senko_77

Cool vid Matt. Looks like ya'll had an awesome time.

Awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome thread! Tons of great info. Alot of fish will stay alive because of this.

Those are some toads! What were you sticking them on?

That's unfortunate that you haven't stumbled onto the big fish potential the shaky head and drop shot rig posess. Once you find a group of big fish, there is no better way to catch them.

x2. After each tourny I dump some baking soda into the well and give it a good scrub down with a sponge. Good luck removing the nastiness ;D

Sending your resume to Zoom and Bandit will do nothing for you. You need to attend the Classic and any form of fishing expo so you can meet the right people. The first company that first showed interest in me was Tru-Tungsten. From there, I was introduced to more and more people that saw potential in me. None of my current sponsors ever recieved a resume from me. They were met face to face at the 07 or 08 Classic and through telephone calls. So have a nice resume ready, print out a ton of copies, and hit up the biggest events of the year for the fishing industry. And don't be dissapointed if it doesn't happen anytime soon. Your 12, and 12 year olds usually have a difficult time meeting the demands that a company requires. Good luck

Good points Dave, but I have to disagree to some extent. I haven't tried the rig, so I really don't have room to argue, but I believe the advantage the Tubo Rig would have on just a slip sinker with a floating plastic is that the bait can actually "hide" from the bass and prevent it from removing it off the bed, therefore agitating the fish even more. I would think it would get more aggresive bites rather than the usual bite and blow it out in a blink of an eye that often happens with bedding fish. Like I said, I have no experience with it, this is just a guess from looking at it.

That was to cool. Thanks for sharing Gary

What a toad!! That fish is easily 8lbs if not more. There is definetely a chance that you have yourself a double digit there. You can never truly tell unless you were there. From my experience, the measurements give you a pretty accurate weight. Again, congrats on that pig!!

I have never understood panic boxes. If the baits in your panic box always produce strikes, why not fish with them for an hour or two to ensure you have a small limit early in the morning? Like I said, the thinking behind the boxes have always puzzled me. Why scramble at the end of the day trying to bag a limit than at the beggining of the day and then getting into a big fish mindset of slowing way down?

Sounds like you already have the answers you need. Some days the fish seem to strike at the bait violently rather than eating it. When this happens, throw a follow up bait, and then go through the area with a fluke. They will strike the fluke, but they have a few extra seconds to key in on it solidly. Good luck

I cant stop freaking laughing!!!

I can definetely attest to the quality of Gmans jigs. He makes a custom color for me called the "senko77 special" that I won a few tournaments on last year, and so far has bailed me out of some tough situations this year. Top notch stuff Gman. Thanks for the awesome products!

Stick to your confidence baits. Obviously, a topwater in 30 degree winter or something along those lines wont work, but if there is a reasonable chance it should work, and you have confidence in it, throw it, because it will work. You just have to find fish that will work with you and that sometimes takes a little while. Goodluck bud

N.O. Explode has worked incredibly for me. I usually take it with a Clif Bar about 30 minutes prior to my workout.

Sure I get a lack of common sense from her side, but I must get my fish-catching abilities from her side as well because you sure don't have any. ;D OHHHHHHH!!!!! Freaking owned.

You know exactly where she is, so just cast to the area. You don't have to see the fish once to catch it. When I bed fish, never once do I see the bed or fish. I drive by it once and mark it with something on the bank or a marker bouy. Come back 5 minutes later and make a long cast to the object on the bank....MONEY. Big fish are difficult once they see you. Don't let her see you and she probably will bite. I bet since it's so pressured she has kinda figured that everytime someone is walking on the bank, things start ploppin down all around her. Be stealthy. Good luck. Fishing for a big girl you can see is probably the most thrilling thing in fishing.

Your almost there!!!! Get home soon so we can go fishing sometime. I still have those tourny pics sitting in my room if you still want them. Good luck and have a safe flight home..... btw, how long is the flight back to the states?

