Sam

One of the obstacles of a bite on the fall is that you are not expecting it and are fooling around with your reel or scratching yourself or talking to your buddy or looking about the area for your next cast. You have to be ready from the start of the cast to set the hook. This past Wednesday evening I went to a local pond on the way home and just for fun decided to throw a Pop-R. It was 9 PM, very little light, and I was just throwing to get to fish that day, not expecting anything to happen. The Pop-R hit the water and bam!, he hit it. And I missed him as I had too much slack in my line. So I threw back and on the second cast he hit it again and I landed him. About 10 minutes later I threw to the same general area again and wham!, he hit it just as it hit the water. I landed him, too. I have had Senkos and Zoom finesse worms and Scum Frogs hit the water and keep on moving. One time I thought the Scum Frog just sank when I casted it until the line started running away. Sorry to say I was not ready and missed him. That bass inhaled that bait as it hit the water with no warning. You have to be ready for this to occur on every cast; be it a good cast or a bad cast. When that bait hits the water it is open season for the fish looking for an easy meal. So keep the slack out of your line and watch your line, closley. Set that hook hard and make sure you don't fall down or throw yourself out of the boat when setting the hook. It can be embarrassing.

That's super. The bass pros are very nice guys and the one I know has offered free information about fishing just for the asking. I guess I will have to start watching Scroggins.

Go with wacky set up with your Senko and be sure to watch your line.

Throw a scum frog, Horney Toad, Zoom Texas-Rigged worm or another weedless topwater and watch for the lilly pads to move behind the bait as the bass follow it. Throw out your biat (worm, frog, etc.) and hop it from pad to pad, letting it sit for a while on a pad. I had a bass come totally out of the water on the Nottoway River and come down on the Zoom finesse worm sitting on a pad. I don't know who was more surprised. Me, the guy fishing with me or the bass when I set the hook. A trick worm can do wonders on pads as can other worms but a trick worm floats and that may be helpful. Another suggestion is to use a "heavy" bullet weight and peg it just above your straight shank worm hook. Rig the worm weedless using either a 2/0 Gamakatsu Worm Hook with the Wire Guard or just weedless, and throw it into the pads, jiggling it among the pads. Throw-fall-jiggle-wait-jiggle-wait-jiggle-retrieve and do it again, jiggling the bait different number of times on each cast. The either cast it out or pitch and flip it to some interestng looking spots. Dont' forget your creature baits and brush hogs, too. Remember, the pads have some TOUGH stems so be ready to lose a number of hooks and baits so stock your arsonel accordingly. You may want to throw 17 or 20 pound extra tough test or braid line. Braid works really well as it will let you cut through the pads to land the fish. Since this is a pond you may want to throw no more than 30 pound braid and stay away from the high test braids. If you are using spinning gear, have one or two spools ready to replace your original spool as you lose line. This is part of pad fishing so don't get upset when you get snagged. Remember, if you make too much noise getting your line out of the pads you will spook the fish. If you use braid you may want to use your baitcaster. Have strong rod, like a medium heavy or heavy. And set the hook hard. Watch your drag as you want to balance it to keep the fish from running deep into the pads but at the same time not breaking your line or reel. And don't lift the fish out of the water with your rod. If the fish is loaded with vegatation it will weigh much more than its 2 or 3 pounds so be ready to bring the fish to you via using your hand to lift the fish out of the water. Let us know how you do. Good luck.

What stinks to us humans is a pleasant order to the sunfish family. I have had some very good success with Gulp! products. The only drawback is that you need to keep the Gulp! products in a moist or wet washcloth or towel to preserve them after use if you plan to use them again. I have soaked them in distilled water and they have come back to life; not totally back to life but back to life. So I use them and then throw them overboard since they are biodegradable and the turtles love them.

Some suggestions. ;D Make sure your wife and son fish from the back of the boat, only. Give them very small baits to use, like the smallest Rooster Tail you can find. Don't "balance" their baitcasters and spool your spinner reels in a clockwise fashion so the line will twist and get tangled and the baitcasters will backlash. Don't help them take the backlashes out of their baitcasters and make them continue to fish with them. Take all the good spots first, keeping the back of the boat way out in the water away from where you think the fish are located. By doing this you are guaranteed to catch more and better fish than your wife and son. And by doing this they will probably throw you out of the boat!!!! On a serious note, I know how you feel. I was fishing with my nephew when he pulled a beautiful bass out of the water. She was over three pounds. My nephew was excited. I was stunned. The kid couldn't catch a cold and here he was with the biggest bass of the trip. And me, with all of the equipment, 200 pounds of plastics, 100 hard baits and ten rods and reels never came close to catching anything as big on the trip. So hang in there. Your day will come. And have a camera ready, too.

