deep

A 5" senko (the GY one) weighs around 3/8 oz. You can very easily fish that weightless. More important is the action/taper of your rod. A medium or medium fast tip probably won't help much. Check out the senko FAQs http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1121531245

TW delivered my cranking rod today, and I went out for a couple of hours to my local lake. I don't have a cranking reel yet, so I took off my Citica (spooled with 10 lb Sufix Elite) from another rod and slapped it on. FWIW, these are my first impressions. Although the action is described as *moderate*, it felt more like moderate-fast. I usually don't care about looks, but certainly I have seen better looking $150+ rods. The reel felt a bit wobbly unless the screw was tightened down really really hard. The rod felt a tad overpowered. It's rated for 3/8 to 1 oz. I started with a 5/8 oz LC pointer 100SP. This is my first pointer and I bought it today, so I don't know if it's the rod; but I could cast it barely 50-60 feet, and the rod is 7'8". Dwelled enough on the points I don't like too much. Casting performance with a 3/4 oz red eye shad was impressive. Even with 2 brakes on out of 6, I was getting 45-50 yards casts, which is a noticeable improvement over my 7' MH/F Shimano Compre + same Citica. I had only 3 strikes, 2 on the pointer and 1 on the red eye shad. All 3 bass were less than a pound, and I landed all of them. The rod kept the pressure on the dinks nicely. Sensitivity is excellent (at least for a cranking stick). Feeling strikes/ structures and hook-set performance was pretty good. In the end, I am happy with the purchase; but not overjoyed (like I was when I bought and fished with my Powell Max). In fact I chose the Pinnacle over a Powell Max cranking, and the Quantum KVD signature 7'10". I still have to find out whether the $169.99 was well spent. Oh, and I was wondering if a Revo Winch would be a good fit for this rod. EDIT: Follow up: I take back my comment about the taper. It's moderate all right. Took out the rod for another spin today. I got snagged a couple of times, the top half of the rod bent nicely when I put enough pressure. I got 70+ yard casts with the 3/4 ounce red eye shad, and 30-40 yards with a SPRO swimbait (4", 7/8 ounces) today. It does load up well with the right (heavier) lures. I still think it's under-rated for its lure range.

Rapala skitter walk. I've had better luck on it than the Zara spooks. Never tried the BPS or Lucky Craft stickbaits, or the XRap walk.

If I had just one lure to try, it would be a GY senko. Sure, I might catch more on a jerkbait (btw, I love XRaps), but I know I'll catch some fish on a senko.

Shore fishing: One rod, a pair of scissors, two or three lures (one already tied on). Basically I don't take anything I can't carry in my pockets. Kayak fishing: Two rods, and a tackle box.

10/02/2010, sunny, 70+ F air temperature, slight wind 7'3" M/XF Powell Max rod, 6.3:1 (32 IPT) Shimano Sonora spinning reel, 6/30 lb Daiwa Samurai mainline with 6 lb Spiderwire Ultracast 100% FC leader, 4/0 Gamakatsu wide gap worm hook, 5" Gary Yamamoto Senko (purple with flakes) Went for a spot of shore fishing this afternoon to my favorite reservoir, Sugar Hollow. The lake was all muddy, water level rose by maybe 5/6 feet due to the recent rains, and contrary to the weather forecast, there was a good breeze. Caught nothing after 2.5 hours. Got one bite, set the hook, then watched the dink come unbuttoned on a jump. Set the hook on another fish, senko came flying back at me; maybe I imagined the bite. Whatever. At this time I was pretty dejected and basically had 3 options; continue fishing (and I had no idea where to find the fish), sit back, relax and watch the sunset, or go back home. After some debating, I decided to leave Sugar Hollow and hit another lake on the way back, Lake Albemarle. I caught my first fish in the States (a bluegill), my first bass, and my first bass on a lure at Albemarle. I love the place. So off to Albemarle I went. The water as usual was pretty muddy. But thankfully the water level didn't increase much. There's not much bank access at Albemarle. Started at a small (very small) cove. Third cast at the mouth of the cove; the T-rigged weightless senko falls on the bottom undisturbed, give it a few twitches, let it sit for a few seconds; and the line starts moving out slowly, very slowly. Something ate that senko! Not bad. Reel in slack, feel the fish, set the hook; and then I couldn't move the fish. Wow. Big one. A brief fight and a spectacular jump later, I land her. Nice fish, not fat, but quite healthy, 21-22 inches (measuring is easy when you have a 5" senko at hand). Should be 5 lbs or more. She didn't take any drag, but only because I didn't let her take any. I'm kinda confident in my 6 lb FC leader and I knew it was a good hookset. It was. She was a bit deep hooked, but nothing serious. Remove the hook, check that there's no bleeding, release the fish. Time for a high-five. Searched the cove for a few casts more. No strikes. Let's move to the second spot. Cast parallel to the bank about 10 feet from the shore, senko gets hit on the fall. Reel in slack, feel the fish, set the hook. Big one again. I couldn't believe what's going on. This one is smaller, but a strong bass nonetheless. She jumps twice, strips a wee bit of drag and finally lets me measure her, once again with a 5" senko. 18 inches or so, but this one is a fatty. I give her 3.5 pounds. Fish is released and it's time to stop fishing and reflect on the trip and what I learned today.