IMO, Mustad doesn't come close to Gamakatsu. Gammies come out of the package sharper and stay that sharp way longer than a Mustad. Burley, T-rig, and Bass_Fin@tic....I have broken a ton of the ST-31's I mean, snapped right in half like it was nothing. Is it possible that the few packs I bought at Bass Pro were bad?

I disagree with you. using a bait that resembles what bass are eating in the lake will always work. Here's a tilapia swimbait. http://www.***.com/descpageSWIMTRUTUNG-TTSB.html# x2 the Tru-Life swimbait that Tru-Tungsten makes is an incredible tilapia imitator. I also strongly disagree with Bass-Brat's opinion that matching the hatch isn't necessary. Imitating local baitfish gives you one more advantage on the bass. I'm not sure if there is a tilapia colored crankbait out there. If I were you, I would get a few of my favorite baits and send them to someone to get custom painted. That way, it matches the tilapia perfectly, and you have confidence in the crankbait your throwing.

He was with Surelife........I thought he was a homeless dude! man that was a fun night

I think this thread should be locked. I just read through the whole thing and it is going absolutely nowhere. Basspro96, here's my answer for you. Your 12 years old. End of story. Beard or not, stop looking for sponsors. Concetrate on your school work, and try and find ways through teachers, mentors, friends, local classes, ANYTHING to better your self-marketing and how you approach and speak to people. This is just my opinion, but if I were a potential sponsor reading this thread, I would have a very negative opinion about you and would certainly not sponsor you. Just so you know, many of the big bait companies frequent this forum so you got to learn how to sound professional. Again, I am not bashing you, just giving you the advice you asked for from a younger persons point of view. Sponsorship is tough man. I'm 18 and I've been very blessed with big tournament success this last year and I'm still WAY at the bottom of the totum pole with my sponsors. Like I said, concentrate on school first off....sponsors don't want some kid who can't read or write, learn in any way you can how to market yourself better, beef up your resume, and last, go out and win some tournaments.

I like to use a 3/32 oz from 0-10ft and then move up to a 1/8oz if I need to get deeper. The only time I ever use a heavier jighead is if it is extremely windy or I need to cover alot of water. Then I go to the 1/4oz Buckeye Lures Spotremover

IMO, there is a world of difference between the two. I think alot of it has to do with the mood the fish are in. The shaky rig seems more effective when the fish are on a bottom bite. They are low in the water column and are feeding down. If they are even a few feet of the bottom, it's gonna be tough to keep it in there face and the only chance you have of getting them to bite is when it goes flying past there face on the way to the bottom. The dropshot rig is more of a pin point way of catching them. I've caught most of my fish on this rig when the fish are suspended and looking up. you can drop it right on there heads using your electronics, or you can adjust your leader length to hit the proper zone in the water column where the fish are and fan cast the rig. Most of my fish on the DS rig have come from casting it out and slowly shaking it at 1 - 2ft off the bottom. Even though I throw the shaky head more, I really believe that if you get good with the dropshot, you will catch more big fish. Big females are obese and want an easy meal. Most guys throw out a shaky head, shake it a few times while racing it across the bottom, and then reel it in. With a dropshot, you can keep it in one place and have the opportunity to dead stick the worm or shake it until its tail falls off......which one do you think big mom is gonna want? Good luck and glad to hear your back into bass I understand about the striper though. Usually in the winter, I am all striper while there biting good at Lake Lanier

Your definately right. Trick worms fall faster than most senkos, but it has alot to do with your hook. While I haven't found a hook that allows it to float, a super light wire hook will make it sink extremely slow. I really like how the trick worm and other straight tail worms act with a 1/0 Gamakatsu round bend offset shank hook. It won't float, but it will stay high enough in the water column that if you twitch up, the nose of the bait will flick around on the surface. The reason for throwing the 1/0 size is because I have found that it is easiest to get that "walk the dog" action out of the worm with a small hook. Hope this helps