BigBassLoveSenkos

Like the title says, that's my new game plan. I've been hitting this site almost daily for the past year but I haven't posted much. As much as I like taking knowledge from u guys, I should probably chime in more and share my knowledge and experiences as well. I've been fishing for over 20 years and have caught tens of thousands of bass. I reside on a private lake in Indy, work full time in IT (network security), am a BASS and FLW member, and fish every chance I get. I even talked gander mtn into letting me work a day a week so I could get stuff on discount!

Lewi brings up an excellent bait. The gambler ez has one of the best paddletail movements on the market. The magic happens when u slack the line.

Caught the LM in my profile pic punching hydrilla and kississimme mats with a 1.5 ounce in South FL this past December. On Lake Kississimme, there are pad islands offshore that I've punched into with the same weight. Hth

6'6" GSX Elite with lews tournament pro spooled with sunline natural mono I use this mostly for treble hook Topwater presentations and adjust my hookset accordingly. The 6'6" is my shortest rod and works well for walking the dog and pop r's.

kicker slappers are good too, but not as durable as keitechs

Those GSX Titanium rods are really nice. I have a 7' MH spinning one that i use for drop shotting. Never knew it also came in a casting rod.

30# suffix 832 with a 12# sunline flourocarbon leader is the business

senkos towards the bank, then tap tap tap. great numbers, but size and weight can be questionable using this method.

my vote is for the keitech fat swing impact on a 1/4oz swim jig 3/0 or 4/0 in black or sight fishing. deadly.

Abu Veritas 1 on clearance at GM for 69.97. Picked up a heavy today for a frog stick

Gander has the lexa on sale for 49.99. Not sure how good it is tho. It is relatively light, IM7 graphite.

I use 10# PP Slick. Been using it for 3 seasons now without any issues. I think the coating is perfect, especially for removing to tie strong leader knots.

I do better with the 5" senkos, and my pb LM and SM were caught using 6" senkos. go figure.

There was a day this past spring in which I went thru 3 bags of pink 5" senkos before 11am. Bright colors seem to work best for me on sunny days in clear water.

Walmart sells one named Ultra Classic Bass. I find it really useful when throwing soft plastics.

Did you go yet? That lake is on my list for the summer. If you have an empty seat on the Lund let me know. I'd be happy to pitch in on expenses and leave the skeeter in the garage..

If youre north of Orlando, you should be ok, but I'd ask someone on the ground what to watch out for... GL

Unless you have access to a boat that has some seriously bright lights on it, I wouldnt do it. You gotta respect the swamp. At night many creatures become active that I prefer to avoid, such as 4" spiders that run across the surface of the water for example. Nope. I'm cool on that. I did go night-fishing for speckled perch (up north called crappie) once, but it was on a very-developed lake within the Winter-Haven chain. Plus the deck of the boat was lit up like a parking lot.

LOL yet true

5" senko (either texas, wacky, or dropshot) 3/8 Jig (either swim jig with swimbait trail or finesse jig with chigger craw) 3" zell popper (arkansas shiner pattern) I could use these to cover just about every condition possible.

What he said, and that you really cant go wrong with Costas

While its still dark, try throwing a black Jitterbug. I've had great results from doing that in that situation. It will work best tied to mono. Try casting around the obvious structure such as docks or the shoreline and let it sit for a second before you start your retrieve. You can vary your retrieve speed from slow to medium, and I'd absolutely freeze it once or twice per retrieve. If you can position yourself so that you can run the lure parallel to the shore 5-15' from the bank, go for it. I've even caught fish over open water with this lure and method.

Same here, with a swim bait trailer.

I'm thinking about making a trip to either Patoka Lake or Lake Monroe in a couple weeks. It would be my first to either. Finding info or reports on conditions has been tough. I've heard that Patoka has some timber. Other than that, nothing. Which is traditionally a better summertime bass fishery? And do either have a decent lily pad population? I really do appreciate any info or help you can point me to. Thanks.