An extra-fast action rod won't load up as well as say a medium action one. That might be one reason you aren't getting the distances you want. Also, how about trying out some Daiwa Samurai instead of that Power Pro? In the end, it's not the rod or the reel or the line; it's your technique that matters the most.

Guess what, I have both. I use Ultracast FC when I want fluoros, and Samurai when I want a braid. The ultracast is a mid-range fluoro (around the same price as Invizx); you just can't compare it with top of the line stuff like Tatsu or Shooter. But overall, I find it the best fluoro that I can afford. I don't need to respool braid so often. So I spend the most I can, and buy Samurai; which is a line I really like. Powerpro and Samurai are in two different leagues, just like ultracast and tatsu are. You get what you pay for, and I don't think it's fair to compare across boards. Just my opinion, whatever works for me. Edit: Hammer 4, if you were talking about the Ultracast braid/ invisibraid, I agree 100%. The Ultracast FC is the only Spiderwire line I like, and I tried a lot of their monos and braids.

I never tried removing any of the trebles, but if I were to remove either of them, I'd remove the one at the back. When I get a good strike on a crank/ topwater, the bass is hooked by the belly treble. In fact I once read a rather interesting article about a crankbait specialist. He kept throwing different colors/sizes until he started caching bass hooked by the belly treble. That was the right color and size for the crank pattern that day.

I'd suggest buying the Sonora, it's a fabulous reel for its price (I have 2 of them); spend the extra cash on the rod. JM 0.2. I have but one spinning rod in the 80-100 dollar range. It's a 7' M/MF Team All Star that I use for shallow to medium cranking. It has been one good buy. But there are many decent rods in that price range. For a basic bass set-up, I'd go with a medium power fast action rod, probably in the 7 foot range. Also, whatever reel you get, I'd buy a 2500 size reel.

Not the exact Powell, but I do have a 7'3" Powell Max M/XF spinning that I use for all sorts of soft plastics, including wacky rigged senkos. A fabulous rod for its price of $169.99 IMO.

Raul, I'm in no position to disagree with you - I bought my Citica a scant month ago - but I found that once I incorporated the wrist snap in the latter part of the cast so that the reel ends facing upwards, I don't have any overruns at all, and much better accuracy. And this is with one of the six brakes on, and a pretty loose spool setting. Daddyodo, from one baitcasting newbiew to another, this is how it went for me. For the records, I have a Citica 201E (it's a lefty reel, although I'm right-handed) on a 7' MH/F Shimano Compre. I don't do any overhead casts, ever, not even on spinning gear, and very few underhand rolls. One fine day after I got my BC set-up, I went to my local lake to practise. I tied on a 0.5 oz spinnerbait (yes, start with a heavier lure/casting plug), set three out of six brakes on, and set the spool tension, and tried a sidearm cast. Everything went fine, except that I got no distance, and the lure went about 30 degrees to the left of where I wanted to go. Figured the second part out pretty fast. With a BC reel you want to let go of the thumb a little earlier than with a spinning rig. I loosened the spool tension a bit, started getting better distances and some overruns in the middle of the cast. So I taught myself to thumb the spool lightly in the middle of the cast, and not let go of the spool all at once when I cast, but gradually. Day by day, I started reducing the number of brakes, first to two, and finally to one. And then I incorporated the wrist snap. I don't know why or how, but that helps me with the overruns I was having in the middle of a cast. In fact, I cast my BC almost like my spinning setups, with the exception of releasing the thumb on the spool a bit earlier. Honestly, in this one whole month, and I practise upto 4 days a week, I have had but one backlash, and a monstrous one at that. The lure I was throwing got caught with another rod on my backcast (I was in my kayak). I have tried 0 brakes on, and usually get minor overruns once in a few casts. In any case, even with one brake on, I cast farther than I can set the hook; so I reverted to one brake. Take note of the wind direction. When I can't cast with the wind, I use two brakes. And oh, listen to the folks here. There's thousands of hours worth combined experience these guys got.

