J Francho

I like it - very creative. Just remember, one who sports a tat, knows where its at! (FYI, I do not sport a tat, LOL)

I was going to go somewhere along the lines of Maximus Redneckus.... Mastering the Senko is less about the bait itself, and more about location. its a "spot on the spot" type of bait. If you are simply wacky rigging them, I suggest getting some 3/0 Owner Wide Gap Plus hooks, and learning how to rig them weedless, do a search for "texposed" or "Texas rigging." This will allow you to throw the baits into heavier cover, skip under docks and overhanging limbs. If that is what your doing already, then grab some 2/0 Gamakatsu Wide Gap Finesse hooks, and try wacky rigging them. This is a great way to sight fish, targeting either fish you can see or visible pockets at close range. While you are buying some tackle, do what roadwarrior says, and grab some Fat Ikas, and those same Owners in 4/0 or 5/0 size. There will be days when the Senko gets totally ignored (I know, hard to believe, but true) and the Ika gives the fish a different look. Another thing you want to do is pick up some "search" baits. A spinnerbait is a great tool for locating concentrations of bass. Once you locate them, go to work with the slower plastics presentations like Senkos. You're next step would be to try using a classic Texas rig, with a bullet weight. A good bait to start with is Berkley 7" Power Worms. A 1/4 oz. bullet weight, and a 3/0 Owner Offset Worm hook rounds out the terminal gear. There are a ton of articles on each of these here, and spend some time reading them, and practicing what you learned on the water. As you progress, start looking into crankbaits, jerkbaits, flukes, jigs, and alternate terminal rigs, like the Carolina rig, split shot rig, Mojo rig, etc. The learning process is never ending. Good luck.

Adjust spool tension for the weight of the lure, and brakes to the casting conditions.

I had the same question recently, and here is Anna Kittoe's reponse: That said, you could always give this dealer a call: http://www.gloomis.us/Default.aspx, as they have one of the LARGEST inventories of G. Loomis, and see what they can do.

65# braid or 12# P-Line CXX. Depends on the substrate. I'll sometimes run a leader with braid, but usually that's because the "other" reel isn't in the boat.

Consider the source! Last week, they said SSW 5-10, which in reality was due N at 30 mph!

Braid works GREAT on spinning reels, too. I'd say 15# P-line on a spinning reel is a bear to manage. This rod is rigged with 15# PowerPro braid and 6# CFX leader: Result:

Go to Google. Type, "VT Fishing Regs" Take 1st link listed Click on "2009 Guide to Hunting, Fishing & Trapping Laws (no maps).pdf" Turn to p. 94.

Nice job Roger! I too love the J-spoons! I've generally used a single grub trailer, or pork as a trailer, but I'm going to try a double tail today at lunchtime Nice report.

I actually let myself get suckered into another, but it was a free beater to tide me over, and get me to work until I could buy a better car. I gave that second ford away to a young kid, and the freaking thing caught on fire day later! Oh well, LOL.

1977 Chevy Monte Carlo 1982 Pontiac Skylark "Bro-Ham" Edition 1977 Chevy Imapala 2-door Fastback rear window 1976 Ford Granada (Is that your new Mercedes?....No, its my new Ford...") Piece of crap. 1986 Olds Firenza 1982 Pontiac Bonneville 1986 Jeep Cherokee Chief 1987 Chevy Celebrity 1994 Chevy Camaro Z28 1987 Ford Taurus 1992 Chevy Lumina Sedan current: 1996 Nissan Maxima SE, 190K, a little rusty, scratched up, dinged, makes funny noises once in a while, but knock on wood - that car owes me nothing. Bought her new, and the only failure I had was a $900 transmission at 90K, which was probably my own fault for driving the snot out of her.

You may also want to switch to braid to gain greater sensitivity of the bite. If you are worried about abrasion, use a leader from fluorocarbon. I like P-Line CFX leaders. I use braid on my drop shot/light plastics rig, heavy cover/flipping stick, and my weightless plastics rig. An improved Allbright knot has been working well for the line to leader connection. I've also used triple surgeon's and Uni to Uni connections with success. retie after every two or three fish, though.

P-Line CXX in 15#, pre treated with KVD L&L.

Owner 5/0 offset worm hooks:

And I don't have access to Florida strain largemouth... Several of those that entered top finishing smallmouths also had secondary largemouths that beat your fish. My LARGEMOUTH scored a 57. T-Rage also had a high scoring largemouth. Personally, I'd like to see it split by species, since I think we northerners have a bit of an advantage, seeing as the largest smallies are concentrated shallow during the spawn. At any rate, its impressive group of catches, and everyone should be proud that entered fish. I know the smallie I entered was the 2nd biggest of my life.

We were using XH flipping sticks. Burnie likes 20 or 30# TripleFish fluorocarbon, while I use 50 or 65# PowerPro. I think he had a BPS Extreme saddled with the new Ardent flipping reel, I use a Kistler with a Daiwa TDX103HSDL. We both use the same rip set with these baits. Imagine ripping a weed (or tree) out of the ground, and throwing over your shoulder in one powerful swing. Basically, your tip is up, to detect the take, you are gently moving the bait, and once the fish takes it, you drop your tip, reel down, and swing. We mostly stood shoulder to shoulder on the front deck, though a few times I was behind in the back. You gotta stay aware, or 1/2 oz. of tungsten will bean you on your bean. Trust me, it hurts, I did it to myself at Smith Mountain Lake.

Congrats Dwight, and thanks for sharing that spectacular fish with us!

Cabomba?

I plead the 5th! I have NO IDEA how those brush piles got there, LOL....

Dan, for the most part, we were pitching beds, and while there is wood in that water, the beds are more associated with docks. I carry a piece of dowel with a small nitch that I use to remove snags. Usually the hook point is bent, but sometimes you bring a chunk of cover back

I can't say that I have any one strength, more of a jack of all baits....I won't finish that statement, too much innuendo, LOL. I will say that ice out, prespawn, and spawn are definitely a WEAKNESS in my bass fishing. Much is due in part to only recently having this season open to catch and release in much of NY state. I can honestly say, that this is the area that has seen huge leaps in improvement the past three years, culminating in some truly great fish this year. So, I suppose I can list constantly learning as a strength.

Jeez, why people get so sensitive about this....I guess the word "benchmark" doesn't mean what it used to. What I was saying, is that the newer record seems more substantiated than Perry's in my eyes. That said, Perry's record is still the benchmark, anything smaller is not a world record, anything bigger is. :

I use them too. They are part of about 5 topwaters that I use quite a bit.

I don't know about the JT parts, but I've installed this setup: http://hatterasoutfitters.com/. Its a great upgrade.

Nothing fancy - works with any panfish: soak in buttermilk overnight, dredge in beaten eggs, then Italian bread crumbs, cook on med-hi heat in olive oil until golden brown. That's one of three bass I've had to take home over the course of five years.