5bass

To answer your title question: No,they are not as soft as a senko,they have a different drop rate and a totally different texture.Not to say that Tiki's arent a good alternative to the expensive Yamamoto baits but NOTHING equals a senko.

I use a baitcast reel with no more than 10 lb line and a medium action 6' rod for skipping,although when I'm trying to put it in spots no bigger than a hockey puck,I use a spinning reel and 6'6" rod.I'm much more accurate with the spinning gear. If you are just learning to skip baits,I would suggest a super fluke for starters......you can skip those a country mile.Once you get used to the skip cast motion you'll be able to skip just about any soft bait.

I personally like cinder blocks with small trees attached to them.......but a small pile of cinder blocks alone should attract a fish or two.

You know you bass fish when..... .....you spend your grocery money on the "bait of the week".

CJ,it seems like we're fishing the same lake.Some have spawned out,some just trying to spawn etc.....I'm not sure if your lake has docks or not but where I'm at,docks are plentiful,to say the least.When I go post-spawn fishing,I always look around shallow first to see what I can see but if nothing is happening I go to the first docks beside any spawning areas and continue on the docks until I run into some fish.You'll find that one day a shallower string of docks will be best,the next day the deeper docks hold fish better and once you figure out which docks are the good ones,you can eliminate the "dead" ones and nail down your pattern. A senko is my first choice when fishing a dock but if I find that the fish are on the bottom instead of suspended,a jig will get me down there faster and we all know what a jig does to a bass. If the docks arent happening,I immediately go to any points in a major creek and start crankin'.I'll put on a deep diver and back way off,throw it up in the shallow water and scrape it down the point real slow.If there are any fish on that point,there will be a few aggresive fish that will hit the crank.That will clue you in on whether or not to settle down and carolina rig the area thoroghly.The c-rig will catch fish that the crank won't.

LBH, I have been using mine mostly around any laydowns I run across and some grass.I just keep it up on top of the brush and just glide it thru the best I can.When you give it the quick jerk,it darts side to side as you probably know.I give it the quick jerks over laydowns that are a little deeper and kill it on the ends and just let it fall out of sight.As someone mentioned above,I havent caught anything BIG with mine either.Maybe one or two 3#ers at the most.I did catch a really fast limit with it in my last tournament by reeling it steady over grass but threw it almost all day and never caught anything over 15". I really believe that will change once I start throwing that thing at night.There is no way a fish can ignore that much thump and vibration in the dark.

I just call mine "BIG RED"

I voted crankbait but could have went topwater also.That all depends on time of year.From post spawn on is when I throw topwater first thing,no matter what.Once the sun gets up I switch to a crank or if I've found good enough fish with the buzz,I'll fish that area or another area like it with a senko or some type of plastic.

If the water has color from the rain,fish tight to shallow cover with a spinnerbait that has a big colorado blade that produces lots of thump and vibration.Or you could throw a crankbait like a Storm wiggle wart that has a wide wobble and a rattle.

Virginia I voted wood cause right now there seems to be a "bass on every log".It's just that time of year ..it wont be long though until my choice changes to "deep water". I would have possibly voted grass/weedlines if my lake had any.

Tournament day: Numbers until I have a limit,then switch gears and go deep for the bigger bite. Non tournament day: Size mainly but if the big'uns aint hungry,I'll settle for numbers.As long as I'm getting bit......thats the main thing.

Gambler

Sorry to hear that.I was pullin' for the kid. Couldnt they just get the scale that it was weighed on,check it for actual weight variance and adjust Jr.'s weight accordingly? That's too easy ...... : I figured the same,just a thought mainly.It would make too much sense to do that,wouldnt it?

Sorry to hear that.I was pullin' for the kid. Couldnt they just get the scale that it was weighed on,check it for actual weight variance and adjust Jr.'s weight accordingly?

KU,the same thing is happening where I fish.The fish are basically just roaming in certain little areas but you cant figure out their moods.I would just throw something small onto the place where she always comes back to,even if you have to let it sit a while......this may trigger something if she comes back and sees something already on her nest.You may have to leave it for a few of her "laps around the farm". Either way,keep everything as natural looking and as small as you can. If she looks at your bait and goes on by,switch baits and do it again,I'm sure eventually,if you change baits enough,she'll see something she likes. Another thing to try is to back away from the bed about a cast length,and run a Spook above the beds.That works sometimes but you have to be pretty much out of their sight when it happens. Oh yeah,set your drag!

I want my weights on my buoys to be on the bottom at all times.I've actually never heard of using them any other way.

That'll do it. LOL!

Since you mentioned "grass",I know you werent talking about Smith Mtn,but the bass here are doing the same thing.They are cruising shallow and looking for that special spot to do the deed.Those bass have one thing on their mind and that is finding and clearing off their spot.In my experience with bass in that state of mind is that it becomes a timing thing as to when they are catchable. Whenever I see bass cruising but wont acknowledge any baits,I leave them alone and keep checking back during the day.Most times,they will be somewhat close to where you saw them before but could just be out suspended,relaxing,if you dont see them.The fish have to eat but the stage they are in now,it's all about timing.You can either stay and make 700 casts to no avail,or leave,catch fish somewhere else,then come back and check again.Once they get the bed cleaned off,the males will start hitting anything that gets near it.Until then,it's a waiting game.I'd go look for hungry fish until the others settle in.

Definitely check for spark on all cylinders first.Sounds like a cylinder is not firing correctly,if at all.This could be a bad coil (if you have coils),a bad powerpack (or switch box) or bad stator as Gambler OH said. The exact thing happened to my boat 2 weeks ago.I was lucky that it was just 1 bad coil.Bought a new one for $35,took 5 minutes to put on.....but I have an Evinrude,you may not have any coils.I'd definitely ask somebody about 'em.

I use markers alot too,I've had as many as 10-12 out at a time to outline points and humps etc.....Once I get them out,I will just back off and study the markers for a couple minutes and get a good visual of just how the bottom is laid out,sort of "burning" the buoy set-up into my mind.Marker buoys will really help your deep water game if you just take the time to use them.

Do you have a throw net?Maybe if you net a few of them and throw them back,they will then know that you are a good guy and are not going to eat them. ;D ;D ;D

Yeah,getting a fin in the finger is not only painful but it can get infected fairly easily.Those fish carry some bacteria.No kidding.I know a guy who got a fin under the fingernail and by the next day his whole finger swelled up like he smashed it with a hammer and he got some weird bacteria infection and had to get a shot and some pills to help him out.

Nice fish dude,crankbaits RULE! Now turn around and run that guy out of your spot. ;D He's clearly violated the giving someone some space rule.

Nice,I'll take two.Oh,nevermind,my lakes never freeze. ;D

Crappie jig. ;D