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Where were the Marathons made?

It seems like common sense to me to reel up your line before a boat cruises over it.

Bass in pressured lakes seem to react differently to boat traffic and wakes than bass in quieter, less pressured lakes. Some of the small, quiet, shallow lakes I fish are affected by boat traffic in a big way. On the busier ones, it doesn't seem to make much of a difference. But on some, even wakes from jet skis and speed boats from 300-500 yards away can shut down a bite. Just last Sunday, my Dad and arrived at a lake we know well at about 11:00 and started fishing a small rockpile in about 8' of water. We caught about 40 lbs of fish from it in the first 70 minutes or so, and then 4 resident jet skis and a speed boat pulling a tuber started tearing the lake up without taking a break, and we went the next 4 hours without more than a bite or two, fishing various areas, both shallow and deep. As far as conditions, nothing else changed during that period other than boat traffic. I'm a big believer in boat wakes and pleasure craft putting fish in a negative mood on some lakes. I've seen it too many times for it to be coincidence.

A 7' - 7' 3" MH/F combo is very well suited to be a general purpose setup for lures in the 1/4 - 3/4 oz range. Throw some 12-15 lb Yo Zuri Hybrid on there and there's not much you can't do with this setup. I would recommend that people start with this and figure out where they need to go from there, less power, more power, length, etc.

Nice looking fish! A little info about yourself would help some. What length and power rods are you accustomed to using? Spinning and/or baitcasting? What types of water do you typically fish? Ponds, lakes, impoundments, rivers?

Toyota Bass Cat Yamaha Dobyns Shimano Humminbird Bass Pro Shops (Probably a gold mine of line and lures)

The Savvy 735c is an XF rod with the same specs as the Champion 735c, it just has a split grip.

I've caught river channel cats on various soft plastics and jigs, including Senkos. I don't think they're too picky. They really like tube jigs in particular.

Let us know what you think. I'm thinking of getting a SS 735C for my Dad for frogging.

NFC: East - Eagles West - 49ers North - Packers South - Saints WC 1 - Giants WC 2 - Vikings AFC: East - Patriots West - Chargers North - Steelers South - Colts WC 1 - Jets WC 2 - Ravens Biggest Flops: Bears Seahawks Jaguars Super Bowl: Packers > Patriots

I prefer the Hybrid over the Ultra Soft. I use 10# for cranking and 12# for spinnerbaits. If you had to choose one or the other, I would recommend 12#.

Could the missed strikes have been from panfish? Sunfish love to peck at wacky-rigged soft plastics. There's not much you can do about that. A bite from a bass doesn't really feel much different, so it can be frustrating at times trying to figure out which is which. When I get a bite in panfish infested waters, I wait for a half second, then slowly tighten the line to feel for any weight. If I do feel weight, I do a sweeping, sidearm hookset while reeling fast. I've had better luck doing his rather than a harder 3/4 hookset like if I were fishing a Texas rigged Senko. There's really no hurry to set the hook on Yamamoto Senkos, because a bass is in no hurry to spit them out. Take your time and feel for weight before setting the hook, and you'll end up with fewer torn baits.

I'm curious how the Double Palomar would hold up. I've never seen one of those slip.

Can't go wrong with black topwaters at night or in low light.

The Owner Twistlock Light hooks were designed by Gary Yamamoto for fishing Senkos. They work better than any other hook that I've used for fishing Senkos and soft jerkbaits, and I also like to use them for fishing finesse plastics on Carolina Rigs, like Trickworms and soft jerkbaits. They work especially well for those who fish Senkos on spinning tackle. It takes very little effort to drive these hooks home. I use the 4/0 the most. http://www.ownerhooks.com/images/products/hooks/basshooks/TwistLock%20Light%20Article.pdf

I think most people are using these on Carolina Rigs.

That sounds about perfect! I'm gonna have to give it a try.

"The state Department of Natural Resources purchased the portable decontamination units with funding provided by the state Legislature to combat invasive species. The units are capable of spraying 160-degree water at high pressure to remove zebra mussels from boat hulls, livewells and other areas that can harbor invasive species." ------------ Is this likely to do any harm to a fiberglass boat or remove the wax?

I've made a mix of seafood-flavored cat food, corn meal, and oatmeal, and honey in the past. I would make 1.5" balls of the mix, freeze them, and tie them off in a net material made from women's stockings and a twist tie. Somebody told me this was a good channel cat recipe, but I caught mostly carp with it, including some huge ones. FWIW.

An Assassinator 3/4 oz. double willow spinnerbait in the gold shiner pattern.

Great posts! I agree 100%.

I have both Champions and Extremes, including the 744. I use them both for bottom contact presentations, side by side. Personally, I don't quite think the Extremes are worth the extra $100+, but it's close. In other words, they are not 1.5x as good as the Champions, though they cost 1.5x as much. I would prefer 3 Champions over 2 Extremes. Don't get me wrong, I really like the Extremes(744C and 792S in particular), but I love the Champions. They are a terrific value at that price point, and I appreciate that.

AHH, you got my hopes up! The only one that is available is the 742. I'm looking for the 795. Thx anyway for the info.

Senkos work well in murky water(1-3' vis.), but you have to put them right on the fishes' nose. Bass seem willing to move long distances to hit a Senko in clearer water, but that's not so in waters with poor visibility. That's my observation at least. I use black/blue, watermelon/red, white, and chartreuse when the water starts looking like pea soup.

I caught the same 4 lb. fish twice from a dock last year, about three hours apart. I was skipping a O-ring wacky-rigged watermelon/red GYCB 5" Senko. The first time, the fish was very aggressive and posted up about 2' from the end of the dock looking for a meal. It blasted the Senko in a swirl right as soon as it stopped skipping, and put up a good fight. The second time, the fish was directly under the shallow end of the dock in the shade in about 9" of water, recuperating. I had to let the Senko sit on the bottom for a few second before the strike, which I didn't even feel, and it put up much less of a fight. I got a laugh and learned from this because it perfectly demonstrated how the bass related to the dock based on it's activity level. I knew it was the same fish because it had a torn up fin and a sideways 5-6" panfish in it's belly that caused a weird protrusion on one side from the panfishes nose. That's the only time I am 100% sure that I caught the same fish in the same trip. My Dad couldn't believe it. ----------------------- I also fish this little private lake nearby that gets ZERO pressure. It has a really good little frogging spot, a little creek inlet that flows thru some sparse cattails and milfoil. There's a 2.5 pounder in there that I have caught 4 times this year, all on the same black Phat Frog. That poor fishes' mouth is just wrecked. The first time I caught it, the hook went in the lower jaw right where you would lip it, and it badly broke the jaw. At first, the fish was fat and healthy, but the last time I caught it about two weeks ago, the fish was looking weak and emaciated. I'm not sure how to feel about this. I don't want to kill the fish, but it was fun while it lasted.