1. 4 inch Senkos fished wacky style with 2/0 straight shank hook or a 2/0 EWG hook; same bait but fished Texas Rigged with no sinker. 2. 1/4 ounce spinnerbaits in either a) white; chartruese; or c) white and chartruese. Lead blade is to be smaller than rear blade. Gold or copper works well. 3. Rooster Tails. 4. Bagley 100s in Firetiger, blue and chartruse or shad. 5. Chatterbaits - smaller sizes. Same colors as spinnerbaits. 6. Gulp! 7. Finesse worms fished Texas Rigged with 1/8 ounce pegged bullet weight. 8. When the sun goes down and it gets dark, try a Pop-R on top of the water. I caught two this evening within 10 minutes on a Pop-R. Late evening - early night fishing can be fun but be careful when removing the hooks. I also missed three during this time span. 9. Buzzbaits early in the morning or late in the afternoon. 10. Ribbits or frogs if you get board. When fishing wacky Senkos dip each end of the worm in either JJs or Spike-It yellow/garlic. When fishing eveyrthing else, try Carolina Lunker Sauce or Mega Strike or Jack's Juice on everything you throw except Gulp! products. Rember to scale down in a pond. I caught a 6 pounder the other day on a Senko and a 4.5 pounder on a Senko in another pond. I catch the 2 to 3 pounders on a regular basis in the ponds I fish by scaling down and fishing from the shore line out to about 20 feet. Just go fish and see what works and write it down as to where you caught the fish; the time; water conditions; weather conditions; and bait/tackle. I am now using only spinning equipment with 10 pound fluorocarbon line and will be going up to 12 pound when I respool this week. Always check line for knicks after you catch a fish or after about 20 casts. Have fun.

Thanks, Jig Man. I will do that again and maybe take one of those twists that come on bread to hold the weight onto the rod.

P.S. A friend also uses them as trailers on spinners and jigs.

Four ways. First, weedless and fish them on the bottom like a Senko. Second, weedless on a T-Rig and swim them back at different speeds and stop and go action if needed. Third, flipping and pitching along the bank or into weeds. Fourth, weedless into the weeds and on top of lilly pads. Dip tail in JJs Magic or Spike-It lime or yellow. Use 1/8 to 1/4 pegged bullet weight as needed. 1/16 is good in ponds where there is no current. Use both extra wide gap hook and straight shank worm hooks. Both work. Straight shank worm hooks work best on James River for some unknown reason. Have not tried them Carolina-rigged. Experiment and read what the other guys on this site suggest. Have fun!

My basic problem with the drop shot rig is having the line get all tangled with my other rods and line. What a mess. Any suggestions as to how you guys "store" your drop shot rig when not in use so it does not get all tangled with other rods and lines? Thanks.

Opps! I forgot to tell you. I caught a six pound lady on a Watermealon Senko on July 1st. She was beautiful. I caught a 4.5 lady on a Senko at one of my client's ponds during the middle of June. Suscribe to Bassin Magazine for more tips and information on bass fishing. Great investment. Now, take your pole and your Senkos and go fishing.

Senkos are dynamite. Suggestion as to fishing Senkos. 1. Fish them wacky style with each end of the worm dipped in yellow Spike-It. About half an inch will do fine. 2. Fish it hooked with a straight shank hook and the point placed under the skin so you can fish it weedless. No sinker is needed. 3. Fish it with an Extra Wide Gap hook as in #2 above. I use either a 2/0 or 3/0 hook. In ponds it is 2/0; in the wild it is usually 3/0. You can use a heavy hook if you want to throw it out further. I use both a heavy hook an a light weight hook, depending on the body of water. You may want to scale down and throw a 4 inch Senko as opposed to the 5 inch and longer sizes. You will feel a lot of hits, mainly from the bluegills and smaller fish. Just watch your line. Remove the slack; keep your rod tip at at least 10 o'clock, with 11 o'clock even better and have the line going over your your index finger to feel for hits. Semi-slack line but enough slack out of the line so it will be as straight as possible into the water but not tight. Watch your line. It will move. It is really exciting when the line moves and you start to think when to set the hook. Wait too long and the fish will swallow the bait. Set the hook too soon and you will miss the fish. Have a pliers ready to remove the hook. Here is a suggested method to fish a Senko. 1. Throw it out or pitch/flip it into cover or along the bank. 2. Let it fall. 3. Wait about 10 seconds. 4. With the tip of your rod at 10 or 11 o'clock, just shake the tip of the rod. Every inch of rod shake = 6 inches of bait movement in the water. 5. Let the bait fall again. 6. Wait. 7. Continue twitching the rod tip and reeling in the slack until the bait is out of the strike zone and then do it all over again. If the smaller fish are driving you nuts, take an old Senko (don't throw them away after they are torn) and put a small chunk on your hook and throw it out. You will see what is hitting your bait, be it bream or Crappie. I caught a nice Crappie last week doing this after they drove me totally crazy hitting the Senko and me looking silly constantly setting the hook. As for colors. Dont' be too concerned. Pumpkin, Watermealon, etc. do well. Just go to your local tackle shop and select some colors, with some flake in them, and go fishing. Yesterday at a local pond, I was thorwing a Senko wacky style when the line moved. I let her run with it and set the hook. The line broke. I must have had a turtle or something with teeth take the Senko. First time that has ever happened although I have reeled in half of a Senko after a turtle grabbed it. On Monday I set the hook and an 8 inch bass flew out of the water back towards me. He was OK and swam away. So be ready for some flying fish as you want to set that hook HARD. And don't forget to put scent on the Senko, too. One other suggestion. If you are throwing a buzzbait or other topwater and the fish hits and misses the topwater, throw a Senko to the same spot. Then go back to throwing your topwater. The fish love to hit a Senko on the way down after it hits the water so be ready at all times to set the hook. Watch the Senko go side to side as it floats down. Drives the fish nuts. And check out all of the Senko stuff on this site. Good luck.

