jrk

Spring is coming and not soon enough. I got back into fishing for bass, large and small mouth, late last season after a long long layoff. Mainly fished Senkos and Frogs...had a blast doing so. I've gone ape crap buying gear over this winter, but probably don't have what I need for Spring. I was hoping I could hear from you guys and gals on what your favorite spring time large mouth and small mouth bass baits are. I'm fishing farm ponds/lakes for LM and local river for SM, mainly Virginia. Didn't know what the h*ll a Senko was until I started reading this board last summer, and I've caught more fish this last season than I can remember. So, I respect everyone's opinion and look forward to hearing what you can teach me for this upcoming season. Thanks for all your help

Hey brokeju....how much did that d**n pig way in your profile shot? That's one hell of a fish!!! sorry to hijack, but I've been staring at that avatar pic on and off for the last few days..

Again being the simpleton, how do you secure a loop on either...leader and braid? I'm guessing you splice a loop in the braid, but how the loop in the leader? And, can I manage the same type of loop in the end of my 50lbs solid braid?

Wow...very cool of you Bantam1. And you like this loop to loop connection for casting? With the new 16 strand you guys have coming out, is it really that difficult to "chinese finger" the connection? I'm really looking forward to checking out the new stuff. After watching that vid, I'm curious, is it really necessary to nail not the two at interface, or is the insertion of about 2-3 feet strong enough?

I suspect its original purpose was so, but I'm hearing others making use of this in the bass/freshwater community, where the rounder 16 strand braid is easier to cast and the braid to leader connection is simpler and stronger. I could be way off base on this though, and thus why I ask such questions.

Thanks Bantam1. I'm new to using braid, but have been using braid to fluoro via a alberto connection...not bad, but I'd love to be able to use something stronger and easier to apply. At the risk of sounding simple, do you think you could point me to a vid or pic that would explain what you mean by loop to loop connection, braid to fluoro? I'm really interested in hearing more about what PP is coming up with regarding this, as I'm sure castability is a huge advantage. Again, thanks for the time, Randy

Now that I can, I thought I'd put this out there to get your thoughts. Minus the nail sinker, this is the rigging I was currious to know if you guys have tried. thanks, Randy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs1N9Y-DoG0

Thanks gentlemen...I'll continue using the 4 to 5 TRig method. Appreciate the time. Randy

Anyone fish their 16 strand braid? If so, besides the extreme cost, what did you think in comparison to the others out there? Thanks, Randy

Out of the braids I've tried, Spiderwire, PP and Sufix, Sufix hands down. I've had line digging issues on all except Sufix, none whatsoever. I can cast this stuff a country mile. Having said this, I'm interested in the 16 strand hollow braid PP is coming out with from a knotless braid to leader connection standpoint as well as what I suspect will be great castability. And I have had much better luck with line manageability with the larger poundages, which for me is 50lbs...30lbs I did not like so much. Just my .02. Randy

Has anyone tried this type of braid, blackwater or other? I hear through the grapevine that PP is coming out with some. I'm curious about the flouro "chinese finger" connection...sounds nice and easy. I'm also curious as to the cast ability. Much appreciated...

Thanks for the replies...Yes, Kent, I have read your article several times over, but I have yet to come across any mention of nose hooking these things. I saw a youtube video of this where the guy was swearing it was the best way to fish it, but I cannot put a link to this vid due to the fact I'm new to this forum. I was hoping to hear if anyone has used an octopus hook to finesse them, skirt up of course.

I've been missing some fish on this bait lately...and I'm new to using it. I've done some reading on how to rig it, and it would seem that most use a 4 to 5 offset hook rigged backwards. This is how i've been rigging...skin hooking on the opposite side. I fish a Loomis MH 7 MBR GLX with 50 lb suffix and about 6 feet of flouro for leader. I suspect my problem is that there is so much mass to get a hook set through, and I'm failing to do the job. In doing some recent research, I saw some using an octopus/circle hook nose hooking it into the skirt side. I use these regularly in wacky rigging my senkos. Has anyone used this rigging style on this lure and can they recommend it? Appreciate the time and information.

Thanks for all the replies. I saw something called the owner phantom tube hook...I might give this a try...interesting! I wish I had been throwin this bait earlier this season, the thing is phenominal!

Thanks GRiver. Appreciate the time.

I tried this the other day and caught my fall best with it. Never fished this prior...got me interested. I'm interested to hear how you guys rig these. If you fish it and rig it a specific way, I'd love to hear the specifics such as hook type, weight pegged or not, etc. Thanks for the time, Randy

I appreciate the info guys...much appreciated. Down to the MBR783 GLX or something similar from St. Croix. Again, Thanks for the time, JRK

I'm new here, and this will probably be a silly question to those with more experience and in the know, but I'm getting back into this stuff again after many years and want to buy something nice to keep for a long while. It sounds like everything is pretty specific nowadays, but I'm after a really nice all around large/small mouth rod to put on my shimano 200 sized baitcaster. I'm thinking about 6.6 and medium heavy to fish all types of baits, mainly soft plastics (senkos). After all of this ramble...I'm interested in the MBR GLX, maybe the 783c, and maybe the St. Croix Legend Xtreme. Question is, is this material so sensitive and light weight that durability is sacrificed? Will the GLX or SCIV material be more "brittle" than say a lower priced rod/blank where different material is added to the mix along with the graphite (read scrim)? Don't get me wrong, I don't abuse my gear, but how light weight does it really need to be, and I don't want to have to worry all the time about knicks, or lifting a few larger fish into the boat, etc. Appreciate any input and time you may have, JRK