annexation

Me and my dad frequently fish the local mill pond together - he throws Watermelon green Shim E Sticks and I throw green pumpkin senkos. Guess who catches more? Depends on the day, my friend. Depends on the day. My point is, they both catch like crazy. Put either of them in a fish's face and they will slam it. They both have their strengths, so it comes down to user preference. Inch for inch, the Yamamotos are noticably heavier and cast farther. The Shim E Sticks are more endurant and quite a bit less expensive. I like them both, and Yum Dingers, too.

The jig. The freakin' jig. I have a ton of them all dolled up with different trailers. I've tried them on every other outing, thrown them into some nasty 'jiggy' looking stuff, but rarely land anything with them. The few times I did catch on a jig it felt so unconventional and fluke-ish that it hasn't done much for my confidence in them. I just don't catch around here on the jig. Then I switch over to a fat ika or something with a tungsten and a bead and start slamming them in the same water. I keep trying but it just hasn't clicked yet.

4.5" Straight tail roboworms have been my go to.

Yeah, gonna have to go spinnerbait here. I've had some hard hits from the smallies on chatterbaits this year but the hardest strike I've ever had was from a pike smashing into a Terminator spinner bait in white. Like a shot to the arm.

Green Pumpkin when water clarity is up; black when it's down. Those are my best colors for any type of plastic. I dabble with others, but those are my best producers.

Chalk me up as another who cut their teeth on the Black Max (the reel, not the combo). It was my first baitcasting reel; I still have it, I still use it, and I still love it.

Love the 4.5" straight tails. Out here, Salt & Pepper Chartreuse and Aaron's Magic work great in clear water, and Black Grape excels when it's overcast. I've been using them on a slip shot rig lately with good success.

Another vote for spooks - specifically the Super Spook Jr. Small enough to get lots of bites but still coax out some fatties. I like a split ring on mine to help it swing on the walk.

I had this exact problem the other night at a lake where they're almost always smashing my worms. I tried much of what was suggested here; slathered some Megastrike on them, downsized, slowed down. The only thing that seemed to work was fishing on until it got closer to nightfall. Once 8:00 hit, it was like someone flipped a switch. Their behavior changed instantly. They were inhaling plastic as soon as it hit the water. Based on what I could observe, the bass just weren't interested most of the day - no amount of deadsticking or twitching would get them to bite, much less inspect.

I'm fortunate to live near a very productive mill pond in town; two minute drive, tops. Other decent locations are 10 minutes out. If I ever get a boat, there are a ton of nice lakes within the half hour sphere and some larger ones beyond that.

I've been a longtime lurker of bassresource and have recently worked up the cajones to post. I've learned so much from you guys over the past year - it's really upped my game out on the water and helped me put more hooks in fish's mouths than ever before. I've caught more and better bass in the past two months than the rest of my years combined. Just wanted to say thanks! And hello! This community really is them most helpful, informative, and interesting bass school out there.

Sorry guys, I forgot to post pics like I promised. I've actually fished through most of the hand pours I've made (they've down well!) but still have these four: http://i.imgur.com/10CPeSw.jpg The third one down has caught over five fish and the black one at the bottom has caught two (had to rip the nose off after an aggressive bass tore it off the hook). The top two haven't been used yet. Here's a couple fish I've caught with my hand pours: http://i.imgur.com/Un4M9wE.jpg http://i.imgur.com/sJl0t5u.jpg I made them by melting down old senkos and senko-like plastics (yum dingers, etc.) along with some used up fat ikas. The first batch was botched as I didn't really know what I was doing but the next ones were golden. A few didn't sink right, so they were culled out, but most had the same fall as a senko and those are the ones I bagged up and used. To melt them down, I used a cast-iron pan (with a pouring side) over a hot plate, stirring constantly once it melted down. I was able to keep the fumes out of my face with a giant box-fan and also by doing it outside by the garage. At first, I was skeptical about how they might perform - they weren't as soft as senkos. But after catching some decent fish on them I'm sold. It's nice to be able to recycle old stick baits for another go. Not sure how much money it saves when you factor in the amount of time it takes to melt and pour, but it is enjoyable and makes me feel like I'm getting a little more bang for my buck when I plop down seven bucks for a bag of Yamamotos. Also, while they're not as soft as senkos, they're ultra durable. Even with the added stiffness, they're still on par with Yum Dingers as far as softness goes, and quite a bit more endurant. Next batch I make, whenever that is, I'll post some better pics of fresh worms!

Senkos and spooks go out with me on every trip, but I also bring something with me that I want to get better at, too. Right now I'm focused on the slipshot rig with small roboworms, and it's quickly becoming a confidence presentation, as fat ikas did earlier this season.

This. I have my hard baits organized into the smaller 3450s (the ones with 6 slots) so I use those instead. The backpack never comes off my back unless it's time to tie something new or replace plastic.

Tried it out on some melted green plastics - the first four were a major disappointment but I realized I didn't have them hot enough. Tried again and whammo! Beautiful green pumpkin senkos with a mutt-mix of flakes spread out perfectly. I'll post pics later but man they turned out great. Can't wait to put them in a fish's mouth.

Learned on an Abu Black Max and I still love using it, even after picking up a more expensive Quantum. I always recommend the Black Max to people looking to try out baitcasting. It may not be an issue for you, but it felt much more comfortable and easier for me to learn and use with a left handed retrieve model.

I've been slaying them on fat ikas lately, rigged with the skirt up front. Dragging them and reeling them in slow with the occasional twitch has been the ticket for me.

This is useful stuff - thanks, guys. I'm looking forward to getting my mold.

Just went in half with my dad and purchased this Del-mart mold for senkos. http://www.del-mart.com/shop/product.php?productid=16143&cat=256&page=2 The plan is to melt down old, shredded plastics (mostly senkos and fat ikas, stuff like that) and reincarnate them into brand spanking new senkos! I was wondering if anyone has experience with this and could explain to me whether I'll need to add salt, if so how much, that kind of stuff, or anything else a rookie plastics maker like myself could stand to know. I'm a total noob in this domain, albeit very optimistic.

Building confidence in a new presentation takes time. Try it again sometime, and again, until it works! That said, the only bites I've ever gotten off a jika is while pulling bass off the beds with z-man crawdadz. That particular lure works really well on this rig because the crawdad is ultra bouyant and stands straight up (while being pegged to the ground by the weight) and its legs and claws undulate just from holding the rod. It's neat finesse application for the j-rig.

I don't think they flutter as well as the 5" on a wacky rig, but then I'm not much for wacky rigging senkos anyway. My favorite way to fish a 4" is to weightless t-rig it with a 1/0 EWG. This way you can fish it like a jerk bait if they're in a chasing mood, and the lighter hook has less impact on the action. I throw them all the time on 10#PP.

Same here! It helps a lot in the rocky river I throw tubes in; I lose them a lot less rigging them this way than with traditional tube inserts. Lube up a little egg shaped sinker with some megastrike, slide it up in there then t-rig with a 1/0 round bend. Proceed to annihilate smallies.

Don't overlook good old plastic tube baits! Most basic craw presentation there is, and it catches!

Can't speak on others since I've never tried them, but I use 10lb. Power Pro and I love it. The moss green color blends pretty well and it outcasts everything else I have; probably because of its super thin diameter.

This is really clever - and the sketch totally did it for me. 9 times out of 10 I won't put a trailer hook on because I'm not in the mood for salad, but this looks like it would solve that dilemma. I'm fond of twin tail grubs, so maybe I'll try those on something like this. Thanks for sharing!