I have one of these type baits but have not thrown it. I have a number of Chatterbaits which have been productive. My only problem with the Chatterbait is with the hook sharpness. Now I sharpen the hooks on all Chatterbaits before using them. How sharp are the hooks on the Chatterbait take-offs?

I have Fat Ikas and I think I got them at a local tackle shop, Greentop outside of Richmond, Virginia. They are very productive in the cyprus trees on the Chickahomoney River. Fat Alberts do well, too.

1. Ask the local tackle shop what to throw and the technique to use. 2. Ask the other fishermen what to throw and the technique to use. 3. Go to the web and try to locate your body of water to see if there are any suggestions. 4. Check the state's Department of Game and Inland Fisheries to see if they have a web post or article on the body of water and how to fish it. 5. Go out and fish the body of water with various baits. 6. Use crankbaits and spinnerbaits to locate the fish. 7. Use Senkos to try to catch them, too. 8. Use the lures you have the most confidence. 9. Read the hints section posted at the top of the forum. Good luck.

Take a cotton ball and run it through all rod eyes. The cotton will tag any place on the eye-loop that could be nicking your line. Where are the breaks taking place? By the lure's knot or up the line? If the breaks occur by any knots then you may need to reconsider the type of knot you are tying. If the break other places above the lure, may I suggest keeping the portion of the remaining line and sending it as a sample to the manufacturer? The manufacturer wants to know if there is a bad batch of line out there. Let us know what happens. I have not had any problems with any braid and I still use the Polomar knot when using braid although I have been told not to do so.

On pages 192 and 193 in Knowing Bass by Dr. Jones, here is what he says: "The strike zone is therefore heavily foward baised. The bass is far more likely to strike prey lying directly ahead than to the side or behind. The zone also has a positive vertical bias. It reaches its maximum dimensions in the area immediately ahead of the bass and 20 to 40 degrees above its horizontal plane. When attacking, bass commonly position themselves where they can strike upwards to come up from beneath the prey. This gives the attacking bass the advantage of being obscured by the darker, underlying depths while its prey is beter contrasted aginst a brighter surface. No attack direction is sacred; in practice, the bss will strike from below, above, behind or in front - in short, from any direction that promises success." OK, with that said, who actually knows where the fish came from. All that is important is that you get a good hookset and land the baby!

Sure. Free. Free lure plus $10.00 handling and shipping. Nothing is free.

Next time you post a photo please consider wearing your LSU tee shirt. We have some others on this site who love other SEC teams and it is always nice for them to see anything LSU. Check out the football post in the "Everything Else" section. Welcome to the site. You will learn a lot. Great catch. What body of water did you pull her out of?

No idea of what type of bird that may have been. In one of Lau's videos he has footage of a bass trying to eat a baby ducklig. The duck got away. Filming was in Florida so I know the bass down George's way get large enough to eat small birds if they wish. George, let us know what they bird is and when you start producing the lure!!!! ;D

Check your personal messages. I am suggesting the best way to rig the wacky worm. Sam

Check with your game and inland fisheries department. They may have the answer or at least come by and take a look and water sample. If you are in New Jersey it is probably a few dead bodies decomposing in the water.

I think Satan will be gone in 5 years. I think Tubby rules Alabama. I think Dumbo Fisher was Satan's savior and now that Dumbo is at Florida State Satan no longer has a good QB coach and offensive coordinator. Satan is a defense guy. He knows defenses. Satan is a difficult person to get along with. You have to have tough skin to coach with Satan. Yes, in 5 years he will be back in the Big 10. As for Bama, Auburn players do not have enough fingers to keep putting those Iron Bowl rings on after each victory. I wonder if you can get a ring for your toes?????

Paid $2.69 gallon at exit 104 off I-95 on Thursday of last week.