May I ask what purpose this rig is for? If it's got anything to do with soft plastics/jigs (that's when I feel I need the supersentivity), you might want to go with a 7'+ rod.

I'm very impressed with my browning citori spinning reel. It was/is my light/ medium cranking reel. It has given me flawless service over the last four or five months. Other than that, I'd say a Shimano.

I haven't been to Orange in ages either. But the ongoing cold front messed up the bass in my local lake. They migrated out of a cove (where I caught numbers and size in the last week), passed the mouth of the cove and onto the main channel. Not saying that's what going on at Orange, but might be a possibility. Also, the cove right next to the dam is my favorite spot in the whole lake. I would start in and around there. P.S. Let us know how it went. I'm planning to hit Orange in a fortnight or so.

How about going for 6 lb line on the spinning rig? Invizx works well on a spinning reel, so does Spiderwire Ultracast 100% FC. Invizx is sort of stretchy though, but otherwise a very fine product. For baitcasting, where manageability is not as big a factor, I would suggest Trilene FC.

Have you tried Spiderwire Ultracast 100% FC? Manageability (on spinning reels) is almost as good as the Invizx, and there's not much stretch. I gave up on Invizx specifically due to the stretch factor. Of course, if you can afford Tatsu or Sunline, you should go for it, and not look back.

A cold front hit us, and guess what, the bass were back at the point, on the outside edge. They must have moved out of the cove. I had only about 45 minutes to fish this evening. Hit the cove with flukes and senkos, had no luck. As I was beating it back home, I casted a senko at the point, and boom, a nice 2 pounder. Got 6 bass in about 20 casts before it turned too dark to see the line. The bass were all piling up on near the main channel. They were not at the mouth of the cove though, they passed it and went back to the point; where they had been all summer. That seems a bit strange. Why weren't they holding at the mouth of the cove? P.S. Raul, when water is drawn out, like now, maybe 10 feet of the point is dry land.

sounds more like a computer program than a bass .. read Crichton's Prey?

I prefer a 7'-7'3" M/XF rod for my t-rigs. However if you throw mainly heavier t-rigs get a MH I was looking for a soft plastics/jig rod not too long ago. I narrowed it down to a Powell Max 7'3" M/XF and a Shimano Crucial 7'2" M/XF (both spinning). Finally bought the Powell. Couldn't have been more happy with my choice. In spite of what I read about the Powells being underpowered for their ratings, it throws even 6" senkos with ease. I must have caught a few hundred bass on it. And yes, go with a longer rod.

I do that all the time, except when I specifically want the stretch of mono, or the sinking properties of fluoro. I believe several others use braid on spinning rigs too. The no memory property really helps. EDIT: when I'm worried about the fish seeing the line, or need abrasion resistance (which is just about all the time), I put on a fluoro leader. The leader also helps when you get snagged; I don't have to lose yards of expensive Samurai.

I have a 7' Team All Star spinning, M/MF that I use for small cranks and topwaters. Solid decent rod. Doesn't feel overbuilt at all, though I have seen/used lighter and more sensitive rods. For 80 bucks, which is what I paid for it, it's pretty good.

My priciest spinning reel is a Browning Citori 2500. I like it a lot. But I also like my cheaper Shimano Sonora, and Abu Cardinal. I don't know if I would spend $150+ on a spinning reel. You might think about starting him on a baitcaster. I do have some line suggestions; mono: Trilene XL/ Suffix Siege fluoro: Seaguar Invizx/ Spiderwire Ultracast 100% FC. None of these have the memory/ stiffness problem. The stiffness of a line usually increases with breaking strength. Two of my spinning reels has 6# line, the third has 4#. I never use anything over 6# in a spinning reel; if it's heavier cover, I go to braid or my baitcaster. Also, KVD L&L helps; a lot.

Yes sir. Let me clarify my original comment. I work a topwater senko (t-rigged, weightless) only when I feel like a topwater lure could work, and I haven't got my topwater rod/lures with me. When topwater conditions are right, a real topwater lure will probably work much better than a topwater senko. A senko worked the ordinary way (you know, like a soft plastic) catches, for me, at least 10 times the number of bass than a topwater senko.

Why not 7'6"? With lipped cranks, especially deep-runners, you want to maximize your casting distance.