.... At $3.65/ga it's cutting down on a lot of my fishing fun... I'm not all that happy about it either... >

Thanks for the feed back on this guys. I'm struggling with how it installs so the previous post should be helpful for that. I have my Lowrance units linked together on one tranducer that's through hull which I like for clean install purposes. If I use a side imaging unit or two, are they; 1) "Networkable" with regard to GPS, waypoints, sonar, etc? 2) Working off of the same sonar transducer? 3) Seperate Side Imaging transducer right? Only one for 2 units or one for each?? 4) Hard wire capable for integration into the TM? My MK Maxxum has a built in transducer that my Lowrance bow mount unit is tied into. I'm really liking the sales pitch. The video of it in action with Hank Parker on the sideimaging site is amazing when you actually see it in action. Gotta dispell the bunk from reality though so you guys who know the good the bad and the ugly on these things please keep the information coming. That's a lot of cash to lay down and be sorry for later. Thanks again for the help

Good interview. When he says stick with what you know, did he happen to tell you after the camera was off what his strong suits are? I recall seeing him at Smith Mtn Lake fishing a Jig in deep water which if I recall he ended up winning that event I believe. What do we know about his strong suits if anything. Thanks again for posting.